Black Ring

She remains silent and motionless for a long time.

White doesn't know much about masters but this atmosphere was enough to make any mortal suffocate to death. But he stood with an uncertain expression.

The woman seems to glaze at the mortal who seems to be fine even after having stepped into the forbidden layer which even masters would go crazy, upon catching a glimpse of the horror here.

She seems to be deep in thought under her veil and only later did she seem to come to some sort of epiphany.

"Point? Do you know where you are?" her ethereal voice descended from the sky in a questionable tone.

White showed a ensured expression but wasn't given time to respond.

A magical scene happens before him as manifestations of worldly power take place. The woman with the black gown had disappeared from the throne and was standing before him.

The scene made White take a step back. He looks at the figure in shock.

The woman in front was as tall as a tree, leaving White high normal 15-year-old height to her abdomen. Her flowing jet-black hair reached her foot; forming a black curtain on her back, and her head bowed slightly as her mysterious visage under the dark veil seemed to be peering into his pale white eyes, unrestrained.

White felt a weird sensation run into his body. Normal people might not know what it was, but he knew she was inspecting his soul, with a technique of using one soul to look into another soul.

"Ordinary mortal body, mortal soul blessed, fate of less…" She spoke slowly but every word of her became quieter and quieter.

The woman after muttering unknown things stood motionless and unmoved; she seemed to be frozen in the darkest of night for a long moment.

White also didn't resist, he knew the moment he stepped into this place he messed up or someone messed him up, he could only comply with her and glaze at her calm veil.

The moment lasted for some time, and only later did the woman move; surprising White with her action, as she took one step to the side and pointed at the directing behind the gigantic back monument and ominous coffins, "The way to the second trial."

White looked at the desolate distance and understood that he had been sent to a place that exceeded the place of the trial.

"But it would take ten years for you to reach there," she dropped a revelation that made crushed White's hope and made him look at her.

He frowned slightly, feeling rather shocked at the distance.

Clasping his hands, he said respectfully, "Can the great master help me with this?"

He knew he was totally screwed and was only trying his luck, but unexpectedly, the mysterious figure's veil moved and seemed to nod.

At the next moment, the space split and opened a path in a distance not far from where he was.

The veiled figure had moved out of his way and stood at the side looking at the gateway, then at him.

White couldn't help but feel weirder and weirder by the situation, he clasped again to thank the mysterious person and headed toward the new pathway; he wanted to get away from here as soon as possible!

"Wait." 

But before he could reach the gateway, her beautiful yet cold voice resounded behind.

White paused, feeling his heart skip a beat, turning his head he saw the mysterious woman behind him. At this time, he was wondering if he should take his chances and jump in the pathway but thinking that would be a very unwise choice, he abandoned the idea.

Opposite to his worries, the veiled woman extended her hand, and between her snow-white fingers was a black ring. 

"Come back here again after the trial… " said the woman.

Before White could make sense of the situation, his hand moved without him knowing and felt a cold sensation on his fingers.

She retracted her long fingers from his hand and before anyone knew it, the black ring was already on his finger.

The black ring emitted a sharp dark aura, that made people looking at it feel chilled to the bone. But surprisingly, all that aura disappeared and turned into an ordinary-looking ring on his finger!

"The ring will help you with that." upon saying this, she disappeared.

White was still confused, he didn't know what this ring was but it was already on his finger.

'She wants me to come back?' 

What does she want with him?

Unable to think anymore he enters the gateway; vanishing from the place.

Up above on the throne of the black monument, the mysterious veiled woman sat regally, overlooking all of the desolate land.

Under her veil, her jet-black eyes glowed to the point it was about to start dripping with the darkest ink, and if one could see under the veil, the corner of her slender red lips was slightly lifted.

"Fate. You indeed heard me…" she murmured, but her voice traveled far and wide making the sky and earth hear her. 

…

The space split open as White walked out of the gateway, stepping into the land he was still unfamiliar with. Unlike his first gateway experience, the one the mysterious woman created only took an instant.

'What went wrong in the first place, for the gateway to lead me to that place.' he thought looking at the desolate land that was a little similar to that place, but this place was like a child compared to it.

He knew that person was by no way ordinary, and to think he actually had the luck to be marked by someone like that on his first day outside the village. 

Should he cry? Or be honored? He had no idea.

'I can't take off the ring either.' He had tried but it just wouldn't budge from his finger.

Sighing, he looked at the bleak desolate lands and clenched his fist tightly.

He needs to become stronger or else things might not out to be as lucky as today.

"Primal seeds," murmuring he set off into the land.

…

"It's weird, we have been searching place after place but we haven't seen any of this 'primal seed'." a young woman in grey robes said annoyed.

There was a group of six people that had teamed up before entering the second trial and to even get a head start, they set out as soon as they entered this desolate land. But over eight hours had passed and the sky was darkening, but they weren't able to find the prime seeds.

And to make things worse they don't even know what it looks like.

Seeing the annoyed girl some of the members had a weary smile. Just like her, they were tired and frustrated in trying to find this thing called the prime seed.

But they looked at the two people in the front and had no choice but to follow them.

"We are still on the periphery of this land, we have to go deeper to find the prime seeds," a relatively quiet person named Fan of the two said. He came from a family of masters and had knowledge of this place through information given by their family.

"He's right, that's our only choice in finding these things," the other one of the two was female with long silky black hair and robes that matched it in both beauty and elegance. 

Unlike the other members, the two were together from the beginning and were friends from the place they came from. 

Different from the other members, they came from the mainland and their parents were actual masters, so they knew things that these desolated people didn't know.

Desolated people was a term for people who came from the Desolate Plane and didn't have any true knowledge of the trial or anything regarding the world. This was also one of the reasons they listened to the two without qualms.

"But it's approaching dark, it is not a good idea to roam around on an unfamiliar land at night." The grey robe woman suggested.

"Then let us rest here for the night," the girl with the silky black hair agreed, as the members seemed to be tired from the eight hours of constant exploring.

But at that moment,

Snap!

As they were preparing to settle down, the sound of a dried branch snapping sounded from the forest behind them.

Although it was a small sound, they immediately became alert and took out their weapons.

They all looked behind a group of dried trees where the sound came from and noticed two faintly glowing savage-like eyes glazing at them bloodthirstily.

The duo from the mainland looked at each other as their body shook, cursing.

Fu*k!!

"Run!!" 

The young man Fan exclaimed and ran immediately.

"B–but– that trial overseer said there was no real danger?!" her voice indigent, the girl with the young man followed suit.

They encounter something like a mad beast here?! 

These beasts were abnormal creatures and were more terrifying than any normal beast. Did the gods have something against them to favor them with such a beast? 

They didn't dare to waste any time and fled without looking back, the rest terrified; followed after them; all of them were scared silly.

The two savage-like eyes glazed at the running prey in silence.

…

"Fan, can we take down that beast using both our magical ones?" Shuddering, the girl asks as she looks back.

They knew the terror of a mad beast and as they are; as a mortal, they can't scratch it much less defeat it.

But with the involvement of magical ones things were different. Magical ones were treasures of the highest grade produced by a genuine master, and when used, it brought with it a devastating power.

But his next word made her heart sink!

"Aizu, have you gone mad? You know we can't utilize the power of any magical treasure with our Unity at 0%!" his voice turned fiendish saying, he looked behind in terror.

In truth, she had already known but was only asking out of desperation for hope.

'If it was at least at 1%..' She thought hopefully, but at the next moment, her eyes shrank; seeing a four-meter-tall beast with two savage-like eyes not far in the back.

"Fan not good! It caught up!"

Fan and the other four members' faces were already pale…