Chapter 120: The First Trial – Echoes of Fear
The humming stone walls caused Natasha to feel a dissonant pulse in her head. The atmosphere compressed her lungs and made it hard to breathe.
> [Warning: You Have Entered the First Trial – Echoes of Fear]
Mental Changes, Visual Deceptions and No Way to Leave
The system alerts flashed without meaning to her. A weird energy entered her mind through frozen digits and injected chilling whispers into her thoughts.
A voice entered her silence with a snake-like motion.
"You will fail, just like before."
Natasha's breath hitched.
A strong force pressed on her heart and everything in the room became darker. Black liquid stretched itself and then transformed into a figure within her sight.
Herself.
But not quite.
The duplicate stood opposite her in exact matching position. Upon first look the replica matched her exactly in every aspect from height to armor to side blade position. The more Natasha inspected the figure the bigger its dissimilarities showed. The double's eyes showed total darkness because they consumed all light within them. Fine cracks formed a pattern across her skin as if ceramic was breaking.
And then it spoke.
"You think you can change anything?" The words that left her lips sounded differently and incorrect. "That you're strong enough?"
With her jaw clenched she set her feet against the unstable rocks. "I don't have time for this."
Her duplicate looked down with laughter mixed with pity in her expression.
"That's what you said before." The voice spoke to her gently as a mother does before putting her child to sleep. Gentle. Cruel. "And yet, you still lost everything."
Right behind her double the landscape shifted into a terrifying environment that looked both family and horrific. A battlefield. Scarred buildings show where war destroyed the town. Many dead bodies lay scattered across the area showing terrible battle wounds.
Her stomach twisted.
This isn't real. It's a trick.
Someone released a loud breath that snapped the quiet moment.
Alison.
Natasha turned quickly toward the side.
Alison stood still with his pale complexion as he clenched and unclenched his sword grip. His breaths came out fast and broken as if he could not fill his lungs completely.
A previous deception had already manifested.
A powerful man towered over him with crossed arms and a hidden expression. His dominant body language overwhelmed everyone in the room including Natasha since she did not suffer from his gaze.
His father.
"You think strength is enough?" the illusion sneered. You think your abilities are beyond what I control.
The tension in Alison's jaw showed but his posture was shifting. He dropped his hold on his sword.
"You abandoned them," the phantom continued, voice like a knife. "You let them die. And now you pretend to lead?"
His attention made Alison start to question herself
Natasha cursed under her breath. The trial showed them their darkest thoughts in a form that poisoned their mindset.
She had to act—fast.
As soon as she saw Alison was losing control Natasha took action by grabbing her wrist with both hands. "Alison, look at me!"
His gaze went from blank to connected when he observed her face.
She pierced through the mist with her words when she told him loudly "This situation isn't real." "You know it's not real. Fight it!"
For a moment, nothing.
He began to grip his weapon gradually. His breathing steadied.
With anger showing on his face the phantom launched a ferocious forward strike.
Alison's blade was faster.
He struck his blade into the nonexistent form. The phantom broke into pieces like glass before it faded into thin air.
Alison released his breath loudly as his breathing accelerated. He looked at Natasha though he showed less certainty than before. "...Thanks."
He needed several deep breaths but lacked the moment to exhale.
Ira produced a painful sound through his throat.
The mage held herself in a position of deep agony and shook uncontrollably. The glow from her magic moved between bright gold and dark black at her open palms.
"No," she whispered. "Not again—please, not again!"
Natasha spun, heart pounding. What is she seeing?
Dren was no better. He frantically struck with both his fists while scanning the empty room for threats due to his fear. "Come on!" He shouted these words because he was close to collapsing with fear. "I can take you! I can—"
His voice cracked.
They were breaking.
The voices had penetrated too deeply into both of them.
Natasha clenched her jaw. The vault actually exists inside their thoughts.
She grabbed Ira first by the shoulders to stabilize her. "It's an illusion!" she shouted. Pay no attention to what you witness because this illusion lies to you.
Ira stopped breathing while her trembling fingers moved. Her magic crackled wildly. "I can't—I can't control it—"
"Yes, you can!" Natasha tightened her grip. "Breathe. Focus on my voice!"
Slowly, Ira's magic steadied. The hallucination flickered—then shattered.
One down.
Natasha whirled toward Dren.
He continued breaking apart objects with his fists and his hands while his bleeding cuts showed how tense he was as his eyes tracked across infinitely.
"Snap out of it!" Natasha yelled.
No response.
She reacted automatically by grabbing his collar and bringing him closer. He did not expect her response when she hit him in the face.
A loud noise like a gunshot passed through the room.
Dren froze.
His chest heaved. His gaze moved erratically across the room until it focused on Natasha.
Realization dawned.
"...Shit," he muttered, rubbing his face. "That was real, huh?"
Natasha exhaled. "Yeah."
Every voice in the chamber made a combined clicking sound because of their anger.
The illusions faded.
But then—
A new sound.
Not a whisper.
A crack.
A deep barbaric noise emerged with the stone floor splitting open in different directions.
The walls trembled. Everyone in the chamber started making loud sounds as if an ancient force was rising from its rest.
A dark pit opened up right under them as moldering darkness gathered beneath.
Alison cursed. "Oh, come on—"
The trial wasn't over.
A major conflict would now unfold.