Ava moved carefully along a narrow stream. The floating droplets that once surrounded her had faded, but the faint warmth in her fingertips remained. She could feel water now not just see or touch it, but sense it.
When she concentrated, ripples danced across the surface without wind.
'So it's not just a dream.'
She had been in this so called trial of Elements for what felt like days yet she hadn't found an exit.
…
Harlem, under the violet sky, had started walking. The ground beneath his feet crunched like glass, and distant silhouettes moved on the horizon. He couldn't tell if they were human.
But something in him had changed. The shadow he saw before it hadn't disappeared. It lingered just out of sight, matching his pace, almost… cooperating.
When he focused, he could feel it mimicking his movements a split second early, showing him what would happen next.
He clenched his fists. "The trial of madness huh. If this world wants to test me, fine. I'll play along."
…
Zach had stopped shouting Ava's name hours ago. The desert wasn't infinite; he could see cliffs rising in the distance but the heat was unnatural, like walking through a furnace.
Still, he pushed forward. His skateboard now served as a makeshift shield, its broken metal edge glinting under the dim sun.
When he stopped to rest, the sand whispered again. This time, the words were clearer.
"Find the Core of Faith to complete your trial, but remember only one may succeed."
He swallowed hard. "Yeah… sure. No pressure."
…
Back in the Trial of Pride
Lucius awoke in what looked to be a prison cell of sorts.
'Ugg, Where the hall did i wake up now, I'm really getting sick of this.'
He looked around the dark and dingy room his expression being one of clear annoyance. The walls were made form a sort of brick like material but it was impossibly tough in comparison to the brick he knew.
Suddenly he grabbed his head in a fit of pain his fingers clawing into his hair trying and failing to pull it out.
"AAAAHHHHHHHHGGGGG!!!"
It was a pain unlike anything he had ever experienced. It was so bad that if he had the option he would slice his throat open at the first chance.
The pain didn't stop.
It crawled through his skull like molten metal, burning through thought and memory alike. Lucius screamed until his voice broke, until the sound itself tore out of him and became nothing but ragged breath.
Then Silence.
The voice of the wolf reverberated once more.
"Welcome to the Trial of Pride Lucius Vale. In order to Survive you must throw away all past experiences and become a true member of this new world. Before you start the first stage of your trial I will answer 3 questions you may have."
'Ok defiantly not creepy that he knows my name. Nope just don't think of that Lucius, focus on finding a way home'
Lucius licked his lips, his throat still raw. "Alright," he muttered. "Three questions, huh? Let's make them count."
He straightened slightly, trying to ignore the residual ache in his skull.
"My first question," he said, voice low but steady, "is how do I get home?"
"To return to your home world you must embark on the path of cultivation, reaching the peak of what this world has to offer and shatter the barrier between realms. All those between the young ages of 16 and 24 years old were brought here for your worlds first trial. As long as one person shatters the barrier all will be able to leave. However only those that reach the peak of what this world has to offer may receive any benefits after the trail is over. You have exactly 999 years 359 days and 20 hours remaining."
'Ok that is a lot more detailed than i was expecting. i thought it would be some cryptic message but surprisingly not. Now the next step forward would be to ask how to cultivate.
He rubbed his temples. "Fine. Next question, how do I cultivate?"
"The path of cultivation is one of defying the Havens and the will of the world. You must take energy from the Havens called Qi and use it to temper your body to begin the path of cultivation. As the rules dictate i will inform you of the first 3 realms of cultivation and how to get through them."
"The first cultivation realm is called the Foundation realm. Its purpose is to prime your body for future steps. There are 7 stages in the foundation and order is very important here. doing it in the wrong order can cripple your cultivation for life at best and kill you outright at worst. In order the stages of the foundation realm are as followed"
"Organ tempering"
"Blood tempering"
"bone tempering"
"muscle tempering"
"skin tempering"
"heart tempering"
"brain tempering"
"Once all these are complete you must form your first meridian using the qi in the atmosphere which you would be able to manipulate by that point. For each of the 9 stages in the next realm the Meridian formation realm you must form 9 meridians of qi in your body. The first three would be lower stage 1 meridian formation realm, 6 meridians would be middle stage 1 meridian formation realm and 9 meridians would be higher stage 1 meridian formation realm and so forth for stage 2 and onwards."
"The final of the three realms you must know about is the qi condensation stage. for this stage you must take all 81 of your meridians then condense them into 1 meridian and repeat the prosses making 18 more meridians and condensing them once more. You must make 9 sets of 9 of the condensed meridians to advance to the next realm which you must find out on your own."
'Alright once again extremely detailed answer and something about rules.'
Lucius swallowed. "Last question then. What are these trials? Why drag us here? What's the point?"
"All those from your world have been gifted with immense cultivation talent however you have no path to put that taken to therefore ############ has assessed it would be fair for you all to be given trails according to your souls true form. You and that little girl have been accepted into the trail of Pride on of the 7 Greatest opportunities in the first trail however i must say I'm quite disappointed in what I've seen form you so far."
"The path of sin is a harrowing danger but it is also one of the paths with the most potential for growing strong. if you were to pass the trail of pride you will grow more powerful the more your pride grows just as someone who passed the trail of faith grows stronger the more people believe in them. As for what the first trial is you are not qualified to know that."
"Now you will start the trail of pride. Your first task is simple beat this wolf in a fight."
A light gray wolf just under 2 meters tall appeared on the other side of the room. As Lucius looked over he saw an amethyst crystal flying towards his head. He caught it with one hand before inspecting it closely. It had faint markings of something he couldn't read it looked like a language of sorts.
"Ahh right you can't read runes, how could i forget it pass the blessings. All otherworlders are granted basic understandings of all texts and professions."
A strange feeling permeated Lucius' mind.
Lucius looked closely at the runes he could now read
"Crystal of Pride" Grants Rudimentary comprehension of the law of pride.
"Absorb this to gain a small understanding of the law of pride which you must use to beat the wolf in front of you. Now good luck Child."
Lucius stared at the wolf blankly then looked down at the crystal then back at the wolf
All he could think in that moment were 2 words
'Why me...'