Present.
Neo stood at the edge of the crumbling world.
He watched the spot where young Daniel had vanished.
"You think he can do it?" Neo asked.
'I don't know, but I won't have my hopes up,' the Angel replied.
Neo's lips curled into a faint smirk.
"Then shall we make a bet? If he succeeds, you'll listen to when I return to my world.
"If you win the bet… well, I don't think you need a reward for that scenario," Neo added, folding his arms.
'Fine. Let's make the bet,' the Angel said.
Neo wasn't worried Velkaria would break the verbal promise.
The Angel noticed Neo's trust in Daniel and asked,
'You trust him a lot.'
"Yes, I do."
Neo had watched over Daniel for thousands of years.
He knew Daniel enough to know Daniel would not stop until he had found a way.
The man was stubborn to a fault.
"Well, we should leave this place, or we will get erased by Ti," Neo said, looking at the crumbling world around them.
He raised his head and looked at the sky.
"I want to leave the Shadow Trial."
A door made of shadows appeared in front of his eyes as soon as he completed his words.
The black fra twisted and rippled as if made of living ink.
The Angel frowned, glancing at the narrow entryway.
'How will I fit through that door?'
"You don't need to worry about that."
Neo's shadow stirred.
It began to stretch.
The tendrils of blackness unfurled across the broken ground.
Mountains, destroyed cities, dried lakes—all were engulfed as the shadows expanded.
His shadows never stopped.
They continued to spread wide, devouring continents, oceans, and finally the entire Earth.
The Angel blinked as it found itself standing within Neo's Shadow Space.
An endless expanse of black stretched out in every direction.
'How large is his Shadow Space?' the Angel muttered.
It was surprised by Neo's mastery of the shadow elent.
Just then, Neo opened the Shadow Space's entrance slightly.
"How is it in there?"
'I can adjust.'
There was a short silence before the Angel spoke again.
'I thought you gave away masteries of your elents.'
'But judging by the size of the Shadow Space you are already at Expert mastery?'
"I did give it away, but I've gained quite a bit back already."
The Angel did not know how to react to that answer.
It consoled itself by thinking Neo had always been a freak of nature.
Neo floated in the empty space.
He extended his hand, summoning a shadow bird with wings as vast as the horizon.
Its feathers shimred like onyx, reflecting no light.
He gestured, and the bird lowered itself, allowing him to climb onto its back.
"Take to the door."
The shadow bird glided toward the door of shadows.
Only pitch-black darkness existed beyond its fra.
Neo felt a shift.
When he opened his eyes, he was standing in a vast void.
The floor that had a checkered pattern, black and white squares extending infinitely beneath his feet.
A human-sized doll stood before him.
She bowed.
"Welco back, Neo Hargraves. I'm A #22, a Gatekeeper of the World of Treacherous Shadows," the doll said.
"You are the sa Gatekeeper who welcod when I ca to this world," Neo replied.
A #22 was surprised.
She had not expected him to rember her na after eting only once.
"Indeed, we've t before," she said while stopping the surprise from showing on her face. "Congratulations on completing your Shadow Trial."
"Daniel saved the Child of Mana?" Neo asked.
"He did, and as he was your proxy, the rescue is counted to be completed by you too."
A faint smile appeared on Neo's face.
He sent his Intent inside his Shadow Space and told the Angel what was happening.
The Angel couldn't reply back since the voice didn't travel between the Shadow Space's inside and the outside.
And the Angel didn't know how to use Intent to talk like Neo.
Neo believed the Angel was happy.
"What about Jack? Where is he?" Neo asked as he looked around.
"He is eting another Gatekeeper," A #22 answered.
Her words ant only a few seconds had passed for Jack while Neo had lived through thousands of years.
"How is he?"
"He has lost his rank—"
"I'm asking about his emotional state."
"He wants to kill himself, but he doesn't want to waste the life you protected by sacrificing yourself."
A #22 didn't mince her words.
Neo smiled bitterly.
He had to complete his job here and et with Jack quickly.
Then, he would tell him everything was fine.
"Shall we discuss your rewards?"
"Wait a second."
Neo unleashed his World Energy.
The space vibrated around him, rippling with an intense aura as he used it to activate the third stage of his blessing.
The World Energy condensed and ford his very being—bones, muscles, organs, nerves, blue blood.
Everything regrew.
Neo kept his soul within his body and fused them both.
It was a complete resurrection.
With partial third stage blessing, Neo could regenerate his body parts but not fuse his soul and body.
This limitation was why the blessing could not resurrect him fully before.
The problem was solved when he could finally use the full power of the third stage of his blessing.
Neo looked down, noticing his body covered in scars and his long hair cascading over his shoulders and back.
The dim light of the void reflected faintly on his pale skin.
He used his Shadow Affinity and used the Shadow Robe Spell.
The shadows wrapped around him to form rudintary clothing of dark, flowing fabric.
As for his hair, he let it fall freely behind his back.
He wore clothes first as he was worried he might forget about them.
The mory of Professor Daniel's horrified stare remained in his mind.
The professor had looked at Neo as if he was staring at a monster, not a human.
"About my reward, I want to take whatever is in my Shadow Space to the real world."
"No."
A #22's swift word made Neo frown.
"Is it because I'm taking the Sacred Treasure out?"
Neo didn't hide his intentions.
He admitted openly he was taking the Zeus corpse along with the Angel and the destroyed Earth.
The Gatekeeper and the Supre Deity of Shadows would surely know about it.
"You are misunderstanding us. We are not saying you can't take them."
A #22 continued.
"Taking anything out from the World of Treacherous Shadows is a grey area in the rules.
"Normally, we allow the champions to take the items from the World of Treacherous Shadows if their performance is exceptional.
"If the performance they have shown is anything below excellent, we allow them to take items from the World of Treacherous Shadows only as their rewards," A #22 explained.
"So…."
Neo's words trailed off.
According to what A #22 said, he seed to have shown an exceptional performance in his Shadow Trail.
After all, he managed to complete the Trail after failing it.
"Indeed, you are thinking correctly."
A #22 smiled.
She added,
"The Supre Deity of Shadows has been impressed by your will, valor, and wits.
"He has allowed you to take the items without any price."
The Gatekeeper did not explain how the reward Neo got before was not a reward.
She knew Neo understood what was happening.
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