The medical bay of Obsidian Reach didn't smell like a hospital. It smelled of scorched ozone, chemical preservatives, and the cold, metallic tang of blood. Reed Blackwell sat on a raised platform, his torso bare, while a series of mechanical needles—driven by a humming dark-energy processor—stitched a "Stabilizer Rig" directly into the skin over his spine.
The rig was a series of black, carbon-fiber plates designed to monitor the Void's pulse and, if necessary, flood his nervous system with a paralyzing agent to prevent a total "Deletion Event."
[STABILIZER RIG CONNECTED]
[VOID INTEGRITY: 89%]
[CORRUPTION: 12% - STABLE]
[SYSTEM ADVISORY: TRAINING MODE ENABLED. OUTPUT CAP AT 25%.]
"You're lucky," a voice said.
Reed turned his head to see Nyx standing by the heavy blast doors. She had changed into a fresh Shadow Faction combat suit—a matte-black weave that seemed to absorb the room's dim lighting. Her shoulder was bandaged, but she moved with a stiff, guarded precision. Her eyes were no longer the soft, vulnerable windows he'd seen in the Dead Zone. They were hard, professional, and terrifyingly distant.
"Lucky?" Reed rasped, feeling the cold sting of the needles retracting. "I'm strapped into a chair like a lab rat."
"Most Nulls brought here don't get a rig," Nyx said, stepping closer. "They get a cage. The Leader sees potential in you, Reed. But potential is a dangerous thing in this fortress. It means the Trials will be harder for you than anyone else."
"What are the Trials?"
"Validation," she replied simply. "Commander Kross doesn't believe a scavenger from the Wastes can handle a Primal Core. Today, you prove him wrong, or you become 'Scrap.' There is no middle ground in Obsidian Reach."
The droids finished their work and released the magnetic locks on Reed's arms. He stood, feeling the weight of the rig on his back. It felt like a parasite, a constant reminder that his power was no longer his own—it was being metered and measured by people he didn't trust.
Nyx led him out of the medical bay and down into the Pit—a massive, circular arena carved into the very bottom of the mountain's roots. The floor was covered in a thick layer of conductive sand, and the walls were lined with high-frequency emitters.
Commander Kross stood on a raised observation deck, his mechanical arm hissing as he leaned against the railing. Beside him stood a dozen Shadow-Recruits, their arms crossed, watching Reed with cold, predatory eyes.
"Asset Blackwell," Kross's voice echoed through the Pit. "The Void Blade you manifested in the wastes was a fluke of survival. Here, we test discipline. A weapon that only strikes when it's afraid is a weapon that breaks. We are going to see how much pressure your 'Void' can take before it collapses."
Kross signaled to a technician. "Phase One: The Pressure Cooker. Begin."
Suddenly, the air in the Pit turned heavy. The emitters on the walls began to glow with a sickly, pale blue light—Aether-Radiance. It was the exact opposite of Reed's energy. The light didn't burn; it felt like a mountain of lead was being dropped onto his shoulders.
[WARNING: EXTERNAL AETHER PRESSURE DETECTED]
[VOID CORE IS REACTING DEFENSIVELY...]
"Don't fight it with your muscles, Reed!" Nyx shouted from the sidelines. She was holding a tablet, her fingers hovering over the controls for his rig. "If you try to lift it, you'll snap your spine. You have to 'subtract' the weight. Erase the pressure before it touches you!"
Reed fell to one knee, the conductive sand beneath him sparking. He felt the "Ancient Evil" in his mind begin to stir, sensing the external threat. Let me crush them, the voice hissed. Give me the reins, and I will turn this mountain into a crater.
"No," Reed groaned, his knuckles turning white as he slammed his fist into the sand.
He closed his eyes and looked inward. He saw the whirlpool of his Core, but instead of letting it spin outward like a storm, he tried to pull the Aether-Radiance into the center. He didn't want to destroy the emitters; he wanted to make the pressure disappear.
The air around him began to shimmer. A thin, violet-black aura erupted from the Stabilizer Rig, forming a sphere exactly two inches from his skin. As the heavy blue light touched the sphere, it vanished. The pressure on Reed's chest lifted instantly.
[SUBTRACTION SUCCESSFUL]
[SKILL EVOLUTION: VOID SHIELD (PROVISIONAL)]
"He's stabilizing," a technician muttered, looking at the data.
"Increase the output," Kross ordered, his eyes narrowing. "Phase Two: The Mirror."
The emitters changed frequency. The heavy weight vanished, replaced by something far worse. From the shadows of the Pit, three holographic constructs began to form. They weren't monsters; they were perfect copies of Reed himself.
"The Void reflects the user's fears," Nyx whispered, her hand trembling as she watched the monitors. The orders on her screen were clear: Push the asset to the brink of a Corruption Spike. Do not intervene.
The three shadow-Reeds moved in unison. They didn't have blades; they had voices.
"You're nothing but a Zero," the first shadow hissed, its voice a perfect mimicry of the bullies from the Institute.
"You're a monster in a boy's skin," the second shadow said, sounding like the High Inquisitor.
"And she's going to betray you," the third shadow whispered, pointing at Nyx. "She's the one who's going to pull the trigger when the Leader gets bored of you."
Reed backed away, his breath coming in short, panicked bursts. "Shut up! You're just light and smoke!"
The shadows lunged. They didn't hit with physical force; they hit with mental agony. Every time a shadow touched him, Reed felt a surge of his own worst memories—the hunger of the Wastes, the cold of the Black Cell, the look of terror on the faces of the students in the Arena.
[CORRUPTION RISING: 15%... 18%... 21%...]
[SYSTEM WARNING: EMOTIONAL SYNC AT CRITICAL LEVELS]
"Fight back, Reed!" Nyx yelled. She looked at Kross, pleading. "Commander, his corruption levels are spiking! If we don't cut the simulation, he'll lose the vessel!"
"He stays in," Kross said, his mechanical arm grinding. "The Leader wants to see the monster. Show it to me, Blackwell!"
Reed was on the ground, the shadows clawing at his chest, trying to reach the Core. The "Ancient Evil" was laughing now, a booming, triumphant sound that drowned out everything else. See? Even your 'friends' want to see you break. Let me out. Let me erase this room and everyone in it.
Reed looked up at Nyx. He saw her face—not the mask of the soldier, but the girl who had shared her bread with him in the dark. He saw the way her hand was hovering over the "Emergency Cutoff" button, even though he knew Kross would kill her for touching it.
"I... am not... a monster!" Reed screamed.
He didn't manifest the blade. Instead, he reached out and grabbed the nearest shadow-copy by the throat. He didn't use the Void to destroy it; he used it to absorb it. He pulled the holographic energy directly into his rig, converting the light-data into raw Void Essence.
The Pit erupted in a blinding flash of violet light. When the smoke cleared, the shadows were gone. Reed stood in the center of the arena, his eyes glowing with a calm, terrifyingly dark fire. He looked up at Kross, and for the first time, the Commander flinched.
[TRIAL COMPLETE: VALIDATION ACHIEVED]
[NEW TRAIT UNLOCKED: VOID SOVEREIGNTY (LEVEL 1)]
[CORRUPTION STABILIZED: 14%]
"Trial ended," Kross said, his voice slightly lower than before. "Get him to the barracks. And Nyx? Report to the Leader. He'll want to hear how his 'God' handled his own reflection."
Nyx didn't answer. She rushed down into the Pit, reaching Reed just as his legs gave out. She caught him, her arms wrapping around him to keep him from hitting the sand.
"You're okay," she whispered into his ear. "You're okay, Reed."
Reed looked at her, his vision clearing. "They told me you'd betray me," he croaked.
Nyx's heart skipped a beat. She thought of the orders sitting on her terminal—the commands to monitor his every weakness, to prepare him for a sacrifice he didn't understand. She looked at the boy who had just survived hell, and for a split second, she wanted to tell him everything.
"They're just shadows, Reed," she lied, her voice breaking. "They don't know anything."
She pulled him up, leading him toward the barracks. But as they walked, Reed didn't see the look of pure, cold guilt on her face. He didn't see the way she looked at the cameras lining the walls, knowing that the Leader was watching every move they made.
The Trials were over, but the real nightmare was just beginning. The Shadow Faction had their weapon. Now, they were going to see how much blood it could spill.