The air grew heavier as Ning Que stepped into the corridor, the door behind him groaning shut with an ominous thud that echoed into the dark. Gold inscriptions glimmered faintly along the stone walls, whispering secrets only the dead could understand. Ning Que read each of them, easily deciphering the meanings behind each message.
"System, what language is this?" He whispered as his eyes raked over the inscriptions. Many of them translated to old words of advice, while some were in parables.
{Ancient Travic, used by old hunters before the great battle} the robotic voice replied. Ning Que's curiosity grew. "Great battle?"
{Yes. Beasts and tunnels existed the same way they do now, but it has been almost five centuries.}
His brows shot up at the discovery. Interesting, he thought.
He paid no attention to the two guards that flanked him on both sides, their faces expressionless, eyes hidden behind dark visors. They didn't speak, or blink, just walked with him in silence, the only sound echoing being the dull thud of their boots and Ning Que's shallow breathing.
For some reason, this didn't feel like a reassessment, it felt more like a trap. But he had to go through with it, to avoid raising unnecessary suspicion from the Guild. Ning Que had not yet fully understood what had happened to him, so it was best to lay low and comply until he did.
The hallway stretched on forever, each step pulling him deeper into something he couldn't quite name. The last time he'd felt this kind of dread was when he watched his mother stab William.
And then die right in front of him.
His fingers curled at the memory, the flames of that trauma still licking behind his mind. The night he died.
At the end of the hallway stood another door. It was much older, larger, its frame cracked with time, and the vines of what looked like some long-dead plant twisted across the surface like overworked veins. There was only one tiny inscription at the doorknob, and Ning Que's observant eyes were able to read it before he was tapped on the shoulder.
"In here." one of the guards finally spoke, his voice hollow and strangely deep, like it hadn't been used in years.
Ning Que didn't hesitate a moment longer, and he pushed the door open. A blinding white light spilled out, washing over his senses like ice water in winter. He squinted his eyes, struggling to adjust.
And then, it was darkness. The sudden change made Ning Que's mind spin with confusion, and he struggled to balance. Silence filled the space. He couldn't feel the presence of the guards anymore, and knew that the trial had started already. He took a deep breath, calming his nerves.
Wind. It knocked into him from all sides, making him snap his eyes open. He let out a small gasp.
Ning Que stood on the edge of a black cliff, staring down into a swirling void of grey clouds. The sky above was red, the clouds churning and moving violently like the heavens were boiling. The mountains in the horizon floated in midair, twisted in impossible shapes. This wasn't reality, he thought. This wasn't even the dungeon world or a tunnel.
This was… something else.
"Welcome to the Trial of Truth," a calm deep and god-like voice echoed from the clouds. "Your reassessment begins now. Objective: Survive."
Ning Que scoffed, like survival wasn't what he had been doing all his life.
The ground beneath him shifted suddenly, forming a circular arena. He stumbled backwards, supporting his body weight against a boulder forming behind him. A thick fog formed in the arena, surrounding him and blocking his vision. Out of the mist, figures began to take shape. Ning Que squinted his eyes, trying to see through the fog.
His heart nearly stopped and jumped out of his chest as he realized who was in front of him.
William.
His younger brother stood at the opposite end of the arena, his eyes hollow and his mouth stitched shut like it had been sewn. His body was covered in blood, trembling like a broken puppet, desperate to be let free. William looked exactly the way he had when Oliver—no, Ning Que—found him in the warehouse that night.
"No." Ning Que whispered, stepping back. He couldn't believe his eyes, was this place playing a cruel trick on his mind? "William.." He muttered, his feet moving towards his brother's bloodied body with hesitation. Ning Que stretched out his hand, reeling at the possibility of having his brother back again.
Then a second figure emerged. It was walking towards him from the left, and Ning Que snapped his head towards it. His stomach dropped. His mother.
Her eyes were wild, with a blade in her hand. She had the same drug-starved glare in her eyes from that night. She moved slowly, dragging the knife along the stone floor, leaving behind a trail of sparks. She laughed maniacally, her pace increasing with each step.
Ning Que's eyes widened and he turned sharply, but the edge of the cliff was right behind him. There was nowhere to run.
"Objective updated: Face your past. Defeat the illusions. Preserve your mind," the deep voice rang again. Ning Que looked up at the clouds, rage flooding his system.
"What kind of a joke is this?" He yelled to no one in particular. He exhaled, shutting his eyes and letting his nerves calm. Ning Que tightened his grip on his sai.
"Nope. Not today." he muttered under his breath, watching his mother still walking towards him.
As if triggered by a remote, the illusions charged straight at him, each one screaming loudly. His mother moved first, raising the knife in the air, with the same madness burning in her expression. He dodged, swerving to the left and striking her in the side with his sai, only for it to pass right through her.
His body froze as he realized he couldn't actually hit her.
Ning Que's mother turned slowly, her face splitting into a grotesque smile. She growled at Ning Que, her teeth morphing into long sharp fangs. Ning Que lunged her backwards, rethinking his strategy.
Then William moved, but it didn't look like it was him. The boy was twitching unnaturally, his limbs jerking in different directions that didn't make sense. Something was puppeteering his body, and as he got closer, Ning Que saw it.
A black shadow clung to William's back like a parasite, with long fingers sunk into his spine, and a mouth whispering into his ears. The shadowy didn't have any visible facial features, so Ning Que knew it was possessing him. Before William could move any further, Ning Que lunged forward, slicing through the tendrils that connected the shadow to his brother.
This time, his blade struck, cutting through flesh and bone, releasing a black thick liquid. The creature let out a high-pitched scream, forcing Ning Que to cover it's ears. Soon it was retreating into the mist, dragging the illusion of William with it.
His mother's form dissolved next, the same maniacal smile on her face. Silence returned. The only sound was Ning Que's pants, and the slice of metal and he sheathed his sai.
"Round One complete," the deep voice said. "Beginning Phase Two: Internal Awakening."
Ning Que grunted. "All this to reassess my rank? This is bullshit!" He roared, tossing his sai to the floor. He sat on the floor, crossing his legs and waiting for the next change to happen. It was supposed to, and Ning Que shut his eyes, preparing for round two.
When he opened his eyes again, the sky had shifted, and the floating mountains cracked as if they would break. Before Ning Que could breathe, the ground under him shattered, dropping him into darkness again.
He hit the earth hard, groaning as pain shot up his spine. And when he opened his eyes, he was back in the alleyway, the same one from the night he died. Ning Que frowned, dusting his trousers as he got up from the floor. He gripped his sai tightly, gritting his teeth at the realization.
This time, he wasn't Oliver. He was Ning Que.
The warehouse stood ahead of him. But the screams… they were louder now, like the combination of a million souls trapped in agony. It didn't sound so much like an illusion, because it felt like he was reliving.
Ning Que let out a sigh. Suddenly, the system's robotic voice rang in his head. {Caution, C rank beast ahead. Would you like to level up?}
Ning Que froze. "C rank? That doesn't make sense. Don't they know I'm an E rank hunter?" He said, his voice filled with exasperation. Ning Que looked at the options the system displayed behind his eyes. Strength and Agility were at 50, and he figured he would need to level them up.
"How do I face a C rank beast alone?"
{Use stored mana.} The system's voice suggested.
Ning Que exhaled, and looked at the screen.
Then he spoke, "Level up Strength and Agility."