The horizon shimmered with aurora-like lights, distorting the boundary between reality and imagination. As Raizel stepped onto the ancient floating platform, a sudden stillness blanketed the vast skies around him. Before him stood the towering gates of the Celestial Trials, carved from obsidian crystal and etched with cosmic runes that pulsed in sync with his heartbeat.
"Candidate Raizel, recognized. GenePath Access: Unlocked. Status: Ranked Tier Zero — Unclassified Potential," announced the System with a voice that reverberated through space.
Raizel squinted at the floating projection — the new window that had appeared in his consciousness the moment he arrived. It hovered, smart and intuitive, reading his thoughts and acting as both a guide and archive of his capabilities, much like the system interface in games. He could navigate it by sheer will.
"Trial of the One Hundred Universes — Phase One: Endurance of Realms. Commence in... 10... 9..."
Raizel cracked his knuckles and straightened his spine. Though he had trained relentlessly, he knew this was different. This was not an arena or a virtual test. This was reality on a cosmic level.
---
The first realm appeared like a ripple. Suddenly, Raizel was no longer on the floating platform but standing knee-deep in a vast desert made of molten glass. A furnace wind howled around him, and shards flew in all directions.
"Endure," the System said. That was the only instruction.
For twelve hours straight, he walked, burned, bled, healed, and walked again. The desert tested not only his body but his very will. He fought phantom beasts made of sandstorms, illusions of his worst fears, and even a version of himself that tried to reason him into giving up.
"You're just a kid. What do you think you can change? You're chasing shadows..."
Raizel didn't speak. He punched the illusion so hard the world cracked and revealed a void underneath.
"Trial One — Passed. Mental Willpower Ranked: A+. Physical Fortitude: S. Updating candidate's profile."
The System interface now glowed with new stats:
MindFort Level: 4.7
PhysCore Endurance: 5.2
Celestial Factor Detection: Detected. Hidden Signature Dormant.
He frowned. "Hidden signature?"
The System flickered as if amused.
"Hidden Identity Level: Double-coded. Locked until Revelation Sequence."
Raizel took a breath. His second identity — the masked vigilante known only as PhantomCore in the underground — was still undetected by most. But this place, it seemed, was smarter than the multiverse's best tracking networks.
---
The second realm dropped him into a world filled with gravity wells. The moment he tried to move, he was crushed by invisible pressure.
"This trial simulates the core of a dying star. Survive."
Raizel roared as he activated his inner circuits. The power etched deep in his DNA began to shimmer like fire beneath his skin. The Sigil Marks he had unknowingly developed started pulsing.
A surge of blue-black energy engulfed him. He focused it around his spine and limbs, forming a stabilizing pressure bubble.
Step by step, he moved forward. Time felt meaningless here. Days, perhaps weeks passed, but he did not falter.
---
When he emerged, skin scorched and armor cracked, the System had new notifications:
"Phase Two Complete. Ranking Boost: Candidate Raizel — now Tier Delta Star-Class. Potential: Rising."
His status window now revealed a new attribute:
Multiversal Resistance Factor: Enabled
Sigil Mark Enhancement: Initial Unlock
Skill Unlocked: Quantum Flow Step
Raizel stood taller. Each trial didn't just test him — it awakened him.
But he wasn't done.
---
As he stood, the sky above the trial grounds tore open, and a giant projection appeared. It wasn't the System this time.
It was a man.
Clad in gold-trimmed robes and radiating power beyond comprehension, he looked directly at Raizel.
"You are ahead of schedule, boy," the man said. "You weren't supposed to awaken so early."
Raizel's brow furrowed. "Who are you?"
The man gave a cold smile. "Someone who knows what you truly are — and what you're meant to become. But will you be strong enough before they find you first?"
The projection shattered. The sky closed.
Raizel's fists clenched. The question echoed in his mind — who were they? And what did this man mean by his true self?
A new window blinked.
"Revelation Sequence — Countdown Initiated. Time Remaining: 30 Trials."
He had thirty more trials... before his true identity would be revealed.
A storm was coming
The eerie silence that followed the slaughter echoed through the cavern's red-lit hollows. Crimson mist curled in the air like spectral threads, and the shattered remains of the mutated beasts steamed under the cold glow of the blood moon. Kai stood amidst the carnage, his cloak flapping softly in the unnatural wind. His Quantum Link Interface flickered into existence beside him — a brilliant translucent display lined with cascading stats.
[Status: Stabilized. Quantum Surge: 74%. Soul Core Fluctuation: Balanced. Multiversal Thread: Active.]
He turned his eyes toward the back of the cave. "There's still something here."
His instincts screamed, not with fear, but with revelation. The sensation he felt wasn't just another beast or anomaly — it was a presence that mirrored him.
As Kai stepped deeper into the cave, the air thinned. Walls began to shimmer, revealing ancient runes that pulsed in unison with his heartbeats. His core trembled. "This language… it's pre-cosmic. Only the original realmwalkers would use this."
He reached out, his hand brushing the air. Suddenly, the walls trembled, collapsing in a ripple. From beyond the veil stepped a figure — tall, armored, and faceless. Its aura was identical to Kai's but twisted… corrupted.
"Welcome, Prototype Alpha," the figure rasped. "Your destiny has been waiting."
[Warning: Unknown Entity Shares 87.6% Energy Signature. Possibility: Multiversal Clone or Temporal Displacement.]
Kai narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"
"I'm you, but from the path you rejected. I consumed, conquered, and corrupted until I broke the loop."
The clone raised a hand, and the cave dissolved into a black field suspended in multiversal void. Stars bled colors. Planets cracked in the distance.
"You feel it, don't you? The truth behind your origin. You weren't born — you were synthesized. And our creators… they're waking up."
Kai's mind pulsed. Memories fragmented. Experiments. Light. Screams. The woman's voice — his mother's — whispering, "Live… for them."
His Quantum Link Interface surged. Stats flashed uncontrollably. His Multiversal Points — renamed Singularity Fragments — ticked up like mad.
[Singularity Fragment +2 | Insight Boosted | Bloodline Revelation Triggered]
The clone charged, crimson energy erupting from its fists. Kai parried, each blow colliding with a thunderclap that echoed across dimensions. As they fought, their movements warped space. Clashes opened cracks into other realms — glimpses of his past, other versions of himself, even those who failed.
Their final clash ripped the void apart, hurling Kai back into the physical cave. The clone vanished, leaving behind a single phrase etched into the stone:
"The Codex awaits."
Kai stood, battered but enlightened. He now knew — he wasn't just a chosen one. He was a design. A test. A harbinger.
The Quantum Link Interface glowed with a new entry:
[Secret Quest Unlocked: "Codex of Creation" | Objective: Seek the Origin Chamber in the Ruins of Orialis Prime]
Back in the Academy, alarms blared. News spread fast — an entire dimensional cluster had collapsed. But none could track Kai.
In his hidden chamber beneath the school, Kai meditated. His other identity, Drayce, was gone for now. It was time to be himself… fully. No masks. No limits.
Outside, a new character entered the Academy. A girl with heterochromatic eyes — one violet, one silver — who seemed to know Kai without ever having met him.
"We finally meet," she whispered, more to herself than to anyone else.
"Let's see if you're ready to break the chains."