Before he could even process the meaning behind the shrunken god's smile, Deldion felt his starry body change back to one of a human's and appear in an unfamiliar environment. He was in a body that was not his own, and exhaustion swiftly invaded this foreign body.
Deldion found himself to be dressed in chain mail and leather armor that weighed heavily on his new body. In his leather gloves was a dull, metallic longsword that was stained with blood. Before the prince could further understand his situation, a soldier charged at Deldion with a roar.
The enemy slashed down with all their might as Deldion tried to block the blow. A loud clang was heard when the two blades clashed, and the force of the clash caused Deldion to kneel on one leg and the enemy to stumble backward. Both tried to regain their footing before the other. Unfortunately, the enemy fell from exhaustion as Deldion prepared to attack, and with one swift thrust, Deldion stabbed his sword into the enemy's body.
A puddle of blood formed under the enemy's body and stained the ground. The prince fell on his bottom and covered his horror filled face with his hands. The enemy, who was not yet dead, struggled with every fiber of their being to rise again. He let out terrifying groans of pain as his limbs failed to support his body off the ground over and over again. Finally, the soldier had given up and spent his last moments staring at the prince with blood spilling from his lips. Deldion watched in horror as life left the enemy's eyes.
Soon, a feeling of disgust rose rapidly within his stomach, causing the prince to vomit. Anger, disgust, horror, and trauma filled Deldion's entire being. He grabbed tuffs of small grass from the blood-covered battlefield and yanked them out of the ground. Particles of dirt flew like sand and fell back to the ground. The prince whimpered out noises that sounded like a mixture between crying and groaning as he stood up and violently pulled out the sword that was stuck in the soldier's corpse. Tears started to leave his eyes while he swung the sword against a rock. He would swing again and again until the sword shattered in half.
Deldion stood there in silence before falling on his back and letting exhaustion take hold of his body. His eyes stared into the evening sky as his chaotic emotions were forgotten. The clouds reflected colors of wonderful pink and orange as the sun slowly set. It was a beautiful sight that starkly contrasted with the blood covered grasslands. Deldion closed his eyes and listened to the whisperings of the wind, making him drift to sleep.
"Again." The raven's voice whispered.
With a fluttering of eyes, Deldion once again found himself in the foreign body with a sword in hand and the same enemy attacking him. This time, Deldion dropped his sword and allowed the enemy's slash to land. The soldier's blade tasted blood as it cut through the flesh and bones in between Deldion's left shoulder and neck. However, the blade stopped before it could split the prince's body in two. Deldion screamed in pain as the enemy pulled out his sword and proceeded to kick the prince in the stomach. Deldion fell on his back and saw the tip of the enemy's blood covered sword pointed at his throat. The soldier's blade was thrusted into Deldion's throat, and blood gushed out, dyeing the soldier's face with crimson.
Deldion's mind became dizzy, and his body squirmed in pain. He could feel his blood leave him from the irrecoverable wound that stemmed from his shoulder to his chest and from the gapping hole in his throat that damaged his vocal cords. Yet Deldion's eyes focused on only one thing: the face of his enemy. The enemy showed fatigue, pity, and pain, but the soldier's eyes held firm. There was no sense of regret that ran through the enemy's only thoughts that his actions were necessary. After comprehending his enemy's reaction, Deldion allowed his eyes to close again before the god's voice echoed in his ears.
"Again."
"Again."
"Again. Again. Again."
"Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again."
With every whisper, Deldion found himself in the same environment. He would kill his enemy and let himself be killed. Deldion became stuck in a never-ending cycle of trauma and pain. However, the feelings of trauma and pain eventually numbed within Deldion, and he came to kill his familiar enemy with every 'again'.
Deldion opened his eyes, expecting to kill his never changing enemy, and was met with a horizontal slash. The prince's eyes widened in surprise as he realized he was facing a different opponent and attempted to block the incoming attack. As the two blades were about to clash, the enemy's sword suddenly tilted upwards and sliced through Deldion's neck.
"Again."
Deldion once again faced his new enemy but was slain once more. Anger and terror distorted Deldion's state of mind as he faced an enemy that far exceeded him in terms of sword skills. It only annoyed him more when the Raven's silent whisper rang in his mind as he died repeatedly to his enemy's blade. His anger and terror soon became a will to best his enemy. A will to achieve victory at all costs.
He purposely died a few times to observe the enemy's movements and habits before using them against his enemy. After a few hundred failures, Deldion was finally able to take the life of his enemy. Little did the young prince know, his trial was only starting. With each enemy he killed, a new one would replace it. Each enemy differed in skill, weaponry, armor, and intelligence.
He fought an enemy who could disappear from view with a blink of an eye, an enemy who was clad in an impenetrable metallic armor, an enemy who wielded a rapier that could launch two attack before he could even swing his sword, an enemy whose strength would break Deldion's sword upon clashing, and so many more.
To defeat each enemy, Deldion had to hear that hateful 'again' hundreds, if not thousands, of times. Yet, in this grueling process, Deldion's skill in swordsmanship far exceeded anything he could possibly achieve in a decade. After Deldion killed his thousandth enemy, he was once again back in the realm of the stars. The prince's bloodlust filled eyes stared at the humongous god in front of him as he clenched his fist.
The raven only laughed at Deldion's anger before speaking softly.
"Let us begin your final trial, shall we?"
With a blink of an eye, chilling winds blew over his body, and large flakes of snow blinded his sight.
'It's cold,' Deldion thought as his mind lost consciousness.