Chapter 320: Trial by Spirit
The transition wasn't like stepping through a door. It was like being uninstalled.
One moment, I was standing on the dais in the Hall of Verdicts, surrounded by the roar of the crowd and the smell of ozone. The next, the world didn't go black—it went static.
My vision fractured into a million jagged pixels.
A high-pitched whine, like a corrupted audio file, drilled into my skull.
I felt a sensation of absolute weightlessness, followed immediately by crushing pressure, as if the gravity of two different planets was fighting over my soul.
[System Error...]
[Connection to Server: Unstable]
[Loading Local Asset: Spirit_Realm_v1.0]
[Warning: Corrupted Data Detected.]
I hit the ground. Hard.
But there was no sound of impact. No thud. Just a silent vibration that rattled my teeth.
I gasped, pushing myself up. The air was cold, but not like Maria's ice. It was a conceptual cold—the absence of warmth, the absence of life.
I looked around.
