Lyra's heart pounded so hard she thought the Shadow King could hear it.
The huge monster stood at the far end of the room, covered in dark smoke and glowing purple lines. His eyes were like two burning moons staring right at her.
The room was silent.
Even the Wyvern Shade beside her stood stiff, wings folded tight, as if it also knew this thing was dangerous.
Lyra forced a smile.
"Hehe… hi… I think I'm in the wrong place. Maybe the system made a mistake? I'm actually supposed to be outside, eating kebab. Yes. Kebab quest. Very important."
The Shadow King didn't move for a long moment.
Then he laughed.
It wasn't a nice laugh.
It didn't sound friendly.
It sounded like dark stones grinding together.
"Child," he said. "You have been chosen by the shadows. You cannot leave."
Lyra felt her knees go weak.
"…I don't like that sentence."
The King took another step.
BOOM.
The ground shook.
He was still far away, but his steps felt like earthquakes.
"You stand in my realm," he said. "The Void Palace. Only the worthy survive here."
Lyra swallowed.
"Okay. Cool. But um… can we maybe talk about being 'worthy' without the killing part? I vote yes."
The King ignored her.
His voice shook the whole hall.
"Face me, little Ascendant. Show me why the System has brought you here."
Lyra's brain screamed.
RUN. RUN NOW.
But the Gate behind her was closed. The giant doors were sealed shut with purple chains of energy.
No way out.
Lyra whispered to her shadow pet:
"Wyvern Shade… if I die, tell everyone I was cool."
The wyvern tilted its smoky head.
It made a low growl that sounded like:
You're not dying.
Lyra sighed.
"Thanks. I hope you're right."
---
The Shadow King lifted one massive hand.
"Let the trial begin."
A huge spike of shadow shot out of the floor under Lyra's feet.
"AHH—!"
She jumped back and almost fell.
More spikes burst up, chasing her across the room like black spears.
Lyra ran as fast as she could.
"WHY IS EVERYTHING TRYING TO KILL ME TODAY?!"
She rolled behind a broken pillar. The spikes smashed into it, breaking it apart.
The King spoke again.
"You are fast… for someone with no rank."
Lyra peeked from behind the rubble.
"Fast? Bro, I almost peed myself!"
Suddenly a new system message appeared.
[NEW QUEST: SURVIVE THE SHADOW KING'S ATTACKS]
[TIME: 60 SECONDS]
[REWARD: SHADOW BOOST]
[FAILURE: DEATH]
Lyra groaned.
"Of course. More death."
The timer started counting down.
60… 59… 58…
"Wyvern Shade!" Lyra shouted. "Help me!"
The shadow wyvern let out a roar and flew toward the King.
It opened its dark mouth and fired a blast of black energy.
The King blocked it with one hand.
The attack did nothing.
"Sheesh," Lyra whispered. "He blocked that like it was a cold breeze…"
The King snapped his fingers.
A giant shadow chain shot out and wrapped around the wyvern, slamming it into the floor.
Lyra gasped.
"HEY! THAT'S MY PET!"
The wyvern struggled but couldn't break free.
Lyra clenched her fists.
"Let him go!"
The King tilted his head.
"You care for your shadow?"
"Of course!" Lyra shouted. "He's my first friend in here! You think I'm gonna fight all this alone?!"
The King's eyes glowed brighter.
"A true Ascendant values her shadows… interesting."
He raised his hand.
Shadows gathered into a huge ball above him.
Lyra's face went pale.
"Oh no. That looks bad. That looks VERY bad."
The timer continued.
38… 37… 36…
The giant shadow ball dropped toward her like a falling moon.
Lyra screamed:
"SHADOW STEP!!"
She vanished in a burst of black wind.
She reappeared several meters away — just as the huge ball hit the ground.
BOOOOOOM!
The explosion shook the entire palace. Dust flew everywhere. Stones fell from the ceiling.
Lyra was thrown back and crashed into a wall.
"Ow ow OWWW! My spine!"
She dropped to her knees, coughing from the dust.
The timer ticked down.
20… 19… 18…
The King pointed at her.
"Show me more."
Shadow snakes burst from the floor and shot at her.
Lyra jumped up and ran, zig-zagging across the room.
"NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU!!"
A snake wrapped around her ankle.
Lyra gasped as it pulled her down.
"SHADOW STEP!"
She vanished again and reappeared near the wyvern.
The King growled in amusement.
"You adapt quickly… good."
Quickly? Lyra was pretty sure she looked like a scared chicken running for her life.
The timer ticked down.
10… 9… 8…
The King raised both hands.
The shadows around him lifted into the air — hundreds of them — like sharp spears ready to fire.
Lyra's eyes widened.
"Bro wait— WAIT—!!"
The King dropped his hands.
The shadows fired.
Lyra screamed:
"WYVERN SHADE!!"
Her shadow wyvern broke the chain, spread its wings, and flew in front of her.
The spears hit the wyvern instead.
BOOM!
The wyvern blocked every shot — its shadow body shaking with each hit — but it held on.
Lyra stared, shocked.
"…You protected me."
The wyvern growled softly.
The timer hit:
3… 2… 1…
[QUEST COMPLETE!]
[REWARD: SHADOW BOOST LV. 1]
[STATS INCREASED]
Shadow energy rushed into Lyra's body like cold lightning.
Her arms tingled. Her legs felt lighter. Her whole body felt stronger.
Lyra gasped.
"Whoa… I feel amazing!"
The Shadow King lowered his arms.
For the first time, he looked… almost impressed.
"You survived my first test."
Lyra collapsed onto the floor, arms spread wide.
"I almost DIED! That was the most stressful minute of my life!"
The King's voice softened — just a little.
"Rise, Lyra Vale."
Lyra got up slowly. Her legs shook.
The King continued:
"You are not unranked anymore."
A new system message appeared.
[YOU HAVE AWAKENED YOUR TRUE CLASS] [NEW RANK: SHADOW WALKER (E-RANK)]
Lyra stared at the glowing screen.
"E-rank? Yesss! I'm not Z-rank anymore!"
The King kept speaking.
"This palace will test you. Break you. Shape you. Only then can you become an Ascendant."
Lyra raised a hand.
"Um… can it maybe test me without trying to kill me?"
"No."
"Of course not," Lyra muttered.
The King pointed one giant hand behind him.
A dark door appeared. A glowing symbol of an eye shined on it.
"This is the First Trial Room," he said. "Inside, you will face illusions of your past… and your fears."
Lyra blinked.
"…My fears? Like spiders?"
"No."
"Like my mother when she finds out I broke her cooking pot?"
"No."
The King's voice dropped low.
"Your true fear."
Lyra gulped.
"…That sounds worse."
The King ignored her and continued:
"If you pass the trial, you will gain a new skill. If you fail—"
"Lemme guess," Lyra said. "Death?"
"Correct."
Lyra threw her hands in the air.
"WHY IS EVERYTHING DEATH?"
The King didn't answer.
He stepped back into the shadows and faded away, his glowing eyes the last thing to disappear.
Lyra was left standing in the center of the giant hall with only her shadow wyvern beside her.
She sighed and patted its smoky head.
"Okay, buddy. Looks like we're going in there. First trial. Past and fears. Probably trauma. Fun."
The wyvern growled softly in support.
Lyra took a deep breath.
"Alright… let's go not die."
She walked toward the dark door.
It opened slowly with a deep creak.
Cold air rushed out, sending chills down her back.
Lyra stepped inside.
The door closed behind her.
---
The room was pitch black.
"Hello?" Lyra called softly. "Anyone here? If you're a monster, please cough or something."
No answer.
Then a light appeared — a soft blue glow.
Lyra squinted.
"…Is that… me?"
A younger version of Lyra stood in the middle of the room — maybe ten years old — holding a broken wooden sword.
Little Lyra looked sad. Tears on her face.
Lyra froze.
"No… not this memory."
She tried to step back, but the door behind her vanished.
The illusion started playing.
Lyra watched as two adult hunters scolded young Lyra.
"You'll never become a hunter."
"You're too weak."
"Give up already."
Little Lyra clenched the broken sword.
"I'm not weak… I'm not…"
Lyra felt her chest hurt.
She remembered this day.
She had cried alone behind her house afterward.
Then a new shadow appeared behind the child version of her.
A dark monster with long arms and bright eyes.
Lyra's heart dropped.
"Oh no. That's my nightmare monster."
Ever since that day, she had dreamed of that shadow creature chasing her.
The monster reached toward the young Lyra.
Lyra jumped forward.
"NO! LEAVE HER ALONE!"
The system beeped.
[NEW SUB-QUEST: PROTECT YOUR PAST SELF]
Shadow chains shot out from the ground toward young Lyra.
Lyra blocked them with her arm.
Pain shot through her.
"OW! STOP!!"
The nightmare monster roared and ran toward the child.
Lyra screamed:
"WYVERN SHADE!!"
Her wyvern appeared, slamming into the monster.
They crashed into the wall.
Lyra stood in front of her younger self, shaking.
"It's okay… I've got you."
The child Lyra looked up at her future self with wide eyes.
"You… you came back?"
Lyra smiled.
"Of course. I'm you. And I promised we'd get stronger."
The nightmare monster rose again, bigger now.
Lyra wiped her tears.
"Alright. I'm done running from you."
The system beeped.
[NEW ABILITY AVAILABLE: SHADOW COURAGE]
[DO YOU WANT TO USE IT?]
[YES / YES]
Lyra snorted.
"No choice. Figures."
She tapped YES.
Shadow flames burst around her.
Her eyes glowed deep blue.
She stepped forward.
"You made me scared for years," she said. "But not anymore."
The nightmare monster screamed and charged.
Lyra grabbed the dark blade from earlier — Soul Reap formed again in her hand.
She ran.
The monster swung at her.
Lyra ducked, rolled, and leaped — slicing through its head.
The monster exploded into smoke.
Silence.
Then the system beeped again.
[TRIAL COMPLETE]
[NEW SKILL: SHADOW COURAGE (LV. 1)]
[NEW TITLE: THE BRAVE ASCENDANT]
Lyra turned around.
Her younger self was smiling.
"You're strong," the child said. "I knew we could be."
Lyra felt tears in her eyes.
She knelt and hugged her younger self.
"Yeah… we are."
The child faded into blue light.
Lyra stood alone again — but she felt lighter.
Stronger.
Braver.
A door opened ahead.
Lyra wiped her face, sniffed, and said:
"Alright. Bring on the next challenge."
She walked forward.
The door closed behind her.
To be continued…