Chapter 6: The Cup of Pain
The cabin was slowly collapsing, much like the souls within it.
Far from the golden capital, in a forgotten place untouched by sunlight—because there was no sun anymore—Jin sat in the darkness, training as if his body were just a machine, void of feeling.
Each day resembled the last, except the weight of his memories grew heavier.
On the cold ground, among stones eroded by dampness, Jin finally collapsed, panting. His broken breaths filled the void like death's final sighs.
His long black hair clung to his face, and his crimson eyes glowed as if real blood flowed from them. His gaze no longer belonged to a human. Something inside him was shattered… something beyond repair.
Slowly, he raised his demonic hand toward the decaying ceiling, as if reaching for a sky that no longer existed, or perhaps pleading to a god who had long since turned away from this world.
His mutated fingers trembled—not from exhaustion, but from an inner silence that resembled madness.
Then the past came—as it always did.
No one escapes their memories.
---
Marketh stood there… silent, grim, like a ghost.
Behind him were two graves. No flowers, no solid soil. Just raw grief, exposed to the cold air.
"Do you feel it?" he asked in a quiet voice, yet one deep as hell itself. "The pain… the sorrow… the rage?"
He paused, then continued with a voice that sounded like death speaking:
"This is what everyone in this cursed world feels. We're all dying—just at different speeds. But you… you have a choice."
He stepped closer, and his voice pulled Jin deeper, into an abyss without end.
"You can either burn from within… or burn everything around you."
Jin, still a child back then, didn't answer. He stood before his parents' graves like a statue sculpted from ash. No tears, no sound. Just... a break that could never be mended.
When he finally spoke, his voice was an echo from the depths of a tomb:
"I will take revenge."
His words were not a promise. They were a curse born in that moment.
"I'll make them feel what I felt… and worse. I'll make them drink from the same cup… filled to the brim… and force them to swallow it drop by drop."
Marketh stepped even closer, and his voice turned into a snarl:
"You think words are enough? Do you even know what it means to stand before a Lord? One of those who made armies vanish and forced kings to kneel?"
He roared in Jin's face, like he was trying to awaken the last traces of his humanity:
"Your training will be a curse. You won't know sleep, you won't taste peace. I'll make your bones scream from pain! That is the price of vengeance, Jin!"
Then, in a terrifying calm, he leaned closer and asked:
"Are you ready for hell?"
Jin was already dead on the inside.
He raised his eyes and replied in a lifeless voice:
"I want nothing… except revenge."
---
The scene returned to the cabin.
The night wasn't really night. It was just a continuation of yesterday.
And Jin… hadn't moved.
His demonic hand was still raised.
There was no longer a difference between him… and the darkness.
---
[Back to the exam field]
"Move now! The area is in danger! Save the students at any cost! We can't let those lunatics succeed today!" Julius roared as he dashed through the instructors.
Behind him stood Liana, wearing her white doctor's coat and round glasses, her long blonde hair falling coldly across her shoulders. She stared at them expressionlessly and said in an icy tone:
"Bring me some of the injured students… we need organs. Understood?"
Raiden glared at her, muttering between clenched teeth: "That damn psycho whore…"
Then, Raiden vanished—teleported straight into the exam arena.
Julius followed immediately, along with the other instructors. Each one rushed in a different direction.
Liana was left alone in the control room. She turned toward her lab, whispering to herself with a cold smile:
"This crazy cult… I'm starting to like their style."
---
[Inside the exam arena]
"L-Liza… what is that?!" Leona screamed, eyes wide in terror as she stepped back. "That's… that's a level-six beast!!"
Before the two girls stood a massive creature—like a white tiger, but with blood-red eyes and claws that could shred steel. Its heavy breathing alone was enough to make the ground tremble.
Liza was shaking, her limbs barely holding her up. She whispered with frozen lips:
"No… I don't want to die… not yet… I haven't… I haven't taken my revenge yet…"
Each step the beast took closer to them shredded their nerves inch by inch.
Leona stared at the monster, muttering to herself:
"How… how did a creature like this get into the exam arena…?!"
But Liza didn't respond. All she kept repeating in a broken voice was:
"Why… why… why…"
Leona suddenly slapped her, shouting loudly:
"Snap out of it, damn you!! This isn't the time to cry! If we want to live, we have to survive until the instructors get here!!"
---
[In another corner of the exam field]
It was a hellscape. Blood coated the ground, and students' limbs were scattered in gruesome ways.
Aaron, his body covered in wounds, stood in the middle of his shredded team. His breathing was labored, but he was still standing.
He slowly raised his head… and saw someone standing above him, atop the ruins of shattered walls.
That man was no ordinary person.
He wore black robes marked with the symbol of the moon. His face was hidden behind a strange mask. His voice was deranged, like a demon crawling out from the earth:
"Hahahaha!! You rejected the gods' punishment? Then… accept it yourselves!! Burn!!"
Aaron fell silent for a moment, then looked at the surviving students around him. His mind began racing.
I must survive… no matter what. I can't die here. I'll use these fools to distract him… just a few seconds, that's all I need.
He looked back at the crazed man and whispered to himself:
"The Lunatic Moon Cult…? How? How did they infiltrate the exam? Where… where are the instructors?!"
The madman's laughter echoed across the field, stabbing their ears like sharp knives.
---
[Elsewhere in the exam field]
Amid rubble and chaos, stood Cairne Valdok—a young man with black hair and piercing blue eyes—facing off against a level-five monster.
The battlefield trembled as the beast—a massive ghoul wielding a giant metal club—swung with deadly randomness.
Cairne moved with finesse, dodging each blow, mana shimmering around his body.
"A monster like this in the exam? Something's seriously wrong… I need to end this fast."
He took a deep breath, then sheathed his sword. He stood in a battle stance… and closed his eyes.
In a quiet, almost sacred tone, he whispered:
"Moon Sever."
He vanished instantly. Reappeared behind the beast. His sword still in its sheath.
Then… the creature's body split in half behind him and collapsed with a muffled thud.
Cairne opened his eyes slowly and said:
"Time to find the others…"