Another Trial
Deep within another Trial Land...
A group of slaves walked silently through a narrow underground tunnel.
The air was hot.
Heavy.
Filled with the smell of sweat, dust, and metal.
Pickaxes struck the walls repeatedly.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
Every strike echoed throughout the enormous cave.
Among the slaves was a young man named Mason.
His clothes were torn.
His hands were covered in wounds.
An iron collar surrounded his neck.
A thick chain extended from it and connected him to the slaves walking around him.
Nobody could escape.
Nobody could run too far.
If one person tried...
Everyone would feel it.
Mason slowly raised his pickaxe.
Then struck the wall again.
CLANG!
A small piece of golden ore fell from the stone.
One of the guards immediately noticed.
"Gold."
The man's eyes brightened.
"Keep digging."
Mason silently picked up the ore.
Then continued mining.
His expression remained calm.
But inside...
His mind was constantly working.
Another day.
Another mine.
Another chain.
He had been trapped inside this Trial for far too long.
And the worst part?
He had entered without the System.
At first, Mason had believed that was simply an inconvenience.
Now...
He understood how terrifying it truly was.
If his System had been connected to him...
He would have had countless ways to improve his situation.
Fragments.
Data.
Abilities.
Information.
Rewards.
Possibilities.
Instead...
Everything had been stripped away.
Even his powers had been sealed.
The moment he entered the Trial, he had felt it.
Something had disconnected him from the System.
His abilities became silent.
His connection vanished.
His strength was suppressed.
And then...
He was sold.
Like property.
Like an object.
Like something without a future.
According to the information Mason had gathered over the months...
His own parents had sold him.
They had come from the Sun God Nation.
The nation was also known by another name.
The Flame Nation.
The Fire Nation.
A powerful civilization ruled by the influence of Flame God.
Mason still didn't understand why his parents had done it.
Perhaps money.
Perhaps fear.
Perhaps something else.
He didn't know.
And after everything that had happened...
He no longer cared.
He only wanted freedom.
Mason looked toward the iron collar around his neck.
The metal was engraved with countless runes.
A thin chain extended from it toward the slave ahead.
Another chain connected him to the slave behind.
One chain.
Then another.
Then another.
The entire group was connected.
If one person ran...
The others would be dragged down.
If one person resisted...
Everyone suffered.
The system of control was almost perfect.
Almost.
Mason lowered his pickaxe.
His eyes narrowed.
There has to be a weakness.
There was always a weakness.
He just hadn't found it yet.
During his time as a slave, Mason had heard countless rumors.
Most were useless.
Some were lies.
But one rumor had continued appearing.
A temple.
Hidden deep within the territory of the Fire Nation.
A temple built in a secluded region of darkness.
The strange part was its location.
Why would the Flame God build a temple in darkness?
Why there?
Why after the death of Night God?
According to the old stories...
The temple had been built after Night God's demise.
Some claimed Flame God had built it as a monument.
Others believed it was an insult.
A deliberate mockery of the fallen Night God.
But there were other stories too.
Stories that said the temple was neither holy nor evil.
It was simply...
A place of peace.
And trouble.
A place where people could discover extraordinary opportunities.
Or lose everything.
Mason had heard that reaching the temple required crossing a region filled with terrifying corruption.
Anyone who entered risked losing their sanity.
Their body.
Their soul.
Perhaps even their life.
Yet Mason couldn't stop thinking about it.
Because one ancient rumor claimed something else.
The temple was connected to the Trial.
Maybe...
It was the reason he had been brought here.
Maybe the Trial wasn't really about mining gold.
Maybe the slaves...
The collars...
The Fire Nation...
The darkness...
Everything was connected.
Mason stared at the golden ore in his hand.
His fingers tightened.
If I can reach that temple...
Maybe I'll find a way out.
But how?
His powers were sealed.
His System was disconnected.
He was surrounded by guards.
And he was chained to dozens of other slaves.
Mason sighed.
"Not yet."
He whispered the words so quietly nobody heard.
"I'll find a way."
He looked toward the darkness ahead.
"My fate has to change eventually."
Far away from Mason's Trial...
Another story was unfolding.
Aviana lay motionless.
Her body was surrounded by faint golden light.
Her breathing was extremely slow.
The System was reforming her.
Layer after layer of energy moved through her body.
Her bones.
Her muscles.
Her blood.
Her Soul Sea.
Everything was being rebuilt.
The process was slow.
Painful.
And completely beyond her control.
For now...
She could do nothing except endure.
---
Jade's Hunt
Jade had already left the mysterious citadel.
The abandoned structure had given him several answers.
But it had also created more questions.
The ancient inscription.
The strange skeleton.
The forgotten history.
None of it had left his mind.
Yet Jade had another priority.
Shadow Fragments.
His goal was simple.
Reach the maximum.
Then create something new.
A new shadow.
A new existence.
A new companion.
So Jade hunted.
And hunted.
And hunted.
The Spiritual Realm became a battlefield wherever he went.
Shadow creatures attacked.
Jade killed them.
Another group appeared.
He killed them too.
Sometimes he used his crimson greatsword.
Sometimes his Obsidian Vine Shadow.
Sometimes Blood Control.
Sometimes his Beast God instincts were enough to reveal the enemy's weakness before the creature even understood it had been discovered.
But the most important part...
Jade absorbed the fragments immediately.
He couldn't afford to let his essence reserves drain too quickly.
Every battle consumed energy.
Every technique demanded more.
So whenever a shadow creature died...
The corresponding fragment entered his body.
His essence recovered.
Then he continued.
Days passed.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Jade had lost count of how many creatures he had killed.
Hundreds?
Thousands?
At some point...
He stopped counting.
He simply hunted.
His body became covered in blood.
His black hair became messy.
His clothes were torn.
Yet his eyes remained focused.
He was waiting for one thing.
A notification.
The notification that would change his shadow forever.
---
Five Days Later
Jade stood alone in a forest.
The ground around him was covered with the corpses of shadow creatures.
Some were enormous.
Others were barely larger than ordinary animals.
All of them had fallen beneath his blade.
Jade slowly exhaled.
His crimson greatsword rested against his shoulder.
Blood dripped from the tip.
He closed his eyes.
Then—
A familiar voice echoed inside his mind.
Soft.
Beautiful.
Almost sweet.
"Shadow Fragments: 1,000 / 1,000."
Jade's eyes immediately opened.
For a moment...
He simply stared into the distance.
Then a smile appeared.
"Finally."
Five days.
Five days of endless hunting.
Five days of killing.
Five days of absorbing fragments.
And finally...
He had reached the limit.
His Shadow Fragments were complete.
The System remained silent for several seconds.
Then another message appeared.
"Shadow Fragment requirement fulfilled."
"Available options detected."
Two possibilities appeared before him.
Transform existing Echo: Bloody Shadow.
Create new Shadow.
Jade stared at the choices.
His existing Echoes were powerful.
Ant Demon.
Titan Beast.
The first option would strengthen what he already possessed.
It would transform an existing Echo into something new.
Something potentially far stronger.
Jade considered it.
For several seconds...
He remained silent.
Then he shook his head.
"No."
He had enough existing power.
What he needed...
Was something new.
Something unpredictable.
Something that could grow alongside him.
Jade selected the second option.
Create New Shadow.
The System responded immediately.
"Selection confirmed."
Jade's expression changed.
"Wait..."
Something was happening.
His Soul Core suddenly trembled.
Not slightly.
Violently.
BOOM!
A deep pressure erupted from within his body.
Jade grabbed his chest.
"What..."
His Soul Core felt as though it had suddenly become deeper.
Not larger.
Deeper.
As though an enormous empty space had opened beneath its surface.
Jade's knees weakened.
He staggered backward.
Then—
Black aura erupted from his body.
It poured from his chest.
His shoulders.
His arms.
His back.
His legs.
Everywhere.
Darkness wrapped around him like smoke.
Jade's eyes widened.
"This..."
The black aura became denser.
Thicker.
Heavier.
It twisted around his body before sinking back into his Soul Core.
Then the pain began.
A terrifying pain.
Jade's entire body stiffened.
"AAARRRGHH!"
His scream echoed across the forest.
Birds exploded from the trees.
Nearby creatures fled instinctively.
Jade crashed onto one knee.
His hands slammed against the ground.
His fingers dug into the soil.
Sweat rolled down his face.
His breathing became ragged.
The pain was unbearable.
No.
That word wasn't enough.
Unbearable didn't even begin to describe it.
It felt as though something was being carved out of his Soul Core.
Something was being born inside him.
Something that had never existed before.
Jade clenched his teeth.
His muscles trembled.
His vision blurred.
Black veins briefly appeared beneath his skin.
Then vanished.
His Soul Core pulsed again.
BOOM!
Another wave of pain exploded through him.
Jade nearly collapsed completely.
"What..."
"...are you..."
His voice was barely audible.
The darkness continued pouring from his body.
It gathered before him.
At first...
There was only smoke.
Then a shape.
A tiny silhouette.
Jade stared through his tears.
The silhouette moved.
It twisted.
Changed.
Compressed.
Something was taking form.
A creature.
A shadow.
A new existence.
The killing intent inside Jade suddenly became overwhelming.
His instincts sharpened.
His blood ran cold.
For one brief moment...
Jade felt like a predator standing at the top of the food chain.
Then—
The System spoke.
"New Shadow formed successfully."
Jade froze.
The black aura stopped.
The pain slowly faded.
His breathing remained heavy.
His body trembled.
But the process was complete.
A small black figure stood before him.
It didn't speak.
It didn't attack.
It simply stared at Jade.
The System continued.
"Would you like to create another Shadow?"
Jade slowly raised his head.
His body still shook from the aftermath.
Then another notification appeared.
"Shadow Fragment requirement: 2,000."
Jade stared at the number.
His exhausted expression slowly became one of disbelief.
"...Two thousand?"
He looked at the tiny new shadow.
Then back at the System.
Then back at the shadow.
A tired laugh escaped him.
"So the price doubled."
The little shadow tilted its head.
As if it were equally confused.
Jade slowly smiled.
"Looks like..."
"...we have a lot more hunting to do."
And somewhere deep inside his Soul Sea...
A new shadow opened its eyes.
For the first time...
The darkness had gained another inhabitant.