The night deepened, the eerie glow of the Forgotten Woods growing dimmer as if the very essence of the forest was retreating into itself, preparing for something far worse. Kairos and Xia Muren stood together, their breaths heavy from the battle, but there was no time to rest. The woman's voice still echoed in their ears.
The trial wasn't over.
And if the first wave of shadow creatures had been a warm-up, Kairos couldn't imagine what the real test would be.
The air crackled with tension, and the ground beneath them trembled slightly as if the forest itself was alive—watching, waiting. Kairos' heart pounded, his muscles aching with fatigue, but his mind was sharp. This was a life-and-death situation, and he had no intention of dying in this cursed place.
[System Notification: The Second Trial Approaches]
Objective: Defeat the Shadow Wraiths and Uncover the Truth of the Forgotten Woods.
Difficulty: Nightmare
Reward: Hidden Relic of the Moon Goddess, Skill Points +3, Potential System Upgrade.
Failure: Eternal entrapment in the woods.
"Shadow Wraiths?" Kairos muttered, his grip tightening around his dagger. Whatever these things were, they sounded worse than the creatures they'd just fought.
Xia Muren stood beside him, her icy aura swirling around her like a protective barrier. Her silver eyes scanned the forest, calculating, always calm. But even she looked more focused now, aware that they were entering a fight they might not walk away from.
"This place…" Xia whispered, her voice barely audible over the rustling leaves. "It's not just alive. It's feeding off us."
Kairos glanced at her, confused. "Feeding? How?"
Xia Muren frowned, her expression serious. "The forest. It thrives on spiritual energy. The more we fight, the more we exhaust ourselves, the stronger it becomes. We need to end this quickly."
Before Kairos could respond, the temperature plummeted, the cold biting at their skin like needles. A dense fog began to roll in, dark and swirling, carrying with it a chorus of whispers—voices, faint and distant, as if coming from the souls of the damned. The fog thickened, enveloping the forest in a deathly shroud.
And then they appeared.
From the fog, figures emerged—tall, gaunt, and draped in tattered, shadowy cloaks. Their faces were obscured by darkness, but their eyes—those horrible, glowing red eyes—pierced through the mist, locking onto Kairos and Xia like hunters who had found their prey.
[System Alert: Shadow Wraiths Detected]
Danger Level: Critical
Weakness: Celestial Energy and Ice-Based Techniques.
Recommendation: Eliminate Quickly or Risk Overwhelming.
"They're here," Kairos said through gritted teeth. His palms burned with the black-and-white flames of his Eclipse Inferno Palm, ready for battle, but he could feel the oppressive energy of the wraiths pressing down on him, suffocating.
The lead wraith hissed, its voice like the rustling of dead leaves. "Your souls... will feed the forest."
Xia Muren stepped forward, her icy aura intensifying as she summoned a swirling vortex of cold energy. "Not if I freeze you first."
With a flick of her wrist, she unleashed a torrent of ice, her Silent Moon Slash cutting through the fog like a knife. The ice collided with the first wraith, freezing it mid-motion, but the other wraiths moved too fast, darting toward them with terrifying speed.
Kairos lunged to the side, barely dodging the swipe of one wraith's clawed hand. He countered with the Eclipse Inferno Palm, sending a blast of celestial flames toward his attacker. The wraith screeched as the flames engulfed it, the celestial energy burning through its shadowy form.
But the victory was short-lived.
The wraith reformed, its body flickering like a glitch in reality, and it lunged at Kairos again. These things were resilient—far more dangerous than the shadow creatures they'd fought before.
"These things won't go down easy," Kairos shouted, spinning around to deliver another flaming strike. "We need to find their weak point!"
"They're connected to the forest!" Xia shouted back, summoning another icy barrier to slow down the wraiths. "If we destroy the heart of this place, we can stop them!"
Kairos' eyes darted around, searching for anything that might be the key to their survival. The forest felt alive, but there had to be something—some core or focal point—where all this dark energy was converging.
Then he saw it.
Deep in the distance, through the fog and twisted trees, there was a faint glow—brighter than the rest of the forest. It pulsed rhythmically, like the heartbeat of the woods itself.
"Over there!" Kairos pointed toward the glow. "That has to be the source!"
Xia Muren didn't hesitate. "Then we make for it."
The wraiths surged forward again, their movements faster, more erratic. Kairos could feel the pressure of their killing intent, the oppressive energy dragging at his very soul. He didn't have the luxury of time, but he needed to clear a path.
"Lunar Void Steps!"
His body shimmered as he phased through the air, moving like a shadow himself. Reappearing behind one of the wraiths, he unleashed the full force of his Eclipse Inferno Palm, the celestial flames scorching through the wraith's form and scattering it into the mist.
But for every wraith he burned away, two more seemed to take its place. The forest was endless, and its hunger was insatiable.
"We can't fight them all," Xia Muren shouted, her ice magic slowing the wraiths but unable to stop them entirely. "We need to move!"
Kairos gritted his teeth. She was right. This wasn't a battle they could win by force alone. The only chance they had was to destroy the core of the forest and hope it would end the trial.
"Go!" Kairos called out. "I'll hold them off for as long as I can!"
Xia hesitated, her eyes locking onto his. For a brief moment, there was something in her gaze—concern, perhaps—but it vanished as quickly as it came. She nodded once and darted toward the glowing heart of the forest, moving with the grace and speed of a cultivator who had mastered her art.
Kairos stood his ground, flames crackling in his hands as the wraiths closed in around him. They hissed and screeched, their claws reaching for him, their red eyes glowing with hunger.
"Come on, then," Kairos muttered, summoning the full power of the Eclipse System. His body glowed with celestial energy, the black-and-white flames swirling around him like a shield. "Let's see how many of you I can take down."
[System Alert: Activating Eclipse Overload Mode]
Warning: Overuse of this mode may result in severe spiritual backlash.
Kairos didn't care. This was all or nothing.
With a roar, he unleashed a massive blast of celestial flames, the Eclipse Inferno Palm exploding outward in all directions. The wraiths howled as the flames tore through them, but even as they burned, more rose from the shadows, relentless in their pursuit.
Kairos staggered, his energy draining rapidly. The Eclipse Overload was pushing him to his limits, but he had to buy time for Xia Muren to reach the core.
As the wraiths closed in again, a deafening roar echoed through the forest—this time not from the wraiths but from the heart of the woods itself. The glow in the distance intensified, pulsating like a dying star.
Kairos' heart raced. Xia had made it.
The ground trembled violently, and the trees around them groaned as if in pain. The wraiths faltered, their forms flickering and destabilizing. Whatever Xia was doing, it was working.
Suddenly, a blinding light erupted from the center of the forest, and the wraiths let out one final, anguished wail before they dissolved into nothingness, their dark forms scattered like ashes in the wind.
Kairos collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. His body felt like it was on fire, every muscle screaming in agony from the overuse of spiritual energy.
But it was over. The wraiths were gone.
Xia Muren emerged from the trees, her clothes slightly torn but otherwise unharmed. In her hands, she held a small, glowing relic—a crystalline orb that pulsed with faint light.
"The core," she said simply, holding it up for Kairos to see. "It's done."
Kairos managed a weak smile. "Good… because I don't think I could've lasted much longer."
Xia nodded, her expression softening just slightly. "You fought well, Kairos Lin. Better than I expected."
Before Kairos could respond, the woman's voice echoed through the forest once more.
"You have passed the second trial," she said, her voice filled with an unsettling sense of approval. "But there is one final test."
Kairos groaned. "You've got to be kidding me."
The woman's figure reappeared, standing at the edge of the clearing, her cold smile never faltering. "The final trial will test not your strength… but your resolve."
Kairos felt his stomach tighten. After everything they'd been through, what could be worse than this?
The woman stepped forward, her eyes gleaming with dark amusement. "In the final trial, you must face your deepest fears and desires. Only then will you truly understand the path you walk."