“Are you the remnant left behind to test me?” I asked, my voicing booming across the hall as I waited for the entity to reply. My senses tense, as the conflicts of different emotions stirred within me since the moment I’d entered this pagoda.
Aurora calmed down by my side after a few seconds as she and Mordian looked upon the entity, standing at the arched entrance of the pagoda; Mordian seemed indifferent to her sudden appearance his demeanour deadpan as he kept his guard up. On the other hand, Aurora’s eyes sparkled with both awe and fear, she slowly stood to her feet and the entity's features slowly unveiled by the thin light spilled through the cracks and opening as the light around it converged.
A feminine figure stood in front of the entrance of the pagoda now as I saw a cascade of long crimson locks, tumbling down to her waist, swaying uncontrollably as if the gravity around her was contrasting to what was in the environment.
I felt a sense of wonder and unease lingering in my mind as her dark auburn eyes gleamed with power, holding a never-ending thirst for revenge, but filled with despair and dread for some reason. They projected some loss and longing I could never understand.
But no less, she carried herself with a calm and confident demeanour, her eyes projecting wisdom and solemnity making her look as if she was beyond the standards of what was considered normal. But looking at her, the emotions within me stirred more powerfully.
A simple brown robe was draped over her ample figure as she shifted her stance, the air around her turning stiff and rigid, which sent a shiver to run through my spine as I immediately took a stance, my mana bolted, spells ready to be formed on my command, Mordian did the same, his body slightly shifted to the right, his arms taking a firm hold as the mana within him stirred, his golden eyes bared at the remnant.
“Are you going to test me or not?” I said again, my voice filled the crumbled and dilapidated ruins as I swallowed hard, my eyes unable to move even an inch away from her, as the hair at the back of my neck stood.
There was this air about her, that I couldn’t completely put a finger on. She looked ferocious, but at the same time, holding an extreme quality of rationality which spoke highly of her.
“Shun, what do you see?” Aurora asked, her face full of confusion as she looked at me. She wanted to understand this entity.
I frowned, my brows knitted as I reached out to Mordian and asked a question which prickled my mind. But my bond said the same thing, they were unable to see the visage of this woman, the remnant left here to test me and proceed with the trial, as if a veil had been placed over their eyes to obscure them.
“Aurora, what does that remnant look like to you? Can you describe the remnant's features?” I asked in a hurry, awaiting her answer.
“All I see is the black entity from earlier. It has no features, only darkness for a body and limbs; it has no eyes, mouth or nose.”
So they really can’t see what I can. But why? Is it because I'm the one who’s supposed to be tested and undergo this trial, or is their some other factor in play.
As if the remnant had read the confusion over my face, her plum lips parted as her voice reverberated and echoed through the broken pagoda.
“Do not look surprised. They can’t see my true self, because I just don’t wish for them to see me.” The female remnant’s powerful yet pristine voice entered my ears, shaking me to my core as I felt goosebumps rise on my skin. “And yes! I’m the one who will test you, Seo Jiwoo.”
Her facial expression hardly took a change, as she shifted her weight from her left leg to her right.
“But the test has already begun—it be exact, it started the moment you entered foot into this pagoda, Jiwoo. You’re trial has begun and it is up to you to unravel what this trial is asking you to fulfil.”
“Shun, what is going on?” Aurora asked. “What does this trial—”
I swallowed hard next moment, as the words leaving Aurora’s mouth froze as I felt a tremendous push from all around me, the world itself seem to respond and contort to some call, as the colours began to flux rapdily, like a moving tapestry, as I could feel the same force of change occur around me which I was familiar with.
I snapped my head in Aurora’s direction, her body frozen like a statue as the colour around her vanished in a flurry and dissolved by a layer of grey which shrouded her entire physique and the space around her, confining her, as if a veil had been placed over her to forcefully separate her from the physical realm. An effect I was all too familiar with, because I could use the same power to do the same thing.
I immediately turned to Mordian, and he was in the same scenario as her. The time around them both was frozen, a veil shrouded the entire world around me, as I alone could move in this static void, except the remnant.
I turned to the remnant with awe and trepidation, unable to figure out what she wanted and what this trial was about. Did she wanted to test me over the control of my abilities—to have a duel over which one of us holds stronger dominance over these edicts—, or did she wanted to have a fight with me in this frozen world?
Unable to suppress my impatience, my face wore a frown as my words came out as sharp as a tip of a blade. “How can you influence time? Are you a dragon—an old ash’ari from the ancient times? Just what do you want to test me on?”
The female remnant analysed me, her eyes exuding solemnity, as she peered me up and down, her body reminded fixed as I felt anxiety envelop every inch of me.
“I am not an ash’ari,” her brows furrowed ever-so-slightly. “But I’m familiar with the term. But I would like it, if you don’t refer to me in the same way as those brutes, who knew nothing except for war and tyranny.”
My brows jumped in surprise upon her words. She’s not an ash’ari, then how is she able to influence time when not a dragon? And why is she describing the ash’ari as some vile tyrant-like beings?
From my conversation with Vetustima, I had an idea about the ash’ari being self-centered and arrogant, but the way Mordian described his race, they seemed nothing like what Vetustima described them to be so long ago, or the way the remnant spoke of them with her words laced venomously.
“And for your question; what are you being tested on....” she paused for less than a second and continued. “It’s your job to understand what you are being tested now, to perceive and acquire whatever you can extract from us remnants—don’t always expect everything to come rolling into your lap if you ask, you need to be desperate and greedy enough to learn it yourself. We are left behind to help you, yes, but we are merely beings defying our own time, to make you walk the path of insight—the knowledge we have acquired by giving away our entire life, by risking everything—, so that you can open your mind to new ideas and thoughts, to learn and grow, to become someone we envisioned you to be, someone who can understand all the edicts, but alas,” the remnant stopped, her face unable to suppress her disappointment as she heaved a sigh, her body loosened and she finally took her first move.
Her hand reached upward, my eyes blown open as I could feel her unbearable intent rush in my direction, the frozen air seemed to stir and cry as the world fluxed between colours, the tremendous force grinding against mine as I fought back, suppressing my intent with barely any effort, the cold fury of her intent almost made me collapse to my knees.
My breathing grew heavy, as my mana surged, all of it, as I took a step and rushed in her direction. Already holding my sword in hand as I blitz through the space and took a swing at her.
But her intentions were not directed at me, rather at my companions, as I saw several weapons—some in the form of sabers, some swords, some spears, some daggers— conjured with an iridescent light around them, I felt unable to hide my surprise as I could somehow feel and make out of the tremendous amount of energy compacted inside a single weapon afloat in the air, but albeit barely, and keeping focus of a single weapon took quite a lot of concentration—as if they bended the fabric of reality to keep themselves stable and alive, as if their existence was coaxed into the world.
But I was surprised to see the iridescent quality of those weapons, which reminded me of the lightning I'd conjured when fighting the Eldergrove.
Something was amiss...
But the female remnant didn’t move an inch away from her position, as if she had already anticipated my actions, her demeanour and face looked cool and calculating, as her cold and calm eyes fixed on me this time.
“Choose,” the words rolled out of her mouth like a guillotine. “Would you protect the elf, or your dragon bond? Which are you willing to save?”
“What the hell are you pulling at? You are supposed to test me, don’t drag them into this!” I shouted as I twisted my body and I lunged back, my body a blur as all my mana worked, conjuring several weapon of mana myself to counter her barrage.
She snickered, her eyes growing annoyed. “You're delusional if you think these trials are merely a test," she growled, eyes burning with intensity. "They're designed to break you, to push you to your very edge. The world doesn't give a damn about your plans or dreams. It's ruthless, Jiwoo. You always have to make a choice—a brutal, unforgiving choice between two impossible paths..”
“Now choose, who will you protect?” She waved her hand down and all the weapons launched at my companions.
If she had the ability to stop time, and to pull me into this static world, then she could do the same to my companions to strike them.
I wasn’t the one who had frozen the world around me this time, so I had plenty of mana to spare and use—plus experiencing the rebound wasn’t a problem—but without any ambient mana around me—as the mana had been left in the physical realm—I was no longer able to spell cast powerful spells, and could only fight by using my sword or through means of martial arts.
Desperation fuelled my actions as I decided to reach for Mordian first, as I launched the energy-based weapons supplicated by my own mana toward Aurora, as I pushed more and more mana as I felt an unimaginable strain on my body.
My conjured projectiles collided against the weapons conjured by the female remnant, as my assault seemed almost futile as they collapsed or simply changed their trajectory, like a failed attempt, but for some reason, I felt some resonance occur as I activated Mind’s Eye and observed everything around me as my visual perception increased.
And all I could say was, the weapons of energy conjured by the female remnant were close to perfection...no, they couldn’t be described by mere words.
They looked otherworldly, something that shouldn’t exist in this world. Something egnamtic and intricate...
I tried to take a hold of the ones reaching Mordian, as my hand touched their surface as I felt a push and some distortion occur, as a blinding light spilled the world around and all the weapons around Mordian vanished in a blur for some reason as I grunted under the strain.
But Aurora was still in danger. I reached out to the paths, not knowing if they would respond in this static world, but like a howling maelstrom, feeling as if my ears could pop, the world around me hummed and shook like a bubble about to burst as distortions and cracks occurred all around me in this void—as if the world itself was collapsing under the power-struggle between us.
I felt a tremendous and unbearable push from the space around me, the skin over my body hurt, as if it was pierced by millions of needles as I ushered and tore through space with a crackle of lightning whose edges turned dark, slightly taking a similar colour to those weapons, as I felt like I was trying to tear through a wall as my body wheezed under the pressure of using leap even once in the static world, as the world fluxed again.
I appeared in front of Aurora, as the intensified lightning lurched around me as it took hold of the weapons and distorted their shape without my interference.
“Excellent!” The remnant announced, her lips turning with a mischievous grin.
I gritted my teeth as I looked at her with a twisted look on my face, my eyes bearing daggers at her.
“You are still holding back.” The remnant announced, her demeanour nonchalant as her crimson locks swayed to the side. “You have enough power and control now, that you could have pulled both of your companions into this motionless world. Then what stopped you?” She asked, her auburn eyes gleamed furiously.
“With no mana in here your dragon bond would have become useless anyway, because the curse suppresses his mana, and without any ambient mana to stabilize his body with, he would very well meet his end—like a fish deprived of water. And I don’t even have to point the reason out for the elf.”
She crossed her arms and asked. “You have the power, yet you lack the perspective to wield it.”
My face turned furious. Then let it be! Having enough of the remnant I decided to use Acausality.
I reached out to my skill, dormant within me as it surged out like a howling beast, the world around me felt like it was being squeezed like a wet cloth, the two forces and wills grinded against one another, fighting for superiority as I kept pushing and felt cracks and distorted lines filled with colour appear around the grey world. I continued as my inside churned and eyes stung, as I saw the female remnant frown and soon I was able to overpower the remnant’s influence as the world fluxed out and colour began to return to the world, as my connection with mana re-established and I was able to see and feel demonic energy.
But just as I deactivated my skill, I felt a burst of blinding light surge from behind and under the remnant as it vanished the entire pagoda and everything around me as I appeared inside a white void this time, but I could feel and see the mana around me, along with demonic energy.
“Just what do you want? Isn’t the trial over, now that I have overpowered you?” I spewed venomously, my eyes bearing daggers at her.
“Then what did you learn from all that?” She asked. “Did you understand what the trial is about? Did you understand what I was trying to teach you? Of course, you didn’t.” She added with a shrug.
"You are honestly impatient in situations like this. Rather than getting angry at me for involving your companions, you should have tried to learn from the experience, remain cool-headed. You missed what was right in front of you. Your rage makes you blind of the most important things" She snickered, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "But I must admit, I was truly surprised by your ability to wield space. It's far superior to what I expected. The way you manipulate it, especially when those tendrils of lightning emerge around you, is quite fascinating to watch."
“How do you know about my skills?” I asked, my guard up but I calmed down first and observed the situation.
“It’s like an echo, we remnants work like a network, so we can share our encounters and memories with one another and I learned about your space manipulation ability through Vetustima, and about your other one from Indra. But I guess, you didn’t put much mind to that fact.”
She again took a stance as I also readied myself to fight. “This time, try to not hold back.”
I lunged at her, my mind growing annoyed and frustrated as I took a swing at her.
The moment my sword was about to touch her, something collided against the blade as I was forced to withdraw my sword back, as I felt like the blade would break if the assault of her attack continued on any further.
I took a side step as I pivoted and rolled over the floor, barely avoiding her weapon afloat in the air, which I realized late was in the shape of a saber, as I took back hold over my body and took a stance immediately.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
But that’s where the problem arose. I couldn’t find any openings in the female remnant’s guard, she had a perfect guard, her technique was absolutely splendid and perfect that approaching her and engaging in a close-quarter fight would be harder than it looked.
“Don’t try to think, just follow my lead. One of your weaknesses in battle is that, you overthink things. Even if things are simple, you make them complicated by overthinking the outcome which is right in front of you. Anger is your biggest enemy.” The remnant commented, as her arm moved, sending her robes flying as a spear conjured on her right and sword to her left.
“Doing that, you confine your mind to a predetermined system which hampers your ability to analyse your enemy and learn from them. You don’t lack power—you know that from your conversation with Indra. What you lack is the perspective to wield it effectively. Your control isn't zero, but it's barely five percent.” She instructed, as I saw the weapons conjure with an iridescent light around them as the demonic energy wheezed in this void. “Now, try to strike me.”
I took a breath, Ruler’s Authority flared to life, my nerves calmed as a veil of rationality shrouded me, and for the first time the remnant’s demeanour changed, taking a more serious tone, as I straightened and put pressure over my calves and appeared in front of the remnant, my sword moved elegantly, the movement precise and simple, yet holding tremendous power behind it.
I analysed the remnant’s movements, keeping notice of her every action, from the blink of her eyes to her breathing, from the slightest shift of her weight as I noticed the many weapons which were glowing and pulsating around her, lurch at me with an unimaginable speed as I took a moment, heeding her words carefully, as I not only tried to see this time, rather followed against my enemy's movements, as I felt the pulsating energy of the weapons.
But she evaded as a blade appeared in her hand out of nowhere and she struck my arm, as I barely parried her attack this time, as it slashed me and a spectacle of blood appeared to my eyes.
"You only see what you can, not what you need to. That's why I'm telling you, you don't lack power, but perspective. In simpler terms, it's not a lack of capability that's holding you back, but rather the way you view and interpret the world around you. Changing or broadening your perspective might help you see solutions or opportunities that were previously unnoticed. Perception plays a crucial role in one's understanding and ability to act effectively. Same could be said if you wish to unlock the keystone you haven’t made any progress with whatsoever.”
The female remnant straightened and all of a sudden sat down, her chin resting on the back of her hand as she eyed me carefully.
A thin smile finally replaced her frowning features as she spoke with excitement. “You aren’t half bad. Your insight into the edicts is equivalent to a child when first learning to read, and basically self-taught, which would explain your extreme lack of control and understanding, and that’s not all too surprising, knowing that you only came this far all on your own, struggling to learn to control these edicts without anyone’s help, which isn’t child's play, dare I say.”
She gestured for me to sit down as well, her hand moving nonchalantly, as I sighed, the wound from earlier patched itself close and as I complied and took a seat.
“You have shown the strength to fight back, to strike and spill the blood of our enemies. You are exactly who I have been waiting for, and I will train you to wield the intricate powers you possess as a true weapon of destruction.” Her grin widened, as she spoke with slight excitement, a vindictive glint in her eyes.
“So, what are you going to teach me exactly? ‘The how to’ tutorial, to better wield these powers?” I asked, already prepared for rejection from her side, expectant of the answer I kind of knew, because I got it from the other remnants as well.
“I can guide you to the path, but I cannot walk it for you.” She said as she shook her head. “To truly understand these principles, you must embark on this journey alone. It's through exploring new ideas that you gain fresh insights and unstudied knowledge, and while guidance can be provided, true understanding and knowledge come from one's own exploration and experiences. I believe in your ability to do this, Jiwoo. You have come far, without anyone’s help in wielding these powers, which speaks highly of you.”
“Tell me, you have started to feel demonic energy, even without activating your skill—Mind’s Eye, right?” She asked, her eyes full of curiosity, looking almost nonchalant.
I couldn’t hold my surprise as I replied back immediately. “How do you know that?”
“Just answer me!” She pushed.
“Well, yes...it started to happen after I broke through to the rank. I didn’t have a need to activate Mind’s Eye deliberately to observe the demonic energy as I had started to feel the presence of the particles even without it for some reason."
“Oh, yes, the rank is equivalent to the—”
She cut me off and added. “I’m aware of the subsequent terms used by you humans. Its the enlightenment stage you are on right now, known as the rank.” The female remnant trailed off.
“But back to the topic, why do you think that happened?” She said, as if she wanted me to look back and try to figure out why I’d started to feel the demonic energy so prominently, despite being a human.
As far as I remembered, under Gabriel's tutelage, he told me that humans didn’t have the potential to use demonic energy because it was a corrupted source, which was like a ticking time bomb, if not manipulated by the demons of the daemon exciduim race, because they were naturally born to wield it, like we humans could with mana.
But it was a well-known fact that we humans could feel the resonating pulse of the corrupted energy when it was released by a demon in an ample amount—like an instinct for danger. I always found it odd, that we couldn’t feel the atmospheric demonic energy even if we tried.
“You’re thinking hard about it.” She said solemnly. “You already know the answer to that—why 'you', a human, is able to feel demonic energy even without using your skill?”
I took a breath as I nodded and acknowledged the remnant’s words. “I’m sure it has something to do with my growing insight for Mind’s Eye.” But suddenly, I remembered, albeit vaguely, what had happened when I tried to use leap the second time when it still had a cool down, when I was engaged with the cephtalurians chief. I remembered shortly after I stepped into the paths, I appeared inside something resembling a void, which stretched on infinitely, but it gave me some understanding, some awareness about something, but I don’t exactly know what?
It felt more like a mirage, an illusion which disappeared, something similar to when waking up from a dream.
"It most probably has something to do with me gaining enough insight into Mind’s Eye. At a certain point, when I grasped the ability to feel and observe mana in ways I was previously unfamiliar with and had never explored in my past life, I began to understand and connect with it through my own thoughts. This newfound perception allowed me to manipulate mana with a finesse I couldn't achieve before, as if the mana itself responded directly to my intentions and feelings."
"But when I applied the same principles to demonic energy, I noticed something odd yet remarkable. It responded to the movement of mana as if they were engaged in a delicate dance, each force intricately supporting and balancing the other to maintain a harmonious equilibrium. The interplay was so precise, so nuanced, that it felt like observing the mechanics of a finely-tuned clock, where even the slightest shift in one would cause an immediate and corresponding adjustment in the other. It was as if they were two sides of the same coin, working together in perfect synchronization, but lacking fumadentality, each essential to the other's existence," I explained, striving to sound rhetorical as I carefully chose my words to convey the depth and complexity of my discovery to her.
"But the problem was, I couldn't manipulate demonic energy due to its inherent challenge. It required something more—a covenant with a demon which I was unwilling to make," I explained, the weight of this revelation heavy in my words.
She laughed gently, for some reason, her eyes grew heavy with guilt and longing. I furrowed my brows as I looked at her in confusion.
“I didn’t mean to offend you by laughing.” She said, her back straight and eyes a sombre hue. “It’s just that you kind of reminded me of someone, a distant and long lost memory which I still retain even now, albeit vaguely. My brother said this to me when I was still a young and fresh mind, just embarking on the journey of insight into the edicts. He said to me: ‘You may come to learn a lot, and there will be times when a certain question will make moving forward seem impossible. But remember, if you embrace your weaknesses and strive to advance, you'll always find a way. Unlike me, who claims to be a master of knowing a bit about everything.’”
She looked at me, her eyes gentle suddenly, as if reminiscing about the very distant past. “And I used to reply: ‘Yeah, more like the master of knowing very little about everything.’ He would chuckle and continue, ‘True, but it's the pursuit of knowledge, not the amount, that matters. Each step forward, no matter how small, brings us closer to understanding and the truth.” She finished, her eyes exuding solemnity as I felt empathetic about her situation.
She deliberately made herself like this, to defy her time, hoping to put an end to this war, this madness, ensuing for who knew how long.
“Then, I’d like to ask you if you are being charitable enough. I understand both forces to some extent, not that I do fully, but just why does mana do that with demonic energy, and what truly are these edicts?”
The female remnant took a breath as she slowly stood, a staff conjured into her hand, glowing with the same iridescent quality, she struck it into the floor as the sound resonated into the white void.
She lunged forward, the staff blurred through the air as I jolted to my feet and our weapons collided.
“Then what do you think mana and demonic energy is?” She asked instead, her voice growing expectant. She thrust the staff forward several times, her arms moved fluidly.
I responded to her barrage of attacks with my own, precisely countering and parrying each one.
“Mana is a source of energy which almost anyone can wield—except the demons, same way we can’t demonic energy, unless the inherent challenge disappears.” I answered quickly as I pivoted, our battle continued as she didn’t give me time to correct my footing and struck my knee, the force behind her staff so strong that it broke my bone as I almost staggered, twisting my body I launched the pommel of my sword at her.
She stopped my assault as a shield appeared in her hand, as I twisted my body again and this time shot my leg at her, my leg connected and she stumbled backward.
My bone healed immediately, as I broke into a sprint, my mana worked as my sword burst with a blinding light, as it collided against the female remnant’s weapon which had now taken the shape of a saber, as she quickly straightened, a smile over her features.
“But I feel that demonic energy holds some kind of superiority over mana, as if its inherently that way, but its also reliant on it and can’t exist without it,” I said curiously.
I didn't react to her sudden attack with panic. Instead, I found myself enjoying the fight. Grinning, I followed her every movement, as if we were engaged in a dance. She attacked like posing a question, and I countered as if replying. Our movements created a strange harmony, each of us completing the other's actions, our strikes and parries weaving an intricate pattern of combat. It was as if we were not merely opponents, but partners in a choreographed display of skill and precision.
“You are right!” She said, she parried my swing as a spear conjured to her left and thrust forward. I evaded the attack by appearing behind her using the paths as I took a swing at her. “Demonic energy does holds superiority over mana, because...” her arm burst with a blinding light, it blurred and tore through the air, as she struck me in my side, her fist connected and I rolled several meters away.
“Because, its a part of the edicts.”
I grunted a curse as I held my side, trying to focus on her words more as I tried to deal with the pain.
“What?” I said with a twisted scowl, evening my footing as I looked at her with surprise. “It’s part of the edicts.” I repeated back her words.
“I guess that sly snake didn’t exactly explain everything to you?” She said, annoyance growing on the tip of her tongue. “He was always a quack and a nut-job, I never really liked him for his weird humour and nonchalance. It’s good that he’s hit the bucket."
She shrugged and then continued with a serious expression.
“Then let me explain. There are three edicts on which reality stands and becomes what it is, even without one it would collapse and destroy everything. These edicts represent certain powers, such as, time, space and life.” She stopped suddenly, the weapons around her vanished in a blur as I took a breath of relief.
“You are already familiar with time and space, because you have experienced both powers on your own. But you must want to know about what life is?” Her eyes fixed on me as I listened observantly. “Life is the edict which has three more branches which makes it a whole and more intricate and complex to understand. For when there is life, there must be death, similarly for creation there must be destruction.”
“Life, creation, death and destruction, these are the aspects which represent the third edict.” She added, her words elucidate that made me better understand, but I was surprised to learn this fact about the third edict.
An edict divided into four branches.
As if having read my expression, she continued onward to finish her previous statement. “And yes, for the reason demonic energy holds superiority over mana is because it represents one of the branch coinciding with the edict of life. Demonic energy is like a corrupted source of energy, and it symbolizes ‘destruction’ to some extent. Because it destroys whatever touches it. Its like a hunger rampant beast, ready to be let out to devour everything in its path, but barely held back.”
“Wait, hold on,” I said immediately, raising my hand. “Then does that mean, that there could be other elements for the other branches, or is it just me thinking too far?”
“That is for you to understand. Like I said before, I can show you the path, not walk it for you. And I can tell you one thing. Demonic energy isn’t all about destruction, it is something more and complex, and you must understand and grasp that if you wish to make advances and gain new insight.”
“Then what about the weapons you conjured? They were neither demonic energy or mana? No, they had a similarity to demonic energy.” I asked hurriedly.
"I cannot divulge that, bound by the covenant I made with Primordial," she replied, her eyes betraying guilt. "Even if I could, it would only divert you from your current path. It might taint your understanding, constrain your mind and thoughts in ways I wish to avoid."
“But I can tell you this, that the path you're walking on right now will definitely lead you to your answers eventually.” She said confidentially, enough so, that I felt reassured.
“Don't fear taking a step into the unknown, even if it leads to regret later. Sometimes, that step can expand your perspective and help you reconcile with your choices. Learn to accept, whatever happens, it’s for a reason.”
My face remained passive for a while as I tried to digest the words of the remnant. She was right. I was always so afraid of my actions and steps, that I voluntarily started to avoid things in order to safeguard myself from them, even if they came to bite me later, in a much worse form.
But for some reason, I didn’t feel annoyed not learning about the things I wanted to, which the remnant couldn't answer. I let it be. Despite knowing that it was a race against time, I kind of understood now, that if I pushed certain things, I wouldn’t be able to get what I want from them.
So I needed to become more patient and observant, like she had said. Both the previous remnant’s told me the same thing, that I would find my answers eventually if I kept walking on this path, but I still couldn’t completely grow patient even if told to, because of my circumstances. Because I was a regresser.
I brandished my sword as I spoke. “I got it. I may have started to understand what I needed to, thanks to you. Like you said, you can show me the path, not walk it for me. And let’s hope I can fully understand it before the inevitable happens.”
The female remnant gently smiled, her cold expression from earlier fully disappeared, her crimson locks swayed ever-so-slightly as she brought her hand above and a sword conjured into her palm.
“You know, you speak better with a weapon, rather than just speaking.” I commented with a grin playing on my lips.
“Don’t try to act smart, you brat.” She shot back, as our weapons collided against each other.
***
Our constant fights continued on for weeks in this white void as I finally withdrew my sword back and looked at the female remnant.
She took a side step and conjured another saber to her left as we both continued to fight. Since we entered, after our conversation, we both continued on fighting, she pushed me to my very limits, as I used every spell I could conjure to give her a good enough fight.
She corrected me sometimes when I used a spell or over my swordplay or martial arts, giving advice here and there, but she didn’t tell me anything about the pervious topics, she really was tight lipped.
I lunged forward to intercept her strike, but suddenly the entire void around me shook uncontrollably as I saw the female remnant stagger and blur.
“It’s quite taxing to maintain the thought realm for a long time,” she said, her voice growing groggy and hoarse. “And I even stopped time for a while, so I overexerted myself, or it would’ve left me with more time. But alas, it was worth it, while it lasted.”
She stood straight as the void around us vanished and the dim light of the pagoda entered my eyes as I saw the dilapidated scenery.
“Shun, you’re back. Thank goodness.” Aurora heaved a sigh of relief.
My connection with Mordian re-established as he asked about what had happened and my well-being.
I told them what had happened from the start, leaving out the important parts for now to save time, as I looked at the remnant.
“Woo.” Aurora said, her voice full of surprise as she looked at the remnant. “Pretty.” She added with a sense of awe and envy.
“Thank you, child.” The remnant said, her words gentle. I suppose she had lifted the veil obscuring their minds.
"How long was it this time?" I asked Mordian.
"A little bit above ten minutes." He answered genuinely, eyeing the remnant with intrigue.
I felt Aurora’s gaze at me, as I turned to her and asked if I had something on my face.
"No, it's not that." She replied. "Its just that, when you froze up when the remnant first appeared, you kind of just looked into the distance, it was kind of creepy." She admitted with a mischievous grin.
My lips pulled slightly as I directed my attention back at the female remnant.
“I have tested you, and deemed you worthy.” She said with her eyes exuding the same power and solemnity as before.
“Can I ask what is trial was about?” I questioned.
“A test of will and character. And I must say, you passed with flying colours.” Her visage began to dim, the colour and light around her fluxed between physicality and incorporeal.
I felt a sudden push, and I immediately summoned the system as I looked through the inventory and found something unexpected. I withdrew the item and felt the weight press down on my palm.
It was a keystone, in the shape of a cube, and it was slightly heavier than the pervious one I’d received.
“My time has come. But I pray that you succeed in your journey, Jiwoo. Just know that you have good people on your side, who are willing to support you.” Her gaze swept to Aurora, then Mordian.
"Can you at least tell me your name? Any will do you want to leave behind?" I spoke, my voice growing sombre as I felt sad.
She simply shook her head and spoke with a determined voice. "I only retain certain memories from when I was actually alive, and I wouldn't want to burden you with my own problems. You already have enough on your plate."
Her entire body entered completely incorporeal as there was almost nothing left of her. I took a breath.
“Take care and be careful. Be mindful of the next trials, don’t underestimate them even if they appear simple. "She advised, her eyes growing gentle and soft. "Farewell...descendent.”
She fully vanished as her last words left me flabbergasted and confused.
“Shun, what did she say?” Aurora asked, as I felt the space tore open and a portal conjuring where the remnant stood earlier.
Did they not hear her last words?
I didn’t give Aurora an answer, as I walked toward the portal as the pagoda being to shook as dust filled the air. It was about to collapse as we entered the portal and very soon appeared on the other side as I touched even soil, blades of grass trampled beneath my feet.
I looked around for clarity, as I saw a long landscape of green lush grass—mountains growing at the horizon—stretching on for miles as the light of the sun spilled the ground and made a humid and peaceful atmosphere, almost too peaceful.
But my brows furrowed as I felt signatures of mana rising unexpectedly high to the west, there were many, but this mana I felt was unfamiliar to me, neither elves or humans, plus the demonic energy in the atmosphere stirred and contorted uncontrollably.
“Someone is fighting in the distance. And it’s most probably against demons.” I said to my companions.
“This mana...” Mordian suddenly said, his face expressionless. “The ones fighting the demons are the orcs.”