First test part 1

About the fact that my companion said that in the Avel capital there are techniques that were owned by a bygone race. How, on the way here, the spirit of the forest appeared to me in a dream and said that the chosen ones had their own style of sword and other styles would be useless for me.

- Can you show off this style to the Kray Empire? - Avel asked in a cheerful voice; interest and amusement were visible in his gaze.

Not understanding what caused such a change in Avel's behavior, I walked away and when I wanted to call on the sword of darkness, Shomufi stopped me.

Shaking his head, Avel said in a teacher's tone that he would show the style of the Cray Empire without weapons.

After waiting for me to nod, Shomufi walked away and began to look at me with interest. Having made several movements forward, and striking from the bottom up and deceptively moving in the other direction and going into defense, I heard an unusual laugh from Avel.

Turning towards the laughter, I saw Avel holding his stomach and laughing loudly, his wings were open and twitching with laughter. Shomufi continued to laugh for a while until he calmed down and came up to me.

- I apologize for my behavior, but this technique is really awesome, but it was created for children when the wings cannot yet lift them. - Avel explained his behavior with a laugh in his voice.

Freezing at these words, I expected that what was said was a joke, but my interlocutor did not say anything else that confirmed his words earlier.

- Let me show you Avel's fighting style. - Shomufi turned to me and, without waiting for an answer, extended his hand forward and a place unfamiliar to me appeared in front of us.

We looked from above at a strange place where the Avels were visible, who looked with interest at the field where the Avel warriors were fighting.

Each of them was clad in armor that protected both the body and the wings, they were armed with different weapons; one had a two-handed sword, the other had a pair of daggers.

Watching the fight, I froze, in addition to how they worked with their arms and legs, the wings were also like an extension of the body.

At one moment, Abel with daggers threw one up, his wings grabbed him and threw him towards the enemy.

Another Abel, seeing the actions of the enemy with daggers, covered himself with his wings. I expected that the dagger would pierce the wings or injure him, but the dagger bounced off the wings, falling to the ground.

The owner of the dagger, without hesitation, tried to reach the enemy with another dagger, but the wings that covered the warrior with a two-handed sword blocked the attack, allowing the warrior to deliver a blow that Avel with the daggers did not expect.

When I expected to see a two-handed sword fall on Avel, it soared into the sky and the blow hit only the air. Laughter was heard from the ground and Avel rose into the sky after the enemy.

As I thought, in these conditions everything was in the hands of a warrior with a two-handed weapon, but Avel, who wielded daggers, surprised me with his attacks, which involved both the dagger and his wings.

At one moment, when the dagger again attacked Avel with a two-handed weapon, he removed his hand behind his back and, finding himself in front of the two-handed sword, he extended his hand in the other direction, which the warrior with the two-handed weapon could not see.

And at that moment the battle stopped and they returned back to the ground and bowed to the spectators who continued to support both the one who won and the one who lost.

The image began to move away until we again looked at the wall in front of us. Now I understood why the Avels were considered formidable warriors who had no equal in battle, their whole body was a weapon.

- From your look, I see that you understand the difference between the real Avel style and the childish one. - Shomufi's voice was heard in which one could feel how he was immersed in memories.

Comparing the styles, I understood what made Avel laugh: one style looked incomplete, and the style with which Avil fought was complete, in which the whole body was a weapon and was ready to be used depending on the situation in the battle.

- As for the style of the chosen one, you will have to go through tests, but keep in mind that they can destroy you. I feel in you that you were talking to yourself, but this dive was easy and quite fast. - Avil turned to me in a serious voice; there was no merriment in his gaze.

Could the trials have ruined me? What will happen from the fact that Shomufi didn't say anything else, it could mean different things.

From the fact that each chosen one had his own trials to what he can say because it will interfere with me.

I was at a loss as to why Avel mentioned talking to himself; I could only hope that I would understand the reason when I faced trials.

- I understand, but I need to get my own style otherwise I won't be able to fight without fear that my secret will be revealed before I can stand up to the threats. - Answering Avel, I felt my voice become colder.

Listening to me, Avel beckoned me with his hand to another large wall, and running his hand along it, three doors began to appear in front of us, each with its own appearance.

One door was wooden with different writings on it and in the center there was a handle that allowed you to knock on the door.

The second door looked like the first, only the metal component was visible in it and the writing looked more like a drawing.

The third door was made of black metal on which inscriptions shimmering in different colors could be seen; when I looked at it, it seemed to me that I heard voices coming from it.

- You can choose any door, each test carries something that can help you create your own style or destroy you. - Avel's serious voice was heard, tearing me out of trying to hear whose voices I heard; they were familiar to me.

Inspecting the three doors, I was drawn to the third, slowly approaching it, I heard voices more and more, looking back and looking at Avel, but it was not clear from his face that he was hearing anything.

Taking a deep breath, I lowered the door handle and it slowly began to open, there was not a sound of anything. When the door opened, only darkness appeared before me, and voices in it that called me.

Having released the handle and entered the passage, I heard the door close behind me and the light of the room disappeared.

I stood completely in the darkness, voices that continued to whisper in different intonations and called to me and called me to go deeper into the darkness.

I couldn't hear my steps, and it didn't immediately become clear to me that I couldn't see anything. The voices became louder until I began to see, the darkness was nearby but it did not try to follow me.

Looking around, I stood in the middle of some city, it was familiar to me but also not familiar, continuing to walk further, the voices became louder and in them I felt anger, hatred, but in these voices I also heard another voice that asked him to save him, in which I could feel fear.

Raising my head up, I expected to see the sky, but above there was only darkness, allowing me to realize that I was not in the world, but on a test.

I didn't meet anyone on my way, whether this was a bad sign or whether the darkness was trying to say something, I didn't know.

Looking more and more around the city, I saw familiar places, but I had difficulty remembering where I saw them; some resembled the Cray Empire and some were pieces of the academy and other places.

Trying to turn onto another street, darkness began to appear in front of me and prevented me from going further.

Frowning, I tried to come closer to the darkness, but I had the feeling that the darkness was pushing me away.

Looking back, I saw that the way back was clear, did it mean that the darkness was leading somewhere?

Turning back to the street along which I had previously walked and noticing how the darkness continues to follow me, not allowing me to think about stopping walking.

Going back out onto the street and continuing to walk along it, I heard voices begin to say something, but I could hardly understand the words, but in the voices I recognized my father, mother, brothers and sisters. In front of me in the distance I could see a square on which stood various figures woven from darkness; from them it was difficult to understand who these figures were.