The 1800 floor of the Trial Realm was unlike any Jin had encountered before.
A shattered sky of violet and silver spun overhead, split by veins of silent lightning. The ground beneath him was made of black obsidian, cracked and steaming as if the earth itself was remembering pain.
Far ahead, his shadow army clashed with nightmare beasts birthed from divine malice.
Todra, the Thunder Frog, leapt into the fray first. His body surged with storms as he laughed.
"Come on! Where's the real challenge?!"
He hurled a bolt of lightning into a six-eyed lizard, laughing as it exploded into dust.
Bellon, the crimson knight, fought beside him with ruthless precision. His blade danced with blood and ash.
"Don't play too much, fool. We're not here to entertain you."
Kong, the mighty ape, roared as he slammed a molten bull into the ground, shaking the realm. His fists were hammers of primal might.
Eian, the floating eye-fish, glided through the battlefield silently. Wherever its gaze fell, monsters collapsed—nervous systems fried, skulls caved in. It was eerie, efficient, and terrifying.
High above them all stood Jin, still as a shadow, his long coat flowing in the wind of war. His gaze was locked not on the battle… but on what was beyond.
"With every floor," Jin thought, "I grow more distant from who I once was."
He clasped his hands behind his back.
"The enemies fall faster. The darkness responds to me quicker. My very breath reshapes this realm. But it isn't just me. These shadows—these soldiers—they evolve."
His purple eyes shimmered with God Vision, revealing things unseen: every heartbeat, every power, every weakness, every emotion.
"When they kill, they grow. And when they grow… I ascend."
But he felt it. A presence. Ancient. Watching. The final trial had arrived.
From the cracked earth emerged a serpentine colossus—a creature hundreds of meters long, cloaked in thunder and venom, with scales darker than void and eyes burning with divine cruelty.
The Serpent King.
"You are not the first god-slayer to climb," it hissed, its voice rippling through reality. "But you will be the last. You will be consumed… by me."
Todra moved to leap.
Bellon readied his blade.
Kong stepped forward.
Eian roared.
But Jin raised a hand.
"Stand down."
They froze.
Bellon who was about to say something but he couldn't. He gathered all of his courage and spoke. "Master—"
But Jin stopped him.
"This is not your fight. This is mine."
Even Kong hesitated, but he bowed.
Jin walked forward, alone, toward the impossible monster.
The Serpent's laughter was thunder.
"You choose death, then. How noble. How meaningless."
Jin closed his eyes for a moment.
"Power without struggle is vanity."
"Immortality without purpose is a curse."
"To become more… one must first face what cannot be overcome."
He opened his eyes, and they glowed with deep violet light.
The battle began.
The Serpent struck like lightning—fast, cruel, unrelenting. Jin moved through the chaos like a wraith. When it lunged, he vanished. When it coiled, he was already above it. His body cracked, blood spilled—but still he fought.
He used God Vision to read the Serpent's moves. But Jin didn't get the time. The Serpent King struck Jin with his tail, slamming him against the wall with full force. Jin could barely stand. His body trembled as he tried to rise. Then he saw it — the massive serpent was slithering toward him, ready to devour him.
And then—at the brink of death—he awakened something new.
His body shifted—phased—through space itself.
A ripple of darkness. Then he was behind the beast. Then above. Then beneath. Then gone.
The voice came again in his mind and whispered. "New ability unlocked: [Night Movement] — Bend time, motion, space. Walk the shadow paths. Teleport across thought and light."
Jin reappeared inside the beast's ribcage.
His palm pulsed with black flame.
Jin smirked.
"This is not your trial… it is mine."
He thrust his hand forward.
The Serpent screamed.
It collapsed, evaporating into shadows and thunder.
Silence fell.
Jin stood amidst the ashes.
He whispered a word:
"Emerge."
The ground beneath him quaked as the shadow of the Serpent King rose before him—tamed, bound, and kneeling.
"What name will I carry, Master?"
Jin's voice was calm.
"You are… Basilisk."
The shadow serpent hissed and bowed. His coils became mist and vanished into Jin's shadow.
Later, in Tumau's Sacred Dimension
Golden trees grew from white water. The wind whispered songs of stars. Here, time flowed gently.
Jin rested in a celestial hot spring, his armor cast aside. His body was scarred, yet divine.
He activated God Vision again.
Each of his shadow warriors appeared before his gaze—not in flesh, but as deep data.
[Unit: Bellon]
Class: Crimson Duelist
Trait: Wrathborn, Dark Spell
Temperament: Proud
Mood: Wary
[Unit: Todra]
Class: Thunder Vanguard
Trait: Mocking Surge
Temperament: Playful
Mood: Energetic
[Unit: Kong]
Class: Primal Titan
Trait: Unbreakable Will, Regenerative healing factor.
Temperament: Stoic
Mood: Loyal
[Unit: Eian]
Class: All-Seeing Warden
Trait: Eye of Despair
Temperament: Silent
Mood: Watchful
[Unit: Basilisk]
Class: Abyssal Serpent Lord
Trait: Void Venom
Temperament: Obedient
Mood: Cold
Jin leaned back, staring into the golden sky.
Jin muttered.
"I am now 433 years old."
"Time means nothing here, yet the weight of eternity presses on me. "I've completed 1800 trials. Only 100 remain."
He exhaled softly.
"But each floor demands more. Strength is no longer enough. I must become a strongest character. There are few battles now I must prepare a month in advance just to survive."
"I think I am no longer climbing floors…I am climbing fate."
His eyes narrowed.
"And when I reach the final floor—I will not return as a hero. I will return as the shadow they feared."