1 Chapter 1

The sky was covered with gray clouds. not a single ray of sunlight could be seen, yet it was not dark. There were no hills nor mountains, only the simple grass decorated the plain. In the midst of it all there stood a young man among the crowd, waiting…

Nathan was a 16 year old boy with lush black hair as dark as the night and deep black eyes that shone like obsidian. His already handsome face, which could cause the envy of many, was only in its budding stage. He would for sure grow up to break many hearts.

 He stood calmly and looked around. Apart from the surprising silence, despite the seemingly endless crowd around him, nothing seemed to stand out.

Suddenly, the peaceful silence was broken by panic.

"What is happening!?"

"Where are we!?"

"Mommy! Where are you?"

Despite the rowdy crowd, Nathan has not spoken a single word. Not a hint of fear could be seen on his face. Few things could disturb him after what happened on that fateful night…

Many started to panic and run around like headless chicken, many more just broke down crying, while many more couldn't even figure out what was happening.

"Is this a dream?" Nathan asked himself. "No. It's far too realistic and detailed to be a simple dream." He crouched down to touch the grass to confirm his theory.

"Indeed. One can feel the moisture on the blades of the grass." He thought to himself. "If it's not a dream then we should receive some answers soon. Also," Nathan looked around, "No one seems to be over 18 years old…"

An indescribable amount of time passed, yet nothing happened. There was no sun to measure the passage of time, which took Some people to the verge of a mental breakdown, when the long awaited change finally arrived.

Pitch black clouds started forming on the horizon, moving swiftly with unbelievable speed, gathering on top of the crowd, and started swirling around each other. This caused many to lose hope, thinking this would naturally be the end of them.

"HAHAHAHA!… since I am going to die, might as well enjoy my final moments! HAHAHAHA!" Someone finally lost their mind, and jumped onto a rather voluptuous woman from behind, trying to assault her!

"AHAHAHAHA! You are mine now! Now, com- AAAAAAAAAA-"

*SHATTER*

*POOF*

 Before he could even touch that woman, he suddenly shattered like glass, turning into many small fragments, and those too turned into powder, then he completely disappeared, not even his dust remained. He didn't even get a warning. Gone, and he seemed to be in immense agony too, which caused many to pale in horror.

Nathan was startled by the event that just occurred, but he was not surprised. He was far too familiar with the darkness of the human heart. When in a desperate situation, many don't bother with consequences, nor anything else. They turn into beasts who seek out two things: survival and pleasure. If it can grant any of these two, they wouldn't hesitate to sell their soul to the devil.

The worst part? Many didn't even need a desperate situation to go that far…

The clouds swirled around each other with increasing speed until a massive face covered by a hood of dark clouds was formed. Nothing could be seen under the hood, only the darkness of the abyss, whispering to the naive to heed its call. The only thing that it lacked was a scythe, else it would be appropriate to call it a Reaper of The Underworld…

The moment the figure appeared, all those who were running away also shattered like glass, their fate? Unknown.

Silence filled the plains, as everyone stood with bated breath, gazing upon the almighty figure, feeling the reaper's scythe graze along their neck, ever so slightly.

"Welcome, young ones. I am The Herald of Darkness." The Herald's voice was as deep as the abyss itself, overlapping many times over, reverberating across the plains, causing even the ground to vibrate as if to show its fear. "Those of you who wish to leave simply say 'I wish to leave.' And you shall be sent back. Be warned you will not remember anything that happened here, should you choose to leave."

Nathan was stumped.'Why would The Herald gather us here, only to tell us to leave without any explanation? There must something going on here…' Nathan thought.'Let's stay and find out, I have nothing to go back to anyway.'

Being an orphan, after Nathan lost his parents, he closed himself off from the world around him. He had no one to call friend, no one to call family… all alone in this cruel world…

"This place is scary! I wish to leave!" Screamed one girl nearby.

Nathan was pulled of his thoughts by the sudden screaming and looked around.

Suddenly a pillar of light descended on her, and she slowly disappeared. Although many were suspicious of the fate of that girl, when presented with the smallest hint of hope, they couldn't help but discard any misgivings they might have, for the barest hint of survival, especially as they were panicked now and couldn't think straight. As many saw that, they too started to shout:

"I wish to leave too!"

"Get me out of here, I wish to leave!"

"I…I w-wish to leave…"

Many pillars of light descended together creating a scene straight out of a fantasy. The scene was so breathtaking that Nathan forgot to breathe.

One by one, many started disappearing. From to endless crowd only a handful of people remained. Those brave or crazy enough to face the unknown…

"Hmmm…good, more people have remained than I expected."The Herald sounded pleased with the results."Congratulations on passing the first test, young ones. We do not need cowards who run away at the first hint of danger, much less those who are swayed by the voice of the crowd." The Herald paused for a moment before continuing, "Do not worry about the others. No one was harmed till this point in time. They shall not remember anything of what happened today, but they have all been safely returned."

'As I expected…' Nathan thought, 'We are being tested by The Herald. He scared us by shattering people, and then presented the crowd with a ray of hope, so more of the crowd would choose to give up! How sneaky! It is wise to assume any and every single one of our actions and perhaps even thoughts are being monitored…'

Nathan suddenly shivered, feeling like an ant being gazed by a giant. His body was paralyzed by fear yet he mustered all his willpower and raised his head to look at The Herald with extreme difficulty, feeling as if his bones are about to crack under pressure, yet he couldn't see any emotion or difference on the figure of The Herald.

"Pardon my insolence, esteemed Herald, but where is this place?"

Nathan felt the gaze move away, as one brave soul asked a question from The Herald. He was covered in cold sweat, still in disbelief of how much pressure he faced, from a simple gaze, without any intention behind it.

"This is the trial ground of my Path of Darkness. In here, your souls were summoned and time has stopped, so you do not need to worry about your real bodies. Focus on the trials ahead." Said The Herald

"There are 3 trials, each more difficult and different from the last. Those who pass all three trials will gain power beyond their imagination, wealth beyond their wildest dreams, and most important of all the burden of said power and wealth…"

'Huh… What does he mean by burden? Can someone really be burdened by power and wealth?' Nathan thought. He was raised in an orphanage so the thought of running away from wealth and power was all the more foreign to him.

"Thank you for your precious words, esteemed Herald." Said the man who asked the question. 

"Now you are faced with a choice: continue forward risking your lives in the upcoming trials, or forfeit and return to your everyday mundane lives. Be warned, this is your last chance to leave." The Herald gave them his final warning, waiting for the response from the remaining crowd. 

Nathan stood silently, his choice already made. Many looked around, hesitating, until finally, the first person spoke:

"I wish to leave."

As he said, so a few more people also joined him and left.

Not many people wished to risk their lives over uncertain matters they had no knowledge on. Many were happy to live a mediocre life, away from any pain or suffering.

'Fools!' Thought Nathan. 'They still chose to run away from the possibility to change their fate! I look down on you!'

The rest of the crowd stood silently, awaiting the verdict of The Herald.

Of the endless crowd, less than a thousand people remained, or so that's how many people he saw around him.

The Herald spoke once again, neither angry nor disappointed at those who left.

"There will always be those who back out even in the face of greatness. This is the chance presented to you. Crawl through thorns and walk through fire if you must, grasp your destiny in your own hands. Remember, nothing comes without a price. Now…"

"Let the second trial begin!"