A peaceful world, a true paradise on earth was turned upside down in just a few minutes, throwing every inhabitant into an abyss of despair and fear. Ironic that this was done by the beings who are supposed to be the guardians of paradise, the ones who are supposed to help people get there - the Angels.
'I'll kill him!' Ethan inwardly growled like a madman.
He looked around, trying to think of a way to get to Angel until his head began to tear up from the indescribable pain, as if hundreds of hot needles were piercing his brain. At that moment, everyone was experiencing the same thing, falling to their knees and holding their head.
[Beginning of the First Trial]
[Survive to get your ????]
[The outcome depends on the path you choose.]
A strange, mechanical voice echoed in Ethan's head, not unlike the one coming from the Citadel.
[First challenge - Choosing a Path: Save or Kill someone. Make a decision that will change your life forever.]
'Agh...? Kill someone?' Ethan was completely puzzled by such wording, 'No... More importantly, what do I have to save someone from?'
Ethan shook his head, gradually rising to his feet, but no sooner had he regained his balance than the ground shook. A massive earthquake started, covering the entire city.
Cracks opened up in the streets of the city, and out of them, in a heartbeat, horrifying creatures appeared.
"What the fuck..." Ethan muttered looking at one of them.
A huge centipede with armored plates all over its body and creepy outgrowths instead of legs was slowly moving through the city. Its three bloodshot eyes looked in different directions, searching for prey, while hundreds of teeth in the centipede's jaws slowly rotated like deadly disks.
Ethan held his breath. He couldn't think about Trial or anything else, he stared at the majestic creature with horror and awe.
The Centipede soared sharply upward, obscuring the bright sun, then the monster headed toward the tall tower at breakneck speed, curling around it like a snake.
"No way..."
Under the pressure, the tower cracked, collapsing and crumbling into massive debris. There were no people in this tower, as it was a vantage point to the Dark Outskirts.
Centipede turned its head at a strange angle, looking directly at Ethan, then he snapped out of his trance.
"Holy Shit!" Ethan quickly ran to the side, realizing a monster was heading straight for him.
There was no way a normal young man would have been able to dodge the attack of such a monster, however, at the last moment Ethan managed to jump forward, saving his life.
In the end, it could have just been luck, right?
"Is this actually real...?" Ethan muttered watching the centipede's long body passing right in front of him.
The monster crossed through the entire academy in a strange trajectory as if it had some reason, then the centipede returned to the ground. Its mission was accomplished.
At the time, Ethan didn't know it yet, but the Zero Trial was already behind him.
"Save someone or kill someone..." Ethan muttered to himself, touching his chin, "Screw it! I need to find a safe place first!"
Ethan ran into the academy, heading for the main square since that's where most people were supposed to be.
He was alone in the long hallway, heading for the exit, but pitiful screams, cries filled with terror and screams reached him from all over the academy.
"Agh...?" Ethan ran across the aisle when his gaze caught on something. He came back and his eyes went wide.
The classroom was half destroyed as a centipede swept through it, on the edge, leaning against the wall lay a girl with slowly emptying eyes.
Touching the doorway, Ethan stepped inside, leisurely pacing, with a slight shiver spreading through his body.
The girl saw him as a bright light of hope appeared in her eyes.
"Ethan... You came..." Lea mumbled with difficulty.
Ethan nodded, leaned in front of her, and looked into her eyes, "Yeah, looks like today was even more important than we thought, doesn't it?"
His bitter smile, caused Lea to give the same one.
"When does the exam start...? Ethan, I don't feel well, will you help me to the classroom?" Lea reached out her hand, touching his shoulder.
Ethan was silent, his eyes shifted to the side.
Lea was missing her left arm as well as most of her body, which seemed to have been ripped out by some tremendous force or gruesome jaw. Blood trickled down, scarlet drops falling from the edge of the floor.
"Why are you silent...? Is something wrong?" Lea muttered, then her voice changed completely, "Ethan... I'm scared... Cold, I'm really freezing..." Tears sprang from Lea's eyes.
Ethan took a deep breath and gently touched her cheeks with his palms.
"Don't worry, everything will be alright. I'll be with you until the very end, I won't let a pure good like you learn the horrors of the new world." Ethan muttered with a dark face.
"Thank you..." Lea smiled happily.
Then, her pupils narrowed when Ethan abruptly turned her head, breaking her neck in one motion. At that moment Ethan had made a decision on which path he would take and had no regrets that he was now considered a killer.
A single tear came out of Ethan's eye, falling into the pool of blood that had already soaked his pants and shoes.
[You have passed the first trial! Your number is 7!]
[Wait for the others to finish the trial!]
[Time remaining: 30:33!]
[Choosing a Path: You passed the Trial by killing someone! You passed the Trial by saving someone!]
"Agh...?"
Ethan was puzzled, the voice that sounded in his head contradicted itself since in that case, he had fulfilled two conditions at once.
[You've stepped onto the third path!]
A gray flame suddenly flashed in front of Ethan. He quickly covered himself with his hands, but he soon realized that the flames were not burning him. It wasn't hot or cold, just none at all.
"I don't know what it is, but if it helps me deal with him, I'm up for anything." Ethan clenched his fists tightly as he stared intently at Angel, who still hadn't moved, continuing to hover above the academy with closed eyes.
The flames slowly faded away, revealing the round object inside. It was a gray sphere covered in a layer of stone and sharp growths, emitting an eerie aura.
"Is it stone?" Ethan frowned, "Wait... It's more like an egg though a rather strange one..."
The egg fell as Ethan abruptly caught it in his palms.
He stared at the egg for a while trying to figure out what he was supposed to do, until the egg shuddered.
Ethan was wary, but he also couldn't hold back a smile because he thought he was about to get a helper. No one would want to be alone in a situation like this.
The egg stopped shaking, then the growths lengthened rapidly, like thorns digging into Ethan's palm, deep enough for blood to rush out.
"Fuck!" Ethan exclaimed with a great grimace, about to get rid of the egg, however, it suddenly began to beat like a heart, quickly consuming Ethan's blood.
"Wait... Not so fast..." Ethan muttered, while everything in front of his eyes blurred due to weakness, he dropped to one knee.
The egg stopped, and the spikes returned to normal as a tiny shard broke off of it, immediately shattering into ash.
Ethan stared intently into the gap, trying to see something, but there was only darkness, pitch black and all-consuming.
Tsk.
A yellow eye with a round pupil appeared out of the darkness, looking at Ethan with unknown intent.
Strange feelings overtook Ethan since he didn't understand what exactly was happening or whether the creature in his hands was an enemy or not.
The eye disappeared, bringing back the darkness, then, the egg ripped against Ethan's chest, through blood and flesh piercing through him.
Ethan couldn't take the pain, so his eyes went blank, and he fell to the floor, while a pool of dark blood spread beneath him.