“Okay, Gökbörü. Here is our problem.”

I sat cross-legged on the floor, in complete darkness. I couldn’t fully discern whether the stone I sat on was wet or just cold.

“If I don’t focus on the edge of my being, I can’t stop this anxiety from flooding inside me.”

I coughed at my phrasing.

“But to do that I need to stay still and focus which means I can’t move.”

Gökbörü tilted his head side to side, looking at me with beady eyes. I could feel that he was as puzzled as me. I sighed, rubbing my temples.

"Exactly. If I focus on holding back the fear, I can't move forward. But if I try to move forward, I can't keep the fear at bay."

It was a maddening loop. Gökbörü whined softly, his eyes glowing faintly in the oppressive darkness. He sat beside me, licking his paw, occasionally glancing around as if expecting something to jump out of the shadows. His natural instincts were just as on edge as mine.

“Jaguar Ancestor could do it while sparring against me like it was as easy as breathing. So it should be possible for me to do it while moving.”

Except I wasn’t some thousands-year-old divine being. I sighed and closed my eyes. Obviously, I knew what this trial was before coming here. But I told myself that I could see in the darkness and resist status effects.

“Alright. No use sitting here.”

I got up slowly.

“Gökbörü, do you know what is the scariest part of horror movies?”

He tilted his head to the side once again.

“The music and the anticipation!”

I grinned, remembering one of the most ridiculous songs from the modern world—the circus song. Somehow, the upbeat, chaotic tune of Entry of the Gladiators wormed its way into my mind. It was ridiculous, almost laughable, but that’s what I needed.

“There are no monsters in darkness waiting to eat my ass!”

I yelled into the void, arms spread wide.

With a startled yelp, Gökbörü was scooped up into my arms, his eyes wide with confusion. Without hesitation, I began sprinting into the darkness, his warm body pressed against me as we dashed forward.

What I was trying to do was change the “genre” I felt I was in. Like how Buggs Bunny did when he faced monsters. Simply be silly. If I become so full of silliness and childish glee, I could push down the anxiety being reinforced by the trial deeper inside.

I nearly slammed into a wall as my range of vision was only several meters but I managed to push myself off it and keep running. Gökbörü was enjoying the speeds we were traveling in, despite our close calls with the walls.

As I sprinted into the darkness, the absurdity of my own actions made me laugh out loud, breaking the eerie silence of the labyrinth. The oppressive atmosphere seemed to retreat, just slightly as if taken aback by the ridiculousness of my approach. Gökbörü's fur tickled my arm as he squirmed, his confusion turned to excitement. His playful barks echoed off the unseen walls, adding to the chaotic energy I was building.

Yet even as we ran, a small part of me stayed aware of the underlying truth—the trial was affecting us both. Even as I laughed and Gökbörü barked in excitement, I could make out whispers of something on my neck. Something, someone was so close to touching my hair, grabbing my cloak.

It was just behind me.

I didn’t look.

There was nothing there. The sensation of a dry and wrinkled hand touching me was just my brain. The hot breath I felt on my neck was just my paranoia.

There is nothing there. I had no reason to look back.

It will grab me.

If I looked back, I would just be reinforcing the sensation.

It is going to kill me.

I tried to let out another laugh but it got stuck on my throat.

My breath hitched as the imaginary hand gripped tighter around my neck. I slowed down for just a second, my steps faltering as the oppressive fear began to seep back into my bones. The childish glee, the circus song in my head, the ridiculousness—it was all slipping away, like sand through my fingers.

“No, no, no,” I muttered, desperately clinging to the laughter. I forced a smile, even though my legs felt like lead.

Gökbörü barked, sensing my hesitation. He wriggled in my arms, pawing at my chest, his sharp claws digging into my skin just enough to snap me out of the downward spiral. His eyes were wide, filled with a primal understanding. He could feel it too—the presence that wasn’t really there, but also was.

I swallowed hard. “Right. Can’t stop. Keep going.”

I picked up the pace again, my legs screaming in protest as I pushed forward through the darkness. My breaths came out ragged, and uneven, but I forced myself to focus on the rhythm of my steps, the weight of Gökbörü in my arms, and the sound of his heartbeat syncing with mine.

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The fear was trying to close in again, but I couldn’t let it. I couldn’t give it that foothold.

I forced the ridiculous circus song back into my head, humming it under my breath. It sounded hollow and thin, but it was something. I had to stay ahead of whatever was creeping behind me, even if it was just in my mind.

Then, just as I began to think I could outrun it, the whispers came. Soft, barely audible, like someone speaking just out of reach. They slithered into my ears, twisting and curling around my thoughts. My heart raced, and my mind screamed at me to stop, to turn around, to face whatever was behind me.

No. Don’t look.

A thousand eyes are watching you.

Hungry for your warmth, your mana, your life.

Gökbörü curled into a ball in my arms, whimpering and shaking. I fell down on my knees, my greaves scraping loudly against the stone. I closed my eyes to focus on my being again.

Open your eyes.

They are here.

Just in front of you.

Slithering and crawling towards you.

I opened my eyes. Just for a second. I will open my eyes and see that there is nothing.

Except, there was something. Something that made my legs lose what little power they had. My eyes widened in disbelief. Just a few meters ahead I saw them—countless eyes, pale and lidless, staring back at me. They blinked in unison, their gaze unwavering and predatory, like wolves circling prey, they’d already claimed. My breath caught in my throat, the air growing thick, too thick, as if the darkness itself was choking me.

I should been relieved. Like how some watching a horror movie would let their breath go after the monster reveals itself. I should been relieved that I had entities I could fight and kill, yet, yet…

My body refused to respond. My legs, trembling and numb from the creeping terror, felt like they were anchored to the ground. Gökbörü barked weakly in my arms, his tiny body shivering uncontrollably. He was strong, but even he couldn't resist the trial's overwhelming force. The fear gnawed at us both, a relentless hunger that sought to devour not just our bodies but our will to fight.

“Fuck that.”

I slammed my head to the stone beneath us with force enough to draw blood and crack it. The pain somehow helped me to forget my fear. I took a deep breath, digging deep into the well of mana that roared within me. Summoning my sacred sword, I channeled it full of mana before releasing it with Mana Erupt. A surge of violet energy flared to life around me, crackling like wildfire in the night. But the moment it touched the monsters, it disappeared.

“Wha- What?”

The eyes in the darkness blinked, their pale glow reflecting my confusion and frustration. My attack had no effect as if the very space around these creatures swallowed the energy whole. Gökbörü whimpered louder, his paws scratching against my chest in panic, but I couldn't move. I couldn't feel my limbs. The air was thick with an unnatural pressure, something heavier than just fear—it was despair, a force that gripped my heart and squeezed.

"This... this can't be right," I muttered, trying to make sense of the situation. But I just couldn’t focus. The whispers were too loud. My heart was beating too thunderously. I had to silence it. I had to draw my focus somewhere else.

I grabbed my right pinky finger with my left hand and broke it with a sharp move. The sharp pain shot through my hand like a burst of lightning, momentarily drowning out the whispers and the oppressive weight of despair. I gasped, my body jerking as my mind cleared just enough to break the hold the fear had on me. The pain was grounding—raw, real, something tangible I could focus on instead of the invisible terror gnawing at my sanity. Using that momentum, I closed my eyes and focused on finding the edges of my own being.

Slowly, I pulled my awareness away from the oppressive whispers and the thousand watching eyes, drawing it inward, to the very edge of my being.

Focus. Focus on the core. Block everything else.

The pressure on my mind lessened just a fraction as I honed in on my own presence. I could feel the fear still pressing in, like a storm trying to break through a fortress wall, but it was outside me now, not consuming me. The edges of my soul, where that anxiety tried to seep in, were clearer. Sharper.

(Unwavering Focus ranked up to C rank. Your mastery of concentration has significantly improved, allowing you to maintain clarity of thought and purpose even in the most chaotic of battles.)

(You acquired the passive skill Soulboundry Awareness.)

I could clearly see the feelings trying to wriggle inside my mind now. I pushed them out and the whispers stopped. The creatures vanished out of my sight as if they never existed at all. I walked forward and navigated the labrything.

(You completed the trial of Eternal Night.)

(Rating party’s performance…)

(A-)