I awake in pain, not physical, but mental. My mind feels like It'll shatter if I even dare to open my eyes. For what feels like eons have I been imagining beings so diabolical and treacherous, It's to the extent my brain is beginning to think they're real. It is torture, this is insanity, and I am unable to escape the darkness that coils my mind. Trying to resist is more painful than doing nothing at all. I've never been so conflicted before, and I am starting to think that staying put will do me better at this point, but I've gotten extremely weak.

  Under any other circumstance I would have given up by now, but something in my body refuses, and It will not let me be consumed by the corruption that is taking over my very soul.

  Fine, you win. I cannot stand this for any longer, I must be freed from this torment, even if that comes at the cost of more pain. I have been in this excruciating state for so long that I've gained an epiphany of what to do, Instead of going against the urge, I'll fight with it. I begin to lift my eyelids up with every ounce of strength I have. A sudden throbbing pain strikes me, but I won't let it deter me, I have to push through!

  Slowly light pierces into my pupils, and as I continue to fight I am able to finally open my eyelids, revealing a place of unfamiliarity.

  Void still encompasses me, It's a thick mist that surrounds the small room I'm in. Currently I am far more curious than tired, though now that I have regained my sense of will, I am able to hear the deep ambience of the room, my horrible odor, the coldness of the purple cuffs that bind onto my wrists, and the drought of my own mouth. While I look around in haze and confusion, a vibrant blue light appears in front of me, it radiates a strange pulse that I have some connection with.

  The light gradually gets bigger before forming a sphere with some sort of mystical energy around it. My sight is absorbed by the light as everything goes white, I feel comfort from this divine shine as it blesses my body with it's delightful pulse. The warmth causes me to relax to the point of drowsiness, and finally I am able to sleep.

  I awake, and I can tell just by the temperature I am in another area. Hours must've passed since my fight. I proceed to get up from my uncomfortable position, my palms lift off from the cold, yet soothing bed. I rub my eyes as I look around, intrigued by the scenery.

  I'm in some kind of. . . earth room? The walls are littered with vines, leaves and much of the green that comes from nature. Though the most important observation is the person who sleeps on the bed parallel to mine. Their skin is a shade darker than me, two-strand twists that are tipped red and a face I am incapable of clearly seeing. I sink back down into my bed, laying my arms down with my legs. I must remember what happened last night, but It's too hazy, It's impossible!

  All I can reminisce about is that blue light, It is something that I'm familiar with, It's the same pulse I had on that sorrowful night. I close my eyes to try and picture something, anything. Suddenly, a memory flows into my mind, a memory of blessing. Right, I have been blessed by the avatar, the same one the entirety of the world devotes their lives to.

  "Chi...Chikara." I mumble.

  Either way, I've achieved my goal, I wished for the day that I could save the lives of Nijyn like my father. Thank you, Syron. I'll treasure this gift from you, and will slay the curses as an avenger.

  "Wha- What's going on.." I hear from beside me.

  "Would I love to know the same.." I respond.

  He first looks back at me dubious, then his eyes journey across the rocky room, lightened from candles. "Is this. . . the trial?"

  I tilt my head, "Trial? What are you talking about?" I question.

  "The trial for the blessing? I sort of remember being told my soul has awakened." He says while he sits up and gazes at me.

  Trial? Wait, he's right! My father Heiroh had wrote about making a trial for awakened souls, I look up as I reminisce about the book.

  'My dream is for a trial. A trial that showcases strength and determination. We cannot allow the weak into battle, no matter what. Our morale must resist against the darkness, to be strong and never give up even if all beside you have fallen. I dream one day to have a force of the bravest warriors all at once, they will save Nijyn and be engraved into history. Those future fighters will be remembered as great individuals who fought fiercely against the corruption, and the beast who haunts our tranquility.'

  Yeah, I read the book not too long ago.

  I notice his eyes glance down to my neck.

  "You curious?" I mention as I hold my pendant up and show the symbol towards him.

  "S-sorry, It's just that symbol seems so familiar." He replies.

  "You probably know what it is. Here, allow me to introduce myself."

  I force a cough to clear my throat while straightening my face and posture.

  "I'm Soryin, Secondary of the Fuishi clan and son to Heiroh, The Savior."

  His dark brown eyes widen and his somewhat bushy eyebrows shoot up in a surprised and shocked expression.

  "F-Fuishi?! Son of Heiroh, The Savior!?"

  I can't help but smile, I receive a lot of compliments, but with this one I am as excited.

  "Who're you, by the way?" I ask curiously.

  "I'm Feltry, just a nobody who happened to be graced by this power."

  "Oh, well it's nice to meet you then!" I reply with a graceful smile.

  Suddenly, a long slab of rock at the front of the room plunges down, revealing a wider and bigger place.

  "COME OUT!" A voice yells loudly from the next room, and due to his blaring tone I get up with haste, walking out the room alongside my new mate.

  As I and Feltry enter, the room is very similar to the last. Though some notable differences are the candle chandeliers that hang from the short roof, and the concrete ground unlike the one in the previous room. I see two others exit from a different room across from us at the same time. They seem to be more intrigued by the front of the room where a man stands.

  "Welcome five, I am happy to announce that you have all been blessed from the gracious above, and will now be tested to prove your worth."

  He says in a confident and loud tone as he looks down upon us from the podium.

  His appearance is extremely interesting; his eyes are a rare silver like colour, his hair is thick, curly and designed in a messy-ish way. His skin is lightly tan, he wears brown pants and a dark green shirt that bears what I assume to be his clan's crest. He has teal crystal bracelets lined upwards throughout his right arm, with his left having a rampant amount of scars.

  "But before that, I'll go over how the Divine Trials will work and how you can pass. Firstly, the Divine Trial's have three stages, and are meant to decide who will be the saints for the five attunements: Flame, Lightning, Wind, Water, and Earth.

  All of you have the potential to become a permanent host for one of these elements, It's the reason why you're here after all.

  The likely horrifying experience you guys had yesterday was to see how well all of you would do when exposed to corruption, and you all have done good, however it's nothing compared to what you'll be experiencing in the trials.

  If you pass, you will be regarded as a Saint of Nijyn, one who serves to protect. I, Zergin Jushiin swear on the titans below and Chikara that I'll slay that damned Avatar, along with anyone strong enough to make it with me." Zergin says in a serious spoken, smooth tone.

  Finally, I can become a saint, just like my father! I'll give it my all to protect our land, I swear I won't let the Fuishi clan down! Grace me, Great Wolf!

  "Now, brace yourselves as it's time to start the trial." Zergin raises his arm and waves it backward, causing a slab of earth to slide just under the chandeliers, blocking the light. Instantly my mind goes blank and everything becomes dizzy. Slowly the haziness vanishes, and I am at a place of void once again, though this time torches of blue flames luminate the long hall. As I walk forwards, following the flames; an orb of light appears before me.

  It's safe to assume It's the same light from before but as I walk up to it, I notice something ominous about it. The song it emits is off-beat and strange, It doesn't follow the rhythm of my heart. That isn't my soul, It's something else entirely.

  The orb shifts and spreads; contorting its own form and instead of resembling a human, It resembles a monster. With many tentacles on its back, kin to a Nazekan squid. It has hands with claws, dark purple skin of scales, It even has a tail that looks like it belongs to a fierce Yultin drake.

  It's anything but human, this thing, this monstrosity I'm forced to look upon begins to shake and tremble. The rattling stops, and It stomps its talon-like feet on the ground preparing to leap towards me. I back up as quick as I can, but the monstrosity gets to me by dashing quicker before I can make any decisions.

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  Instantaneously, it morphs into an uncanny liquid that forms a pitch black barrier, surrounding me in complete darkness. While I stand in the pitch black, I hear a screech that resembles one of a bird, a type that I don't recognize especially since I can't see it.

  As the screeches break the silence, I feel a force of nature heading towards me, with my only course of action being to guard my face. My main concern comes from how I get out of this predicament, that monster disabled one of the most important senses and I don't know what to do about it.

  Out of nowhere, I am attacked by what I can only describe as a bird's talon, sharply scrapping my right forearm, as I am able to get out of the way fast enough. It continues to lash out behind me, to the side of me, and behind me, with Its assault that is kin to a knife. The creature's barrage slows down then come to a halt, the wind gone, and its screeches no more.

  Is.. that it? I wonder if It'll try to catch me off guard, but nothing is happening, and I'm starting to become more wary of my severely bleeding arms. Time passes by and It feels like all flow has stopped, so I take a step to test my theory.

  As I step, I notice something off about the ground. The grey stone once beneath me now weirdly melds into the black background, It's like I'm standing on nothing. As my mind comes to that realization, I fall. Yelling, I hear the loud, disturbing screech of the bird again. It begins to bash me with even more vicious strikes, this time full on tackling me with the entirety of its body.

  The bird monster injures my arms and torso further, It even manages to get an attack off on my guarded face.

  It's constant agony that I feel, and I'm unable to stop it. The warm throb of pain, and the pump of my heart is keeping me in tact. Unexpectedly, I fall into water, the contact severely harms me, and my body completely submerges down. I cant seem to stop descending deeper regardless.

  I try my absolute best to hold what little oxygen I have in my body. I flail my arms in order to try and get somewhere, but the current isn't allowing me to go where I want to. As I continue to ride with the motion, I hear another monster come swimming to me, at full speed.

  A shark like figure aggressively rams into my body, chomping on my left arm while doing so, taking total control of my movement. "SSHK!" I groan as It viciously twists my entire right arm up to the shoulder, dislocating it. The tightness of my lungs, the weight of the ocean, the pain of my hand that plugs my nose, this is all so excruciating.

  The monster drags me further down to this bottomless ocean. I try to kick it by flailing my legs, but my stamina has drained, I don't even have enough power to harm it. The shark and Its frivolous teeth suddenly vanish as I weirdly fall out of the water, feeling as if I'm falling from a great height.

  I unexpectedly stumble harshly onto ground, nearly banging my head, but absorbing most of the fall damage through my side. I hold my left arm with my right, "Gh...!" I groan in agony. I desperately try my hardest to stop the streaks of blood that flow down from my arm while clenching it.

  Slowly, drenched with water and sweat, I manage to stand up from the ground by just using the little stamina my legs have. I continue moving. "R-Raizu, grace me."

  I say, praying that the mighty wolf spirit can aid me during this dreadful circumstance. This slight serenity isn't long-lived, as while I steadily walk, I hear a hissing sound coming from behind me. Immediately, I try my hardest to get my body sprinting, though It's futile, the pain of the attacks I've received before have been too devastating, It's impossible for me to start moving naturally again; It's simply just too much pain for me to bear.

  The hissing gradually becomes louder, and the movement of the animal is heightened in reaction to my own. I rapidly breathe in and out while I stand still, clenching my body to prepare for the incoming damage.

  Unfortunately, from lack of stamina, I am not able to hold myself up for any longer. I collapse down to the floor helplessly, as what sounds like a drake approaches me. The scaled beast begins to check up on my body, I close my eyes and slow my breath to act as If I'm a dead corpse. The tempo of my heart accelerates as the monster approaches closer to me, It's hard to breathe slow in the condition I'm currently in.

  I cant take this anymore, I need to get out of here! Quickly, I stand up and dash away from the beast, using what I assume is my adrenaline. It's astonished by my sudden movement, and begins to chase after me, I move as quickly as I can while I constantly bump into what I assume are trees. Due to my state, not even my natural running talent can save me from slowing down considerably, there's nothing I can do.

  My head is shaky, my nose is runny, and my sweat that runs down to my eyes stop me from seeing properly. My relentless panting is definitely giving me away, It's over, I cant stand this anymore. Get me out of here, please. I lose all of the stamina I built up, even so, I still continue to crawl.

  A few seconds pass, everything is quiet, and I'm not sure what's happening, but I'm just hoping for the best. More time passes, and I finally decide to open my eyes, to my surprise the beast is gone, nowhere that I can see. In fact I seem to have transported back into the place I was in prior, or I may not have moved at all.

  Thankfully, It didn't harm me. I'll use this time to rest my body, even If it's slight. While I kneel down, I try to catch my breath, but I don't let my guard down as an enemy could strike at any moment. The flames of blue flicker in and out rapidly, I hear something menacing behind me as it does so.

  Unfortunately It's the strange meld of monsters once more, Its furious growls intimidate me, as I know I wont be able to beat that thing with my arm in the condition it is. The amalgamation steadily steps towards me, It can definitely tell It has some sort of advantage, damn it.

  I close my eyes, and focus. I realize I'm not gonna hold up to the Fuishi expectation with the behavior I have now, I can't keep contradicting myself with the way I'm acting, If I'm gonna be a hero just like my father, I've got to step it up.

  The monster's frightening footsteps come closer and closer, and I'm able to make out a rhythm with the sound of each step that the monstrosity takes, I can hear it within my soul. Out of nowhere, an enigmatic sounds plays, It's the feeling of a constant spark sending waves of energy throughout my body.

  I can feel my soul warming, I can feel the essence of the curse. I know what I'm capable of, so I'm not failing here! I'll keep standing no matter how hurt I am.

  I slowly lift my eye-lids, revealing the creature in front of me, as I begin to intensely stare at it; not even the slow in-out flickering of the flames can distract me, not even the wave of pain constantly bombarding me as each second passes will stop my focus. I know what I'm going to do, and nothing will halt me. 'One', I repeat in my head, one, one, one, one.... all It takes is one, and I'll make my move.

  The abomination lifts its foot off of the ground, taking one more step for it to be in range of attack, and as Its foot lands onto the black surface; It disappears. But I wouldn't get tricked by something so foolish, not with this blessing.

  I breathe through my mouth, deeply and silently. The warmth within me raises further, I turn around with haste, lifting my scathed right arm from Its resting position and throw my left fist towards the abnormality behind me.

  Its claws aim to puncture me, and It succeeds. My punch is nullified, and It's claws dig deep within my chest. A searing, throbbing pain takes my attention away. The flaring pain causes me to lose my vision, but I won't give up! I feel a tingle of energy at my wrist that Ignites my fist into a flash of electricity.

  In an instant, I throw my right knuckle into its face, hoping for the best outcome. As my fist travels, sticky, moist tentacles emerge from behind It's back.

  They restrain my arm just before It can reach Its body. The curse starts to dig further into my chest, the piercing and pressure of the pain, "TSCH!!" I clench my teeth as sparks arise throughout my dislocated arm, and the discharge of lightning sends the creature back, repelling Its claws and tentacles off.

  With the remainder of my stamina I aggressively bash my fist into the monster's face using my good arm. I rapidly continue to pump my knuckle against the amalgamation, refusing it a break.

  Blow after blow after blow, I keep striking him with my wore down fists. The stun gradually wears off, and the curse changes to a guarding stance, protecting its body using its several tentacles. I quickly grab It's thin tentacles with one arm, and pull backwards with as much force as I can, unfortunately the constant war between my body's weakness and my soul's resolve is hindering me drastically.

  The creature quickly takes notice at my struggle, but before It can act, I feel a substantial warmth stride throughout the entirety of my body again, causing sudden streaks of lightning to entangle my arms.

  The energy enhances me in a way that gives me enough strength to pull the tentacles off. Lightning travels through the abominations body, effectively stunning the horrid fiend once more. As it's stagnant, I swiftly reset my position. I discard the treacherous pain, and hover my right palm over Its face.

  Forks of lightning disperse electricity from my palm, to the surface of Its eyes, nose, mouth, and chin. Producing a shock wave of instantaneous damage that smashes against the monstrosity completely, destroying the front of its head, and blowing the body away.

  I breathe heavily, gasping for air while I look down with my blurry vision. I can feel the bile rise into my throat, my legs are as thick as twigs, and start to give out. Through will however, I manage to stabilize myself before falling all the way down to the black surface.

  I slowly stretch my legs back up from my kneeling position, and notice something crucial, the body of the monstrosity; It's gone. I hear its growls come from behind me. I try to dash away from it, but my legs fail. All of it's tentacles wrap and grab each of my limbs, the monster starts to stretch their tentacles out, causing me to yell from the excruciating pain. My flesh and bone start to rip, and suddenly all goes black.

  TO BE CONTINUED.