The demon made of Sam’s corruption stared at him with burning crimson eyes, yet Sam did not flinch.
Instead of fear, a faint curiosity flickered across his face.
This thing, this living embodint of his own sins, was the first "monster" that the primordial clone did not imdiately try to attack.
The clone had never hesitated to strike at anything in their path, whether it could be hard or not.
It attacked because that was its nature.
But now, standing before this towering demon of shadow and blood, it simply stood still.
That ant sothing.
If the primordial clone saw no reason to attack, then this demon was more than just an enemy.
"Oh well," Sam muttered, turning his back to it without a shred of concern.
The judges watching from above erupted with confusion.
[What is it doing?]
[ATTACK, DEMON!]
[CO ON, KILL HIM!]
Their voices were sharp with disbelief, echoing through the endless corridor of the trial.
The corruption of a being was supposed to attack imdiately.
It was a law of these towers, an unbreakable rule that every awakener faced.
Even the other primordials—those ancient beings of impossible power—had to outrun or fight their corruption in order to survive their own trials.
And yet, the strongest corruption they had ever witnessed stood still before the [True Primordial].
It didn’t even move.
Fwish!
Sam spread his wings and shot forward through the corridor.
He did not waste another second.
There were still two more trials waiting for him, and he had no interest in staying here any longer than necessary.
[What the hell.]
The judges’ voices cracked with frustration as the demon simply watched the primordial race toward the end of the trial without making a move.
"=)"
The primordial clone remained behind for a mont, standing beside the demon with a wide, unsettling smile on its face.
The demon looked back at it, tilting its horned head slightly, almost as if shrugging.
They could not speak, but sothing passed between them.
An understanding.
The clone gave a small nod, its eerie grin never fading, then unfurled its own wings and surged forward to follow Sam.
The demon stayed where it was, watching them leave.
Thirty seconds later, Sam and the clone reached the end of the corridor.
Ding!
[You have completed the first guilty trial!]
[Verdict: Guilty as charged.]
"Hey, hold on," Sam said, looking up at the glowing text with a raised brow, "I didn’t even get touched by that thing. The rules clearly said—"
[We don’t care.]
"Damn," Sam muttered with a shrug.
Before he could say anything else, a sudden flash of motion cut through the air.
Fwish! Blitz!
The demon reappeared in front of him in a single instant.
It had blitzed from the very start of the corridor all the way to the end in less than a heartbeat.
Sam had needed half a minute to cross the sa distance even with his full speed, but this thing had done it dozens of tis faster.
If it had truly wanted to attack, there would have been no chance to escape.
Sam knew it wouldn’t have killed him, death wasn’t on the table here, but the fight would have been a nightmare.
The demon stopped just a few steps away from him and sat down, its black aura flaring whenever he ca too close.
Sam nodded to it calmly.
"Thanks," he said.
The demon inclined its head in silent acknowledgnt, as if returning the gesture.
[It genuinely isn’t attacking him...]
[It’s friendly...]
[His entire existence is sinful and corrupt, aning that summoning a being made out of those things will result in it not attacking him as it sees him as the sa.]
[Makes sense.]
One of the judges finally spoke with a note of reluctant understanding.
The explanation fit perfectly. The demon was made of Sam’s corruption.
It was him, and he was it. How could it attack what it already was?
Even if it tried, it would fail.
After a few silent seconds, the demon’s towering form began to distort.
Its black and crimson body rippled like smoke before breaking apart, the fragnts of shadow seeping back into Sam’s chest.
The weight of it rged seamlessly with his own existence, like a piece of himself returning ho.
A dark portal ford ahead, swirling with golden light at its edges.
Without hesitation, Sam stepped through it.
Fwish! Ding!
[You have completed the first "Judgnt Tower."]
He erged back into the [Land of Judgnt], the sa mist-filled expanse of yellow haze and towering black stone he had entered earlier.
The three colossal towers lood in silence, their massive dark eyeballs watching every move.
The primordial clone popped out behind him, wearing the sa unnerving smile as always.
Sam looked up at the tower he had just cleared.
Its gigantic eye was closed now, sealed shut with no sign of opening again.
A heavy chain that once connected it to the great gate at the center had broken, leaving only two chains still binding the path forward.
The other two towers, however, were very much awake.
Their eyes remained dark, swirling with golden vortices that pulsed with hostility.
Their presence radiated a deeper fury than before, as if they could feel the primordial’s defiance.
’Two more,’ Sam thought, narrowing his eyes, ’Then we’ll see what’s waiting at the end.’
The remaining towers seed to sense his resolve.
Their gaze flared brighter, the golden vortexes inside their eyes spinning faster as he stepped forward.
The mist around the Land of Judgnt thickened slightly, charged with a silent tension.
Sam had already guessed what this place truly was.
This realm was not shared. It was individual.
Each awakener faced their own instance of judgnt.
Infinite instances could exist at once, but each would only ever accept one challenger.
Judgnt, after all, was a solitary affair. Only the soul laid bare.
Other awakeners would face their own trials within their own separate spaces, and their journeys would be easier than his.
The judges had made their bias against him clear from the start.
Even so, he could faintly sense the distant presence of others enduring their own struggles.
It didn’t matter. His path was his alone.
Without another thought, Sam walked toward the second tower.
The giant eyes followed his every step, glowing brighter with each movent.
The primordial clone walked silently beside him, its grin stretched wider, almost eager.
When they reached the gate, both stepped through without hesitation.
Fwish!
The world around them blurred and warped as the Land of Judgnt vanished.
A heartbeat later, Sam landed hard on solid ground.
Bam!
He straightened, wings folding behind him, and took in his new surroundings.
He stood inside another chamber, vast and echoing.
Before him lood a massive golden scale suspended in midair, balanced perfectly between two colossal doors.
One door bore the carving of an angel, its wings spread wide.
The other carried the image of a demon with claws raised high.
Sam stared at the scale, his expression unreadable.
"..."
Ding!
[Judgnt Trial #2: Honesty...]
Beep!
[Primordial has already been found guilty, trial will change for the worse.]
"Heh," Sam exhaled softly.
As the announcent echoed, the entire chamber began to shake violently.
The golden scale shuddered, its bright surface darkening as if infected by so unseen rot.
The angel and demon carvings on the twin doors dissolved into black smoke, leaving the stone blank and ominous.
The once-golden balance turned completely dark, and faint images of skulls appeared in its plates, glowing faintly like ghostly lanterns.
Ding!
[Trial has been changed.]
[Guilty Trial #2: Deception]
The words burned across the air like a curse.
The room’s trembling slowed, but the oppressive weight in the air grew even heavier, pressing down on Sam’s shoulders like a physical force.
Another trial awaited. Another judgnt. And this one promised to be worse than the last.
Reviews
All reviews (0)