I entered my trial.
Everything around me was swallowed by darkness. Not a single shape could be seen, not a single sound except my own heartbeat. The void was absolute, yet somewhere, a faint echo broke the silence.
"hey scumbag, I choose you as my Successor and this is how pathetic you are ?.."
My blood ran cold. That voice… it was mine.
I froze in place, trying to comprehend. "who the hell are you and why are imitating my voice i dare you to come forward and face me straight.." I demanded, my own voice trembling slightly.
He laughed, a deep, hollow sound that sent shivers down my spine.
"you don't even know who I am? Be gratefull that I brought you to ghost world and gave you all my powers.. it was me who choosed you for being my Successor be proud you are now the one that rules the three worlds the heaven the hell and the mortal world .. but given you current power you are just scum.."
The darkness shifted, forming a figure from the void. It was my reflection, yet not me. His hair was black as midnight, his eyes burned a furious red, and a swirling black aura emanated from him. But it was not ordinary darkness—it carried the weight of gods and the ferocity of demons. I could sense the presence of something divine within him, a power far beyond mortal comprehension.
"hey there crish I m the original ruler of the three worlds who was thrown out of heaven and was required to conquer the the heaven by the hell but I choose none.. do you know why?.. because I wanted freedom exactly as you want.."
I opened my mouth, but he continued without pause. Time was slipping.
"you might think why I choose you as my Successor you might think why I was dead and who are these gods.. I can't tell you everything rn else there is no fun seeing you conquer everything with your midset.. but ill tell you why I choose you as my Successor.. it was because when you were born 19 years ago.. my powers choose you to be the Successor not me and it was decided you will be called to this world when everything's need to be changed to save the three worlds.. but it was plan to call you 2 years later but I dont know what happened and why did arrive 2 years before the given time even I dont know that.."
His words were rapid, spilling into the void, yet they carried weight that I could feel in my bones.
"The reason you were choose was because you look exactly same as me but with black eyes and your fate was decided to be same as mine being abandoned and suffering alone.. but worry not after you gain all my powers your eyes color will be as pretty as mine dark red with wrath in it.. and when you are at your 100% youll understand everything by yourself.."
His presence filled the void entirely, overwhelming me. I could feel power surging within my veins, surging like molten fire across my chest, waiting to explode.
"he was speaking non stop and wouldn't let me speak as he had very few time left to talk to me.."
I tried to interrupt, to ask questions, but the force of his words pressed down, leaving no room for anything else. He was the ruler, and I was just the successor, absorbing knowledge too vast for my mind to fully grasp.
"And more last thing that I need to tell you the reason why I was the ruler of three worlds at the age of 19 when I died is because I m the son of..."
Time slipped away. Before he could finish, the trial ended abruptly.
I felt my power rise—70% of it, raw and overwhelming. My senses expanded, my body thrummed with energy, and I could feel the kingdom itself responding to my awakening. Dark mana swirled uncontrollably around me, breaking the natural order, bending the very air.
The storm arrived suddenly. The sky darkened, heavy rain and snow colliding in an unnatural storm. The power overflowed, manifesting itself in a fury this world hadn't witnessed in a thousand years.
Voices cut through the chaos.
"welcome our beloved king our ruler our lord"
The commanders and vice-commanders of the kingdom spoke, freed by my surge of power. Only fifteen seconds had passed, yet the kingdom was already bowing under the weight of my presence.
I could not let it collapse. Pulling control over the tempest inside me, I calmed the storm gradually, weaving my power carefully, until the winds, rain, and snow slowly settled.
Tsukiko stood silently, unreadable. She did not panic, just as I expected, though I could sense the tension beneath her calm. Her powers had anticipated this moment; she trusted the result, not me.
My right-hand man arrived, bowing low.
"was waiting for this moment my lord and now I m enough strong to take down every being on this kingdom in 10 secs.."
I clenched my fists. That was not what I wanted to hear now. My mind burned with questions: Why was the trial so easy? Why did the past me appear? What exactly was he trying to tell me in the end?
To be continued...