Kofi's grip on his sword tightened as he scanned the area, searching for the source of the voice. But the mountain was empty, save for him and Morningstar.
"Who or what are you?" Morningstar asked, his voice steady and calm.
"I am known as Terror," the voice replied.
"I am a consciousness, split from its source, left here to test those who seek to inherit the true power of the Rune Chain. So far, none have succeeded."
"What kind of test?" Morningstar asked, narrowing his eyes. "A test of the mind, spirit and strength," Terror said.
Hearing those words, Kofi was confused as he looked at Morningstar. "Welder of Runes Chains? What's that?" He mutters.
"I owned the chain, but. What has that got to do with him, my friend here has nothing to do with the chain." Morningstar questioned the voice with an apathetic attitude. Others might coward before that voice but to him, it was beneath him to do so. It was like at that moment the only beings capable of making him feel so were angels, gods and dragons with other special beings.
"Hohohoh, I like how you speak kiddo, now we don't have time or I should say, a day here is almost a week in your world and trust me, You don't wanna waste time here. Who knows what might happen to your loved ones?" The voice let out with a rumbling chuckle which even shook the mountain. At the mention of how long it will take them, Morningstar instinctively remembered his deal with Jayden.
_"Why don't we make a deal, you let me have your powers and I let you have your mother? How about that?"_
_"Meet me here on the fifth night after today. I will bring your mother. Just be safe till then, I don't want to lose that power you know"_
Remembering those words, Morningstar shivered as he looked at the sky with his eyes squinted.
"What and why did you bring us? Can you get down to it immediately?"
"Hohohoh, I knew those words could trigger you. Now here's the test, since the Chain that was supposed to bring only you mistakenly brought the both of you due to you two being close and inside a place filled with spirit energy and corpses, the Runes Chain couldn't detect your life signature which was why it absorbed everything in the surrounding. I will have to give both of you gifts. Now the mission will be divided into five sections. And both of you two will be teleported to different sections." The voice halts, as if it's waiting for the both of them to absorb the information, after which it continues.
"So here's the mission, there will be ten stages in which you two will have to clear five each. In some you can use brute force, some are filled with traps or mysteries and you will need to slow down to solve the tricks. While some are spiritual tests and so on. As long as you clear a level, You can ask for two things. Knowledge regarding beasts and their useful parts, techniques for fighting, skills, how to easily get an ability, weapons, armours, and a lot more. Also" It halts, catching the duo's attention, "I can teach you two about your abilities or bloodlines and how to use them. For example, You with the fallen angel wings, if you do it, the wings can vanish and if you do it again, it can appear. Meanwhile with the sword, as long as you infuse your mana into your sword you will be able to use any elemental attack in the sword, depending on the amount you put in. If it is small then you might only use low-level attack."
Hearing those words Morningstar scuffed.
"I already know that basic knowledge. After awakening my bloodline I was impacted that knowledge too. So try another trick."
"..."
The smug voice went silent for a while as if the face slap was too much. Morningstar felt like if it could have had a face he was sure it would have been beet red from shame.
"Cough, cough, ahem. You are indeed right, angel bloodlines and demons are top tiers and anyone who awakes it will be impacted by their ancestral knowledge. But you should know, fallen angels are less than 300 hundred which means the bloodline's knowledge is not all useful."
"... I know," Morningstar said after some thought.
"Good, for example. There are certain chants that angels recite that have the power to soothe and calm those who hear them, bringing a sense of happiness and peace. But that same chant when used by fallen angels tends to bring the opposite effect. Instead of bringing peace, they dredge up the darkness within a person's heart, making them susceptible to their worst impulses, like lust, greed, and so on. I'm sure you're familiar with those, aren't you?"
Hearing those words, somehow Morningstar believed it since he already inherited the information.
"Okay, I will give you the benefit of the doubt. Can we start the test soon? I will need to urgently get back to the real world."
Morningstar said to which Kofi who had been abandoned from the conversation subconsciously nodded in agreement, even he who was here couldn't help but feel agitated. He really wants to see if he could meet his family sooner. Besides, he was also interested in the rewards from each mission.
Unlike Morningstar who has some knowledge from his future self and now, from his bloodline. Kofi didn't have a single knowledge as everything was through his hard work.
"Okay then, since you both are in a hurry, the test will start soon."
With those words, Terror calmly mumbles some words and with that, thunder and lightning quickly gathered in the dark sky and suddenly, two lightning the size of a bathing bucket struck both Morningstar and Kofi at once. Following that, both of them disappeared.
"Mmmm? Ah, shit. I totally forgot to tell them that they can easily die there and be stuck there till they die of old age if they can't complete it. Sigh, oh well. Let's see what they can do."
:::::****:::::
As soon as Morningstar regained vision, he saw himself inside a cave covered in fog. He looked up and estimated that it was as tall as 450 meters and as wide as 170 meters. The whole cave was covered in ice. And looking down he discovered snow, reaching his laps.
"How the hell can I move here? Hopefully, this isn't a fighting test."
Just when he thought so. Howwwl! Morningstar could hear the sharp cry of wolves and seeing their faint shape in the fog. Looking closer, he felt like they were making a mad dash towards him as the snow didn't hinder them.
_Ah shit..._ He let out a soft sigh. This test will be tricky.