Then a booming voice filled the entire trial world.
"Welco to the Trial of Fire and Chains. Here, pain will bind your truth."
The monstrous figure’s explanation was vague, but kranos could imagine it would be anything but easy!
Just then the bridge shifted beneath their feet and a loud tal shriek noise resounded in the vast space.
Then flas erupted from the sides of the bridge, and spikes of glowing crimson steel burst from the path ahead, forcing them to leap backward.
Kranos instinctively pulled Kathryn and Kevin aside just as one of the spikes almost impaled them.
The voice returned:
"Ahead of you are three paths, one of pain, one of bondage, one of truth. Each of you must walk alone and chose the right path. There shall be no helping."
At once, the bridge split into three. Kranos, Kathryn, and Kevin stood on separate iron lanes, all leading deeper into the crucible of fire.
They exchanged glances but didn’t say anything. Kathryn nodded at kranos then took a step forward, seeing this kranos no longer hesitated and took a step forward.
...
Kranos appeared at a the path of pain, around him were flas which had seemingly engulved the bridge. He glanced behind and realised there was nothing behind him, it seems i can’t go back.
Realising this kranos could only step forward bravely and walk onto the bridge of pain ahead of him.
Idiately a searing pain he could feel a wave of heat with every breath he took and blisters erupted across his skin. The iron beneath his feet also turned molten with every step he took forward
And then the sky above him cracked open, revealing scenes from his past.
He saw himself standing over Jonah’s dying body.
The boy’s pale face, the parasitic Gu worm inside his chest pulsing.
The Kranos in the image had hesitated for a mont and that mont had quickly cost the boy’s life.
The image changed and he saw the corpses of a village, burnt by the ti he had arrived too late to intervene.
More visions of his regrets, failures and so on kept apearing in his line of sight with every step he took, howver kranos was unfaxed by the visions,
Just as kranosw as enduring the heat, from the molten lake below, a figure erged.
...
Chains rose from the lava like serpents, wrapping around Kevin’s limbs, dragging him to the ground.
He gritted his teeth as scarlet inscriptions appeared on the chains, at the sa ti voices resounded in his mind, like it was trying to distract him and negate his thoughts.
Although the words they spoke had nothing to do with him, his emotions were greatly affected. Like it was being passively amplified by the trial.
"You carry the blood of a monster."
"You should never have been born."
"You’ll always betray us in the end."
Kevin roared back, trying to break free however the chains held him firmly causing him to endure the tornt and pain.
The process lasted for a long ti and kevin didn’t even know how long had passed, his eyes had already beco slighlty dull and he stopped resisting.
However even though his had physically stopped resisting, recaling the image of kathryn in his mind he was still able to retain his sanity. After a while, the chains began lting into liquid steel, flowing into his arms, and forming intricate runes on his body.
The chains slowly engraved themselves onto him, making his body stronger and look more sturdier.
A rumble resounded and kevin’s eyes slowly regained their clarity, he knew at that mont that he had cleared the trial!
---
Kathryn’s trial was silent.
She lay emotionless on the ground, however if one glanced closely at her face they would notice she was deeply struggling as though she was in pain.
mories surged like a tide into her mind, as though it was trying to forcefully change her core nature and cause her to be unable to recall her true self. In so she ruled as an Empress. In another, she wandered as a beggar and in another vision sne stood beside a man cloaked in shadows.
Kathryn struggled fiercely. Fortunately she was an anomaly so changing her core identity was out of the question. Then, from within her soul, a hand reached out from the void.
It’s finally here, kathryn’s face held a faint smile as she hastily grabbed onto the hand.
The hand instantly dragged her into a world of fire, which quickly burned everything around her. Even the mories that were surfacing in her mind were slowly burning to ashes.
As though sensing sothing, the flas on the bridge began to recede. Kathryn had also completed her trial.
...
Completing their individual trials they reerged at the end of their paths.
The iron bridge coalesced back together.
All three of them were bloodied, and exhausted from all the trials but they felt their ntality had increased greatly. They glanced at each other and nodded before noticing sothing ahead.
Above them, a new platform descended, a floating disk of obsidian crystal covered in golden script.
Kranos glanced at Kathryn and Kevin then back on to the platform that had descended. Noticing more than a few hundred people already on the platform kranos was slightly surprised.
He stared at the platform in a daxe, kathryn who was by the side also showed a suprised look for a mont before glancing deeply at the crowd of people, she knew that the initial trial was to screen out those who were unworthy.
Now was where the worthy successor would be chosen. She noticed the others and could sense their vast cultivation levels. These were the main geniuses in the immortal worlds, kathryn also noticed a familair figure in the distance.
Of course he will be here. She thought sarcastically. The figure also noticed them his figure faded into an after image and he instantly appeared in front of them, with a casual, carefreee smileon his face.
"Hah, didn’t think i will see you all here," glancing at the trio luka felt extrely happy.
Just as he wanted to relate with them so more, a voice ca from the crowd, it was the voice of a young lady.
"Haha, so master was right, i will truly find you here!"
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