Ruins of Death(III)

For a mere second, he smiled, but it was so fast no one seemed to notice.

"I suppose you do not know what you've gotten yourselves into?"

The Third Prince didn't speak, merely nodding in agreement.

"These are the Ruins of Death, which contain the Trials of Life and Death that allow one to inherit the Will of the First Warlock." He spoke softly, floating down to meet them eye to eye.

"There are three trials, each rather simple: Battle, Wisdom, and Cohesion."

"The first trial will test your skills in battle and affinity to aether. The second will test your arcane wisdom and knowledge. The last will require you all to work together to navigate a maze filled with powerful entities."

Amon, Awa, and Amato's gazes widened in shock upon hearing this, looking at the Third Prince in horror.

Prince Kuwan merely shrugged, his face painted with confusion.

The stone man noticed but didn't comment.

"The first two trials will be done alone, and the third as a group, if that wasn't obvious enough," he continued. "Death is a very real outcome here. In fact, all who have come before have died."

None present flinched or even batted an eye upon hearing this. They were all seasoned monsters who had faced death more times than they could count, while the Third Prince was an unfathomable entity who had ascended far beyond the realms of mortality—supposedly.

RUMBLE!

The platforms shook, and before anyone could react, portals appeared at their feet, sucking them in.

"Good luck, and may death be with you. Whether it acts as a friend or foe is up to the radiance of your fate."

In an instant, they were gone, and the stone man found himself alone once again.

Sat there, alone, Amon's face flashed in his mind.

"Who would've thought the stars would align as such," he sighed. "What a hollow fate this boy has, aiya."

"May death guide us all."

***

РАН!

Amon softly landed on the ground. Over the years, he'd grown accustomed to higher-tier cultivators randomly summoning him via portals.

The room he appeared in was simple, with a white marble floor and metallic walls forming a cubic shape.

Apart from that, the room was empty.

Suddenly, a screen appeared in front of his eyes.

{Trial of Might will begin in a few seconds, ready yourself.}

He didn't flinch, merely taking out one of his three spears. Calmly, he began to swing it to stretch his body, and as he did so, a pure white trail of energy began to follow his blade.

Apart from repeatedly pushing his body past its limits by training and devouring atmospheric aether, Amon had acquired a great amount of skill.

Thanks to years of lessons from scholars, he could be said to be one himself. If not for lacking aether marks, he would be a fearsome mage.

But beyond all that, he'd learned to manipulate aether from the best of the best.

He'd become so proficient that it had become an extension of himself.

What was aether? It was the energy of the world and the fuel of all cultivators.

'My aether control skills are still limited, but the limit is not from my control but rather from my body. It seems I'll need to begin cultivating to fully access all the theory I know…'

‹First Opponent. >

BANG!

Out of thin air, a creature appeared. With hairless, wrinkled gray skin, a hunched back with a protruding spine, freakish yellow eyes, and a frothing mouth full of sharp teeth, this beast oozed untamed, violent power.

'A low-tier ghoul?'

It had only just barely materialized, but as soon as it saw Amon, it shrieked and charged at him at speeds that would put most cars on Earth to shame.

WHOOSH!

With a simple sidestep, he dodged, his arm swinging back without care, allowing his blade to mercilessly cleave his opponent in one swing.

Amon looked back, frowning.

'Huh? Usually ghouls don't die so easily. Not when l use simple swings. Is this a weakened ghoul?'

<Second Opponent.>

He didn't have time to linger as another opponent appeared, this time a normal human.

Amon didn't wait for the figure to fully materialize. He took another of his spears and threw it with as much force as he could muster, aiming for the head.

WHOOSH!

The air sizzled as the spear traveled at unmatched speeds, and just as the human's head manifested, it popped like a balloon, not allowing the summoned to muster a single thought.

As he folded his arms, his spear moved under his control of aether and returned, silently floating at his back.

<Third Opp-< p>

РАН!

<Fourth Opp-< p>

РАН!

One after the other, they popped like balloons, regardless of the race, gender, or level of power.

The more time passed, the more Amon frowned.

'What the hell is going on with this trial..?'

‹Thirtieth Opp-Error! Reconfiguration...>

<All waves have been fused. Defeat the opponent to pass trial.›< p>

This time, unlike before, his opponent appeared in a flash.

It was a woman in white robes stained with fresh blood, her hair seemingly ripped out, and her eyes gouged out. She wielded two long curved blades, and her body was covered in thousands of aether marks.

Immediately, Amon retreated, using his mind to send two of his spears at her.

CLINK!

As expected, she parried both and charged at him. But Amon had only wanted to gauge her speed.

'Very fast.'

His opponent appeared before him a moment later, her twin blades cleaving down with unmatched force as pole and blade met.

BANG!

Amon winced in pain, feeling his bones creak and his muscles tear under the woman's terrific power. But with a decisive move, he turned and twirled, redirecting her momentum away from himself. He then torqued, tightly gripping his spear to slice diagonally across her back.

SHAH!

The woman let go of her blades, diving headfirst and rolling out of his slice. Upon standing, her blades returned to her, and she immediately pounced back on Amon.

Amon smiled and reversed the motion of his slice, forcing her to parry his attack. Using the force of her parry, he spun and stepped forward, closing the distance as he cleaved down toward her chest.

She roared in annoyance, stepping back to block with both blades. But just as she did, Amon switched his stance. What had been a cleave became a clean thrust that pierced in and out of her stomach in an instant.

"Argh!"

Her warm blood spilled, further staining her robes as she stumbled backward. But at that moment, she remembered something.

'Fu-'

РАН!

Amon's two floating spears pierced her.