First Trial

Charlotte wasn't usually one to back down; that wasn't to say he didn't get nervous. He was walking through the road, still wearing his ragged clothing. Although he had gotten a small haircut during his few days of rest, his expressive magenta eyes were now visible to anyone; so was his face. Je kept getting strange looks from people as he quickly moved through the town.

He walked up to the center of the town, running his hands against the wall. He walked around to try and reach the gate, using this small moment to take a deep breath and relax. He was a bundle of nerves, but he was confident in himself, or at least he wasn't allowed to think otherwise. Confidence in himself was necessary.

As he neared the gate, the guards gave him a look and moved aside...That was ominous.

"Uh...can I just go in?"

The guards stayed quiet and remained still. He looked around, and the people walking around talked among themselves, nobody giving more than a second look at him.

Inside the gate was a forest and a path of white flowers leading to a stairway heading downwards on the ground. It was strange, to say the least, as he walked in and followed the path. 

Looking down at the stairs, I saw it was pitch black, which was unnerving. Looking back, the guards remained still, and the people kept walking. He spread his Chi through his body and walked down; he barely got a few steps down when everything became pitch black. 

He tried to turn back around, but as he did, the stairs were gone, and he was standing in a room; the stairs he was walking on were replaced with a wooden floor, and the walls looked smooth and were made of similar wood. It felt almost like he was in a box.

He looked around the room and saw a few people, some talking to each other, others sitting down with their eyes closed. He seemed to be the only one confused; he contemplated asking one of them.

Before he could, a door was opened as someone walked in. They had short golden hair and blue eyes. He wore a short-sleeved leather jacket that covered him well above his knees and was loosely tied with slightly off-center string. The sleeves of his coat are pretty narrow and reach down to below his hands; they're decorated with a single thread lining at the sleeve ends.

The jacket has a deep, rectangular neckline that reveals part of the traditional shirt worn below it. It is worn with a light leather belt held together by a decorative pin. The leather belt is entirely decorative and a way to show off.

His pants are simple and incredibly wide, reaching his bound cloth shoes. The shoes are made from very rare cloths but are otherwise familiar. He looked familiar, which wasn't a surprise since he was most likely the son of Joseph. The one uncanny thing was how he walked almost like a puppet. He walked to the center of the room towards Charlotte and stepped back.

As soon as he reached the center, it was as if a switch was flipped, and he jumped slightly as he looked around.

"Freak sta-" 

He looked around, confused; it was very similar to how he must have looked. His gaze fell on Charlotte as he walked over to them.

"Don't ask me if I know what's happening; I'm as confused as you." 

Charlotte spoke first before he could ask; he had to look up quite a bit. He was taller than Charlotte as they reached up to their chest. He looked over at everyone else and back at Charlotte.

"Good to know. Honestly, you stick out like a sore thumb. Didn't you have better clothes to wear?"

Charlotte looked at his ragged clothing and the others sitting and talking away from the two. Although their clothes were much nicer, none matched the man before him. However, his clothes couldn't match theirs either. 

"Not really. I have about fourteen gold coins to my name."

They reached into their pocket and held a small, nearly empty sac of coins for him to see.

"That is...quite unfortunate." 

He walked off and went to talk to the others, leaving Charlotte alone as he put his money back in his pocket and sat down.

He had done well for himself these last few days, spent a bit of money, and managed to finish the sound bear meat. His storage had almost encompassed his heart, and he had begun feeling a barrier getting near. It was strange to experience since it was practically an instinctual response; he understood that at least that meant he was getting close to the next stage.

"I see; that's fewer participants than we expected." 

A woman suddenly appeared in the room; her face was hidden under a hood, and she wore a pure white robe with a blue line running down the center. The smell of roses filled the room; it hadn't been present before. At least not until she arrived?

"Well, no matter, we will see how many of you can even pass to join." 

She tapped her foot, and just like at the stairs. Everything went black for a moment; as soon as he opened his eyes, he felt himself resting against the wall. His chest plate and gauntlets were gone as he jumped to his feet.

He couldn't see anything around him, but it felt like he was in a cave. In front of him was an orb of light that seemed to move forward when he walked toward it. 

Seeing no other option, he began following the light; he spread a bit of Chi into his head to enhance his reflexes enough to deal with surprises. It took a few seconds to filter out the unnecessary information.

Eventually, the orb flew away from him and slotted itself into a hole in the wall as a giant orb of light appeared on the cave ceiling. The entire room was visible to him now; he had been leading into a vast open space, and the whole room seemed to be made of black rock. 

He turned around only to have the way he came in shut as if the wall was alive and closed the exit. He turned back, growling filled his ears. The wall ahead of him was slowly receding, making an opening as a wolf with a red mane walked out.

Its growls made flames seep out of its mouth as Charlotte quickly spread Chi through his body and prepared himself.