'That's right, I remember the voice of the world mentioning it, but I was too busy trying to figure out how to complete my trial'
Looking below, he read the lines of text that described relics. For a while, he just stared blankly at them, but soon an expression of confusion appeared on his face.
'What Kind of... bullshit is this?'
Relic: [Blade of faith]
Relic type: [Weapon]
Relic rank: [Sealed]
Relic description: [Blade of faith: a weapon wielded by lord lightbringer. Its blade was blessed by its creator to be the strongest and only unbreakable blade in existence, but was cursed by the many powerful souls it had slain to be blunt and eternally covered in rust.]
Relic enchantment: [Cleave(Sealed)], [Lighteater's Lament(Sealed)] [Penance Strike(Sealed)]
Above the strange language was the image of the sword. It didn't look like just any sword, its hilt was made of a deep brown hue of wood laced with crimson accents. At its base was a strange red ornament with the emblem of a dragon engraved onto it. The blade itself was a type ever since the start of the age of black was almost never seen. Especially in the hands of heralds.
'An odachi!'
The blade just as its description said was competely covered in rust, but even that couldn't hide the beauty it held.
The blade of the sword extended for over a three meters, doubling him in height. Its tip had been snapped off, leaving it looking like more than a decoration than a sword. But make no mistake, its blade, even in that state, possessed a presence and aura, unlike any normal weapon.
'It isn't exactly what I would have expected after going through all that, but it's a start.'
Receiving a weapon during his first trial was rare, but not unheard of. Though the rank of said weapons is typically on the low side, and his blade of faith with the rank of sealed was no different. Though, in a world where its full effects were unsealed, the same couldn't be said.
But despite being sealed, it didn't have the raw strength the likes of the higher ranks would have, but its blessing alone made up for that. In fact, one could say this weapon was made to perfectly suit the ability he had received.
As he stood there contemplating the possible combinations he could perform, the world around him was once again beginning to distort, and soon it all faded away.
***
Theodore's eyes shot open, and without wasting a breath or movement, he pushed his palm against the casing of the pod he lay in, in the blink of an eye, with the minimal pressure he put on it, the glass shattered.
'The hell?'
Shocked by what had just happened, he quickly crawled out.
"What did I do? How did I... I wasn't using my trait... but I still broke it?"
His confusion was understandable, as unknown to him, his awakening didn't just improve certain aspects of his trait, his physical capabilities had now more than doubled. He pushed his palms against the floor, and the tiles shattered as well.
Gasping for air as he struggled to adjust to the increase in his physical abilities, he struggled to his feet. Each step shattered the tiles even more causing him even more panic.
'How... how do I get this power under control?!'
Suddenly, as he was getting a handle on his spiralling mental state, he felt a menacing presence right behind him. Twisting reflexively with speed he never imagined, he drew his arm back and threw a punch that connected with something. The resulting shockwave travelled through his body and was collected in his core.
His eyes opened wide as he stared at his fist in the grasp of a dark shadowy figure .Looking up, he saw Alec in his human-like shadowy mass form, and just alike it was before, in this state his only defining trait was a set of deep crimson eyes and two rows of razor sharp teeth.
From the mass of shadows, a deep, eerie, disturbing, and menacing laugh echoed, and from it, a voice which was now all too familiar to him echoed.
"Now that was better, you brat!"
It might not be where he would have preferred to be waking up, but finally, after a strange and sometimes nightmare inducing first experience in Ygdrassil, he was home.
Staring at Alec, his eyes glowed subtly, but unlike with the spawns, or even when he was first being taken through this strange place before his trial, he could sense no beating heart, nor blood flowing in his veins. It was as if he had actually become a living shadow.
'But he's holding my hand? If he is a shadow then he shouldn't be able to physically affect me. Unless...'
Without thinking, he tapped into the energy he had stored within him. A wave of heat flashed through him, as he concentrated it all into his fist a flame soon burst forth, Theo grinned expecting to see Alec pull his hand away but was shocked when he looked up to see him stood in the same position, if what he was doing was even called standing, or was it hovering?
Staring back at Theo with an indifferent expression, Alec tightened his grip on Theo's fist.
"Interesting... so you inherited her powers then?"
Theo curiously raised a brow.
'Who is... she?'
Distracted by Alec's comment, the newly awakened heralds flames faltered, it only for a moment, but in a world where strength defines all, a single moment is all it takes for everything to go wrong. Theo suddenly grimaced as he desperately tried pulling his fist out from Alec's grip, but it was futile.
Theo dropped down to his knees screaming in pain as his bones ground against each other. He tried pulling his fist free once more, but Alec's grip was too strong.
"Let go you bastard!!!"
Alec chuckled softly, and soon his light chuckle broke out into laughter which echoed in the empty room. The harder he laughed, the stronger the pressure on his fist intensified, and the flames soon dimmed, flickering around his hand and sputtering as if they were being snuffed out by the sheer force.
But soon, the laughter stopped and an eerie silence washed over them. Following it, a chill descended upon Theo and accompanying it, a dread so strong it felt like it could choke him filled the room.
'This is just like the other time! My body won't stop shaking! I want to run! To get away from him.... no! From this... this thing! But my instincts are once again telling me, no, begging me to stay.'
Alec leaned closer to Theo, flashing his razor sharp teeth.
"Oh, shut up boy!"