Vale pushed himself up, though his body resisted the effort. It felt sluggish and unwilling. Whether it was the lingering effects of death itself or the consequence of being transported to the Demon Realm, he couldn't say. Either way, he took his time, steadying himself as he rose.
Once upright, he scanned his surroundings. The cavern walls and ground were covered in jagged, navy-coloured rock, their uneven surfaces gleaming faintly under the dim light. Above him, sharp stone formations jutted from the ceiling, vanishing into the pitch-black recesses of the cave. The air was cool, carrying a faint, earthy scent that clung to his lungs.
His eyes followed the cavern's ceiling to a massive opening—a gaping tunnel stretching upward, at least a hundred meters. Its edges were smooth, worn down by time, as though something had once clawed its way out. Through that tunnel, the moon hung in the night sky, pale and distant, casting its ghostly glow over the dark stone. The dim light shimmered against the jagged walls, while a faint breeze whistled through the hollow, an eerie whisper in the dead silence around him.
For now though, it seemed like he was alone.
Vale exhaled deeply, his breath steadying. He wasn't in immediate danger. That was good enough for now.
Wasting no time, he shut his eyes, pushing everything else away from his mind. He focused on a single thought.
"Status Window."
At once, a translucent rectangle flickered into existence before him. Lines of text materialised across its surface, appearing just as he had read in books. This was the moment every child in Verythmia dreamed of—the moment they first saw their status window.
*****
Name: Vale
Core: Dormant
Path: —
Edict: —
Edict Abilities: —
Artifacts:—
Relics:—
*****
A Path was the root of a tree. An Edict, its branch.
There were five known Paths: Flow, Fortitude, Destruction, Precision, and Divergent. Each one determined the distinct direction in which a person's power would progress. Most Paths were tied to elemental affinities—Destruction with fire, Flow with water.
But Divergent was different. It didn't follow any element or specific pattern. It was chaos given form—rare, unstable, and mostly unpredictable.
Not that any of it mattered right now.
Vale wouldn't receive a Path or Edict until he completed his First Trial.
He stared at the empty status window for a moment longer, then dismissed it with a thought. The translucent screen flickered and vanished, leaving only the dark expanse of the cavern ahead.
A grim expression settled on his face.
No weapons. No armour.
His Core was still Dormant, meaning he couldn't even access the most basic form of mana reinforcement.
He glanced down at himself. Dressed in nothing but a pair of soft pajamas, with only his fists to rely on, he felt exposed. Powerless. Defenseless.
He exhaled slowly, steadying his breath. Letting fear take over would do nothing.
Sitting around and feeling sorry for himself wasn't going to change anything.
He needed to move.
He needed to find something—anything—that could help him survive.
Pushing his thoughts away, Vale took his first steps into the dark.
He moved cautiously, although he believed if anything were there with him, he would have already been attacked, one could never be too cautious in the Demon Realm.
Thanks to the moonlight falling in the cave through the hole in the ceiling, Vale was able to somewhat navigate around the nearby surroundings of the cave. However, as he moved away from the dimming light, his surroundings darkened.
As his vision was about to be consumed by total darkness, he noticed a small crevice in one of the rocky walls. Its size wasn't great, but large enough for him to squeeze through.
He pushed himself into the small opening.
Just as he fell onto the rocky floor on the other side of the crevice, he instantly noticed a difference in texture.
Vale exhaled, steadying his breath as he ran a hand over the smooth floor beneath him. Unlike the jagged, natural rock of the previous cavern, this surface was worn—polished.
His expression darkened.
This place wasn't abandoned.
His muscles tensed as he slowly rose to his feet, eyes darting across the cave. The air here felt different—heavier. It clung to him, damp and stale, carrying the faintest hint of rot. He could no longer hear the distant wind from the sky above, only an eerie silence pressed against his ears.
Vale's fingers twitched. His empty hands begged for a weapon, but he had nothing to rely on.
He took a careful step forward, pressing himself against the wall of the cave, as his eyes adjusted to the near-total darkness. His foot barely made a sound against the smooth stone.
Then he saw something faint in the far distance.
Light.
It wasn't the moonlight from before. No, this was something deeper in the cave—a dim, flickering light emanating from the distance.
His heart pounded against his ribs.
He placed his left hand on his chest, trying to calm his racing heart, but it was to no avail.
Vale didn't know whether he should feel happy or terrified, but compared to the darkness currently consuming him, he thought any light was better than none.
He would much rather be attacked under some light—where he could see, than a complete darkness. And so he slowly walked toward the source of light.