Steve woke up in the middle of a meadow, with only darkness nearby. The grass on this field was one meter high, so it was hard to see anything.

He didn't have anything with him except basic clothing like shirt and pants. He had no boots nor sword. Conversation with Archibald without a sword was not possible. The artifact was the only way to speak with the wizard. It was also his only way to be safe, because he couldn't depend on his sword skills yet.

Whirl was also nowhere to be seen around of him. Suddenly he felt uncomfortable and alone.

Steve tried to see any signs of human, something familiar to him. Looking down, he saw thousands of swords scattered around, all looking like his sword. Picking up a few didn't succeed. He couldn't contact Archibald. These swords were normal.

Suddenly, he heard some noises in the grass behind him. He saw multiple of shadows, strangely reassembling wolves. The pack started to growl and chasing him.

What is going on. Why these wolves are chasing me. I have no chance of survive. If any of these swords were mine, I would survive. Steve's thoughts were swirling like a tornado.

Instead of instant dead he expected, a multitude of bites hit him. His body felt like bitten by thousands of wolves, but there were no wounds or any trace of blood.

On every step, Steve tried to pick up a sword and talk to Archibald, but none of the swords worked. Every bite was as sharp as a blade. Shadow wolves were hunting him, which was making him crazy. Everywhere he tried to hide, the enemies were finding him.

He saw her at that moment. Whirl was standing not far away, but her appearance caused Steve to shrug. She was dark, as everything in that Meadows. She looked like shadow, and even her breathing didn't look real.

"Whirl!" He was trying to call her out. She didn't respond or look at him at all until he came close enough to see her face. The emotionless face of the friend pushed Steve away.

"Why are you here? I don't want to know you. You are nothing but a lonely loser who can't achieve anything on your own." Steve thought that Whirl is his friend, so every word cut him more than all the bites from before.

"Why are you saying this. We should be helping each other. I'm your friend!" He tried to convince the girl about their friendship.

"Hahaha, such a loser?" She snorted, saying that, picking out her daggers. "Better prepare to be dead."

Steve immediately tensed his muscle, ready to run. He knew that the probability of staying alive was extremely low, as Whirl was a much better fighter out than he was.

Behind Whirl, he saw a sword. It was different from all the swords lying on the ground. This one was on a stand. He intuitively knew that this sword, was the sword. He wanted to evade Whirl and take it, but somehow she knew what he was up to.

The girl moved instantly, aiming for the heart, but Steve was able to move from the direction of the hit. Sudden pain surprised him. Whirl made a slash with a second hand, hitting his stomach. Blood spurted as Steve tried to stop it from flowing out of him. He knew that the only way for him to survive is to get to this sword as soon as possible. Unfortunately for him, Whirl knew this as well.

He tried dashing to the sword, but she knocked him out without even stretching her arms. More than the urge to revenge, Steve regretted that even Whirl, the one who was friend with him, didn't want to know him then. He could win with her, if only he had the sword. Without it and the magic it contained, he stood no chance.

Steve knew that something was not right and Whirl wasn't herself. He thought that maybe it's the Stone putting him in trial. He tried one more thing.

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"Hey, I can give you anything you imagine, if you help me."

"You have my attention, continue." Whirl was preparing her daggers for the final blow.

"This sword is the most powerful artifact in the world. If you handle it to me, I can satisfy all of your deepest dreams. Just imagine, your family acknowledging you as the most important child."

Whirl backed down her daggers. "That sounds," she made a pause, closing her eyes and trying to imagine it, "interesting. Having the position and glory in my family."

Steve knew that this moment of distraction is his only way to turn around the situation. He pushed her with all the strength left and ran to the sword. When Whirl woke up from her dreams, Steve was already grabbing the sword. She tried to catch him, but he was too far away.

He caught the handle and made a thought immediately.

"Archibald, are you there?" If the thoughts of someone could be loud or quiet, this would be the loudest one.

"You really made it, and that young wizard is the end of the trials. I am really glad." Steve heard a familiar voice in his head, and he felt better in a moment. Nothing mattered anymore.

Suddenly, he appeared in the closed area shaped as a sphere. The boundaries of this space were deep blue.

"Archibald, what is going—"

"He is not going to hear you. You are in a restricted place, so no external interferences are allowed here." The mysterious voice was so overwhelming that it chilled him to the bones.

"You are The Stone. I finished trials, so there should be some consequences. But, where am I now?" Asked Steve.

"You are in my imaginative space. I would like to congratulate you on these trials. During thousands years of my existence, you were the second person that successfully finished them. The one you follow, the one who teaches you, succeeded like you."

"Archibald made it too? Why didn't he tell me about steps in the trial." Steve couldn't believe Archibald hid important information from him.

"He could not help you. If he did, I would not acknowledge you as a success. Only slight pointing towards trials is acceptable. But details cannot be told." Explained Stone. "Enough talking. This is something that Archibald will tell you or not. It depends on him. Now, what is your wish. I can grant you one, and then, we will never meet again."

"I felt bites all on my body on these meadows. Why—".

"I said enough." The Stone cut his talking. "I do not like wasting my time, so hopefully your next words will be your wish. Otherwise, I will not grant it at all."

Steve needed to be careful. The Stone was serious with his words. There were two things he needed as much as everything.

One is revenge for his family and friends. Wiping out his entire village left invisible scars in his soul. Being able to make judgement upon the culprits of that event, made some part of him cry with joy.

On the other side, he could save Gret town. There wasn't much there to be saved in town itself, except of Whirl, who happened to be in the middle of the battle. She could die without any help.

Suddenly, he knew what he wanted to ask for.

"I want the power. The power to protect people precious to me." Steve asked for the wish, which will let him reaching both of his goals. With power, he would save Whirl and revenge his town.

"In your words I feel fire. Therefore, you will be the power of fire. I hope you will achieve your goals thanks to that. Good luck."

A hot, burning sensation started to overwhelm Steve. In a second, he was feeling his heart scorching. The feeling was as fire starting to ignite in his body. Because of the pain, he could only see a light so bright as a sun in the middle of a day.

Suddenly, everything stopped, but Steve felt totally different. He was awake, but he couldn't sense his limbs. Only his mind felt the same but powerful at the same time. He sensed fire all around him. Steve regained vision only to see his body lying on the ground.

"Am I dead?" Scared, he took a look to the left. He saw Whirl fighting with a dagger and his sword with a shadow. He thought that maybe after finishing trial everything will stop, but it didn't. Rage was starting to grow in him. He tried to release it, but without luck. Whirl was in a terrible position in this fight. Her death could happen at any second, and Steve needed to help her.

He concentrated on the sword that she was wielding. Knowing, after examination, that it must be his sword, he was wondering why Archibald is not helping her. He took a look at a dagger. While looking, a sudden urge grew up in him to connect with this weapon. He tried to resist it, but the more he did, the closer he was drawn to it.

With a bright explosion, his ethereal body connected with a dagger, now heavily used to slash shadow's back. Steve felt that his rage was getting to the climax. Pure, not controlled magic filled the battlefield, erasing all the shadows, and few allies.

The battle of Gret was won, but Steve didn't know the consequences of his journey yet.