Part 1
The cold air around Jin began to thicken, pressing in from all sides. The voices—those disembodied whispers—grew louder, more frantic. It felt like the walls of the trial itself were closing in on him. The figures surrounding him shifted, their movements becoming more erratic, as if the shadows they wore had come alive.
Jin's heart pounded in his chest, the sound deafening in his ears. What is happening? His breath came in shallow gasps as he backed away from the towering door, the eye carved into its surface never once blinking, never once turning away.
The room seemed to pulse with malevolent energy, the floor beneath him trembling. A low rumble, like distant thunder, reverberated through the air. There's no way out... The thought echoed in his mind, but deep down, he refused to accept it. I can't let it consume me. I can't die here.
The shadows began to twist and writhe around him, taking on forms, like monstrous arms stretching out of the mist. He staggered back, his eyes wide with panic, but the figures closed in, tightening their grip. Their faces were still obscured, but their presence was suffocating, each one exuding an unbearable sense of dread.
A voice, harsh and grating, slithered into his mind like a snake's hiss.
"You cannot escape, Jin. The Trial will claim you. There is no way out."
He squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself to wake up, but the terror was all too real. The shadows were real. The Trial was real.
Suddenly, a sharp crack split the air. Jin flinched as the ground beneath him shattered, the stone altar cracking open like an ancient tomb. A dark, gaping maw formed in the center of the altar, its edges jagged and irregular. From the depths of the chasm, a figure emerged, its presence overwhelming. A towering form, cloaked in tattered robes, its face hidden by a hood that seemed to stretch into eternity. Its voice, when it spoke, reverberated in Jin's mind like the sound of a thousand screams.
"You will not escape, child. You will fall, as all have before you. The Abyss has claimed your soul. Your fate is sealed."
Jin's breath caught in his throat. No... this can't be real. This can't be happening.
The ground beneath him trembled violently as the figure extended its hand, reaching toward him. The air grew unbearably cold, a freezing chill seeping into his bones. The darkness around him seemed to deepen, pulling him in, the air thickening with the stench of decay and despair. It felt like the entire world was suffocating under the weight of the Trial.
Jin stumbled back, his heart pounding louder than ever. The voice echoed in his head, growing more frantic.
"Embrace it. Let it consume you. There is no escape. There is no salvation."
A wave of icy terror washed over Jin, but through the chaos, something flickered in his mind. No. I'm not finished yet. I'm not going to die here.
His hand shot out, grabbing onto a jagged stone jutting out from the altar, his fingers slipping from the cold surface. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he fought to steady himself, his body trembling with the effort.
The figure advanced, but Jin's mind raced, and his thoughts scrambled for a way out. He had seen it. The door—the same door that had haunted his nightmares. The eye. The golden surface. That thing had power. If he could just get to it, maybe—maybe—he could escape.
He ran. His feet pounded against the stone floor, each step reverberating through the chamber. The shadowy figures lunged at him, their forms snapping into sharp outlines, their hands reaching out to grab him, to drag him back into the darkness.
I won't stop. I can't stop.
Jin pushed forward with every ounce of strength he had, his body aching from the sheer exertion. The door—he had to reach the door. His breath came in ragged gasps, but he kept running, his pulse a deafening drumbeat in his ears. The figures screeched in the distance, their voices growing louder, more frantic, but Jin didn't look back.
The golden door loomed before him, but just as he reached out for the handle, a cold hand clasped around his wrist. Jin screamed, but the sound was swallowed by the dark void that surrounded him.
"You cannot escape, Jin. You are ours."
The voice was everywhere now, a hundred voices layered on top of one another, like a twisted chorus of agony. His vision blurred, the world spinning around him. The door. He had to reach the door. He wasn't going to let them take him.
With all his strength, Jin twisted his body, yanking his arm free from the grasp. His fingers brushed against the cold surface of the golden door, and in that moment, everything changed. A rush of warmth spread through his body, and the overwhelming sense of dread faded, replaced by an almost serene calmness.
The door creaked open, the eye carved into its surface pulsing with light. Jin stepped through, his heart pounding with a mix of fear and relief.
The moment his foot crossed the threshold, the trial shattered.
The darkness, the voices, the twisted figures—all of it dissolved into nothingness. The world around him blurred and twisted, as if reality itself was being torn apart. He was falling, plummeting through an endless abyss, but just as the darkness closed in on him, a sharp pull wrenched him back to the surface.
He gasped, his lungs burning as he sucked in a breath of air. The purple mist vanished. The oppressive weight that had been bearing down on him was gone. He was no longer in the trial.
Jin was lying on the cold stone floor of an unfamiliar room, gasping for breath. His heart was still racing, his body covered in sweat, but he was alive. He had made it out. The Trial... was over.
Part 2 The Revelation
Jin's breath steadied as he lay on the cold floor, his body still trembling from the ordeal. The purple mist had dissipated, replaced by an eerie calmness. His heart pounded, each beat reverberating in his chest as his mind struggled to process what had just transpired. Was it really over?
But before he could collect his thoughts, an intense, blinding pain shot through his head. It was as if his brain had suddenly been split open by an invisible force. Jin gasped, clutching his temples in agony as the pain intensified. His vision blurred, the room spinning around him.
"What the hell is this?" he groaned, his voice hoarse and desperate.
Suddenly, in the midst of the excruciating headache, golden letters appeared before him, floating in the air as if etched into the fabric of reality itself. He tried to blink them away, but they refused to disappear, their presence too vivid, too clear.
System... what? His mind barely grasped the idea of what was happening, but the letters were undeniable.
[System Update]
Abyss Walker Unlocked
Shadow Emperor Path Unlocked
LEVEL 7 SHADOW UNLOCKED
Skill Obtained: Absolute Order (Non-Combat Skill)
Jin stared at the words, confused and dizzy from the pain. His vision wavered, and he could feel the pressure building in his skull. The headache felt like it was tearing him apart from the inside out. But the words before him... What is this?
He tried to focus on the description of the new skill, his mind struggling to make sense of it, but the text swirled and distorted in front of his eyes. It looked like some kind of game interface, something he'd seen in his memories... but it didn't make sense. The letters weren't just words. They were alive—shifting and warping as if the very fabric of reality was being rewritten.
Skill: Absolute Order
Description Unavailable
A path between realms, a flicker of control, a cage for the mind...
Inescapable. Incomprehensible.
Jin's head throbbed with an unnatural intensity. What the hell? This can't be real.
He could feel the weight of the words pressing on him, an overwhelming sense of responsibility and power creeping into his bones. But what did it all mean? And more importantly, why now? Why was he suddenly receiving skills and powers like this?
As the golden letters began to flicker and fade, the pain in his head subsided somewhat, though it left behind an unsettling sense of confusion. His thoughts were racing, but there was no time to dwell on the cryptic text. Something was off.
Jin took a moment to gather his bearings, slowly sitting up from the cold stone floor. His limbs felt heavy, as though they weren't quite his own, as though he had just woken from a long, deep slumber.
It was then that he heard it. The faint sound of footsteps, followed by the creak of a door.
Jin froze, his senses sharpening. He turned his head slowly, eyes darting around the room. The faintest crack of light seeped through the cracks in the walls, revealing a dimly lit, cramped cell. A metal door with iron bars stood at the far side of the room, but there was no escape. No way out.
His body stiffened as the realization struck him.
I'm not... in the trial anymore.
The sounds outside grew louder, the footsteps now accompanied by voices. They were speaking, but the words were muffled. His head turned toward the door, his pulse racing as the horror of his situation dawned on him. He had been detained, captured. Locked up in a small, cold, sterile room.
Through the thin slats of the door, he caught a glimpse of the uniformed officers outside—police officers, their stern faces framed by the flickering light of candles. They were muttering to each other in hushed tones, discussing something.
His stomach churned. I'm in some kind of holding cell.
Jin pushed himself up, the cold stone against his palms sending shivers down his spine. He was breathing too fast, panicking. How did I get here? His mind raced, trying to make sense of it. He had been pulled into the Trial, had faced unimaginable horrors, and now—now he was locked up in a police cell?
Had the Trial been a nightmare? Or had it been real? Was he somehow still trapped within its twisted grip?
No. No, this can't be happening. This must be some kind of mistake.
Suddenly, the door to his cell opened with a loud clang. A tall officer stepped inside, his face hard and unreadable. His eyes locked onto Jin, a glimmer of recognition flashing across his features.
"You're awake," the officer said, his voice low and clipped.
Jin said nothing, still reeling from the shock of the situation. The officer glanced over his shoulder, as if awaiting orders from someone else.
"What happened?" Jin managed to croak out, his throat dry, his voice weak. "Why am I here?"
The officer paused for a moment, then stepped back, allowing a second man to enter. This man was older, with graying hair and a sharp, calculating gaze. His uniform was different from the others—a higher rank, perhaps.
"You've been... detained," the older man said, his tone heavy with something Jin couldn't place. "We found you in the streets, disoriented, surrounded by... strange circumstances. You're lucky we found you when we did."
The words barely registered in Jin's mind. Detained?
The older man stepped forward, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Jin with scrutiny. "There's something strange about you," he murmured. "Something... different. But we'll get to the bottom of it."
Jin swallowed hard, the reality of his situation sinking in. He could feel the power inside him now—strange and foreign, like it had been seeded into his very soul. The Abyss Walker path. Shadow Emperor. The weight of the title felt heavier now than ever before.
The officer turned and exited, leaving Jin alone with his thoughts.
What the hell is going on?
Jin slumped back against the wall, his mind still spinning. The golden text, the trial, the inexplicable powers—none of it made sense. But deep down, he knew one thing. He wasn't done yet. The Trial had just begun.