Kane was drenched in sweat, barely standing on his feet. The monster had vanished, as if it had dissolved into the air, leaving behind only a sense of heaviness and exhaustion. The battle axe in his hands, massive and heavy, felt like an unbearable burden for a child who was only accustomed to a stick. Simple weapons required simple movements—swing and strike—but with the axe, it was different. Every strike had to be precise and calculated, or he might not even be able to lift the axe after a miss. However, the power of this weapon was undeniable: one accurate blow, and even a saber-toothed boar, the terror of the local lands, would drop dead.
To master the axe, Kane returned to fighting the saber-toothed boars. They served as excellent training: Kane learned to hold the weapon with both hands, manage its weight, swing, and deliver crushing blows. With each skirmish, he grew stronger, more confident. Over time, his fear of the monster diminished. Now, when he saw its face, he no longer trembled but met it with determination in his eyes. He even managed to land blows, though not always accurate, but still effective. And one day, when the monster appeared again from the shadows of the trees, Kane didn't even flinch.
This time, the fight was grand. The monster, seeing an easy prey in Kane, charged at him with fury, but the boy was ready. He dodged the first strike, into which the creature had put all its strength. In the next second, the monster tried to impale him with its massive, sharp horns, but Kane anticipated this move. He swung with all his might and severed one of the horns, of which the monster was so proud. At that moment, he dodged another furious strike. Kane responded with a powerful blow of the axe, aiming at the creature's head, but the monster evaded, slightly turning its head, and threw Kane aside. However, the boy didn't give up—he summoned the axe again and prepared for another attack.
The monster roared in fury and charged at Kane with incredible speed. But the boy remained calm: he knew that now he had all the advantages. When the monster was close, Kane gathered all his strength, swung, and delivered a powerful blow with the axe, aiming at the creature's neck. But he miscalculated slightly, and though the strike wasn't fatal, it still inflicted damage. But the joy was short-lived—the next moment, the monster reached Kane again and unleashed its fury on him. Kane, however, wasn't about to lose consciousness. He defended himself with the axe's handle, blocking the strikes, but he couldn't inflict significant damage. When the monster leaned in, he struck with the blunt side of the axe at the same spot where he had already inflicted damage, and finally, the creature hesitated for a moment. This gave Kane a chance to break free.
Black blood flowed from the monster's neck. For Kane, who had seen blood many times, it was a strange sight. As a slave, he had often seen bloodied animals, and the sight never evoked much emotion in him. But black blood? That was something new. The surprise lasted only a moment—Kane pushed it aside when he realized that the monster was again advancing on him. He swung the axe again, hoping to strike the creature, but this time he simply couldn't reach the head. Seeing this, the monster threw Kane far back.
The blow left the boy stunned. He couldn't move as the monster rushed at him once more. The shock intensified, but Kane remained composed. He knew that here, in this strange world, he could endure more than in reality. He defended himself with his hands, withstanding the creature's powerful blows, though in real life, such a defense would have broken his arms.
The most challenging part of this battle was that Kane couldn't reach the monster's head unless it lowered it. Defending himself, he looked at the creature's maw, and suddenly realized that it no longer seemed as terrifying as before. The monster, which had once filled him with dread, now seemed less frightening. He saw its attacks, knew its movements, and with each passing moment, he understood that this creature was no longer capable of breaking his will. The inner fear that had always lived in his soul began to dissolve.
Kane blinked several more times, trying to stay conscious, but darkness was already enveloping his mind. He didn't fight it—just accepted the inevitable. The last thing he managed to see was the monster hesitating for a moment from his strike. And though he lost to it again, he knew one thing: there was nothing left for him to fear.
He fell unconscious once more, but this time, upon awakening, he didn't find himself in the illusory world that had begun to seem familiar to him. Instead, he found himself on a solid and gloomy swamp. It was as if all of this was just a prelude to the real trial. He remembered the words he had heard before losing consciousness in the real world:
"Contender! Welcome to the Gates of Essence. I greet you at your first trial."
And for a moment, he was paralyzed, processing what he had experienced in the illusory world, wondering why he thought his name was Kane, when in fact, he had no name at all.