'I thought this would be a normal day, so why am I suddenly thrown into some trials out of nowhere?'
Orion crossed his arms in frustration. For once, he wanted to patiently wait for the others to return while playing with Sirius.
With no interest in training, he found himself forced to participate in challenges created by a monster he had no idea existed.
'Diramoi...'
His eyes fell on the being covered in flames. It was pretty big, around the same size, or bigger than Monolavir. It was a giant creature that overlooked Orion as if he were an insect.
(Trials, right?)
As expected, his voice kept getting stuck in his throat. No sound escaped his mouth.
Only the voice of Diramoi echoed.
"You will now be sent to five trials. Each one of them will bring you closer to the demon's true potential."
"What you will be able to use will depend on the environment you will be put in. Be ready, whatever happens will rapidly erode your mental state. You will suffer, again, and again."
The voice suddenly became louder in his ears.
"May the first trial begins."
Once those words ended, the surrounding darkness was pushed away by a bright light that blinded Orion.
Diramoi faded into the light, until it completely disappeared, staying as a mysterious entity until the end.
The light faded, letting Orion see at last.
(Where am I?)
He touched his throat with a frown.
'I am still unable to talk. What a bother.'
Letting go of his frustration, he looked around him.
His eyes opened wide, a drop of sweat falling down his cheek.
'Where am I?'
An unending road laid in front of him. A barren wasteland extended on both sides, with no signs of life in any directions.
When he looked behind him, the road stopped into vast darkness, similar to the one he was previously.
The difference was, the feeling coming from it was awful.
'Why do I feel in danger just looking at this?'
He approached the edge of the road, before looking down into the dark matter. It was darker than the abyss Orion stared into in the Carmel Sea.
*Crack*
Suddenly, the road broke off, with Orion standing on it. The path crumbled into various parts, before being swallowed by the void.
(Kh!)
Orion had avoided falling into it by a strand of hair, and realized the mistake he had made.
'Why did I do that? I don't remember being stupid enough to risk my life like this...'
For someone naturally cautious, this was the first mistake he had made in a long time. Yet, his gaze couldn't avoid looking back toward the darkness.
When he focuses his senses on it, he realized that it was alive. With shock painted on his face, he took a step back, before the darkness began to move in his direction, swallowing the road at the same time.
Dark hands ripped pieces of the world, rapidly closing on Orion. Panic took over him, before he began to run forward.
'Why can't I warp? I can't use any of my powers in here!'
Instantly, he realized that he was powerless. All he could do was run.
'This is not me! I shouldn't be panicking!'
The first trial had begun before Orion could understand what it was about. With the darkness approaching faster each time he took a step forward, there was no time to even think.
~
"Ladies! I am pleased to see you once again in my shop."
The clothier who made Amelia, Karteira, Dramia, Drania, and Orion's clothes smiled while recalling their previous visit.
"Miss Kamala, you have brought me many more customers once again. I cannot express my happiness in having such a kind-hearted Lord."
Kamala nodded and looked at the group behind her.
"These ladies came to Hocride to buy swimsuits. As you can see, there are a few members having a peculiar anatomy, which should make your job a little more... interesting."
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
His eyes fell on Deveralna and Senia.
"I can work on a lamia, but what faction is this person from?"
Senia pointed at herself.
"Me? I am a siren."
"A siren... Fascinating."
Scanning all the women in the room in a blink of an eye, he nodded. In his mind, he had already pictured the best swimsuits possible while keeping in mind their various traits.
Amelia, Tetra, and Deveralna. Those three had the largest breasts of the group. Then, Karteira, May, Senia, and Henrietta were medium-sized, followed by Dramia, Drania, and Olivia, who were rather on the small side of things.
Stella was still a child, so the man immediately thought of a one-piece more suitable than a two-pieces, usually best on adults.
"I get it. I will ask my clerk to measure the chest and hip area for those I don't have the notes on. If you could wait an hour, everything will be done in that time."
Satisfied, Kamala placed a fat pouch on the counter.
"As usual, you work fast. Here's the payment."
"Kamala?!"
Amelia, taken aback, immediately called her out.
"What? Can't I do that for you?"
"You can... but... we weren't supposed to have you pay for us."
They all looked apologetic.
"In that case, can I join you?"
"Huh?"
Blinking wildly, they looked at her with dumbfounded expressions. She approached Stella and crouched in front of her, putting her long white skirt between her thighs and butt.
"Do you mind if I join the picnic?"
"N-No."
Stella blushed slightly in front of her, and shook her head.
"Thank you."
She stood back up and smiled warmly.
"I really needed a day of rest. When I heard you were all going to have fun, I was a little jealous, to be honest."
The man looked at Kamala with fire in his eyes.
"A swimsuit for Lady Kamala! Oooooh! It makes my clothier blood boils!"
"I can create clothes for beautiful ladies, but also work with the Lord herself? What a day."
He bowed forward and began to cry.
"Thank you for the opportunity!"
At that moment, Amelia approached the man with a box in her hands.
"I'm truly sorry to bother your excitement, but I have another request."
Straightening his body, he tilted his head and looked at the box.
"Yes? What can I do for you?"
When she opened the box, the man instantly recognized his work.
"This... how did it end up torn like this?"
Taking the clothes Orion wore during his fight against Elliott in his hands, he frowned. He turned it at various angles and noticed the large opening in the chest and back area.
"Is the man alright?"
Worried, he looked at Amelia.
"He is fine. While it took some time for him to recover, everything ended up being alright."
"That is good to hear."
Breathing a sight of relief, he placed the outfit back into the box, and closed it.
"Do you wish for me to repair it?"
"If it is possible, yes. He said that these clothes were very comfortable and easy to move in, and that it was a shame that they ended up thrashed like this."
Joy filled the clothier.
"If your friend liked my work that much, I see no reason to refuse. Please leave this to me."
He took the box from Amelia's hands, and took it with him.
"Thank you very much."
Amelia bowed forward slightly as the man disappeared into his workshop.
"Meanwhile..."
Her gaze turned to Stella, who blinked cutely.
"Yes?"
"Let's dress you up, shall we?"
The little girl was shown the world of fashion by the adults next to her. She enjoyed wearing cute outfits she wouldn't normally wear, and ultimately had a good time listening to everyone's advice.
An hour went by so fast that their order was done before their enjoyment dried out.
~
(Damn it!)
Orion kept running on the endless road. The pavement behind him cracked below his feet and broke off the moment his foot left the ground.
The void behind him was as close as it could be, pressuring him each moment of his escape.
'What am I supposed to do? There's no way I'm escaping this thing, and I'm not seeing an end to this path!'
It felt like at least half a day had gone past. He ran for so long, yet couldn't see the end of the road ahead.
None of his abilities worked. Neither his 'Calm Analysis', nor 'Eagle Eyes' worked. He was alone in a barren wasteland, chased by endless darkness that tried to devour him.
His mind was a mess. Knowing that he was thrown into some sort of trials out of nowhere did not help in easing his emotions, but the worst part was, he couldn't understand why he was unable to control them.
Usually, he could stay calm in any and every situation. His first encounter with Velridar was normal, where anyone else would have panicked and fled.
(Why?! Why am I so panicked?!)
He couldn't understand.
Staring over his shoulder, he looked into the dark expanse behind him, eating the ground rapidly.
(I can't manage to create some distance! If I fall, it's over!)
When he looked in front of him again, he noticed something different. Burning corpses were standing still in a running posture on the side of the road.
'What?'
Orion went past the first one. He looked behind him, and saw the body fell into the darkness, the flame instantly extinguished.
His feet kept on running. The more he ran, the more his sight filled with burning corpses.
There was no smell, no sounds, just a bland repetition of the same event.
'Is that supposed to represent me?'
More than a thousand bodies fell into the void, but it still stayed close to him. It relentlessly chased, without stopping once.
'...'
At last, Orion calmed down. He had fled for a long time, and finally, he began to understand.
'This is a trial. That thing, Diramoi... it did not explain whatever the first trial was supposed to be.'
'But I get it now.'
Orion began to lower his pace, and let the ground drag him with it into the darkness. He twisted his body and stared at the void.
Dark tendrils emerged from the darkness, enveloping his body tightly, before pulling him closer and closer to it.
(Embrace the darkness in your heart.)
(These unusual emotions, those were the fears I repressed.)
The panic Orion felt, the lack of self-preservation, the fear, those were emotions he was unfamiliar with because he could control them previously.
True to himself, he realized that the darkness wasn't his enemy, but his emotions were. So, he embraced the void.
-
"What were you feeling when you jumped into that fire?"
A monotone voice echoed in the dark.
"I was terrified. Not of the fire itself, but of losing Amelia."
"What were you feeling when you entered that sacred place?"
The robotic tone kept asking the same kind of question.
"The place that housed the Apostle's Ceremony? Anger, yet, it quickly died down when I took the life of that human."
"What were you feeling when you fought your first real battle?"
"Are you asking about the final room of the underground? I felt like dying. Being pressured by the lack of time forced me to choose one of the worst options I could pick in this situation."
"What were you feeling when you encountered Elliott?"
"..."
Orion hesitated.
"Rage. Pure, unfiltered rage."
The voice changed its question.
"Is that it?"
"I suppose not. I was holding my fears back. 'Was my life just a joke?' is what I thought the moment I saw him."
"This very moment was when I regretted choosing the path of vengeance. I was supposed to die alone, but here I was, putting their lives in danger too."
A long sighed escaped his mouth.
"The choices I made weren't the smartest, but I believe they were right."
-
Diramoi's voice suddenly replaced the monotonous voice.
"Is that truly how you feel?"
"I do."
"So be it. You have completed the first trial. The path of a demon starts with accepting the emotions it had repressed in his heart."
"On to the second trial."
Once again, a flash of light blinded Orion.
*Sigh*
(Now what?)
Orion opened his eyes, and looked in front of him.
The second trial began was underway.