Somewhere deep inside the ancient temple.
In a place of eversilence, a wide spacious arena constructed with a smooth and yet hard material lay on the room.
All over the arena, wooden dummies holding a sharp weapon spread throughout. Not a single blemish or dust covered them.
The place looked clean as though newly created, however the primeval anciency surrounding the whole room gave a different perspective instead.
Without a doubt, the creation of this place was not from this era. Not the previous either. It came from an untraceable history—perhaps even before the first official history.
However, on this very day the eternal silence that it preserved was finally going to break.
A presence finally graced the room other than its creator.
Woosh—!
On the very top of the room, space suddenly tore apart and opened a spatial hole, dropping a dark figure to the ground.
Thud—!
A loud thud resounded as the figure landed on the ground.
The dark figure was a black haired man.
Oddly enough, though the man dropped from a high altitude, there was no trace of wound or damage on him.
As soon as Lucas landed on the arena, his eyes immediately darted around—surveying his surroundings of any danger.
After a while, noticing nothing was happening, he lowered his guard a little. But he increased the amount of aura covering his body, just in case.
"... Where am I this time?"
Lucas said, patting away the dust from his clothes.
He was more or less expecting some sort of mechanism to activate by his bad luck, but he sure didn't expect that the mechanism was related to getting sucked deep inside the temple.
Lucas raised his head, observing the place around him.
Outside the arena he was standing on, countless ancient statues stood. The ancient statues gave off an air of divinity and power.
Upon seeing them, the first thing that came into Lucas mind was not the statues themselves—but the craftsmanship and artistry of whoever sculpted it.
While Lucas would never call himself a man of Art, he dabbled in that type of profession for some time.
If there was anything close to utter perfection in art and craftsmanship, it was these countless statues that stood.
Life was given to each hammered strike, essence was spread to each material used. The refinement and mastery over the sculpted statues was undoubtedly the highest form of art.
The thought of someone ever managing to create them was more impressive than the creation themselves.
Lucas thought.
Whoever who created them was someone who undoubtedly stood at the peak of art, if there was any limit to art that was.
While he was brooding over his appreciation towards the sculpted statues, a voice suddenly resounded in the place:
[Welcome, Seeker of the Soul.]
Without pause, Lucas threw a sharp aura-forged dagger to where the voice came from.
Woosh—!
[We were waiting for you.]
The aura-forged dagger landed on the ancient statues outside, exploding upon contact.
Boom—!
[Lay your guard, Seeker of the Soul. We do not wish to harm you. It is in our best interest to protect you. Guide you to where you seek.]
The smoke from the explosion dispersed, revealing no damage from the statues outside.
Lucas' expression was still indifferent.
Evidently, the voice came from the countless statues that surrounded him.
"...Who are you? No, who are 'we'?"
Lucas asked, finally opening his mouth.
[We are the Souls assigned by He over guarding this temple, hiding it from the eyes of greater power, keeping it under the state of illusion and reality. The boundary of truth and lies.]
"...And then who is this 'He'?"
[Our creator, the master of this place.]
"Is that all? Surely such a renowned person must have more—"
Lucas attempted to probe more information.
Rumble—!
However at that moment, a loud rumbling resounded within the temple.
Lucas' body shook along with the temple, his face suddenly turning tense.
[Seeker of the Soul, be careful with your words. We are not permitted to answer anymore of your questions.]
The voice which sounded divine suddenly turned serious.
[...That aside, We do not have much time. The cover is slowly falling apart. We must begin immediately, Seeker of the Soul.]
"I'm lost. What do you mean not much time? What am I going to do?"
Lucas asked, perplexed. He had a bad feeling this was going to be troublesome…
However, instead of answering him, the voice changed the subject:
[What you seek lay beyond this temple, at the most top above, the Book of Souls. It contains all of His study and research about the Souls through time and beyond.]
'What you seek?'
Lucas raised his brows. He didn't even know what this place is—but the voice assumes he arrived here for something.
From the voice words, perhaps he can assume this place is some sort of inheritance site. That would make the voice wordings make sense.
[However our Master saw fit to test you first before obtaining the accumulation of his study. You will undertake the challenge of All-things.]
"I figure that I don't have any choice in this matter?"
Lucas asked, unamused by what's happening.
[No, unfortunately not. The challenge of All-things consists of three parts and you have an hour at most to prepare for them. In an hour, the test will begin. So prepare yourself, Seeker of the Soul.]
Lucas sighed.
[We wish you goodluck, Seeker of the Soul.]
***
After a long hour, the voice finally came back;
[The time of the Test has come. Have you prepared yourself, Seeker of the Soul?]
In the wide room, Lucas sat on the smooth underlying arena in a meditative position.
"Tell me first, what are these three tests I have to do?"
Lucas faintly opened his eyes. The calm silent air surrounding the room moved, like a ripple on the sea.
[Fret not. The Test you will partake in will not require any overwhelming strength. The challenge of All-things is a test of technique, will power, and understanding.]
That was great. Now his chances rose significantly. If the test was about fighting something above his strength, his chances would be much lower as he currently lacked strength at the moment.
"What's the first Test or… so you call it, challenge of All-things?"
Lucas stood up, patting away the dust on his clothes.
[Man is a being of three parts, the Body, the Mind and the Soul.]
Rumble—!
As though a mechanism activated, the wooden dummies spread all around the arena suddenly moved.
[The First Challenge; the Test of the Body. A challenge to test your experience, technique and understanding of your own body.]
At that moment, the wooden dummies were suddenly surrounded with a formless and pure energy.
[The essence of the Body is Aura. Aura is the energy of the Body. Now, there are hundreds of combat puppets at the arena. They are covered with Aura that will protect them from damage, unless you hit their specific weakness or blindspot.]
The wooden dummies, as though alive, turned around to face him.
Lucas narrowed his eyes, preparing himself as he covered his own body with aura.
[The time limit will be an hour. Seeker of the Soul, show us your understanding and knowledge of the body—destroy each and one of the puppets and you will be granted to access the Second Test.]
"I'll finish it up quickly as long as you don't forget the deal we made."
Lucas said while raising his head above the room.
At that moment, the room shone brightly. At the very top, a translucent timer suddenly appeared.
'00:01.'
Lucas stared at it before turning to look at the combatant puppets.
—It begins.
At that moment, the combatant puppets ran, speeding to his location.