With no other options presenting themselves, Courage took a swift seat on the stone stool, squeezing his eyes shut as he braced for impact. His muscles tensed, anticipating some dramatic transformation or something to jump at him from nowhere. But... nothing happened. After a few heartbeats of silence, he cracked one eye open sheepishly.
"Well... where's the crazy?" he muttered to the empty forest.
Still nothing. Just the same oppressive quiet and golden light filtering through the trees. As his gaze swept the clearing again, he suddenly registered the massive tree stump directly before him - had that been there before? He couldn't remember noticing it earlier, but now it dominated his view, its gnarled bark seeming to pulse with strange familiarity.
"Why does this feel..." Courage began, running his fingers along the trunk's rough surface. A memory danced just out of reach.
SCRREEEEEK!
A sudden, shrill cry shattered the silence - a sound he knew instantly. His heart leapt as he scrambled to locate the source, frantically brushing aside leaves at the stool's base. There, wriggling in the damp earth, was...
"Tusk?" His breath caught as he carefully lifted the struggling beetle. The familiar weight of his companion settled in his palm - the same reddish-brown carapace, the same distinctive horn and spurs. But this wasn't right. Tusk was back in the real world, safely contained in his enclosure. Wasn't he?
The beetle's antennae twitched as it righted itself, its glossy black eyes seeming to focus on Courage with uncanny intelligence
Courage's breath hitched as he struggled to comprehend the scene unfolding before him. The forest's oppressive silence now pulsed with strange significance. Then - SCRITCH-SCRATCH - another rustling came from the opposite side of the stump. Leaves trembled as a second beetle emerged, its carapace gleaming like polished mahogany in the golden light.
His heart pounded as the newcomer climbed the stump with deliberate movements, positioning itself opposite the first beetle. The moment their antennae twitched toward each other, something primal unlocked in Courage's memory.
"A... a bug wrestling game?" The words escaped his lips in a hushed revelation.
Suddenly, he began to recall when he was eight years old - knees scraped from scrambling through the woods behind his childhood home, hands cupped around prize beetles, the thrill of discovery thrumming through his small frame. He remembered the makeshift arenas of his youth - smooth stones for seating, moss-covered stumps transformed into arenas where horned gladiators clashed. The way he'd cheer for his champions, how his chest would swell when his favorite beetles raised their horns in victory.
A shudder ran through him as he understood. "I see..." His fingers traced the familiar grooves in the stump's surface. "My domain shaped this trial from my own memories and experiences." The realization settled heavy in his gut. This trail wasn't just some random challenge - it was a mirror held up to his soul, a test woven from the fabric of his past and present .
With a clear understanding of what he needed to do, Courage placed Tusk (or his lookalike) on the stump opposite its opponent. "So a game of beetle fighting is what's going to decide my fate as a Beast Catalyser," he muttered. "Not what I was expecting, but so be it."
As he positioned his gladiator, he gave a determined nod. "Alright Tusk, I'm counting on you."
The fight began immediately. The two beetles clashed, locking horns in a brief struggle before Tusk managed to overpower his opponent and shove it off the stump.
"Victory!" Courage cheered.
But his celebration was short-lived. Another rustle in the leaves announced the next challenger. "Of course it wouldn't be that simple," he groaned.
What followed was an gauntlet of fights. Each time Tusk defeated an opponent, a new, slightly stronger one would emerge. The fights came in relentless succession - first ordinary beetles, then tougher varieties: dung beetles, elephant beetles, even massive Goliath beetles.
Courage lost track of time, but as the fights went on he uncovered two crucial advantages: First, he could mentally command Tusk with perfect precision, actively participating in the fights rather than just watching. Second, he discovered he could "dope up" Tusk with bursts of extra strength, though each boost left him feeling more fatigued, as if the energy was being drained from his own body.
After what felt like an hour of continuous battles, Tusk with great difficulty managed to defeat a particularly fierce long-armed beetle. Courage was left panting, his body aching as if he run a marathon despite never moving from his seat.
Before he could recover, the next opponent appeared.
"What the hell is that?" Courage's eyes widened.
This was no ordinary beetle. The creature was large enough to require both hands to lift, with an armored carapace and vicious-looking mandibles. "Are you saying I have to fight actual beasts now?" he protested, questioning the trial's fairness.
Strangely, the beast didn't attack immediately like the others had. It simply stood there, waiting.
Then Courage felt it - a ringing in his mind, followed by a strange floating sensation, like he was on the verge of waking up from a dream.
"My awakening... I can feel it now. But there's still an opponent..."
The realization hit him: he'd met the minimum requirement to awaken. His domain was giving him a choice - take the guaranteed awakening now, or risk it all for greater power.
Courage studied the monstrous beetle before him, noting its size and strength. In his exhausted state, victory seemed far fetched. Part of him wanted to take the safe option.
But despite how he felt he yet again steeled himself clinching his fists. "This awakening is my only chance to change my fate. Even if I fail, I won't live with the regret of knowing I didn't give it my all."
With renewed determination burning in his eyes, Courage willed Tusk to continue fighting. As he made his choice, the floating sensation disappeared, bringing his full focus back to the trial.
The fights that followed became a trial within the trial itself. Each clash demanded everything Courage had - every ounce of focus, every scrap of energy. Against all odds, he defeated that first monstrous beetle, only for another to take its place. Then another. And another.
Every match stretched longer than the last. Courage couldn't afford to hold back now - each battle required constant boosts to Tusk's strength, draining Courage without mercy. Soon The energy transfers became agony, feeling like someone was scooping out his insides with white-hot spoons. Yet he endured, teeth grinding together so hard his jaw ached, because any hesitation meant instant defeat.
Time lost all meaning in this hellish gauntlet. Courage's vision swam at the edges, his body trembling like a leaf in a storm. He could feel his spirit fraying, his mind unraveling - yet still the trial continued.
Then came the final horror.
The creature that emerged dwarfed all previous challengers, violating the natural order with its grotesque size - as large as a small dog. Three curved horns crowned its head, framing mandibles that snapped with enough force to shear through wood. Its armored plates gleamed like oil-slicked iron as it took its position, the stump creaking under its weight.
Courage stared at this abomination of nature, his breath coming in ragged gasps. Every cell in his body screamed for respite. Yet as the beast lowered its horns, he found his hands still raised, his connection to Tusk still thrumming weakly.
One last time.
Tusk, battered but unbroken, raised his own horn in defiance, though the size difference was laughable. Courage's breath came in ragged gasps. He could feel his energy nearly depleted—each boost he'd forced into Tusk had taken something vital from him, leaving him hollowed out, like a wrung-out rag. But there was no retreat now.
"One last push,"Courage growled, blood trickling from his nose as he forced another surge of power into Tusk. The beetle's carapace flared with a faint, sickly glow, his limbs trembling from the strain.
The monstrous beetle struck first—a lightning-fast lunge, mandibles snapping shut where Tusk had been a fraction of a second before. Courage willed Tusk to dodge, their connection so deep now that it felt like his own nerves were firing the commands. Tusk twisted mid-air, landing on the beast's back, driving his horn into the soft joint between plates.
The monster shrieked, it's sound like grinding metal, and bucked violently. Tusk held on, but the next instant, a spiked leg lashed out, catching him in the side and sending him skidding to the edge of the stump.
Courage's head pounded. His vision swam. He could feel his consciousness slipping, but he clawed at it, refusing to black out. "Get up!" he snarled, not even sure if he was talking to Tusk or himself.
Somehow, Tusk staggered upright, his movements sluggish. The larger beetle loomed, mandibles flexing—confident. Cruel.
Then, in a flash of instinct, Courage understood.
The monster telegraphed its next strike—a brutal, straight-on charge meant to gore and crush. But instead of dodging, Courage commanded Tusk to meet it.
At the last possible second, Tusk ducked, slipping beneath the beast's lowered horns, and with every last shred of strength Courage could muster, he forced Tusk's horn upward in a mighty heave , his legs straining as he leveraged the beast's own weight against it. The monster's claws scrambled for purchase, but Tusk twisted, using its reckless charge to send it lurching over the edge of the stump.
The massive beetle toppled, its legs flailing as it crashed to the ground below. A final, shuddering crack echoed as its armored back hit the earth.
Silence.
Tusk stood victorious, barely. While Courage's body gave out, slumping forward, his forehead pressing against the cool dirt. He couldn't move. Couldn't think.
Then—
A pulse.
The world around him shivered, the forest dissolving into swirling mist. The stump, the beetles, the battles—all fading.
After they were all gone, something new stirred in the depths of his soul.
Awakening.