Zeras felt himself being shoved through space at great speed.
His eyes snapped shut, and the pressure around him was paralyzing, leaving him unable to move a muscle.
Thankfully, the feeling was ephemeral, and the surroundings soon stabilized.
Slowly opening his eyes, he saw jagged, rough walls, lit with different runes that pulsed every now and then like a heartbeat.
They brought illumination, allowing him to make out a long, narrow cave that extended deeper into the distance.
He marveled at the beauty of the place, but there was also a solemn aura lingering around.
He quietly stepped onward, the runes around the words lighting up and illuminating his path as he delved deeper into the unknown.
After about an hour of walking and staying alert, he finally reached the end of the cave, which was a dead end.
But it was no ordinary dead end.
On its walls, a picture of a golden trident was drawn, about 2 meters high.
Different runes covered its body, radiating a gentle golden light, with the three prongs gleaming coldly like the sharpest of blades.
Just behind the trident, the figure of a man covered in golden-colored fish scales could be seen, in a motion as if trying to grab the trident, but his hands were still a few inches from completely taking hold of it.
Zeras moved closer, his hands reaching hesitantly toward the diagram, eventually touching it and gently tracing the golden-colored trident.
While it appeared no different from an ordinary painting, he felt stifled, as if under horrifying pressure, and the might he could feel emanating from it was like that of a mountain.
A voice suddenly echoed in the cave, bringing him out of his thoughts
"Welcome, Aspirant, to the Crimson Dimension."
"You have chosen to walk a path never before explored."
"Then step up towards the trial with no fear in your heart for the truth which you might seek lies just within your grasp."
The voice reverberated within the narrow space as the painting of the trident suddenly flared with a blinding golden light.
A gigantic whirlpool of golden energy was formed, continuously revolving.
"You have chosen the fate of the trident. You have been given a trial of great danger, but also with a great reward if completed."
"Your mission:"
"DEFEAT THE FALSE KING AND BECOME THE TRUE KING OF ATLANTIS!"
Zeras stared at the whirlpool, inhaling quietly.
This was a trial said to bring him great rewards, but aside from that, it was his ticket to enter the EIA.
He was well aware that the trial would be the hardest among the entire group of participants, but he was prepared.
With his mind steeled and a burning focus, he moved unflinchingly toward the golden whirlpool.
As his figure passed through it, he disappeared within.
The whirlpool also quietly disappeared, leaving only the painting of a golden trident with the hands of a man, which now seemed to inch closer than ever.
-- -- --
"Devyn!"
"Devyn!"
"Devyn!"
"Devyn!"
"Devyn!"
"Devyn!"
The name was chanted repeatedly; the colossal colosseum shaking with the mighty vibration.
Zera's eyes widened as he stared around him.
He felt something weird about the air, as if it was...rippling!?
"Wait. This...this is water. I'm underwater!?"
His hand immediately rushed towards his nose, stopping his breathing, but then it occurred to him.
'Wait...Did I just hear my own voice?'
Releasing his hold on his breathing, he didn't seem to be affected by the water at all.
It was just like breathing in the air.
"Where...where am I..."
Zeras was drawn from his thoughts by the deafening voice.
He realized he was seated amongst people, and looking at them, he was momentarily shocked.
These people were substantially different from him.
Their teeth were jagged like those of a fish, while silver scales covered part of their faces and extended into their clothing.
Their hair was longer than usual, and some even possessed fishtails instead of legs.
It reminded him of the Mermaid race he once heard about from Grandma Mia in the orphanage.
Apart from those differences, they seemed human in every other way, yet they weren't human.
No! They were Athlantheans...Citizens of The Atlantis Kingdom.
He stood up, wondering what the cause of the noise was.
His attention was quickly drawn to the bottom of the colosseum, and there he found the cause of the uproar:
Two men dressed in silver armor.
Both held gigantic tridents in their hands as they clashed on stage, shaking the arena around them with their power.
"This..A battle Colosseum?"