NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4: returning
["You are being observed by the 'Heir of the Black Void.' Proceed to complete the 'Ten Trials of the Black Realm."]
["Reward: The appropriate trait will be granted based on the trial's outcome."]
["Penalty: Failure to comply will result in the annihilation of your soul, erasing it from existence."]
What the—?
What is this trait and sudden warning?
["Trial will commence in 10 seconds. Be prepared."]
"But can you at least tell me what the trial is?"
There was no response from the voice.
"Why the fucH is this voice so annoying? At least give me the complete details."
Ten seconds passed, and before I could even prepare my mind, a sudden, massive pain assaulted me.
It was worse than the pain I felt when touching the stairs, but I sighed in relief.
At least it was pain.
Without any emotion in my current form, I could survive this pain for an eternity.
But soon, I realized how wrong I was. As time passed, the pain didn't decrease; it kept increasing.
Small cracks started to appear on my soul, like tiny spiderwebbed across my soul, and with each crack light of my soul dimmer and my soul became more fragile
Will I die before I even complete any trial? I wondered.
The pain showed no sign of stopping.
The small cracks on my soul enlarged to the size of my fingernails, and something beyond pain assaulted me.
The pain was a million times worse than when my sister kicked me in the eggs, and I was hospitalized for an entire month.
"Ah!" The scream involuntarily came out of my mouth.
For the first time, I felt emotion after coming to this place
"Dread."
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Note:
Sorry, coming through ah-ha finally broke the fourth wall.
For all the readers wondering why there are emotional lines in the novel, I'm just trying to act like a normal human.
Apologies, but I don't have much time;
the idiot author is closing the fourth wall. Enjoy the story.
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Fear, so great that I had never felt it before.
Even in the moments when I died on earth, I didn't feel such fear.
It was as if the threat of complete annihilation was hanging over my head.
It felt like a primordial fear, one that truly originates from my soul, not from some hormones in my body.
My soul started to shake uncontrollably in fear and pain, but the pain showed no sign of stopping at all.
Why did I have to raise the flag and say I could endure pain for eternity? I must be the stupidest and dumbest person alive.
The crack on my soul, previously the size of a fingernail, had grown to the size of my palm. And still, the pain showed no sign of stopping.
The soul, which was previously radiating pure white light, was now covered in dark cracks.
The light of the soul started to become pale. If the pain didn't stop soon, the entire soul would truly die.
But as my luck would have it, the pain showed no sign of stopping. The crack increased from palm size to that of the entire hand. Soon, my entire soul was covered in cracks.
Even now, the pain showed no sign of stopping; instead, it continued to increase. The pain was unbearable. The soul, now covered in cracks, started to inflate like a balloon.
"It seems today I will truly die here. I at least wanted to see heaven before I died like this. It seems my wish will remain unfulfilled."
Finally, my soul reached the limit of what it could endure and burst open.
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In complete darkness, a place very similar to black space—no, it was the black space—
I suddenly regained consciousness.
"What happened? I clearly know I died due to my soul exploding."
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"I frantically examined my soul and gasped.
The pure white light that my soul previously radiated was completely gone, replaced by a deep, impenetrable black. It was like staring into an abyss."
Suddenly, I heard a notification from the voice.
["Congratulations, you have completed the first trial, 'Test of Will,' with a rating of SS."]
["Would you like a separate reward for each trial, or do you want to combine all rewards for a bigger reward?"]
["Please choose within 10 seconds, or a reward will be given directly."]
I looked around and noticed I was no longer in the Pantheon but outside of it. The golden color that previously radiated in the Pantheon had somehow dimmed.
"Although I don't know what happened to me, it seems I survived somehow."
before I could think any further,
I felt unconscious again
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after who knows how long,
"I had a strange dream in that dream, I saw several giant beings, and in front of this massive giant being was a very tiny human
suddenly all the giants protested in front of tiny humans"
I woke up
What the,
I heard the notification
["congratulation you have gained the unique trait of telekinesis"]
For, further information please call the name of the trait, out loud
"you, mean telekinesisis"
surprisingly panel came in front of me
["Telekinesis (grow) (level 1): you can manipulate soul energy, and matter around you"]
I look around myself, and I notice I am no longer in blank space, but am once again inside the pantheon
the voice rang in my head
["From here on out information will be given on the next trial"]
["Your next trial will be the test of Wits"]
["If you want to start the trial, please say the phrase 'Next trial" whenever you are ready"]
"It was really annoying. Why can't you give all the information together?"
I sighed and relaxed my thoughts. I had just survived something that brought me to the brink of death, although I still didn't know how.
I started to examine this trait, "telekinesis," to see if it could help me in my next trial.
The description in the panel stated that I could manipulate soul energy and matter around me.
I understood what matter was, but what was this soul energy?
"Hey, lady voice, can you at least tell me what this soul energy thing is?" I spoke out loud.
And, just like the previous attempt, I received no reply.
"Just for once, can you say something that makes sense?" I sighed helplessly. This annoying lady voice wasn't going to change.
"All right, let's do it the old way," I thought, remembering the time when I used to treat patients with unknown symptoms.
First, let's break it down.
What I know is matter, but what I don't know is soul energy.
So, for now, let's forget about soul energy and focus on matter.
The description states I can manipulate matter, but how?
I looked around the Pantheon to see if there was something like bricks or stones.
There were some small silver stones lying on the floor, which seemed to have fallen from the giant statue.
I moved toward the small stones and started to experiment with my newfound power.