Ethan’s breath steadied as the remnants of the Shadowmind faded into mist, the thick abyssal energy dispersing into the air like smoke caught in a slow current. He could still feel the faint pressure lingering at the edge of his consciousness—a whisper of the battle, of the creature’s attempt to unravel his mind.
But he had won.
Not through brute strength, but by something far more dangerous.
Control.
He rolled his shoulders, stretching out the tension in his muscles. His regeneration had already patched the minor injuries, but his mana reserves were lower than he liked. The fight had forced him to rely on Void Step and his abyssal abilities more than usual, and now he could feel the exhaustion creeping in beneath the surface.
A slow, deliberate clap echoed through the shifting darkness.
Ethan turned, unsurprised to see the Master watching him from a short distance away, standing atop one of the jagged stone spires. His coat billowed around him, the fabric shifting like living shadows, responding to some unseen force.
"Better," the Master mused, his silver eyes gleaming. "You didn’t let it consume you."
Ethan exhaled through his nose. "Figured that would be a bad idea."
The Master smirked, stepping down from his perch. His movements were too smooth, as though gravity had no real hold on him. "Tell me, little predator," he said, folding his hands behind his back. "Do you know what that fight truly meant?"
Ethan crossed his arms, gaze sharp. "You’re going to tell me it was some deep metaphor about the Abyss and my own mind, right?"
The Master chuckled. "Clever, but incomplete." He circled Ethan slowly, his tone calm, almost conversational. "The Shadowmind wasn’t just an opponent. It was a reflection of something far older than you. Something you will encounter again. And when that time comes…" His silver eyes glinted. "You won’t be fighting something so small."
Ethan frowned. "You mean the Forgotten One."
The Master tilted his head, an amused look flickering across his face. "You sealed it. But do you truly think that means it’s gone?"
A pit formed in Ethan’s stomach. He already knew the answer to that question.
The Forgotten One hadn’t been defeated.
It had been contained—for now.
But the chains wouldn’t hold forever.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
The Master’s voice was quiet when he spoke again. "It’s waiting for you, Ethan. And when those chains finally break, you will have two choices."
Ethan held his gaze. "And what are those?"
The Master’s smirk faded.
"You will either be the Warden that stands against it—"
The air around them shuddered, an unseen force pressing down on Ethan’s chest.
"—or you will become part of it."
Silence.
The words settled into Ethan’s bones like a weight.
This entire trial. This entire process.
It wasn’t just about making him stronger.
It was about preparing him for the moment that would decide everything.
He didn’t know how much time he had before that moment came.
But he refused to let himself be unprepared.
Ethan straightened, clenching his fists. "Then I guess I better make sure I’m ready, huh?"
The Master studied him for a long moment. Then, slowly, a grin crept back onto his face.
"Good."
The pressure in the air lifted, and the darkness around them began to shift again.
"Then let’s begin the next lesson."
The battlefield melted away, shifting into something new.
Ethan found himself standing on solid ground, but this time the terrain was different. The jagged ruins and cracked obsidian stone had been replaced by a vast, empty expanse, a smooth, circular platform made of something that looked like polished onyx.
Above them, the sky remained an endless void.
The Master strode to the center of the platform and turned, his expression unreadable.
"Tell me, Ethan," he said. "What is the Abyss?"
Ethan blinked. "It’s… shadow magic. A different kind of power."
The Master sighed, shaking his head. "A child’s answer." He gestured to the space around them. "The Abyss is not just an energy source. It is not a tool or a magic to be wielded." His silver eyes met Ethan’s. "It is alive."
Ethan frowned. "Alive how?"
The Master stepped forward. "Every time you fight, every time you push yourself further, you feel it, don’t you?"
Ethan hesitated.
Because he had.
That moment in the fight with the Shadowmind—the way the power had surged when he stopped resisting. The way it felt like it responded to his will.
The Master nodded, as if reading his thoughts. "You are beginning to understand. The Abyss doesn’t just exist—it chooses."
"Chooses what?" Ethan asked, voice steady.
The Master’s grin returned, sharp as a blade.
"Who is worthy."
Ethan’s jaw clenched.
This power wasn’t something that could just be taken. It wasn’t something that anyone could learn.
It was something that accepted you, or consumed you.
The realization hit him hard.
"So if I fail," he said slowly, "it won’t be because I wasn’t strong enough."
The Master inclined his head.
"It will be because you were not chosen."
The silence between them was thick.
Ethan took a slow breath.
He could feel it now—the Abyss at the edge of his awareness, a presence that wasn’t quite sentient, but wasn’t mindless either.
It was waiting.
Watching.
Testing.
He exhaled, focusing. "Then let’s stop talking and get back to training."
The Master chuckled. "Eager, aren’t we?"
Ethan cracked his neck. "The Abyss isn’t going to choose me if I sit around talking about it."
The Master smirked. "No, it certainly won’t."
The platform beneath them rippled, the onyx surface shifting as new shapes began to rise—weapons, obstacles, moving shadow forms that looked eerily humanoid.
Ethan rolled his shoulders.
Whatever this next phase of training was, he was ready for it.
The Master’s voice was calm as he raised a hand.
"Then let’s begin."
The first opponent lunged.
And Ethan met it head-on.