Chapter 7 - Chapter Seven: The First Mass Confrontation and the Emergence of the Allies

Kyle Oren stood at the entrance of the new portal, feeling a strange energy seeping into his body from Acrion himself. Every step in this world increased his understanding of orders, but this time, he did not just have an individual test, but a true group confrontation. Ensu Varys stood beside him, her eyes shining with caution and anticipation. "Kyle," she said, "what you will face here is not just one opponent. There are multiple opponents, each representing an aspect of real challenges. You must learn to cooperate, or you will collapse before their combined strength." Kyle felt anxious, but he remembered everything he had learned so far. Controlling energy, focusing on inner pulse, and understanding commands were his tools, but he did not yet know how to employ them within a group battle. Upon entering the portal, he found himself in a vast arena floating above space, surrounded by luminous towers and variable-moving energy tunnels. Before him, a group of opponents appeared, each one different: half of pulsating light, half of shadow, and some of them possessing strange abilities that seemed to defy the laws of reality itself. Cale felt a tremor inside, but he remembered Ensoo's words: "Individual strength is not enough here. You have to find someone you can trust, and know how to cooperate, otherwise the challenge will swallow you up." Suddenly, from among the towers, two new figures appeared, pulsing with a strange energy, but with a clear intention to help him. The first is a tall young man, wearing metal armor that glows silver, his hands glowing with energy that can be directed like lightsabers. His name was Lian Dark, and his destiny was to control material energy directly. The second was a young girl, her eyes glowing green, her hair shining with a soft white light. Her name is Mila Corrin, and her ability was to heal and control the vital energies of others. She quickly approached them and said, "Kyle, it seems you need our help. The challenge here is greater than any previous test." Cale felt relieved for the first time since entering the portal, but he hesitated a little. He didn't know if he could trust them completely, but he remembered the first lesson in Acreon: trust is part of power. The battles started immediately. The opponents attacked from multiple angles, waves of light and shadow colliding in the air, and the movement was so fast that the ordinary human mind could not track it. Cale focused on the internal pulsation of energy, and began directing force waves in sync with Lian and Mila. Lian fired light sabers at opponents, Kyle used commands to turn counterattacks into thrusts that protected the team, and Mila focused on healing them and rebalancing everyone's energy. With every move, Kyle felt that the cooperation gave him more power than he had ever imagined. But the challenge was not just combined strength. Suddenly, an opponent appeared from multiple shadows, half of whom possessed high intelligence, and the other half of superhuman strength, and began trying to manipulate the team's minds, sowing doubt and fear among them. Kyle felt confused, but remembered his first lesson: fear can be turned into power if you control it. He focused on his inner feeling, and directed a focused wave of light towards the opponent, as if it were simulating his heartbeat, and destroying the deception he had tried to plant in the team's minds. Lian and Mila quickly reacted to his wave, and began to coordinate attacks elaborately. With each attack, the opponent gradually began to retreat, but did not fall. He knew that direct defeat was not possible, and that the intelligence of the team must be used, not just force. Cale turned his gaze towards Lian and Mila and said, "Focus on the opponents' internal energy, not their external forms. If we can control their internal pulse, we can control the entire arena." Suddenly, the earth and energy around them felt a change, as if the world itself was watching them. They began directing combined waves of light and energy towards the opponents, and strange sounds rose from the towers, as if applauding them for their harmony and collective consciousness. After minutes of intense battle, the opponents gradually began to fade away, leaving behind residual energy that could be absorbed and transformed into strength for the team. Kyle felt victorious, but there was no time to celebrate. Insoo suddenly appeared at the side of the arena and said, "Kyle, you have successfully passed your first group encounter. You have learned the most important lesson here: true power comes from cooperation, from understanding others, and from the ability to interact with the environment and enemies at the same time." Kyle felt relieved, but he also felt a new burden. Every step in Acreon revealed more about himself, about his enemies, and about the great prophecy it held. Mila looked at him with a smile and said: "Kyle, don't worry. You won't face everything alone anymore. There are those you can rely on, but you have to carefully choose who to trust." Lian nodded: "True, every step here holds a lesson, and every opponent may be a lesson or a constant threat. But together, we can face anything." Cale raised his head toward the luminous sky, feeling for the first time that the journey within Acreon was no longer just a test for the individual, but a journey to build alliances, to confront more powerful opponents, and to learn the secrets of the Orders on a deeper level. Suddenly, a huge portal opened in the heart of the arena, emitting a light deeper and more radiant than any they had seen before. The earth and surrounding energy felt like they were calling him to cross this stage, as if every test and encounter so far was a prelude to the next portal. Kyle took a deep breath, and smiled to himself. Despite the challenges and dangers, he felt for the first time that he had the power to face something greater, and that the true journey began now, with trustworthy friends, tougher battles, and the discovery of the secrets of the prophecy and the Thirteenth Warden. Thus, with the first group confrontation and the emergence of allies, Kyle Oren began a new phase within Acreon, a phase that would reveal to him the true power of cooperation, greater challenges, and secrets that no one had ever known before in the Twelve Realms.