The Land of Eternity was silent, the air heavy with the stillness of time. Ash stood alone in the middle of the vast, empty expanse, the dust from the last trial still swirling around him. He had just completed another of the mysterious trials, his body sore from the relentless challenges. The white surroundings of the realm remained unchanged, stretching endlessly, an eternal blank canvas before him.
Ash wiped the sweat from his brow, his muscles aching, but not from weakness. Every ounce of his being felt alive, as if his very cells were awakening to a higher purpose. His body was transforming with each trial. He could feel the circuitous paths of strength weaving through his flesh, his bones hardening, and his muscles tightening with each pill he consumed as a reward. His skin seemed to gleam with an ethereal glow, as if he were sculpting himself into something far beyond a mortal body.
The trial he had just completed was a grueling test of endurance—soul-wrenching and bone-crushing, forcing him to push his physical limits in ways he had never imagined.
As the wind picked up around him, the ground beneath him rumbled slightly. He could sense the next trial was already approaching. The Land of Eternity never let him rest for long, and Ash was beginning to realize that the real challenge wasn't just the trials—it was the journey itself. Each trial was pushing him to evolve, to evolve beyond what he thought was possible.
Without warning, a deep voice echoed across the vast expanse, its resonance vibrating through Ash's core.
{Trial Eleven: The Path of the Abyss.}
The words seemed to sink into the air itself, swirling around Ash as if they were etched in the wind. The realm began to shift, the white landscape slowly dissolving into something far darker and more ominous. The air grew cold, and the very fabric of the world around him seemed to stretch and twist. A dark void opened before him, revealing an endless chasm that seemed to lead down into infinity.
Ash stared into the abyss, the darkness threatening to swallow him whole. The voice boomed again, this time far more commanding.
{To pass this trial, you must descend into the Abyss and retrieve what is lost. Only the brave dare face what awaits below. Those who falter... are consumed.}
Without hesitation, Ash stepped forward. His heart pounded in his chest, but it wasn't fear that gripped him—it was something else. Excitement. The anticipation of what was to come. He had faced countless challenges, but this one felt different. This trial was more than a test of his strength; it was a test of his resolve.
He took a deep breath, steadying his nerves, and leapt into the Abyss.
As he fell into the void, the air became thick with a palpable pressure, the darkness pressing in on him from all sides. He felt as if he were falling through a never-ending tunnel, each second stretching into eternity. The sensation of weightlessness surrounded him, making it hard to gauge where he was or how far he had fallen.
Then, suddenly, his feet hit solid ground with a thud.
He found himself in a vast cavern—the walls were lined with what appeared to be ancient runes, their glow faint but still alive. The air here was heavy with the scent of age, as if this place had been abandoned by time itself. Ahead of him lay a dark, swirling vortex, a swirling mass of shadows and memories.
Ash's instincts flared. This wasn't just a test of physical endurance anymore—this was something far more dangerous.
He stepped forward, eyes narrowed and walked cautiously toward the vortex. The air around him seemed to hum with a strange energy. The moment his foot touched the ground, the vortex pulsed, and he felt something stir within it. It was calling to him.
Ash tightened his grip on the sword at his side. He wasn't about to let whatever lay ahead break him.
Then he stepped into the vortex.
---
The world around him shifted again, the ground beneath him now shifting to molten stone. He stood in a vast arena surrounded by towering figures, ghosts of the past staring down at him. Their faces were blurred, obscured by shadows, but the presence of power radiated from them. Ash felt as though he were facing down the weight of the entire universe.
A figure appeared before him, its form bathed in an eerie glow. It was a being not entirely human, but not quite alien either—a shadowy reflection of Ash himself.
"So, you've come," the figure said, its voice a low, echoing rumble. "But what is it that you seek?"
Ash narrowed his eyes. He never truly thought about what exactly he sought to accomplish in this life of his. He could hardly even remember most things from his past life on Earth, and since he came into the world he had everything he wanted when he was on Earth.
He closed his eyes for a moment and questioned himself.
'What I seek, huh?'
"Freedom. Power..... Everything. Yes, what I seek is everything." Ash said as his eyes opened. "I don't care about what others want, but whatever I want is what I will have. If I wanted to take claim to this entire galaxy then I will do it. So what I seek is whatever I seek."
His words were a bit cryptic and confusing but his shadow self understood well.
"Very well, if that's what you seek then you must achieve it." After the shadow figure spoke those words he disappeared and melded into Ash's very body.
It all happened so fast that Ash couldn't even dodge. Once they merged Ash fell unconscious and the realm changed back to its original state.
Ash found himself in a weird place. It looked as if he was standing in the cosmos around he could even see galaxies and swirling nebula.
"W-what the hell..." He muttered as he looked around. Off in the distance he spotted a huge egg that seemed to hold all the colors of existence.
He couldn't move, but only watch. In front off the egg sat a beautiful woman with long pink hair that seemed to fall deep into the void of the cosmos.
Then the scene changed. It showed a man whose face was blurry but had long ash grey hair surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of beauties.
Scenes kept showing in random moments, some showed destruction, creation, torture and much more. Then after what felt to be an eternity they all stopped and Ash's eyes fluttered open.
{Trial Eleven Complete - You recovered what's lost....}
"The hell was all that shit?" He spoke out loud. He began to think all of it was just a dream or something but those felt all to real. Even the connection and people whose faces were covered they all felt real.
"Are those memories or some shit?" He was at a total loss right now and without Riya being available he could only wait.
And The realm wouldn't wait for him.
{Trial Twelve: The Path of Awakening.}
The next trial awaited. Ash stood at the edge of the abyss, his determination unwavering. This was just the beginning. Whatever the answers were, he would find them.