Chương 18: Trial of the heart

Rook and his party had not come unprepared. Thanks to Rubeon's rather convenient use of the Green Eye of the Abyss, they already had a fairly good idea of what they were walking into. Even better, they had sent a messenger to the guild with all the notes they had compiled before entering the hideout. What none of them knew was that Karatt was not the idiot he pretended to be. The moment the last of them entered the chamber, the air suddenly seemed to become suffocating.

For the magic users, it felt as though an invisible weight had settled over their bodies. Mira's sonic magic vanished. Dalius could no longer feel the flow of his healing techniques. Even the two warlocks found their spells completely inaccessible. Only the physical fighters remained unaffected. Rook, Bastion, and Aborna were suddenly the only ones able to fight at full strength.

"Hah! You thought I spoke because I love the sound of my own voice?" Karatt laughed as he brought his weapon crashing into Rook's shield.

"I needed time for the trap to activate."

"And you love your voice too!" Bastion barked as he lunged at the dragonkin. His icy claws scraped across Karatt's armor, sliding off the metal and barely leaving a mark.

"I have full adamantium armor, pup!" Karatt spat the words before kicking Bastion squarely in the jaw. At the same time, seven physically trained bandits attacked the weakened party. Aborna immediately took on two, crossing his axes as he blocked their opening strikes. Dalius tried to use his mace to stop another incoming attack, barely catching the weapon before it smashed into his head. Gaix went low and swung his staff, but the thug in front of him recognized the choreographed movement.

Only Gaix had never actually intended to complete the attack. At the last moment, he changed his grip and slammed the butt of his staff into a stone ledge, using it to suddenly raise the other end directly between the man's legs. The thug had rushed forward and was already in the middle of a jump. There was literally nowhere for him to dodge. For Gaix, time seemed to slow as he watched the man's expression transform from confidence into pure agony. His most sensitive anatomy had just met an immovable iron top.

The human warrior collapsed sideways, clutching himself with an expression of murderous hatred. A sudden lull passed through the room. Every male present had felt a shudder run down his spine. Mira used that half-second of distraction perfectly. She lunged with both short swords, cutting down the attacker who had been about to take Dalius's head.

Gaix used the same opportunity to drive his staff into the suffering man's forehead, knocking him unconscious before immediately bringing the weapon up to block another strike.

"You fucking warlock!" the man's companion shouted.

"I'm gonna make you suffer for that!"

"Was he your boyfriend?" Gaix asked. He gritted his teeth as their weapons locked. Even with the boost from his new title, he was nowhere near strong enough to overpower a warrior who had devoted himself entirely to physical combat. The sword slipped past his defense and struck his shoulder. Gaix jumped backward. His padded armor had been split open by the blow, but to his surprise, the wound beneath it was only a shallow cut. The amount of force behind the attack should have carved far deeper into his flesh.

He barely had time to wonder why as another flurry of attacks came. Thankfully, Bastion was already there. The wolf beastfolk slammed his shoulder into the warrior, knocking him off balance and giving Gaix an opening.

"Got you!" Gaix thrust his staff forward but the weapon hit nothing. The warrior somehow twisted aside while falling, letting the staff pass over him by mere inches.

"Don't get cocky, caster!" The thug rolled smoothly back onto his feet and immediately punched Bastion with his free gauntleted hand.

"This guy is good." Bastion growled as he staggered backward. The others were having just as much trouble. Only two attackers were down, and the party was being steadily pushed backward. Rook's new shield looked like a toy after only a minute of combat, dented and cracked in several places while his arm shook from repeated impacts. Aborna was holding his own, but several shallow wounds were already bleeding across his arms and torso. Mira and Dalius were struggling as well.

Without their magic, they had lost a huge part of their usual strength, and their opponents knew exactly how to exploit it. Things were beginning to look absolutely terrible. Wounds got more serious as the thugs used their advantage of numbers to press on the team. Gaix was already praying in his mind to Joshua… Then the roof cracked. Everyone looked upward just as a human figure dropped through the damaged ceiling and landed casually in the middle of the chamber. Karatt's eyes widened.

"Dorian Cobalt?!" The famous hero did not even answer. He simply stepped toward Karatt and punched him in the stomach. The impact sent the dragonkin flying across the chamber. He crashed into the far wall hard enough to crack the adamantium armor covering his torso, spat out a mouthful of blood, and collapsed forward onto a nearby crate. Dorian calmly looked around.

"Everyone drop your weapons." His voice carried the weight of an order that did not allow debate. One by one, weapons hit the floor, even Rook's party too.

"Nice." Dorian nodded.

"My enforcers will arrive any second now. Anyone who attempts something stupid will get punched." His gaze briefly settled on Karatt and nobody needed further explanation. One look at the unconscious dragonkin was enough to convince everyone that they would probably end up in the same condition if they tried anything. The entire room became unnaturally still. Dorian walked toward the damaged wall and examined it for a moment before driving his fist into the stone.

His hand disappeared into the wall, and when he pulled it back out, he was holding a small gemstone. He crushed it between his fingers and the oppressive feeling immediately vanished. He had a very good idea of what had happened here. But this was his city and Dorian Cobalt ruled it with an iron grip, as such the questioning would be done by him. - - - - - - - - - - - - Time counted down, and five minutes before the end, the system gave out one final message.

"Second test starting in five minutes. All still-living life forms, aside from the god-seeds, will be safely deposited back into their realms." Josh looked toward Gu Zhao.

"I guess it's time to say goodbye for the time being. Good luck on the next test. Don't you dare fail."

"I was about to say the same thing." Gu Zhao smiled, and the two shook hands.

"Guys…" Josh turned toward the agents.

"I am afraid I have to take back my soul shards. Say goodbye to the system windows."

"Awww…" Grevar and Warg sighed at the same time, while Raeriku and Doyle simply nodded. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. The cultivators shook hands with the agents as well, both sides offering their good wishes before the trial separated them. The system panels suddenly transformed into tiny scales of light. One by one, they floated back toward Joshua, sinking into his body. Then the counter hit zero and a blinding light enveloped everyone.

- - - - - - - - - - - Elsewhere, Cthulhu and Oberon smirked as they kept their bets in the pool. By now, no one dared to bet against them. Their chosen one had just used a force many gods had never seen before, a non-magical attack that could easily be counted as a true god's strike. It was obvious to them that Joshua would pass. Instead, many of those who had considered the cultivator a lost cause were now furious at their losses.

Compared to the other godly entities, Gu Zhao barely had a dominion at all, possessing little more than martial arts and Qi. Yet the new god had been smart enough to find the one other god-seed favored by the two major players. Whether it had been insight or sheer luck, nobody knew. - - - - - - - - - - - Joshua woke in a lovely meadow, with a calm lake stretching along one side and an old building standing on the other. A system message appeared before him.

"Trial Two. There is a god here who has been affected with the God-Soul-Eating Curse. You cannot cure them, as the curse is too powerful. You may do whatever you wish with them, including taking their divine power. The choice is ultimately yours. There is not a single way to pass this trial. The eyes of the Eternals are upon you."

"How good. I have an audience." Josh muttered, having absolutely no idea how right he was.

"So there is someone here who is about to kick the bucket, huh?" He walked toward the building and shifted into his human form before gently tapping on the door. Inside, he found an elf. He would have been remarkably handsome under different circumstances, but his skin was pale and his eyes sunken from whatever sickness was consuming him.

"Sorry to bother you," Josh said.

"You are no bother. If anything, you might be my last hope." The elf leaned heavily against the table.

"I am dying. I wish that I wasn't, but… alas, there is no cure. May I have a final companion beside me as I pass?"

"How long do you have?" Joshua sat down across from him.

"A week at the most." The elf coughed weakly. His divine power was immense, yet the curse prevented him from making any meaningful use of it.

"Could you tell me about your life? Maybe I can learn something from it." Josh summoned a pitcher of crystal-clear water and two wooden cups. Rather than using magic to pour them, he picked up the pitcher with his own hands. The simple gesture seemed to surprise the elf.

"You are young, and very new to being a god." He took the cup and gently thumbed its rim.

"Yes." Joshua nodded.

"I didn't even have a choice in the matter. One day, the title was simply dropped on me." The elf laughed, it was a wry, bitter sound.

"So did I…" He looked across the table at Joshua.

"You are right. My story might come in handy for you." The elf took a slow breath before beginning his story, his fingers still resting around the wooden cup. His name was Elarion, and once, long before this quiet meadow became his home, he had been the highest priest of his people. He had served their god, a deity of nature and growth, for centuries. Under that god's guidance, the elves had built a prosperous civilization surrounded by ancient forests and untouched wilderness.

Elarion had never expected to become anything more than a servant of the divine. Then their god died in a fight with a demon god. The death of a god was not something mortals were prepared to witness. Nature itself seemed to lose its balance, and without their deity to guide them, the elven realm descended into chaos. Forests withered, sacred springs dried, and rival factions began fighting over the elven lands. Yet the elves refused to accept that their god was truly gone.

Every temple, priest, and ordinary citizen worked together to search for the remaining fragments of their fallen deity's soul. They collected every soul shard they could find, guarding them as though they were pieces of their own hearts. When the last shard was recovered, the elves gathered in their greatest temple and attempted to resurrect their god. The resurrection had failed no matter how they tried. The soul shards were there, but whatever had made their god whole was gone.

No ritual, prayer, or sacrifice could bring the old deity back. With their realm still suffering, the elves eventually turned toward Elarion. They prayed to him, the entire elven race. They begged him to become their new god, to take the collected soul shards into himself and carry on the mantle of the deity they had lost. He knew exactly what they were asking. To accept the soul shards was to abandon his mortal existence and become something entirely different. He would no longer be merely their priest.

He would become responsible for every elf beneath the heavens. But he could not abandon his people, so Elarion had eventually accepted. He took the soul shards into himself and became their new god. With his newly gained divinity, Elarion restored the forests, cleansed the corrupted lands, and brought life back to the places that had nearly become barren. Under his guidance, the elves prospered once again. Generations came and went, civilizations rose and fell, and for millennia Elarion watched over his people.

Eventually, however, the past returned to haunt him. The same demon god who had killed his predecessor came back. This time however, Elarion was waiting for it. Their battle devastated entire regions of his realm. Mountains were shattered, forests burned, and the skies themselves seemed to split beneath the clash of their divine powers. Elarion ultimately won, destroying the demon god and ensuring that the elves would never again be hunted by the ancient enemy. But victory came at an enormous price.

The curse the demon had placed upon him remained. It slowly sapped his divine power from within, leaving him weaker with every passing year. Elarion managed to use what remained of his strength to ensure that the demons could never threaten his people again, but by then he had little divinity left. Eventually he retired, built himself a small home in a quiet meadow beside a lake, far from temples, politics, and the responsibilities of godhood. At first, solitude had seemed peaceful.

After thousands of years of watching over an entire race, he thought he might finally enjoy some silence. Instead, he discovered something he had never truly considered... being alone hurt. He could no longer teleport back to his people. The curse had taken too much of his power, and his frail body could barely manage long journeys. Even if he somehow reached his old homeland, he knew he would only become a burden to the people he had spent his entire existence protecting.

So he stayed, watched the seasons change through the windows of his little cottage, drank tea beside the lake, and waited for the curse to finally consume the last of his soul. Joshua nodded solemnly.

"I think I understand. I should never leave my people, no matter what. They are a gift for those with long lives."

"You are quite smart for your age." The elf managed a weak smile.

"I watched a ton of movies and anime." Joshua shrugged. Elarion tilted his head in confusion but decided not to ask.

"Wait just a moment!" Josh suddenly clapped his hands.

"I may have an idea!" He jumped up from his seat.

"I was told this curse cannot be cured. Right? It is also one that eats away at a divine soul."

"Yes…" Elarion looked up, a sliver of hope appearing in his tired eyes.

"How does that help?"

"Just wait and try not to resist." Josh smiled as he rolled up his sleeves.

"This might be painful."

"I assure you, I know pain…" Elarion managed a faint smile.

"I doubt you can… Aaaaargh!" Josh had to focuse hard as his goal was not to remove the curse. That was impossible, and the test had made that clear. Instead, he would change the soul itself. If this was specifically a God-Soul-Eating Curse, then he would turn Elarion's soul back into that of a mortal. The process was neither simple nor gentle. Elarion's entire body convulsed as Josh forced the divine essence out of his soul.

The curse fought back, trying to cling to what remained of the god it had been devouring, while Josh carefully separated it from the damaged soul beneath. The divine power and the soul shards of Elarion's old god were expelled along with the curse, leaving behind nothing more than a damaged mortal soul. Josh immediately focused on healing it. The release of so much divine power had consequences. The cottage around them suddenly exploded into sawdust, the wooden walls disintegrating under the pressure.

The ground itself was flattened for several dozen meters, leaving a barren patch of earth around them. Then something extraordinary happened. The nature-based divine essence that had been released seeped into the land. Grass erupted from the soil, bushes spread across the newly formed plain in seconds, followed by trees that shot upward with astonishing speed. Within moments, the flatland had transformed into an ancient-looking forest. The lake changed as well.

Its waters shimmered with magical energy, and the fish swimming beneath its surface became touched by the same nature essence. Enchanted foxes and rabbits appeared among the trees, while glowing birds filled the branches with unfamiliar songs. Elarion breathed heavily as he looked down at his hands. They were no longer thin and frail, instead there was life in them. His aching body felt brand new, almost young.

"You…" His voice trembled.

"You turned me back into a mortal!" Tears began running down his cheeks.

"Sorry." Josh raised both hands.

"I just wanted to help…" He never finished the sentence. Elarion suddenly embraced him.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Josh gently patted the elf's back.

"Now you can return to your people." Elarion pulled away and wiped his tears.

"May I have the name of the god who saved me from a cold death?"

"Joshua Steel." Josh answered with a smirk.

"I shall build a shrine in your honor. May I see your true form?" Josh nodded and walked out into the newly grown forest and a moment later his human body expanded. Silver scales covered his skin, wings unfolded from his back, and his massive draconic form rose between the trees. Elarion stared upward.

"So majestic…" He smiled through the still falling tears.

"Thank you again." Josh opened his mouth to answer, but before he could say another word, his entire body was suddenly engulfed in white light.

"Trial Passed." That was the last thing he saw before he was forcefully teleported away.