The Awakening Of The Shadows
Chapter 59: First Test

Chapter 59: First Test

Lian felt as if his mind was shattering into a thousand pieces.

The pain of each death was still engraved in his soul. Every cut, every stab, every crushing blow he suffered in the void still resonated within him like distorted echoes of endless torture.

He didn’t know how much time had passed. Days? Weeks? Months?

All he knew was that he had died more times than he could count.

And yet, he was still there.

Kael watched Lian, his eyes analyzing his state with an almost indifferent gaze.

"You endured more than I expected," he said, crossing his arms.

Lian could barely stand. His legs trembled, his arms felt like lead. But he refused to fall.

"This..." Lian panted, his breathing heavy. "... still isn’t enough."

Kael smirked slightly.

"Good answer."

He snapped his fingers.

The room around them began to change.

The ground fractured into floating pieces, forming irregular platforms suspended in the dark void. Some were too far to be reached with a simple jump, others were close but fragile, as if they would shatter at the slightest touch.

Above, spheres of dark energy hovered in the air, pulsing with a sinister glow, launching random discharges through the space.

At the center of it all, a stone pillar rose high, and at its peak, a small silver sphere swayed gently.

"Your training begins now," Kael said.

Lian slowly lifted his head.

"What’s the goal?"

Kael pointed at the pillar in the center of the arena.

"Get that."

Lian analyzed the field in front of him.

"What’s the catch?"

Kael chuckled.

"If you fall, we go back to the part where you die."

Lian’s heart pounded.

He took a deep breath, forcing his body to obey him as he took his first step forward.

The platform beneath him instantly vanished.

He fell.

And woke up in the same place.

Kael watched him with an amused smile.

"First attempt. Complete failure."

Lian gritted his teeth and tried again.

This time, he jumped to the nearest platform. His feet landed on the unstable stone, but before he could react, black spikes erupted from the ground and impaled him.

Pain.

Death.

He returned.

"Second attempt. Complete failure."

Lian gasped, his body trembling. But he pushed forward again.

This time, he observed the platforms more carefully. Some looked solid, others vibrated slightly as if they were illusions.

He chose one that seemed safe.

The ground didn’t collapse.

He smiled a little.

But then, one of the energy spheres above fired a bolt at him.

His body was burned to ashes.

"Third attempt. Almost."

Lian panted.

"If you really want to help, maybe you could give me a hint," he said, his voice hoarse.

Kael raised an eyebrow.

"I’ve already given you all the hints you need. You’re just paying attention to the wrong ones."

Lian growled, frustration rising.

But he forced himself to stay calm.

Think.

There was something he wasn’t considering.

He closed his eyes.

The platforms disappeared at the slightest mistake.

The spikes emerged in unexpected places.

The bolts attacked without pattern.

But...

There was a rhythm to it.

Lian opened his eyes, his gaze sharper.

This time, he jumped onto a safe platform and waited.

A sphere glowed above him.

But he had already moved before the bolt was fired.

Kael watched, satisfied.

"Now you’re getting it."

Lian advanced with more precision, using his speed and reflexes to dodge the attacks and move between the platforms without triggering traps.

However, as he neared the central pillar, the shadows around him began to stir.

Something emerged from the ground.

Humanoid creatures made of pure darkness rose before him. Their eyes glowed with a sinister violet hue, and their distorted bodies seemed unstable, as if they were constantly reshaping.

Lian stopped.

"Great..." he muttered.

The beings didn’t hesitate. They rushed at him with absurd speed.

Lian tried to summon Oblivion.

Nothing happened.

He clenched his teeth.

He had forgotten that he no longer possessed Oblivion, he needed to learn to fight on his own for now.

He could only rely on himself.

He dodged the first strike, spinning his body and using his momentum to kick one of the creatures, but it was like hitting a sticky liquid. His leg sank for an instant before the creature exploded into shadowy tentacles, trying to ensnare him.

He threw himself backward, escaping at the last second.

The second creature attacked with a diagonal slash.

Lian ducked and used his shadows to create an improvised shield. The impact made his arm ache, but at least he wasn’t cut.

He needed a strategy.

Quickly, he looked around.

The pillar was close.

If he could get past the monsters, he could reach his goal.

He took a deep breath.

And ran.

The creatures came after him, but Lian used the arena itself against them. He leaped between unstable platforms, forcing his enemies to follow him.

When one of them stepped on a fake block, it fell into the void.

The second tried to attack, but Lian tricked it by moving at the last moment, causing the monster to be struck by one of the dark bolts.

One remained.

Lian jumped to the final platform, where the pillar stood.

The last monster appeared behind him.

Before it could strike, Lian grabbed the silver sphere from the pillar.

The world froze.

The shadows dissolved.

The environment around him disappeared.

Lian opened his eyes and found himself back in the dark chamber, the glowing object in his hand.

He collapsed to his knees, exhausted.

Kael smiled.

"Congratulations, Lian. You’ve passed the first test."

Lian breathed heavily, his body drenched in cold sweat.

"You... almost killed me a hundred times."

Kael laughed.

"And it’ll happen again. That was just the beginning. In this place, it’ll be common, so get used to it."

Lian closed his eyes, trying to recover his energy.

He didn’t know how long he could endure this hellish training, he wasn’t even sure if it could be called training.

But he knew he couldn’t give up.

Not until he was strong enough.

Not until he could defeat his true enemy.

And this... was only the first step.