"Congratulations, my lord... You have successfully completed the first trial."
Noctis slowly opened his eyes. He could see his feet, but not the ground he was standing on.
For a few moments, he stared blankly, dazed, until the memories returned.
He saw the Black Skeleton watching him from an uncertain distance — exactly as before.
The ancient-looking black robes with crimson markings, the floating skull hovering slightly above its neck... all the same.
"My lord... Have you regained your senses?"
Its voice hadn't changed either — emotionless, hollow, stripped of melody.
Noctis tried to make sense of it all. He studied the skeleton for a few seconds, then looked around. But there was nothing — only emptiness.
He looked down at his hands, then touched his face.
That's when he noticed — his body no longer hurt.
'The wounds... they're gone.'
[ Please remain calm. The judgment will begin shortly. ]
Noctis looked toward the Black Skeleton and took a step forward. Though the distance between them was unclear, the closer he walked, the nearer the skeleton seemed to drift toward him.
"My lord... Congratulations. You have passed the trial. I'm certain the magic is satisfied."
Noctis still looked bewildered — his dulled eyes were now wide open, trying to comprehend what was happening. He stared at the Black Skeleton for several seconds before asking quietly,
"What happens now?"
The Black Skeleton stared into him with its two hollow eyes for a few seconds before answering, its voice as empty as the void within its sockets.
"The spell will evaluate you, my lord... In my view, you have done well. But the final decision belongs to the spell. Its judgment is absolute.
It shall grant you what you deserve."
'Absolute judgment? I fought a Second-Tier Shadow...'
Noctis let out a deep breath. He opened his mouth to ask another question — but before he could, the familiar divine voice of the magic echoed first.
[ Final verdict has been delivered... Please stand by... ]
Noctis waited, curiosity stirring in his chest. With every passing second, it grew stronger.
But minutes passed — and still, the spell remained silent.
"Skeleton... Why isn't the spell speaking?"
The Black Skeleton turned its hollow gaze toward him and replied in the same lifeless tone,
"I do not know, my lord... It should not be taking this long."
Another few seconds passed — then a voice echoed. But it wasn't the usual voice of the spell.
It sounded empty like the skeleton's — yet somehow filled with every kind of emotion at once.
That voice both disturbed Noctis and filled him with a strange sense of pleasure.
Even the Black Skeleton seemed affected by it. Nothing could be read from his hollow eyes, but his floating skull twitched anxiously as if scanning the void.
Slowly, the voice spread—inside him and everywhere around him.
It reminded him of the one he had heard in his nightmare.
The moment he remembered that, his head began to spin.
The voice he'd heard back then and the one now felt… similar.
When he focused, he could tell it wasn't a single voice—perhaps two, or one being speaking as two.
He couldn't understand the words, yet his soul enjoyed hearing them.
Gradually, the voices faded until nothing remained.
As his mind returned to normal, curiosity replaced the lingering haze.
'What was that… thing?'
While his thoughts spiraled, the voice of the magic spoke again—neither pleasant nor hateful this time.
'Is it just me, or does the spell sound… angry?'
[ The final judgment has been renewed... The verdict shall be revealed to you. ]
As Noctis stared into the void, black runes appeared before him, reflecting the darkness.
[ ... ]
[ The mad king died because of you... Because of you, the chains of the Chained Mountains shattered... You slew the guardian of the Temple... You wielded the chained sword. ]
'Because of me?'
[ Excellent... You are walking the path of filth. ]
[ Sinner: Noctis ]
[ Potential: Very High ]
[ Soul: Tier 1 — Awakened ]
[ Magical Affinity: Void — Tier 1 ]
[ Marks: Shadow Hunter ]
[ Soul Title: None ]
[ Sin: Ignorance ]
'The same sin as every sinner...'
[ Severe Penalty: Devoured by the Void. ]
[ Lesser Penalty: None. ]
[ Body, mind, and soul — enhanced. Core — evolved. ]
[ For satisfying the spell, a lesser copy of the Chained Sword has been gifted. Thank you... Please grow stronger and enter the Tier 2 trial. ]
'...This is too much.'
[ Magical Affinity: Void — Tier 1 ]
[ Ability Description: You can devour shadows and exile them from your own realm. ]
'So that's my magic... I was already doing that.'
[ Marks: Shadow Hunter ]
[ Shadow Hunter's Memory: A sworn hunter once embraced shadow to save a princess from corruption... Yet the princess sought refuge in the light. ]
'Again with a princess...'
[ Ability Description: To hunt shadows, body, mind, and soul have been strengthened. ]
'I have no desire to hunt shadows.'
[ Severe Penalty: Devoured by the Void. ]
'Why did I receive a penalty at all?'
[ Explanation: The void has devoured you.
You, in turn, are condemned to devour shadows. ]
Noctis slowly grew angry. He narrowed his eyes at the black runes shimmering before him.
'Damn it… I never wanted to be involved with those cursed things.'
He sighed—or thought he did—and dismissed the runes. His empty gaze met the hollow stare of the Black Skeleton.
"What was that supposed to be? I fought to survive, yet now I'm cursed to consume shadows... So this is what you call absolute justice?"
The Black Skeleton stared at Noctis for a few seconds with his hollow eyes.
He clasped his hands behind his back.
"There must be a reason, my lord."
Noctis grew angrier but managed to stay calm.
He was about to speak, but the Black Skeleton interrupted.
"My lord, you should know that from now on, you can summon me—at least for a short while...
Even if you enter the realm of souls, I shall always be there... Now, it is time to awaken.
Congratulations once again, my lord..."
Noctis made a strange expression.
"Wait, wait, don't go! I still have things to ask!"
But before he could say another word, the Black Skeleton was swallowed. Noctis was swallowed... and the darkness was swallowed as well.
Noctis slowly opened his night-blue eyes.
The moment he woke up, he felt warmth in his hand. There was another hand holding his—pale, wrinkled, yet comfortingly warm.
A voice he had longed to hear echoed in his ears.
"Noctis... You haven't taken the trial yet?"
When he looked at his grandfather, with a single tear rolling down his weathered cheek, a warmth bloomed inside him. He didn't understand what the old man meant, nor did he care.
He slowly sat up and hugged the elderly man.
The old man was surprised. One of his eyes was covered by a piece of cloth, and his face was filled with scars—yet his presence radiated warmth.
"My boy... What happened?"
Noctis wore a calm and gentle smile.
His voice was equally serene.
"Just a nightmare, Grandpa."
The old man didn't quite understand, but he hugged Noctis back. They stayed like that for a few seconds before Noctis slowly pulled away. His grandfather was smiling, surprised but proud.
"I passed the trial, Grandpa."
The old man's smile widened.
He wiped away his lone tear, his voice faint yet pleasant.
"Well done, my boy... No one's as stubborn as you."
Noctis's smile grew broader.
After a few seconds, he noticed something.
He raised his hands and examined them—he felt stronger, more alive.
He slowly got out of bed and stretched.
"Grandpa, how long was I asleep?"
The old man lifted one brow.
"Just a few seconds after you closed your eyes."
Noctis froze.
"How's that possible? It felt like days inside the trial."
The old man narrowed his eye.
"I've heard of things like that. Time flows differently during the first trial—or in another realm."
Noctis already knew about the time distortion within the magic, but experiencing it firsthand was strange.
'At least days didn't pass here. Otherwise, Grandpa would've worried himself sick.'
Feeling hungry, Noctis chatted with him for a while longer, then went and ate a few nutrient packs with a puzzled face, drinking plenty of water afterward.
"I still don't miss these things, but I'd take them over that disgusting monster meat any day."
Noctis returned to his grandfather and briefly told him about what had happened during the trial—
though he chose not to mention the final battle.
"And at the end, the spell called me into its presence and gave me my magic."
The old man asked him to explain the magic he had received. Noctis summoned the runic inscriptions and went over them one by one. When he reached the part about the mark, his grandfather's single visible brow rose high.
"You earned a mark? My boy... that's an exceptionally rare occurrence. Rarer even than a soul title."
As far as Noctis knew, marks were carved directly into one's soul. They were rewards given when the spell itself was truly satisfied— and even then, they were said to be almost impossible to obtain through other means.
Noctis was surprised, yet a faint smile crossed his lips. While chatting with his grandfather, he suddenly felt hunger rising again.
'But I just ate... Why am I hungry already?'
Leaving the old man's side, Noctis stepped into the other room and slowly focused on his soul.
Seconds later, he realized that it wasn't his stomach that was starving—
it was his core.
Thinking it through brought him no answer.
A few ideas came to mind, but he refused to believe them. Then he remembered what the Black Skeleton had told him.
'Hey, Skeleton...'
Nothing happened for several seconds.
Then, the shadows in the room began to stir—
as if they were trying to flee.
Within moments, from Noctis's own shadow on the wall, a bent, black skull emerged.
The hair on his neck stood up.
After the head came the rest of the body—
tall and thin, wearing a black robe adorned with blood-red patterns. The Black Skeleton appeared.
Noctis stared for a few seconds, a mixture of awe and unease in his eyes. The Skeleton took a few steps forward and looked directly at him with its hollow gaze, hands folded neatly behind its back.
"...At your service, my lord."
Noctis cleared his throat. His voice sounded strange.
'Impressive.'
"I feel hungry. I felt it during the trial too—
but now it's stronger."
The Black Skeleton's hollow voice answered within seconds. His ink-black teeth didn't move,
yet the sound echoed clearly in the room.
"That is your heavy penalty, my lord...
Your soul is greedy, my lord.
And now, with the penalty, that greed has grown even more."
Noctis frowned slightly, though his tone remained calm.
"What happens if I resist it—if I refuse to devour shadows?"
The Black Skeleton looked at him in silence for several seconds. Noctis felt as though those empty sockets were staring straight into his soul.
"You will die, my lord..."
His eyes widened, and his fist tightened—
not from fear, but from anger.
"...Why did I receive such a punishment in the first place? What did I do to deserve it?"
The Black Skeleton slowly turned his gaze toward the window.
"That, I cannot know, my lord...
But there must be a reason."
A few seconds passed before Noctis dismissed him. Storms raged in his mind.
He cursed the spell and its so-called justice.
Then he took a sip from the water nearby, breathing deeply, trying to calm himself.
After a few minutes, a sound came from the door.