"It is time for your trial." The guardian said from afar, his body being a distant memory of an honored warrior, having given way to a corrupted abomination of exposed grayish skin, despite the scarce metal plates that clung to him. "Your trial will be simple and your victory is already guaranteed."
Ryan listened carefully as his group fell into panic, only he managed to keep his composure. But even he was on edge. He had come from a civilized society where the greatest danger was an gun, yet here he could be turned into an unrecognizable blood pulp.
He definitely did not want to be that giant's enemy.
But now he was.
"Your honored seniors lit the flame of the legacy for you, they also fed it for a long time until it became a Divine Flame. And they carried it with extreme care for millennia, tending to it so it would never be extinguished and would always grow ever greater." The guardian said with a distorted and deranged expression. "The least you as our junior can do is pay respect to those who came before you. Who did so much for you. Don't be an ungrateful brat!"
Ryan swallowed hard, choosing each word carefully.
"And how would I do that?" Ryan asked, stepping forward ahead of the others, his weapon already in hand, the bombs within centimeters of his grip. "Do you wish me to bring you something, bow in respect? Bang my head against the ground three or even a thousand times in reverence? Conquer entire kingdoms in your name?! Tell me what you want from me?!"
The corrupted giant began laughing louder and louder, his sharp teeth deeply unsettling everyone present. "I wouldn't be so unreasonable. The junior is still so small and weak, despite having such beautiful potential, ah, how lovely his flame is, so fierce and vibrant. I even envy you. You know? I was not like you." He smiled from ear to ear, surrendering to nostalgia. "In fact, I was usually the one being intimidated, having my face shoved into the mud and sometimes even into piss. By a bunch of villains." He laughed softly, looking upward. "I killed them. I remember the screams and the pleas. They were like a song sent from the angels themselves. Made just for me."
Once again, he fixed his gaze on Ryan. "I desire a blood sacrifice." His eyes gleamed like the blood he demanded. "I desire to see your companions bleed upon the altar, make them suffer, make them scream in endless agony, make them choke on their own blood, make them..." He suddenly stopped and took a deep breath. "Forgive me. I got a little carried away." He shook his head. "Simply sacrifice them upon the altar. That is the condition for inheriting the Legacy."
"I refuse." Ryan said plainly. "I will not do something so sadistic and despicable, least of all to those who brought me this far. Once again, I invoke Uriel's will. The right of free will."
"..."
The silence was filled by low laughter that grew louder and more unhinged by the moment, he began trying to stifle it only to laugh even harder until he was weeping from it. His smile stretching from ear to ear in a supernatural fashion.
"You don't want to do it? Oh, what a shame." The giant shook his head side to side. "Ah yes, Uriel, the one who decides everything, isn't he..." He burst into laughter. "No, no, enough." He stopped laughing abruptly. "Now I am the one in charge."
"IN MY NAME I COMMAND..."
Suddenly a shockwave swept through the world as a barrier rose across all of Eden. "Your options have been exhausted, boy, from now on, only the adults speak." He said with sadism.
"Prepare for combat." Ryan said to his group, who quickly rose with weapons in hand and tense expressions. The apothecary swiftly began chanting her spells, which had even brought down a Glacinata.
"No, no, no!" The guardian screamed. "He will sacrifice you! You are sacrifices, not helpers! In my name I command..."
An invisible wave spread out, touching all of them.
The slave collapsed to the ground with a heavy, painful thud alongside the apothecary, lacking even the strength to cry out in pain. Their bodies became so weak that even breathing grew difficult, their faces so pale they resembled corpses while only their eyes could still move. And those eyes fixed on Ryan with a panic and fear so profound he had never seen or expected to see.
He crippled them with a word.
"What the... hell..." Ryan struggled to hold himself together, gripping the iron reins of his mind with Herculean force, yet even so, he nearly gave way to despair, barely stopping himself from screaming in panic. His breathing grew heavy and his body trembled, his eyes widened, not knowing what to think or how to act. He should never have had to witness something like this. This would never have happened in the society he came from. He had never prepared himself for this.
This was absolute power.
One word and he would die.
Even so...
The mystical wave should have affected him, but it hadn't, and he quickly realized it.
'If I had to guess, he tried to force me to sacrifice them via a Mind Hex.'
Something had gone wrong.
The giant's plans had a flaw.
Therefore, he could still handle the situation.
There was a small spark of hope and he would seize it.
Ryan steadied himself with an unshakable posture.
"I said! In my name I command!" The guardian screamed again and the earth shook, nearly knocking Ryan off his feet. "No! No! I ordered! I commanded! Do what I want!" Storms formed, their lightning closing in rapidly with violent tension, tremendously powerful earthquakes arose threatening to reduce the entire mountain to dust.
And then even magma began rising through the fissures in the earth...
The guardian clenched his teeth and screamed with deep hatred, his feet slamming violently against the ground, furious. His desire to destroy the world and his rage was palpable. Even so, after a long period of haunting terror, he exhaled lightly.
"The rules have changed..." He said. "You may complete the trial by sacrificing them upon the altar, or by defeating me in combat." He smiled ferociously.
"In my name I..." Before he could finish the sentence, a lightning bolt struck him, sending him crashing to the ground. Lightning like serpents moved between the clouds as the mountain trembled with growing intensity.
The giant rose with his hand to his head, completely disoriented and reeking of burned flesh. He clenched his teeth once more. But instead of turning toward the heavens, he turned toward Ryan. "Do you prefer to be as strong as me, or that I become like you?"
Ryan glanced at the sky and then at the earth, observing their reactions to each of their words. "It seems the heavens are just and the earth is benevolent." He, however, knew he was still at a disadvantage. But he chose to stay quiet and let the heavens judge his case.
Only for now.
Ryan momentarily fixed his gaze on the system windows.
"Be like me."
A giant who lacks the strength to support his own body will inevitably fall. So Ryan thought.
Suddenly, the giant went pale as his limbs began to grow heavy and his breathing grew tense. "With this, I declare..." The lightning roared once more, declaring the trial unjust. If even one more word were spoken, celestial fury would rain down upon him.
"Beyond everything already said. If I manage to escape Eden, declare me victorious." Ryan said, making the giant laugh and the heavens grow calm.
"Escape?" The giant cackled. "Very well, if you manage to escape, the Legacy is yours." He then looked at the heavens once more and soon took a deep breath and said aloud. "You may bear witness! I am not intimidating my junior. He may win and the heavens testify to that."
"Therefore, in my name I command..." He said slowly. "Let this trial begin."
[ New Quest Unlocked: Rightful Heir Of Twilight ]
| Victory Condition (0/1):
| — Sacrifice Companions upon the Altar (0/2) ;
| — Win the Duel Against the Guardian ;
| — Escape Eden ;
[ Reward(s): Twilight Legacy's ]