Caine's crown slowly faded away as he exhaled a shaky breath and squatted down, watching the life drain from Toseh's eyes.
Though it seemed like an uncontested victory on Caine's part, he knew better. The fact that he had been forced to use his crown and spirituality spoke volumes, and that didn't even factor in the likelihood that Toseh had been weakened.
After all, Toseh wasn't here naturally—he had been captured by the alliance and placed in this trial. Caine knew the victory wasn't as glorious as it appeared.
Now that Toseh was truly dead, Caine let out another shaky breath and sat back. His body trembled from the strain of maintaining his crown's power for so long. He'd gotten through the first two trials, but the third and final one awaited him.
The Fissured Trial.
This trial was the most mysterious of them all and directly connected to one of the Velios Clan's biggest secrets—a truth that even Caine didn't fully understand.
The Velios weren't entirely human.
Technically, they were, but they were also something more. They were part of a superior race known as Spirit Humans. Spirit Humans, while in their mother's womb, were born with a twin egg—a spiritual entity that represented their other half.
This final trial was about finding his other half.
To the other elders, this trial was just another test of battle and wits, but Zao, his uncle, knew the deeper meaning behind it.
'I wonder why they separate us at birth...'
Caine stood up, his body steadying as he scanned the barren land before him. There was nothing—no trees, no mountains, just endless wasteland.
'Guess I'll have to keep searching.'
With nothing else to go on, Caine conjured a mount from his qi, a powerful beast materializing beneath him, and he set off, riding across the vast, empty land.
***
Hours passed, and the desolate scenery began to change. In the distance, Caine spotted something unusual—a village.
'What the hell… a village?'
He had assumed he was in a pocket realm. After a certain level, cultivators gained the ability to warp space and distort time, creating what were essentially miniature worlds—pocket realms—separated from reality but still connected to it. His trial was supposed to occur within one of these spaces, where only he and his enemies would be present.
But now he saw an entire village filled with people.
"HALT!"
A group of guards rushed toward him, mounted on beasts that looked like a fusion of unicorns and qilins, their horns crackling with lightning.
Caine didn't bother to respond. With a flicker, he and his mount blinked past the guards, disappearing from their sight before they even had time to react. The leader of the group, flustered, threw a talisman to the ground.
**BOOM!**
A dome of thick qi spread across the barren land, sealing off all possible exits. But by then, Caine had already vanished.
"Where did he go?!"
***
Infiltrating the village wasn't difficult. After evading the guards, Caine altered his appearance, blending in with the locals as he gathered information. The more he learned, the more shocked he became.
This village had no name. It was just one part of an endless chain of villages, each linked to a city, the cities to kingdoms, the kingdoms to empires, and all of them ultimately governed by thirteen sovereignties under the rule of a single religious body—The White Star Church.
'What is going on here...?'
It was more than Caine had anticipated. The first problem was whether he was even in a pocket space anymore. If this was still a pocket realm, it meant someone of incredible power had altered it beyond recognition, creating a fully functional world within it. The power needed to do that was far beyond what even the strongest sages could manage.
On the other hand, if this wasn't a pocket space anymore, it meant something even more frightening—he had been transported. Either to another world entirely or to a different time. Both possibilities were equally alarming.
If it was the former, he had no idea how to return. If it was the latter, the implications could be catastrophic.
But this wasn't even the worst part.
The White Star Church, which seemed to rule over the entire world, worshipped a god.
According to the people, this god was sealed within a star-shaped egg covered in golden and silver runes. Every so often, the egg would pulse, blessing the world with miracles.
The most frightening rumor was that this god was close to awakening.
'How tricky.'
Caine could already sense it. This so-called god was no ordinary deity—it was his other half, the spirit entity he had been separated from at birth. He'd be a fool not to guess this much.
Sitting on a rooftop overlooking the village as dusk settled, Caine mulled over everything he had learned. His mind raced with countless thoughts, but outwardly, he remained calm. The darkening sky above only deepened the shadows across his face, his expression unreadable.
After a while, though, his lips curled into a faint grin.
He had fooled the three realms once; he could certainly do it again here.
'You better be worth it, brother.'
***
Away, Zao floated in the sky, standing amidst a sea of torn bodies and spilled blood. The scene around him was one of pure carnage, yet Zao remained indifferent, his presence exuding superiority.
His gaze shifted, piercing through the veils of space and time to land on Caine's figure, far away. Seeing the grin on his nephew's face, Zao couldn't help but smile to himself.
"The brat's got wits, for sure," a voice echoed.
Suddenly, a massive creature appeared beneath him, manifesting from thin air. It resembled a dark whale, its body covered in purple scales etched with glowing white runes. Its form was more monstrous than any normal whale, with countless wings unfurling from its back. Atop its head was a halo of iridescent light, spinning with unimaginable power.
Despite the creature's overwhelming presence, its aura was perfectly aligned with Zao's own, as though they were one and the same.
"He does," Zao continued, stepping onto the creature's back, "but his arrogance is growing faster than I like."
His gaze shifted again, looking out into the distant horizon.
"Things are about to get chaotic. I'm not sure if the boy is ready to face what's coming." He sighed deeply.
"I don't want him to become like me."