The void is silent.
No wind.
No light.
No sound.
Just endless darkness stretching in every direction.
Expected nothing less from a void.
I stand still, staring into the abyss while faint embers drift through the empty space like dying stars.
Then—
[ Trial of the Undying Flame has begun ]
[ Trial Objective ]
[ Defeat The One Beyond Yourself ]
[ Condition: Survival Is Not Guaranteed ]
[ All restrictions have been undone ]
"…The One Beyond Yourself?" I mutter.
Restrictions have been undone? So my powers have been limited since coming in here.
I mean, I came in here thinking I could summon my soldiers and use them.
The key is called the sovereign key. I assumed it had something to do with my class, yet not a single challenge I've faced had to do with me using my abilities as a Divine Arbiter.
Then again, from what just happened, it's not wrong to assume that maybe the name Sovereign key was just a fake. After all, the key did reveal itself as a key of flame.
But let's not dwell on that, for now.
Aside from summoning, magic still works.
From what happened earlier, Skills seem to work as well.
Although maybe some skills were blocked, and Menace just happened to be a skill that wasn't.
Just thinking about this is giving me a headache.
"What type of screwed up system is this?"
The words barely leave my mouth before the darkness ahead begins to distort.
Crap.
A figure slowly emerges from the void.
I quickly shake my head.
I tighten my grip and form a blade of condensed mana into my hand.
Blue light spills across the void as I lower my stance.
I'd already prepared myself to fight another player in this trial.
Still… Some part of me hoped I wouldn't have to.
Guess this was inevitable.
At first, it's only a silhouette, but the closer it gets, the clearer its figure becomes.
"…"
I'm at a loss for words.
Hair dark as midnight hangs over golden eyes glowing beneath messy strands.
A black cloak drapes over its body like a living shadow.
Every step it takes makes the void tremble.
My grip tightens unconsciously, my eyes widen, and my legs shake.
Not out of fear, but by genuine shock.
It stops a few yards away, then unsheathes its sword from its scabbard.
There's not a doubt in my mind. From the hair to the clothes and even the posture, this figure is undeniably… me.
No way. So this trial I'm supposed to pass… is fighting me.
The clone slowly raises its sword at me.
Its expression is cold, and a bit intimidating, to be honest.
Is this what I—
Before I can finish the thought, the clone pierces the ground with its blade.
The moment the blade strikes the ground, the clone twists it, and in an instant, the void ruptures.
The endless darkness turns into a battlefield. Weapons of fallen warriors lie struck beneath the ground.
Flames erupt from the ground like molten magma, and the sky becomes a shade of red so deep, you wouldn't notice the celestial bodies aligned in the sky.
"Where am—."
"An abandoned universe."
"…What!"
I get a small shock from the fact that the clone talked. It voice is undeniably the same as mine, but the shock is soon replaced with confusion about what it just said.
"Hundreds of thousands of years ago, this world was filled with an overwhelmingly powerful race."
"…"
"Their bodies were so adapted to mana that it reflected in their appearance."
The clone stops talking, then looks toward me.
"But despite all that power…" the clone says quietly, "…they were weak."
My eyes narrow.
"Weak?"
The clone slowly pulls its blade from the cracked ground.
"They believed peace was always possible. In every war, they sought understanding. In every betrayal, they offered forgiveness."
With every word spoken, the sky becomes darker, the battlefield trembles, and the flames begin to intensify.
"And when their enemies realized the race would never strike first…"
BOOM.
The world around us changes.
Mountains of corpses appear across the battlefield, silver-skinned bodies scattered endlessly beneath the crimson sky.
My expression hardens.
"They were slaughtered," I mutter.
"Not slaughtered. Some of them managed to escape—to where, that is beyond my knowledge."
The clone then chuckles. "It was only in their last moments where they decided to fight."
"…Who did this."
The clone throws a quick smirk.
"Take a look yourself."
It points to the top of the mountain of corpses.
I quickly look up.
What!
A figure stands at the top of the mountain of corpses.
It wears black armor as deep as the night sky, golden light pulsating from the cracks in the armor.
A helmet with sharp edges curving outward, and from behind it a pair of dragon wings.
Its weapon is a black sword lined with gold that radiates an incredible aura.
Beneath the horned helmet, a pair of glowing eyes scan the battlefield, looking for survivors.
I quickly turn to the clone.
"Who is that!"
The clone lifts its head toward the burning sky.
"A certain god's… lackey," he answers.
Wait, the gods caused this. What in the world would they want to kill these silver-skinned creatures? What problems could they cause?
"Wait, when you say a certain god's lackey, who are you referring to?"
"Ask him yourself."
"Huh?"
The clone takes a few steps back.
"Survive, if you can."
"What do you mea—."
My words are cut short.
Warmth spills down my chest.
"…Urgh."
A stream of blood falls from my mouth.
I look down at my chest and spot a huge hole in my chest, with a hand clad in armor emerging from the hole.
I feel my body slowly rising from the ground.
"If you want to attack someone, don't be so loud about it."
A low and rather muffled voice talks from behind me.
With the last amount of energy I have, I slowly turn my head around.
"…"
I expect to see the clone, but I am instead met with the head of the very same black-armored figure which stood at the top of a bunch of silver-skinned corpses nearly a second ago.
"Who…are…you."
Every word is followed by blood.
My vision begins failing, my breathing becomes rigid and heavy, and the sensation of pain gradually begins to leave my body.
"My name is Onyx. Onyx, the Black Wing."
The black-armored figure lifts up its other hand.
He grabs my head.
I feel a tug and, before I know it, darkness is all that's ahead.
[ Death Count: 1 ]