It had been approximately 5 days since President Anthony's speech and he was in the hall again— giving another.
"This is going to be the second time I'm addressing you all and I'll be real quick with it.
Firstly, I'm here to bid you farewell to your journey. I believe everyone of you has a silver of chance at survival. Always remember, survival is the key.
Secondly, this trial wouldn't be limited to just students from this academy. Several other Dormant Humans would be entering the Nirad Realm alongside you all. While I'd love to advise you to work together with them for a higher chance at survival, I believe you all wouldn't be so naive to think the same.
Among these humans would be several heirs of occultic groups. Blindly trusting them would only lead to your demise."
As he spoke, a heavy silence enveloped the students— their expressions turning grim.
"Expect cruelty— from Nirad Creatures and Humans alike."
With that final sentence, he walked off the stage— totally unaffected by the depressive atmosphere.
Soon thereafter, the first years were directed to another hall underground which was filled with high tech equipments and over a hundred sleeping pods. Each specifically designed to accommodate a student.
"Hop in after you're sure of your preparations." A staff said solemnly to them before turning away and leaving.
Some immediately jumped into the sleeping pods as it closed on them with a soft hiss— beeping regularly to indicate the students' vital signals.
Kaiser looked at the pods silently, a feeling of melancholy entering his heart
Looking at the acquaintances he had made; Hazel, Kiera, Kuramoto, Isabella and a few others from different classes, he nodded slightly at them then entered his own pod.
....
[Welcome (Human Kaiser) to your Awakening Trial]
[Survive]
As Kaiser came to his senses, the first sensation he felt was shallow water under his feet since everything else was filled with darkness.
No matter how hard he used his [Keen Insight] he couldn't see anything.
'True Darkness? I need to find a source of light.'
He tore a piece of his cloth and tried igniting them with damp stones.
After a few tries, he was successfully able to burn the piece of clothing which lighted the room for half a minute.
It was enough.
With his memorizing abilities and super eyesight, he was able to make a map of where he was. It seemed like he was underground and in a pipe-like cave with sturdy walls.
'Then let's find a way out.'
Closing his eyes, he created the mental map and moved according to what he had seen. After minutes of walking in the darkness, his body suddenly jerked sideways as he felt wind blow past him— signalling at an attack.
'The hell? This is really the worst place to start a fight. The true darkness is blinding me. Without my eyes I can only wait for the attacks to get near me before I can feel it. Annoying.'
He quickly analyzed as he dodged another projectile by a hair's breath.
Suddenly, he felt a presence lunge at him but he was too slow to react. A serpentine creature coiled around his body— forcing him to stumble and fall to the ground.
'Got you!'
With a vicious expression he couldn't see, he bit into the flesh of the creature with chilling devotion while his hands shot up to slash at the beast's head— his daggers appearing in his hands mid-motion.
Slash!
In one clean cut, he severed the head of the serpent as its black? blood flowed down on him and from his mouth.
[You have slain a Gremlin Beast, Darkness Serpent]
[Your art grows stronger]
Immediately, he felt something trickle into his soul— nourishing his essence and washing away his fatigue ever so slightly.
'This must be a den for these nasty creatures. Having a whole lot of them on my tail would be annoying.'
He thought as he slashed at the head of the serpent, harvesting its Essence Core. The small finger-like crystal seemed to be able to emit its own light despite the True Darkness trying to encroach it.
'I guess its a nice source of lighting.'
Musing to himself, he continued walking down the narrow passage with the light of the Beast Crystal guiding his path.
After a few hours of walking and constantly killing Darkness Serpents, he stumbled upon a room which seemed to be in a different reality than the cave.
Perhaps it was the change in source element.
Immediately he stepped foot into the room, the darkness blinding him was forced to recede while he was welcomed by light and shadows; his source element.
'Truly satisfying.'
He looked around and realized that the chamber didn't have any other doors except for the one he had entered through. The source of illumination in the room was a small but carved opening in the roof of the chamber.
With that little bit of light, he was able to see how disgusting he looked. Black blood drenched him and coupled with the apathetic look on his face and his bottomless black eyes, he looked nothing less than a demon emerging from darkness— literarily.
After a bit of inspection, he realized that the shadows in the room was very ancient and deep. Despite feeling an affinity towards them, it felt like they were different from the normal shadows he knew.
At the center of the room was a small spire the height of a kitchen table that looked dark and ominous.
At its top, a ball of shadows was squirming uncomfortably— probably uncomfortable by being under the direct radius of the beam of light.
'A sealing technique?'
Although he had never encountered it before, he had heard of insanely powerful people being able to seal an element through the use of another element.
'However...'
For this particular shadow to be sealed by both light and darkness, wasn't that a bit too overboard?
Curious but cautious, he slowly approached the spire. His curiosity only got deeper when he realized that his own shadow was being pushed back by the light— causing a slow but painful sensation in his soul.
'Must have been painful. Staying under the light for so long...'
Finally, he reached the spire despite the pain ripping through his soul like raging flames.
Reaching out his fingers, he grazed the surface of the ball, feeling a sense of familiarity at the sensation. Ignoring the sharp pain coursing through his soul, he clutched the ball of shadows and attempted to pull it off the alter.
Immediately, he felt the attack on his soul amplify by a hundredfold— causing him to stagger and bleed from his seven orifices.
'Curses!'
Cursing inwardly, he marvelled at the craziness of the person who had placed such a backlash on whoever tried to free the shadow.
However, he was just the worst match for such a backlash.
His soul was one of the most unique souls in the universe— thanks to his immortality. It could withstand attacks that would have finished off an Ascended Human infinitely since it would only continue to grow stronger through the attacks.
'Although annoying, it is a means to temper my soul and get this piece of shadow. Two birds with one stone.'
Adding more strength to his grip, he tugged on the shadow more violenty; feeling like he was forcefully ripping out someone's heart— something he was accustomed to.
His muscles tensed slightly as he applied more strength, determined to remove the shadow from its seals.
After what felt like an eternity, with him forgetting his goal and only feeling the raging flames trying to burn his soul, he was finally able to pull off the shadow from the spire— falling to the ground with ragged breaths.
'Now...'
Struggling to open his eyes, he saw the shadow change its shape and slip under his clothes— merging with his own Mark of Shadows.
Immediately his eyes snapped wide open as he felt all the shadows in the room turning into essence and rushing into his soul. The process was especially agonizing, as he rolled over the ground and clawed at himself. It was the worst pain he had ever felt.
Soon the pain receded and he saw the Mothercore's message flash before his eyes.
[You have consumed an Ethereal Shadow]
[You...]
Then he lost consciousness.