The Trial of Chains
A sharp sound echoed through the darkness.
"Your shadow has revived."
Jade froze.
For several seconds, he didn't move.
His mind struggled to process what he had just heard.
Only moments ago, the System had delivered a completely different message.
Your shadow has been destroyed.
He had felt it.
The pain.
The burning sensation inside his Soul Sea.
The evaporation of his Blood Army.
The terrible emptiness left behind by losing Ling.
He had genuinely believed his shadow was gone.
And now...
The System was telling him it had returned.
Jade slowly lowered his head.
A strange surge of power suddenly passed through his body.
His eyes widened.
Something was wrapped around him.
Darkness.
Familiar darkness.
Jade looked down.
A tiny shadow was wrapped comfortably around his torso like a blanket.
"...Ling?"
The shadow lifted its head.
Jade stared at it.
Then laughed.
"You really are alive."
Through their telepathic connection, Ling's response immediately entered his mind.
Jade could practically hear the arrogance in it.
Of course I'm alive.
Jade smiled.
"I thought you were dead."
Ling immediately released his body.
It floated in front of him.
Then placed both tiny hands on its waist.
Its entire posture seemed to say:
How dare you think a prestigious shadow like me could die so easily?
Jade had spent enough time with Ling to understand its expressions perfectly.
He chuckled.
"You're quite the character."
Ling crossed its arms.
Jade shook his head.
"It's nice seeing you again."
He paused.
"You're actually quite on time."
Ling tilted its head.
Jade pointed toward the window.
"We're supposed to head for the academy tomorrow."
The little shadow suddenly stretched its arms.
Then yawned dramatically.
Jade watched as Ling floated toward the wall.
Its body flattened against the surface before wrapping itself around it.
It looked as though it had decided to sleep there.
Jade laughed.
"Already tired?"
Ling ignored him.
Jade sat on the edge of his bed.
Even though Ling had returned, another thought remained in his mind.
I still need to find out whether I can create another shadow.
The System had mentioned the possibility.
One thousand Shadow Fragments.
That meant another shadow could potentially be created.
But would it be the same as Ling?
Jade didn't know.
And he wasn't willing to replace Ling yet.
He looked toward the tiny shadow sleeping against the wall.
"For now..."
"Just stay alive."
Ling didn't respond.
Jade smiled.
Then finally lay down.
Tomorrow, he would go to the academy.
For tonight...
He needed sleep.
---
Somewhere Else...
Far away from Planet Diamond...
A completely different world existed.
A world where freedom had disappeared.
Long stone caverns stretched beneath an enormous mountain.
The walls were illuminated by faint red crystals.
Chains rattled constantly.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Step.
A long line of enslaved captives moved through the cavern.
Iron collars were locked tightly around their necks.
Chains connected each person to the next.
Their hands were restrained.
Their legs were bound.
They were forced to walk in perfect formation.
One person's failure affected everyone.
If someone stumbled...
The chain pulled the people behind them forward.
If someone fell...
Several others fell with them.
The overseers didn't care.
They simply wanted the line moving.
A sharp whistle echoed through the cavern.
"Move!"
One of the overseers raised a weapon.
A long vine covered in sharp thorns.
CRACK!
The thorned vine struck the ground beside a captive.
The prisoner immediately stumbled forward.
Another captive moved too slowly.
CRACK!
The vine struck his back.
Nobody dared speak.
Nobody dared complain.
The people controlling the procession were known as the Slave Wardens.
Three figures stood above the others.
The first was Joseph.
A middle-aged troll with a thick body and a face covered in scars.
He was the leader of the Slave Wardens.
Unlike the others, Joseph rarely needed to raise his voice.
His presence alone was enough to silence the cavern.
Beside him stood a man known as Astar of the Stars.
His name had become almost legendary among the enslaved.
Unlike Joseph and Knight...
Astar was an Awakened.
And not an ordinary one.
His power was terrifying.
Even Joseph treated him with caution.
The third was known simply as Knight.
Knight was a massive humanoid wearing black armor.
He carried a thorned whip in one hand.
Unlike Joseph, he enjoyed using it.
Too slow?
Whip.
Too fast?
Whip.
Falled?
Whip.
Looked at him incorrectly?
Sometimes...
Whip.
The captives feared Knight more than either of the other two.
The cavern remained silent except for chains and footsteps.
Yet among the hundreds of enslaved people...
One man walked with an unusual calmness.
His skin glistened beneath the crimson crystal lights.
It was dark.
Almost obsidian.
Blood covered his body.
His long hair was messy, falling across his face.
His clothes were torn.
His expression, however...
Was calm.
Almost amused.
Mason.
Or at least...
The being currently occupying Mason's consciousness.
He had no idea where he was.
He didn't even know whose body he currently possessed.
But he knew one thing.
This wasn't his own body.
It wasn't the body of the Crimson Scavenger.
It wasn't his original body.
It wasn't even a body he recognized.
When his consciousness had entered the gate ...
Something had happened.
The world had changed.
His consciousness had been ripped from one vessel and forced into another.
At first, Mason had thought he was dead.
Then he opened his eyes.
He discovered that he was looking through the eyes of a young man.
A young man with pristine skin.
A young man who should never have looked as though he had survived a battlefield.
Yet blood covered him.
Mason flexed his fingers.
The body responded.
He took a slow breath.
Interesting.
He still possessed consciousness.
His memories remained.
His instincts remained.
But something was different.
His strength had been sealed.
His body had been reduced.
His abilities were restricted.
And now...
He was walking in chains.
Mason almost laughed.
He had once been a Sovereign.
Then an Initiate.
He had survived battles that would have shattered ordinary warriors.
He had possessed bodies.
Lost bodies.
Escaped death.
Compared to all of that...
Being forced to walk in a line wasn't particularly frightening.
Mason glanced toward Knight.
The violent Slave Warden cracked his thorned whip against the ground.
"Keep moving!"
Mason smiled faintly.
So that's the kind of person you are.
Knight suddenly stopped.
His eyes landed on Mason.
"You."
Mason looked around.
"Me?"
"You're walking too slowly."
Mason's smile widened.
"I was actually walking at the same speed as everyone else."
Knight raised the whip.
Joseph glanced toward them.
Astar remained silent.
Knight's expression became ugly.
"You talk too much."
The whip moved.
SWISH!
Mason tilted his head.
The thorned vine passed beside his face.
He hadn't even moved his body.
Knight's eyes narrowed.
Mason smiled.
Interesting.
Even with his current restrictions...
His instincts remained.
Knight pulled the whip back.
Mason continued walking.
He didn't retaliate.
Not yet.
He had already learned one important rule.
Understand your prison before attempting to escape it.
He needed information.
Who were these people?
Where was this place?
Why had he been captured?
What was this Trial?
And most importantly...
Why had he been placed inside a young man's body?
Mason glanced toward the cavern ahead.
The path seemed endless.
But he wasn't worried.
A Sovereign's experience couldn't simply disappear because his cultivation had fallen.
He had escaped worse situations.
Much worse.
A faint smile appeared beneath his bloodstained hair.
I'll find a way out.
He continued walking.
Step.
Step.
Step.
The chains rattled.
The Slave Wardens watched.
The cavern stretched deeper into darkness.
And somewhere beyond those enormous stone walls...
Mason could feel something.
A presence.
Ancient.
Powerful.
Waiting.
His smile disappeared.
For the first time since entering the Trial...
Mason became genuinely curious.
What exactly have I been brought here for?
He lowered his head.
His eyes sharpened.
And whose body am I really wearing?
The chains continued dragging across the stone floor.
But Mason was no longer thinking about escape.
Not yet.
First...
He needed to understand the game.
Then...
He would break it.