The landscape shifted once more, and Lei Chen found himself standing on the edge of a cliff. Below him was a vast, swirling abyss, its depths hidden by a thick, ominous fog. There was no sound—only an eerie silence that seemed to stretch on forever.
The War God's voice echoed from above. "The final trial is simple, but it will test your will to its limits. Step off the edge and descend into the abyss. If your will is strong enough, you will survive. If it falters… you will be lost forever."
Lei Chen's heart pounded in his chest. Step off the edge? Into the abyss? There was no way to tell what awaited him below.
But he had come too far to turn back now. He had survived the trial of his soul, had bested the Guardian Beast through sheer determination. This was the final test. If he failed now, everything would have been for nothing.
Taking a deep breath, Lei Chen stepped forward, his foot hanging over the edge. His heart raced, but he forced himself to take another step. And then, without hesitation, he leaped into the abyss.
The wind howled in his ears as he plummeted through the fog, his body tumbling through the void. There was no ground, no sky—just an endless, suffocating darkness that seemed to swallow him whole. The sensation of falling stretched on and on, with no end in sight.
His mind began to waver. Was this a mistake? The thought crept into his mind like a poison. Maybe I should have stayed… maybe there's no way out of this.
But Lei Chen gritted his teeth, fighting against the despair that gnawed at him. "I refuse… to give up!" he shouted into the void.
The abyss seemed to react to his defiance. The darkness around him swirled, and for a moment, it felt as though the void itself was testing him, pressing down on his mind. But Lei Chen refused to break.
He didn't know how long he fell—minutes, hours, days? Time had lost all meaning. But finally, just as he felt his will nearing its breaking point, the darkness lifted.