---
[Congratulations! You have cleared the third trial - the Trial of Agility!]
[Evaluating performance...]
---
Kai looked at the System window with trembling eyes—struggling to focus on the screen—while faint hums of air softly echoed around him.
Sitting at the small hovering platform below, he couldn’t help but think:
’How parallel things have beco...’
It was just a sentence. A sentence that carried a compilation of all the emotions that Kai could feel.
He was happy that the Trial had co to an end much easily this ti, but deep down, even he knew that if it weren’t for the Griffin’s attack, he might not have survived.
’At this point, this has beco too common...’ his gaze fell to the ground, his brows slightly frowned.
’Dodging death for the second ti by yet another miraculous turn of events... It’s just unsatisfying...’
Just as his mind had begun to drift apart from reality, a sudden notification alert pulled him back.
He raised his eyes only to see that a new window had materialized over the previous one.
---
[’God of Strength’ is opposing the Trial Result.]
[’God of Agility’ is opposing the Trial Result.]
[’Goddess of Endurance’ is opposing the Trial Result.]
[Due to the opposition from several gods, the voting system has been initiated to finalize the Fate of the First Hidden stage Clearer of the Trial of Agility]
---
As Kai quickly skimd through the screen, his facial expressions changed upon reading "Fate".
"Wait, what do you an by that!?"
A sharp, cold sensation began to penetrate his insides from the very centre of the chest, while his feet ran cold, and sweat ford over the edges of his forehead.
The word ’fate’ was nothing to be scoffed at, especially so if it was coming from sothing like System itself.
’Up until now, all because of this System, countless lives had perished and now you’re telling that the gods are deciding my fate?’
’And Hang on, a Hidden Stage? Does that an that this wasn’t the usual way of clearing this Trial!?’
All sorts of thoughts erged in Kai’s mind, fanning the icy flas of his anxiety.
The fact that his life could end right then and there if only the gods were to decide so, was strangling him from inside.
Because if that were to happen, then the tis he had pushed himself to the limits beyond his body would’ve ant nothing.
The very dream of him to live a normal life like any human would no longer exist.
And the hope of achieving... The hope of doing better than just being a scavenger in the future would perish.
***
In a distant realm of an empty space, Darkness shrouded the entirety of the world while countless tiny stars shimred across the space, creating a soul-srizing view.
At the centre of such a realm, an out-of-place, considerably huge platform floated in a single place—as if it were stuck to a particular space.
The platform was made up of a huge, crystal white marble-like piece of stone. A kind that no one had ever seen before.
Frankly speaking, the beauty of that re platform alone looked comparable to that of the entirety of the realm.
Atop such a platform, a table was set in the centre with 7 different chairs lining around it in a circle—all facing each other.
"I can not accept this result! Hidden Stage, my foot! This is just equivalent to challenging our authorities!"
"I agree with Aelaris on this one. We need to act on this quickly or else this will be a humiliation to all of us!" Brontus shouted as he slamd his hand onto the table.
Above the chairs, 7 different luminous lights—each of a different color—hovered in the air while glowing in a bright radiant glow, forming a rough silhouette of 7 people sitting over the chairs.
Those 7 people... Or should I say, 7 Gods were:
The Crimson Red - representing the God of Strength, Brontus.
The Sky blue - representing the God of Agility, Aelaris.
The Earthen Bronze - representing the Goddess of Endurance, Dureya.
The Brilliant Athyst - representing the Goddess of Perception, Eilune.
The Prismatic - representing the Goddess of Intelligence, Saphyra.
The Burning Gold - representing the God of Willpower, Obrion.
And, The Luminous White - representing the Goddess of Souls, Aesria.
"This wouldn’t have happened in the first place if only Dureya had taken care of that ant in her Realm!" Brontus further roared, directing all his anger towards Dureya, who sat right in front of him.
"Bullshit! It isn’t that I didn’t do it! I couldn’t! When I tried to take him in as my servant, the System interrupted and caused a backlash!"
"Even if that was true, why the hell is there a hidden stage in my realm that I, myself, didn’t know about!?" Aelaris snapped.
As they continued to fight and point their fingers at one another—Eilune, Saphyra, Obrion, and Aesria stayed silent.
For several minutes, they silently watched over—what seed like—a small quarrel between gods trying to pull one another down using a Human scapegoat.
Suddenly, a System window materialized in front of all of them, and the entire space fell silent for a brief mont.
---
[Decide the fate of Player-X13 quickly.]
---
Looking at the system Screen, Brontus clicked his tongue as if his fun had been ruined.
"I suggest that we should give him the honour to die at the hands of the Gods," Brontus said in a rather softer tone; To which, Aelaris and Dureya instantly agreed and nodded their heads in Unison.
Then, all of them looked at the rest of the gods sitting in front of them with a silence that demanded answers.
Quenching their Thirst, Saphyra broke the Silence first, but to their surprise, she said sothing completely different.
"I suggest that we nullify his first clearance reward for the Third Trial but grant him the prize for the Hidden Stage Clearance."
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"
"SAPHYRA!!"
Her suggestion felt like a gun being pointed towards the three gods who wanted to kill the player once and for all, marking them in nothing but humiliation.
"I agree with Saphyra," Eilune said.
" too." Obrion followed.
"You’ve gotta be kidding ! Aesria! You have to choose us!" Aelaris wailed as everyone’s eyes rolled towards Aesria, waiting to hear her answer, which would land the final strike to decide Kai’s fate.
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