The Stars' Trial

Because of how beautiful the star constellation was, Austin was immersed in staring into it. He had not yet looked around him to see what else was here.

The ground was made up of a deep blue marble. It was completely flat and there was not a speck of dust on its surface. Like a sparkly clear lake, it reflected a breathtaking array of lights from all the stars in the sky. This made Austin feel even more absorbed into the scenery as if he was standing on a never-ending cluster of rainbows. The only thing that broke him out of this illusion was the hard surface under the soles of his feet.

There was nothing else in view except for a giant gate standing tall in the middle of nowhere. In this immensely vibrant and lively world, the black gate stood out like a sore thumb. It was very old and ancient, so rooted in the ground that nothing could ever move it from its place.

Austin had an inkling that the gate has been planted there for time memorial. Before all the stars, before the flattened ground and before there was nothing.

'A relic of civilization?'

'Could this place have hosted life before?'

'The star constellation... was it made from magic? Or was it another entity entirely? just what exactly..."

Austin had snapped out of his initial daze. After his high subsided from the spectacular vision of the stars, a fundamental change was brought along with it. There was something different about the air around Austin that was not there before. His reignited flames of passion were making a statement. It was telling the world it was alive and wanted it to be witness to its glory.

Austin felt full of life. He was curious, like a young adventurer setting out to explore the world. He wanted to discover all that was the unknown, to satisfy the hungry beast that has awakened and would never fall asleep again until it had its fill.

Like the light of the stars had been embedded into them, Austin's eyes now glistened in a myriad of colors. His eyes could still be called purple at first sight, but it was most definitely not the same as before. If one looked closely, they might see tiny sparkling stars within them.

When he first saw it, the ancient gate did not seem very far away at all. But as he walked towards it and neared closer, the gate only became bigger and bigger. It was towering over him as if an elephant would over an ant.

After walking for a good while, he had finally arrived in front of it. Despite being inanimate, the gate was far too intimidating. The most intimidating thing he had ever seen. Not even the dragons, the strongest creatures alive in his past world were as terrifying as the gate before him.

For one, it was huge. It was the biggest thing Austin had ever seen before. If it was the product of the living, then it had to be built by the giants of giants. If it was the work of nature... well, what could possibly have created such a thing?

Austin turned his head backward and looked straight up. Stretching out into the sky, the top of the gate was not visible at all. He wasn't sure he would ever reach it even if he were granted wings to fly and all the time in the world.

If the dark entrance leading to the testing room of Magical Attributes was the abyss, then what lied behind this gate was another monster in of itself. The gate could not be seen through because a gigantic wall of black blocked its path. It was indescribably dark, like the blackest of blacks that contained everything ominous within it. Imagine closing your eyes and seeing what was in front of you. The entrance to the gate was exactly that.

The atmosphere that was once vibrant and colorful turned dull and grey as the brightness of the stars faded. Either, there was something incorrigible preventing the light from reaching, or the stars were not bold enough to encroach upon the gate's territory. Despite how ridiculous it seemed, it was like the stars had been placed here just to illuminate the path to the gate.

As if they were revolving around it in an unceasing cycle so its existence would never be lost.

The exterior of the gate was made out of what looked to be the branches and roots of trees. However, the size of them was nothing to scoff at. Austin had seen many thousand-old trees in his life, even immensely enormous ones with a life span of hundreds of thousands of years old. Yet, their trunks were like children in front of just the branches and roots of this tree.

Length, width, thickness, power. Every aspect was incomparable.

If there was ever truly one immobile object in the vast universe, Austin had always imagined it to be in the form of a tree. A tree with roots engraved so deeply into the world that only power strong enough to destroy the world would ever move it. The one in front of him looked to be so, except it was not in the real shape of a tree. Its trunk was the gate, contained by the massive entanglement of roots and branches which could be millions, billions, or trillions of years old.

"This must be the entrance to the trials of the star constellation." Austin mused, glancing over the gate.

He did not know where he been taken to at first - suddenly being moved at a speed so fast that nothing but a blur surrounded him. But after calming down, he put two and two together and realized this was where he was receiving his first star tablet. And now, Austin, with an ardor unlike before, was ready to begin his grand journey.

...

Every morning, Laura would be greeted by a "good morning" from Austin. The comfort she found in his smile was irreplaceable and something she could not do without. There were days when she had woken up earlier before Austin came to get her. When this happened, she would shut her eyes and pretend to be asleep, eagerly waiting for him to come and wake her up. And upon hearing his voice, she would immediately break out into a blissful smile.

The first person who praised her, the first person who protected her, the person who had first given her joy in life. Every day, for as long as she could remember, Austin had always been there. She thought he would forever remain by her side for the rest of her life. She had never once imagined what a life without him would be like, and became accustomed to the everyday happiness in Austin's company.

Not realizing what she had lost until losing it, Laur had taken her happiness for granted.

Yesterday, Laura woke up with an empty feeling in her stomach. She had no appetite and did not want to move from her bed, talk to anyone, or think about anything. It was like all things living had left her body and she became a lifeless corpse.

She told herself to be strong and that she would be able to see him soon. All she was thinking about was Austin to keep herself distracted. She was only thinking about when he would come back to her side and give her the warmth that he had always provided.

He would first say "good morning" to her... help her change into new clothes... then they will have a big meal together... then go outside and play in the garden, then...

She waited and waited, and every second felt like a dagger was piercing deeper into her heart.

Yet he did not come back.

...

In the star constellation, Austin was preparing himself to enter the gate. He did not know what awaited him. The trials given to each Mage were different every time and changed based on one's talent.

There were even records of Mages entering the star constellation and never returning. It could take days, months, or years. Austin was extremely anxious about the situation back at home. In his head, he kept apologizing to his mother and Laura. He had no idea how difficult the trial would be. But based on his talents, it would certainly not be easy.

Austin was an arm's reach away from the gate. The big, black void was right in front of him, waiting for him to come inside.

Austin closed his eyes, relaxed his muscles and took in a deep breath of air. It was a technique used to calm one's nerves so they would not falter under pressure. However, to Austin this was unnecessary. Having been in so many life and death situations, he had attained complete control over his emotions and would never succumb to trepidation. He only repeated this because they have become a habit for every time he was about to undertake a challenge.

"Haaah..." Exhaling a fresh breath of air, Austin strengthened his conviction. "Let's do this. Whatever you throw my way, I will conquer it all." He stepped into the void, leaving the world of stars.

Because he left, Austin didn't see all of the countless, millions of stars in the sky disappear. Yes, they completely vanished just like that.

When Austin left, the dazzling world filled with colors and light was no longer, now an empty and gloomy space. For what reason did this happen? No one knows. But on the account of every Mage in Fantasia who has transcended to the star constellation before, they were not received by anywhere close to the number of stars that had greeted Austin.

Some saw ten, some fifty, and some a hundred. Austin did not know some basic information because he had only spent a day learning about everything in Fantasia. Because of this, he was ignorant of one piece of vital knowledge.

The number of stars visible is a measure of talent. The more they are, the harder your trial will be.

For Mages who were recognized to be Common or Rare Grade, they would not see more than 50 stars. Solomon, a Triple-Attribute Mage and the best talent in Fantasia's history, was revealed to have seen a thousand stars.

Each advancement, he came back years later with Mystical Grade skills. In his last trial as a Diamond Class Mage, Solomon was said to have gone missing for a century and believed to have died. When he came back, many believed he passed the trial for a legendary Ancient Grade skill. But this was the only time Solomon did not say.

Solomon had seen a thousand stars in the star constellation, taken years of time to pass each time, and a hundred years to pass his hardest trial. If this was the case, then what about Austin who had seen a world surrounded by stars so endless in amount that it could no longer be quantified by a number?

What trials lay in wait?

Could he ever return?