「Your trial begins.」
A voice echoed through the mirror hall as it began to dissolve around me. Claws of light assaulted my vision as my consciousness was thrown back into my physical body. My body was lying flat on my back on the ground of cold snow.
What the actual fuck?
In the sky above me was a four blazing white suns. It wasn't abnormal for there to be more than one sun in the sky of certain zones in the Hollow Realm. But I was a hundred percent sure that the Uncanny forest only had one sun, since I lived in it my whole life. Well, I lived in the Sanctuary of Shams.
But recordings are remnants of the past. So, maybe the sun…the three suns were somehow destroyed.
Who the fuck is powerful enough to destroy three suns!?
I hope whoever they were, they didn't exist in the timeline of this recording.
Getting up, I brushed the snow off me and took a closer look at myself. I was nothing but skin and bones and maybe a bit of muscle. My upper body was bare and covered in countless sword slashes and whipping scars.
With a sigh, I began to look around, only for my sight to be met with nothing but white, pristine snow. No giant white tree. No black trees, and no uncanny faces decorating them. I was relieved now that I have a taqa core, I can be sensed by the uncanny trees.
Another thing that happened in the past, I guess.
The future, I mean.
My attention shifted towards the black ring I wore on my right thumb. It was among the many stolen relics I stole from my slavers before escaping successfully. It was also a storage relic in which I stored another, more important relic, and some food and water.
Honestly, that was a pain in the ass.
Not stealing the relics, that was relatively easy. What was surprisingly hard was stealing the food and water. It took me about a month and a half just to acquire food and water to last me a week, and then I gave up. Hiding them was even worse, since I couldn't just steal the relics first and hide the food and water in the ring. But if I did that, I would've had to flee into the recording instantly because the guards would be notified.
I relaxed my body in an attempt to guide the taqa from the core underneath my sternum, towards the ring. The seraphien dragon coiling around the black ring began to glow with neon light, starting from the tail until the glow reached the small golden gem located inside the dragon's open maw.
「Relic received.」
A sword materialized into existence in the air in front of me, falling towards the snowy ground. I tried to catch it mid-air, but that just resulted in me bumping my hand on the falling sword awkwardly.
"Fucking hell!"
I massaged my right hand with my left to ease the pain a little. When the pain began subsiding, I stopped and picked up the sword. The light reflected off it into my eyes. I winced, closed my eyes, and shifted the sword slightly. Taking a better look at the sword, it was long and lean, its blade made of steel polished enough that I could clearly see my reflection.
"Speaking of reflections."
I remembered my innate ability 「Mirror Control」 and its description. The taqa moved in my body for the second time ever, moving naturally towards the runes along my spine, specifically the one responsible for the innate ability.
The sword stared hovering in front of me. I willed it to move to the right, and it did. Then I willed it to move to the left, and it did. After playing with it for a while longer than I was willing to admit. I commanded the sword to return and gripped the white marble hilt once more. Imbuing taqa into it, the voice whispered into my ear once more.
「Relic received.」
The sword disintegrated into numerous golden taqa particles that flowed into on of the runes around my neck, the one responsible for relics.
Summoning the runes once more, I focused on the relic rune.
===
Relics: 「Vaultring」「Regret」
「Regret」:
Relic Rank: Tainted.
Relic Type: Weapon.
Relic Description: 「"You are a strange one, aren't you?" Shams remarked.
His friend was truly one of a kind. He had neither seen nor heard of a creature like him. He looked human, yet not at the same time. He even had the scent of a shadow, yet he isn't one. How come?
But for him, that did not matter.
"Farewell, you have truly been a great friend to me."
Smiling, Shams pulled his friend into a tight hug and whispered into his ear.
"Be wary of your wishes, for you might just get them."」
===
Bullshit.
'Be wary of your wishes, for you might just get them,' sounded like a glorified version of 'Be careful what you wish for.' But more importantly, they both sounded like bullshit to me. Both sayings mean be careful of what you desire because you might regret it. But why would someone regret fulfilling their desires? I mean, yes, sometimes there are costs, but no matter how harsh the cause is, it doesn't matter as long as you get what you wish for. As long as you fulfill your desire.
At least that was the case for me.
I didn't care for any drawbacks; I desired my freedom. That was my only desire, not to be a slave to anyone anymore. And look at me now, I'm as fine as could be. Well, minus the frail and scared body.
I continued reading the relic enchantments.
===
Relic Enchantments:「Bound」「Covenant of Blood」「Sunslayer」「Cost of Murder」
「Bound」: 「0 I 100」
「Covenant of Blood」: 「When blood is drawn, the wilder will be augmented; the augmentation increases with the amount of blood drawn.」
「Sunslayer」: 「The wilder is augmented in sunlight.」
「Cost of Murder」: 「The sword drives the wilder mad by showing appirtions of those he wilder took their lives.」
===
Suddenly, I heard a low guttural sound coming from a distance behind me, snapping me out of my reading.
Looking back, I couldn't help but mutter in utter shock, horror, and confusion.
"What the fuck"