It hurts.
It pained him to death.
A profound sense of betrayal ravaged him, its anguish piercingly real. Like a malignant presence, it gnawed at his very core, imperiling the fragile remnants of his being.
Time would have proven futile in its efforts to mend Jax's shattered soul, for the wounds he bore ran far too deep.
But for a moment, his troubles slipped his mind as his gaze fell upon a strange object suspended eerily in the air before him. One question mark floated still over his head.
The object resembled an ancient scroll. Its beige parchment glowed with a faint otherworldly dark radiance against the backdrop. A dark aura wafted from it like mist. Tiny glowing orbs of black light danced around it evoking the whimsical flutter of fireflies around a tree.
Jax's gaze was riveted on the mystical scroll. Its eerie suspension in midair was already a marvel, but the disquieting aura it radiated only served to deepen his fascination and fear. The insidious creep of the unknown into his heart instilled a growing sense of unease.
Then, suddenly, the mystical scroll unfurled downward, revealing arcane words inscribed in a pale gold hue. The script itself seemed to belong to a bygone era, and Jax's curiosity deepened as he narrowed his eyes slightly, his mind racing with an ever-growing multitude of question marks floating over his head.
Strangely, Jax found himself able to decipher the otherworldly words, and their meaning seemed to resonate with him, though he remained unaware of this peculiar phenomenon at that moment.
[Congratulations! You've conquered your greatest fear completely and completed the First Trial: Master's Quest.]
[ You've become a Master. Ability conquered: Vengeful Soul (forbidden)]
Said the first two paragraphs. Then what came next was what followed.
[A Master is a Challenger who has successfully overcome their deepest fear, thereby completing the First Trial. This achievement grants them enhanced control over their associated ability, rendering it more potent and stable, and thus avoiding the threat of falling into corruption.]
[However, Masters can only access their abilities within the territorial boundaries of a Sacred Statue; beyond these limits, their powers are neutralized, and they revert to being ordinary individuals.]
"What the hell is this now?" Jax gasped, his eyes constricting in shock. He blinked repeatedly, rubbed his eyes, but the image remained, as if refusing to dissipate.
Strange scroll containing strange messages...
First Trial... Conquest of fear... Master's Quest... Master... Ability conquered... Sacred Statue... Territory... Lord...
Jax committed those key points to memory, and confusion swirled within him. The words echoed in his mind, yet he couldn't decipher their meaning, leaving him perplexed about what they were trying to convey.
In the end, a resigned sigh escaped his mouth. He shook his head slowly as a helpless smile surfaced on his lips, ''Damn, I think I'm still dead.''
Then the Scroll rolled shut, only to snap open again a second later. The information displayed on it shifted instantly, transforming before his eyes.
[Congratulations, Challenger. You are the first individual to successfully complete the First Trial, conquering your greatest fear. The Forbidden Sacred Statue dwelling within you has bestowed a reward upon you.]
[You received an enchantment material: Primal Element.]
[You can check the item in your Inventory. ACCESS INVENTORY TO VIEW]
"Forbidden Sacred Statue? Primal Element? Inventory? What are those? Am I supposed to be happy about this?" Jax muttered, his head tilted slightly sideways in confusion.
But wait.
Did that Scroll just say that the thing called the Forbidden Sacred Statue now dwelt within him? What did it mean by...
Jax's contemplation was cut short as the Scroll rippled softly, its surface fluttering with a gentle, ethereal motion, before refurling and unfurling once more to reveal a fresh set of information that replaced the previous text.
[Will you proceed to the next trial?]
[Second Trial: Lord's Quest?]
[Yes | No]
"Lord's Quest?" Jax whispered, his voice barely audible even to himself. The thoughts swirling in his mind mere moments before were swept aside as the new information seized his attention. After a brief pause, he rubbed his chin, as his mind awhirl with shallow musings. With an uncertain shrug, he replied, "Yes?"
The Scroll remained still, yet the words inscribed upon its surface began to shimmer, emitting a soft, ethereal glow of golden light. As the radiance intensified, the text transformed, the words shifting and rearranging themselves with an otherworldly elegance.
[Trial accepted!]
[Beginning the Lord's Quest... Preparing the dungeon... Preparing the monsters...]
[Preparation Complete!]
[You will be transported to one of the Forbidden Lands...]
_____________________
[Mission]
• Slay fishes and collect 100 souls or more within the time limit of 30 days.
(Souls collected: 0/100)
(Remaining time: 30D)
_____________________
Whoosh.
Before he could have a good grasp of the situation, Jax's form dissolved into nothingness, leaving behind only an unsettling emptiness.
He never expected that the weight of his rash decision would remain with him like an unshakeable burden, casting a profound regret that would probably become the deepest remorse of his life.
***
At the break of dawn, within the secluded village nestled deep among the whispering leaves...
The small, rural village had long stood as a quiet haven, its residents content to live out their days in the comfort of familiar traditions and superstitions. But on this day, a sudden disturbance shattered the tranquility, drawing the curious and the fearful alike to the village's vicinity.
In the center of the bustling crowd, there stood a stone statue having the resemblance of a human wearing classic clothing. Its origins remained a mystery to the villagers. However, many people claimed that the statue depicted those higher beings living in the higher realms.
Yes, it must have originated from the higher realms, from heaven itself.
The three-meter tall figure, carved from a peculiar gray stone, loomed over the onlookers, its features obscured by the passage of time. A hushed silence fell over the crowd as they gazed upon the enigmatic monolith, unsure of what to make of this unexpected discovery.
Clasped within the stone statue's hands was a stone tablet, delicately balanced atop one palm, while its opposing hand rested gently upon the tablet's surface.
Otherworldly letters were meticulously etched into the surface of the stone tablet.
ᜆᜃᜓᜆ᜔
Was written on it.
The stone statue grasping the stone tablet exuded an aura of profound unease, instilling a sense of fear and awe in all who laid eyes upon it.
After all, what kind of object could survive unblemished after plummeting from such an extraordinary altitude? Furthermore, whispers circulated that it initially resembled a mere boulder upon impact, only to mysteriously transform into a stone statue mere minutes after touching the earth.
On top of that, the phenomenon was not isolated to a single instance, as widespread reports flooded television broadcasts and online social media platforms, revealing that identical stone statues had fallen from the sky in various locations around the globe.
Despite the ongoing investigation into the cause and origin of the stone statues, their proliferation was staggering, with countless numbers reported to have fallen in nearly every village, town, and city worldwide, leaving no region untouched by the mysterious phenomenon.
In Kahoyan, a village hidden in the trees, a remarkable occurrence took place: two stone statues fell within its borders. One of these statues materialized in the village's immediate outskirts, while the other appeared in the remote, innermost part of the hacienda owned by Kally's father.
Kally's father restricted access to the hacienda, limiting viewing of the stone statue to his family and his people. In private, they conducted their own investigation into the statue's mysterious origin and purpose.
In contrast, the stone statue that fell near the village remained accessible to all, drawing large crowds of curious onlookers.
For a long time, the villagers kept their distance, observing the stone statue with a mix of fascination and fear, the air thick with unspoken anxiety.
But then, all of a sudden, one courageous, more precisely, attention-seeker individual came to reach out his hand to the cold, unyielding surface of the stone statue, to be exact, the stone tablet.
"Hmph! Why are you all so afraid? It's just a stone statue..." The man flashed a confident smile, intentionally raising his voice to reassure everyone that the statue posed no threat and was not worth fearing.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened, and the crowd collectively held their breath. Then, without a warning, a faint glow began to emanate from the man's fingertips, casting a faint light on his awestruck face. His eyes widened, as he watched the unfolding situation with a mixture of terror and wonder.
Then, suddenly, the light emanating from the man's fingertip coalesced into a small, luminous bead. The light detached from the man's fingertip, suspending itself in midair before him, pulsing softly with a soft, blue light.
Everyone watched the unfolding situation with bated breath. A creeping sense of unease settled over them, like a dark shadow slowly spreading its wings.
Then a sudden movement from the small bead of light attracted everyone's attention. Slowly, it twitched and expanded, shifting into something that left the onlookers even more astonished.
A mysterious tome materialized from the glowing bead, its cover adorned with bizarre patterns. An unseen force, asserting its power, repelled the man, sending him stumbling backward. He stood frozen, his heart racing with a mix of astonishment and foreboding.
"This... What in the world...?" The man's voice trailed off, his words lost in utter bewilderment. His attention was utterly captivated, his gaze frozen in stunned incredulity.
Suddenly, the book sprang open, its pages fluttering as if stirred by an invisible hand, and came to rest in front of him. Its contents revealed.
As he began to read, the strange words, indecipherable to anyone else, became eerily clear to him, their meaning unfolding with perfect lucidity.
[The conquest of fear will now begin...]
[First Trial: Master's Quest]
[Conquer your greatest fear.]