Aren looked at the butler for a few seconds before speaking.
"But... you said this could kill you," he said.
"Aren, just do it," Kira urged. The butler was giving them a chance to live. It was an opportunity she would take without hesitation. She didn’t understand why Aren was hesitating.
But Aren kept looking at the butler, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that the man before him had suffered far more than any of them trapped in the Trials.
He took a deep breath.
The butler nodded, signaling him to go ahead.
Aren summoned the attack totem. It appeared above his hand, floating as he pointed it toward the butler.
"But before I go," Aren said, "can I at least know your name?"
The butler shook his head.
"I am nobody. From nowhere. Meant to do nothing. Not meant to exist."
Aren inhaled deeply.
With nothing but his will, the totem rose higher and began glowing brighter. He could feel it drawing energy from everything around them, the air itself trembling under the pressure.
The butler spread his arms wide.
"Damn it... I’m stupid," he muttered. "Elton is going to skin me alive for this."
Despite his words, he was smiling.
The totem activated.
A massive golden magic circle formed in the air. From it erupted a beam as thick as several massive tree trunks combined, terrifying, overwhelming, divine. The entire room shook violently. The force pushed Aren, Aiden, and Kira back several feet as they struggled to stay upright.
The blast slammed directly into the butler’s chest.
"Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
He roared as he was hurled backward, crashing into the wall with catastrophic force. A massive crater formed where he struck. He unleashed his own power just enough to prevent instant death, but allowed the attack to severely injure him.
When the beam finally faded, he collapsed to the ground.
Half of his upper body was gone.
He coughed up a mouthful of blood and remained on his knee, one hand braced against the floor.
Aren took a step forward, but the butler looked up sharply.
"Go," he said. "Leave this place. Change something."
His voice was strained, but firm.
"If you don’t leave now, everything I gave up for you will be meaningless."
Aren froze, then nodded.
"Thank you," he said quietly.
He turned, and the three of them sprinted toward the door.
Just before they crossed it, a weak cough echoed behind them.
They turned.
Leon lay on the ground, his eyes wide with terror as he watched them leave. Blood gurgled in his throat, pale and frothy.
"Please..." he muttered, barely audible. "Save me..."
Aren looked at him for only a second.
Then he turned away.
"The moment we entered," Aren said coldly, "I told you this. Everyone’s life is their own responsibility. I’ll never go out of my way to save anyone."
He stepped through the door.
Aiden and Kira followed.
They escaped the castle.
Moments later, the butler forced himself to stand. His body tried to heal, but the damage was divine. Recovery would take a very long time.
He flicked his finger.
The crystal embedded in the angel statue’s third eye shattered instantly.
Then he turned and walked over to Leon.
"Tsk," he clicked his tongue.
"Normally, I’d kill you and end your suffering," the butler said, his smile slowly widening. "But I’m in a good mood."
He placed a hand on Leon’s shoulder.
"I’ll make sure you experience hell," he whispered. "And many more after that."
In an instant, both of them vanished.
The hall was left empty, ruined marble, shattered stone, blood-stained walls, and broken remnants bearing silent witness to the battle that had taken place.
[... ]
The moment they stepped through the door, a blinding light greeted them, forcing all three to flinch.
They had been trapped in the darkness of the castle for so long that the sudden brightness burned their eyes. Each of them groaned, instinctively raising their hands to shield their vision. Slowly, as their eyes adjusted, they began to lower their hands.
[Ding.]
[You have survived the First Trial.]
[Congratulations.]
[You are the first group to leave.]
[You are the first to complete the First Trial.]
[Level up.]
[Level up.]
[Level up.]
[Level up.]
[Level up.]
[All rewards have been sent to your inventory.
Do you wish to check?]
[Congratulations to Shadow for being the very first individual to clear the Trial.]
System messages rang out one after another, echoing in their ears.
As their vision fully cleared, they finally took in their surroundings.
They were standing at the base of a massive statue of Elton, set in the middle of an open grass field. Above them, the sky stretched endlessly, painted in a soft, beautiful blue. Clouds drifted lazily across it, the sun hanging low in the distance.
The air was clean.
Breathable.
Cool.
A gentle breeze brushed against their skin, and for the first time in what felt like countless days, they felt alive.
No monsters.
No pressure.
No death looming over their heads.
Yet that wasn’t what shook them the most.
They had finished the trial.
Elton had made it seem like this stage was only the midpoint of the First Trial. But the system had confirmed it. They were done.
Kira was the first to break.
She dropped to her knees, tears pouring down her face. She tried to wipe them away, tried to stop herself, but her body refused to listen. The sobs came anyway.
Aiden collapsed backward, landing hard on the ground. His legs curled in slightly as his sword slipped from his grip and fell beside him. He just stared into the distance, unmoving.
Aren wasn’t spared either.
He walked to the edge of the statue’s base and sat down heavily. His head lowered, shoulders slumping. His heart was racing, pounding so hard it almost hurt.
Why?
He didn’t know.
Fear.
Relief.
Happiness.
Anxiety.
Maybe all of it.
For all three of them, every emotion they had suppressed, the fear, the anger, the pain, the regret, the exhaustion, everything they had endured over the past days finally overflowed.
The First Trial was over.