The moment the massive door of Kabir's fortress sealed behind Aryan, the outside world ceased to exist.
It wasn't just silence—it was an absolute absence.
Aryan felt it instantly. The walls around him, Kabir's cutting-edge machinery, even the faint hum of electricity in the air—everything slipped away from the edges of his senses in a heartbeat. It wasn't that those things had vanished; it felt as though the System had peeled away a fundamental layer of reality itself.
Time slowed down. A heavy, aggressive pressure settled behind Aryan's eyes. It was the sensation of an ancient, vast power leaning in close, counting his very breaths.
No holographic screen flickered to life. No artificial voice echoed.
The message resonated directly within his consciousness—heavy, absolute, and merciless.
[Death Trial Active]
[Condition: Survival]
[Failure: Termination]
Aryan let out a long, cold exhale. "Minimalist," he muttered. "The System isn't fond of words."
The Void within him stirred. It reacted the way a sharp, ancient blade does when drawn halfway from its sheath. Ready. Alert. Restrained.
A Disturbed Kabir
Kabir took a step forward, then abruptly stopped. His HUD (Head-Up Display) flickered violently before his eyes.
"This isn't your system, Aryan," Kabir said cautiously, his voice grave. "Whatever just activated—it has completely locked me out. My sensors see you, but they can't register your 'presence'."
Aryan gave a slow, slight nod. "This is intentional, Kabir. This is between me and the System."
Kabir clenched his fists. "I'm trying to track you, but it's like you're here and not here at the same time."
Suddenly, the space around them began to shift conceptually. The fortress walls didn't disappear, but they lost their meaning. Distance began to fold. Depth collapsed. Aryan felt gravity hesitate.
Then, the world reset.
The Dimension of Null
Aryan now stood alone.
The fortress was gone. Kabir's presence had vanished. He stood on a black ground that reflected nothing—no light, no shadow. Above him stretched a sky devoid of stars, clouds, or color.
It wasn't darkness. It was Nothingness.
At the corner of his consciousness, a violet countdown began to burn faintly:
[21:47:12]
"So, it begins," Aryan said quietly.
The Void responded—not with a surge of power, but with a terrifying focus.
Suddenly, the ground rippled like a massive beast taking a breath. On the horizon, shapes began to emerge—structures that defied the laws of mathematics. Shadows took form just long enough to be identified as enemies.
Then, one figure stepped forward.
It was almost human. Almost. Its body was made of overlapping fragments of shadow, moving out of sync with one another. Where a face should have been, there was only a flat, blank indentation.
A voice was imposed into his mind:
"TRIAL SUBJECT CONFIRMED."
Aryan didn't move. He didn't reach for Vedna. He didn't fully release the Void. He simply adjusted his stance and found his center.
"Send them," he said calmly.
More shapes began to fall from the colorless sky. They weren't being spawned; they were being selected. A very faint smile touched Aryan's lips—tired, but fearless.
The First Clash: Shadow Assault
The first shadow lunged with the speed of wind. Instead of hands, it had long, jagged blades that thrust directly at Aryan's heart.
Aryan didn't use Void Step. He saved his energy. He simply shifted an inch to the side. The blade grazed his chest, passing harmlessly. In that same heartbeat, Aryan slammed his elbow into the shadow's 'face'.
A normal strike would have done nothing. But Aryan's elbow was coated in a thin, concentrated layer of Void energy. The shadow's head shattered like glass.
But it didn't stop there. Three more shadows lunged from behind.
Aryan dropped to the ground, performing a sweeping spin. The Void energy trailing from his legs disrupted the shadows' stability. He sprang up, striking their 'cores' one by one.
The pain in his ribs persisted. The exhaustion from the auction followed him like a ghost.
[Void Energy: 15%]
His breathing grew heavy. These shadows weren't dying; they were merely scattering and attempting to reform.
Kabir's Struggle (The Outer World)
Inside the fortress, Kabir was typing furiously, his fingers flying across the holographic keyboard.
"Damn it!" he cursed.
On the 3D map before him, Aryan's signal was flickering like a dying pulse.
"He's here, but his Mana Signature is showing as zero," Kabir noted, staring at the data on his HUD. "The System is either trying to erase him or it has taken him to a place where physical laws don't apply."
He accessed his guild's confidential database. "My father used to say that Death Trials are like the System's 'anti-virus'. They are designed to delete anomalies."
Kabir pressed a button. "If I can't give him energy from the outside, the least I can do is destabilize that 'space'."
Aryan's Ordeal: Psychological Pressure
In the dimension of Null, the battle was growing grimmer. The shadows now numbered in the dozens.
Aryan's body felt like lead. Sweat stung his eyes. Suddenly, the color of the sky changed. It shifted from violet to a deep, bruising red.
A voice echoed, sounding exactly like Aryan's own.
"Why are you fighting, Aryan? You are exhausted. This power is not for you. You are just an empty vessel for the Void to consume."
Aryan's eyes began to dim. He heard his mother's voice. He remembered the days he went to bed hungry. He remembered the insults, being called 'F-Rank trash'.
His balance wavered. A shadow's blade tore through his thigh.
[Warning: Physical stability compromised]
Aryan fell to his knees. The shadows began to swarm him, pulling him down into that black ground.
"No..." he whispered.
His fist clenched against the ground. "I am not trash."
He opened his eyes. His pupils were now entirely violet.
"I am the Void that consumes everything."
Detonation
Aryan released Void Pressure without restraint.
A terrifying, silent explosion occurred. The shadows surrounding him turned into vapor instantly. Cracks appeared in the black ground. The sky trembled.
The countdown suddenly accelerated and then stabilized.
[20:12:05]
Aryan stood up, breathing heavily. Violet smoke drifted from his hands. He was exhausted, nearly broken, but his eyes were clearer than ever.
He looked up, where an invisible entity was watching him.
"Is that all?" he asked coldly.
Suddenly, the ground of Null began to tear open, and something emerged that was far more massive and terrifying than the previous shadows. A true Boss.
Aryan sent a mental signal to his inventory. The seal on Vedna quivered.
"Not yet," he said to himself. "I have to cross my limits without the weapon first."