The stone door slowly opened, and a thick chill poured out, as if what was sealed behind the door was not a legacy, but a ghost forgotten by the years.
Su Yue stood quietly in front of the door, her fingertips trembling slightly. She could feel the blood responding. It was a resonance from deep inside, without any sound, but as clear as a heartbeat.
Ethan stood behind her, his eyes were still firm despite his injuries. He had seen the road ahead clearly, and even if there were thousands of blades, he would not let her face it alone.
"After entering, Ethan and I cannot go together." Cain suddenly spoke, with a certain solemnity in his tone, "This is the 'King's Trial'. Only royal descendants with pure enough blood can step into it."
Su Yue turned around and looked at him: "Why are you helping me?"
This was the first time she directly questioned this unfathomable man.
Kain was silent for a moment before he slowly spoke: "Because I owe your father an answer."
"Who is he?" Su Yue's voice was faintly suppressed, "You said he betrayed you, but you also said he was one of the people you trusted the most. Which side is wrong between the two?"
"You will understand after you go in."
The stone door opened completely with a bang, and the blood-red light surged like a tide. At that moment, Su Yue felt as if her soul was being pulled, and her whole body was swallowed into a blood-red vortex with no end in sight.
She heard Ethan's cry behind her, vaguely audible.
Then, everything returned to silence.
In front of her was an ancient hall with a bloody color.
The colonnade was like the arm of a god, supporting the sky pattern on the dome. In the center of the dome hung a "heart" that was constantly dripping with blood - every drop of blood fell, and the ground was covered with ripple-like runes.
Su Yue stood in the center, and under her feet was the "throne seal array" made of countless bones.
There was no one around, only a voice sounded faintly in her ear:
"Royal descendant Su Yue."
"You have awakened the mark of the king level and stepped into the level of kingship. But only by passing the 'three trials' can you truly have the qualifications of the king."
The voice came from the void, with an unquestionable sense of oppression.
"The first trial: the judgment of blood."
The ground cracked open, and the blood-red chain rose from the crack, circling around Su Yue like a snake. Before she could react, the chain rolled up and dragged her into the shadow space below.
The next moment, she opened her eyes, but found herself standing on the street in the night.
Familiar and strange.
This is... the night when she first awakened the "blood power".
"Who are you?"
A voice suddenly sounded in her ear.
She turned around abruptly and saw "another self" - the self who had not awakened the royal blood, was still full of fear, and fled in panic in the pursuit of the Night Breath Society.
The other person's eyes were full of confusion and cowardice: "Are you...really me?"
Su Yue nodded slowly, but felt a sharp pain in her heart.
"Then tell me, is everything we have done worth it?"
"Worth it."
"Even if I lose Ethan? Even if the whole world is against you?"
"Worth it."
She no longer hesitated, and with every word she answered, the "shadow" began to disintegrate, and finally turned into a drop of blood, falling into her palm.
"First trial, passed."
"Second trial: King's denial."
This time, Su Yue stood in front of an empty throne. There was no one on the throne, only a mirror, quietly hanging in the void.
She looked inside, but saw... her father.
It was the blurred figure in her memory, wearing a black robe, with a face shrouded in shadow. He didn't look at her, but just whispered: "Do you think you are my continuation?"
"No."
"Do you think you can surpass me?"
"No."
"Do you think you control your own destiny?"
"No."
Every question was like a lightning bolt, striking the deepest part of her soul. The self in the mirror gradually became blurred, as if it was about to be completely swallowed by the shadow.
"Who are you?"
The voice finally asked.
Su Yue gritted her teeth, slowly stretched out her hand, and pointed to the mirror:
"I am Su Yue, not your continuation, not your failure, and not the tool you design your destiny."
"I, it's me."
The mirror shattered, and the bloody light exploded and merged into her body.
The second trial, passed.
"The third trial: The king's choice."
In the last scene, Su Yue was placed in front of two doors.
On the left, Ethan stood in the ruins, bloody and struggling to look at her.
On the right, the seven priests of the Night Rest Society were gathering over a city. Dark clouds were looming, and hundreds of thousands of people were facing blood sacrifice and slaughter.
"You can only choose one door."
The voice sounded again.
"Save him, and you will lose the power of the king. Save them, and he will surely die."
Su Yue closed her eyes.
She knew this was not reality, but it was more real than reality. She represented not only her personal destiny, but the will of the king - she must bear the price for all living beings.
She opened her eyes and said calmly:
"I will split the third door."
Boom!
The invisible blade condensed in her hand, and she raised her sword to slash at the barrier between heaven and earth.
"Wang Yi, don't make a choice."
The entire trial space suddenly collapsed, and Su Yue's body was swept by a strong wind, passing through the long river of blood, the king's judgment, and the resonance of the soul, and finally fell into the abyss of the void.
When she opened her eyes, she found herself still standing in the underground throne room of the Tower of Noser. Everything around her was like waking up from a dream, but she knew that she had awakened.
Kain stood in front of her, with a rare admiration in his eyes.
"You... passed."
Ethan was already standing beside her. Although his face was pale, his smile was still familiar.
Su Yue clenched her fists, and the mark of the king level burned deeply in her palms.
"Next, there is only one thing I have to do-"
"Destroy the Night Rest Society."
And in the distant north, in a dense forest under a snowy mountain, a figure slowly opened his eyes under the moonlight.
"The king... has awakened."
He smiled strangely, and the voice under the skull mask was as low as the whisper of the god of death:
"The game has begun."