The fire continued to burn across his body but there was no pain. It wasn't unpleasant—it was warm, gentle, almost soothing.
So Elian embraced it, letting the sensation wash over him.
For the first time since entering this cursed realm, he felt… good. Like something inside him was being mended.
But as the warmth deepened, so did his confusion.
Where was all this coming from?
Was this kind of thing normal in the Ashborne Trial? Did others experience it too? Or was it something that was only happening to him?
He didn't know. Of course he didn't. Because once again, he didn't have the knowledge. No one had taught him anything that mattered.
Then the fire changed.
It twisted around him, pulling at his mind, and became a vision.
Suddenly Elian was no longer in that chamber. He was standing in the center of a vast and broken land soaked in blood and shadow.
This was a battlefield.
He knew it instinctively. The ground was littered with corpses of warriors in shattered unique armor, beasts of unfamiliar shapes with torn limbs, fallen giants, and many more strange creatures he couldn't understand.
Weapons lay scattered across the dirt, still filled and humming with power, like the battle had ended only moments ago.
In his right hand was a long blade with intricate carvings pulsing with silver light. In his left was a shorter blade—somewhere between a dagger and a sword—etched with burning lines of crimson that flickered like embers.
Both weapons radiated an overwhelming presence. Power that didn't feel like it belonged to him.
"This isn't me… but who am I now?" Elian thought.
Ahead of him, another figure stood. They were tall and cloaked in a robe made of shadows that flowed and shifted like smoke.
Chains floated around the figure, coiling and twisting like serpents. Their face was a blur, obscured, as if reality refused to let Elian see it.
The figure raised its hand, and power gathered in its palm.
Elian braced for impact.
But the vision shattered a moment later.
He back to the real world and collapsed, falling to the ashen floor with a heavy thud.
The flames vanished as if they had been drawn into him. Its gone without a trace except for the strange heat still lingering inside his chest.
Then came the sound of resonating chime like a long, ringing bell echoed through his skull.
He winced and clutched his head. He clenched his teeth from the pressure.
And then… the ringing stopped.
In its place, glowing letters appeared in his vision. It was written in deep ember and red like they had been burned into the air itself.
[You have formed a bond with a Relic: "Sleeping Ember" (Grade: ???)]
[Your Core has been Awakened.]
[You are now able to absorb and channel the Aether. ]
Elian stared at the letters and started breathing hard.
Whatever just happened… he wasn't the same anymore. Not at all. Because finally he had found a Relic and bonded with it.
Elian laughed.
It was muffled at first, like he couldn't quite believe it. But then the tears came and slid down his cheeks as the laughter broke free in full and become uncontrollable.
This! this was what he had been searching for from the very beginning.
After all the beatings. The wounds, and the fear. The near-death moments in this cursed place. This was the one thing that could change everything. The only thing that could keep him alive.
He had finally found it. His own Relic.
The happiness hit too hard. It made him laugh until he couldn't breathe.
He didn't even realize how loud he was being.
Until silence returned—and a flicker of instinct rushed through his veins.
He froze.
Then quickly looked around, with a pounding heart. But nothing, no monsters around him.
He exhaled slowly, releasing the tension.
Wiping his face, Elian stood up. That strange warmth still lingered in his chest.
Then he felt something hanging against his collarbone.
He reached up and touched it. His fingers brushing across something smooth and cool.
A necklace.
He pulled it up to look.
It was a jagged piece of black obsidian, shaped like a broken shard. But deep inside the dark stone he can see a faint light shimmered. It was like a frozen flame caught in a moment of time. It flickers softly in shades of deep red and dusky orange.
"This is my Relic," Elian thought, smiling despite everything. "I thought I'd get a weapon… but this is fine. This feels amazing too."
He gripped his sword tighter and took a deep breath.
Now he had something else to try.
The notification had said he could now absorb and channel Aether. That was the source of all true power that allowed magic to exist.
It was the energy of this world that let the strong Ashbornes almost look like they were able to reshape reality.
He closed his eyes and focused.
And he felt it.
Like a current of warm water flowing through his veins. Subtle but steady. It pulsed with rich energy he had never noticed before. Like his blood had been infused with it.
Around him, he could feel it too. The Aether wasn't just inside. It filled the space. Brushed against his skin like drifting smoke.
The more he focused, the more real it became.
Then, he saw it. The Aether looks like strands of colored light of red, silver, blue, violet, flowing around the room in delicate patterns. Flowing like rivers in the air.
"This is incredible…"
Elian's eyes widened.
For the first time, he could feel real power.
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