The bright golden light shined and pierced through the eyelids of Tarphus, blinding him. It felt as though someone decided to wedge nails into his eyes and hammered them all the way into the very back of his Skull. It took him a few seconds to achieve some level of light tolerance. However, this did not mean he was not active; he lowered his stature and tensed, preparing for the worst.

It was here that Tarphus learned where he was; it was a sizeable gilded room, gold and gemstones weaved together here as if it was naturally formed.

The room was so tall that he could not see the ceiling, the floor made of polished marble, and on the walls, oh by the gods, the walls there on the walls were images and stories. They were so lifelike that Tarphus did indeed fear that they were honest in their descriptions. He indeed feared that they would step out of the walls to destroy him for witnessing the spender, which no mortal has the right to bear witness to.

Tarphus was in awe at the wonders he is now bearing witness to. Until he looked from the massive gilded door to the centerpiece of this room, he realized that he was not alone. They're on an enormous throne of gold and jewelry that made a mockery of anything and everything that he described as fancy or beautiful. It was a sizeable 3.05-meter skeleton; it still had layers of flesh on its body. However, no average human should still be alive if they had such wounds.

However, Tarphus knew it was still alive as a veil of power emanating from it. Such dominating force made his knees wobble. He knew Tarphus knew that should this ever want his destruction; then he would just disappear.

"Please go back to the splendor of my halls. It has been so long since someone last took a look at the beauty that is my tomb." A voice whispered in the back of Tarphus's mind. He grew confused and anxious; he looked around as the Skeleton could not be the one speaking.

A raspy chuckle emitted from the back of Tarphus's mind, "I can assure you that I am the one that sits on the throne, I am the one whose house you gawked at, and it is I whom you are bargaining for power from." There was a pause; the boy tensed as a pressure formed in the back of his mind. It turned into a full-blown migraine as images of his past flowed to the forefront of his mind. He relived each and every memory.

His face contorted with shame and embarrassment, then expressed pure joy in the next moment. Rage consumed him after that, all the while the Skeleton remained silent and cold. Still, there was something, a twinkle in its one remaining eye.

There was no clock or timepiece, so Tarphus did not know if time even passed here. All he could do was relive his life. It felt as though an eternity came and left. Yet it also felt as though only a few seconds passed him by time felt fluid to him.

Then it ended, and silence was the only thing in the air, not the tranquil silence that one could nod off to. No, it was the deafening silence that drove one mad. This silence was laced with the overbearing pressure from the Skeleton on that gilded throne of his. At this point, Tarphus knew this was his trial. However, he did not know how to complete it.

The voice intruded into the young man's mind again. "I have witnessed your entire life, your honors, and shames; I have seen your weakness and your strength. I do not find you worthy of my power."

Tarphus looked down at his hands. Pure pain traced up along his very veins. He could only look in horror as his veins turned pitch black. "However, I also see potential, so much that I would be remiss if I were to turn you away now, in the future? Perhaps, but that is a prospect for another time. In short, boy, you have passed this trial; the next will be in five days. Then, rest and be ready for blood."

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The silence was deafening; Tarphus was given time to process what was said. He was interrupted before he could ask anything. "My realm is that of war. War is the kiln of my subjects. It is where they are broken down. Through the battle, they are forged. Victory builds them. Loss tempers them. They willingly throw themselves on the pyre of war just to keep humanity alive. You will learn from them, you will be thrown into that kiln, and it will be on you to not only survive but be forged. So goodbye, and I hope you will be ready for that."

Tarphus felt as though someone had started to pull him away from this place. He struggled. He had so many questions. Who was this Skeleton? What was his subsequent trial? Who would willingly throw themselves onto a pyre? It was utter madness, and yet this was his only chance for power, that power he so desperately needed.

The tug became a whirlwind of force that pushed him away from this ethereal wonder, out the colossal doors and into a new room, one much more familiar. The church in Cullivan was standing around him were his fellows gathered. They were looking around in the air, dazed, almost like they were reading something. He trembled, knees growing weak as he whispered. "Status." lines of text that only he could see appeared.

Race: Human Class: Summoner

Stars: 3

Status: Green

Familiar: Servo Skull

Summons: Locked until the challenge is completed

Items: Locked until the challenge is completed

Challenges: Opens in five days

It took Tarphus a little to calm himself after seeing how much of his potential is locked to him. However, now was not the time for that. He wondered what the Servo Skull was, but he did not want to cause a scene, so he kept himself away from the other nobles who were chatting about their classes.

One was happy that he was a Dragon Knight, but it was Christapher who was the most elated of the group, that victorious grin, how he said with such pride. "I am a five-star summoner of the elemental planes!" He eyed up the females with lust on his face; Tarphus made sure not to be in the same area as him.

Thankfully the Knight came in and told and ended the event; the people split into the various Inns. However, Christapher did not want such an inhospitable environment for himself, so the Cullivan estate was forced to allow Christapher into its beloved halls.

This meant that all the nobles were allowed into the halls of Cullivan. So there, the two friends were inside of a carriage traveling to the Mansion Dimitir looked at his friend. "Hey, what did you get? I got the 4 Star Juggernaut." Dimitir smiled and laughed; Tarphus laughed with him; it was cathartic for the two of them.

Tarphus smiled, "I am not allowed to access my full powers until I complete a challenge, which is in five days. I believe it is something I must do alone." Tarphus spoke on his powers as he had already been told by his father about how: "a well-trained juggernaut could be akin to a living battering ram." Dimitir spoke his annoyed tone, breaching Tarphus's musings. "That sounds boring. Can you do anything, Mister anonymous?" Tarphus smiled meekly

"I can only summon my familiar." Dimitir chuckled softly, "A summoner that can only summon one being, that has to be a joke, you're not holding out on me, are you?" Tarphus nervously chuckles, "Well, I have never heard of such a type of creature before, so I would rath-" Tarphus was interrupted by Dimitir shouting. "You won't get anywhere if you do not summon it!"

This startled him into summoning the Skull, a soft golden light formed into a small head-sized portal in front of Tarphus. Both boys stared wide-eyed at this and then at both of their surprises. The bleached Skull floated out of the portal. It had cables dangling down the back of the Skull, and in the place where the eyes should have been two glowing blue lenses, and it just floated there. Upon seeing this, Dimitir fainted, thus leaving Tarphus alone with a floating skull that was now staring at him.