It didn't take too long for a list of dungeons to appear in Erebus' view, but most of them were greyed out due to his level and cultivation being too low along with some other requirements that he hadn't fully understood. The only dungeon he had available to him that wasn't locked behind some requirements was the oddly named "Shadow's Embrace" dungeon.

From what Erebus read about it upon expanding its description, he learned that this specific dungeon held mysterious secrets and helped to unlock a person's magical ability. Depending upon the completion rating of this dungeon, Erebus could possess average talent at a trash rating or godly prowess with an SSS+ rating.

When he saw that this dungeon could help him unlock his magical potential (which is very different than using the Force, mind you!), Erebus was very keen on trying to complete this dungeon with an SSS+ rating. He knew from his quest rewards that he was going to other worlds where magic existed, so he would need to make sure he had enough power to handle witches, wizards, and a whole slew of magical beasts without having to rely too heavily on using his Force abilities.

In fact, the thoughts he was having now would define how he would deal with the various wizarding worlds he would visit in his travels.

Deciding to put his plans into the back of his mind for the time being, Erebus tapped onto the dungeon icon for "Shadow's Embrace" and was met with a prompt.

{You have decided to enter this dungeon. Do you wish to pause the flow of time in your current world and be teleported straight into the Dungeon?}

{Y/N}

He tapped on "Yes."

{Time has been paused in your current world: Star Wars Galaxy. You will be teleported into the dungeon "Shadow's Embrace" in a few moments.}

A few moments later, the captain's quarters within his Voidship turned into a black void.

==+==

It was like everything had been left in a murky dark gray environment. The power of Shadow held different meanings across the various worlds where magic existed, but what Erebus would experience within this dungeon was not fighting monsters or facing magical beasts.

This dungeon had been especially crafted for Erebus by the Elder Gods themselves to make sure he could unlock his affinity for magic-but they knew that most remnant souls weren't always stable enough to handle wielding the arcane. Some had even attempted to wield magic in their new lives, but to only be faced with bitter disappointment.

When his System underwent its upgrade, Mortis had seen that the young lad had cultivated up to the peak of Mortal Refinement while keeping his level low enough to not heavily affect him going forward. This made him see the potential for him to wield arcane magic and he wasn't bothered by knowing that Erebus was going to wield Shadow Magic.

What interested Mortis was how many magical schools would have an affinity for him and it is through such curiosity that he crafted this specialized dungeon.

As soon as Erebus had been teleported into the dungeon, the dungeon itself started to attack him in subtle ways-always causing one hitpoint of damage. It wasn't every second he stayed he would be in danger since Erebus didn't have any healing abilities or potions to help with it outside of his natural restoration rate. No, the damage Erebus was getting from the dungeon was one hitpoint per minute.

Luckily for him and us (the readers), the system gave him a prompt which explained how to clear the dungeon.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

{You have entered the dungeon "Shadow's Embrace" and have begun the Trials of Shadow. For each minute you stay within this place, one hitpoint will be dealt to you until you reach exactly one hitpoint.}

{In order to clear the dungeon with a high rating (S to SSS+), you must ponder the meaning of Shadow.}

{If you reach one hitpoint and do not meet the clear conditions, you will have been regarded as failing the trials and have a lesser affinity for magic than normal.}

{As you have been noticed by higher deities, you are given a single hint to use within this dungeon.}

{Hint: Most people live their lives in the Light or in total Darkness. Only you can truly see what others cannot.}

{Good Luck.}

'That wasn't ominous at all,' Erebus thought. 'But the hint was helpful I suppose. From what I recall about what happened back on Dromund Kaas and using that cloak spell, I could feel how strained and stressed I was...'

Without knowing it, Erebus laid down in the lotus position as he delved into his own mind while the damage from the dungeon's environment continued. He went through his memories from both lives and let himself relive the happiest and darkest moments-including how he had perished during that extinction level event.

When he reached that moment in his life, he felt something shift in his soul. Erebus noticed this shift and continued to ponder on this moment in better detail.

He remembered the pain.

The fire.

The feeling of inevitability which shook all living creatures down to their core.

That cold feeling which signified certain and unavoidable death.

The madness which occurred when his soul was damaged.

Then he felt something else in his soul. An intense anger that threatened to raise Hell itself and directly affect the living soul itself.

Inside of the dungeon itself, the ground cracked beneath Erebus' body like he weighed tons. Outside of the dungeon itself and across the Variant Timelines, something noticed the disturbance.

This thing was not Voldemort from the dark Harry Potter fanfictions like "HP: The Arcane Thief" or Palpatine and Darth Vader, but much more destructive than even the Dark Side of the Force. It had noticed our MC for a long time ever since he died for the first time on Terra, yet it was only during this time that it had given more than a passing glance to an entity that was not a Primal Power.

Most mortals were only a passing glance and their souls burned up through using its powerful magic, but never a damaged soul like Erebus. It thought to itself that it will keep an eye on this remnant soul and if it liked him enough, it will pay attention to him after he fully recovers from the damage.

(A/N: Yes, there will be mysteries for Erebus to solve in later chapters/volumes. Maybe a certain grandfather tree could tell him about it? Time will tell.)

Back in the dungeon, Erebus was on three health out of one hundred. He hadn't realized it yet, but the time he spent delving into his own mind and reflect on his own soul was slower than what was going on in the dungeon.

However, one more minute passed and he was now on two health. One more minute and he would fail this dungeon, but after thirty seconds passed, something happened inside of the dungeon.

"It is the madness of immortals," Erebus spoke aloud as magical circles manifested in a cube shape around him-blocking the incoming damage of the dungeon which could have failed him. "The madness of knowing you cannot change and the looming inevitability that what you know could affect change. The meaning of Shadow is to force change that you want-regardless of the consequences-but it is also not at the same time. Reality is nothing more than a mere illusion we experience through the five senses: Sight, Smell, Touch, Taste, and Hearing. To wield the forces of Shadow is to cause change to the reality we experience."

{Congratulations! You have pondered the basic meaning of Shadow and thus have passed the Trials of Shadow.}

{From this trial, you have awakened an SSS+ grade affinity for magic and have unlocked the "Energy" stat, Arcane Attunement skill/ability, and been awarded for your efforts.}

{At your current level in the Arcane Attunement skill, you can select three more schools of magic to wield. Shadow Magic has automatically been redeemed and taken up one of four attunement slots.}

{As you make your selection, all damage (like environment) has been suspended.}

Erebus was shocked upon seeing this prompt appear as soon as he finished speaking his truth about Shadow, but that shock quickly turned into surprise. He opened up the available list of schools of magic he could take up and there were thousands of various magic schools to take up.

Luckily for him, said list came with a search function!

Taking a moment to mark up the things he desired, he was left with a few schools of magic he could take up...