3rd POV:
The wind was blowing in Samael's face as he trained in the courtyard. It had been 2 months since he, Augustus, and Eleutherios arrived through the portal. The two boys wore the gold embroidered robes, signifying that they are core members of the family, or similar status. The reaction of the elders when they had suddenly appeared in the courtyard had been a welcoming one. They had felt the unique aura of Sarah's power when they appeared. That, along with the explanation they had been told to give, cleared up any confusion regarding who they were. Though they still hadn't learned of Sarah's true influence in the clan, nor who her husband was, it became clear immediately that she was among the most influential in the clan. What they did learn was that the clan is called the Voidstar Clan, and is the ruling force of the Voidstar Dimensional Cluster, a region of 362 Dimensions in the surrounding area of the Voidstar Dimension. In the first few days, the trio had explored the large clan grounds. It was a massive complex covering hundreds of thousands of square miles. The buildings were distinctly made of the same bamboo-like material as the walls, decorated by large windows and beautiful runic engravings. The living quarters towered over the rest of the main training area, by far the tallest buildings. It was abundantly clear that they were made to house thousands of youths, and the building's size reflected that.
Over time, they had come to realize just how powerful they were compared to others on their level of cultivation. They had sparred with all five of the other gold embroidered robed youths, who were between the second and 4th stages of the Chaos Acceptance Realm and Chaos Soul Realm. As it turned out, they cultivated both Energy Cultivation and Soul Cultivation, thus honing both their Chaos Energy and Soul Essence. Even so, both Augustus and Samael had overwhelmed them in combat, both in a one-on-one and in a two against five. Not even the youth at the 4th stage could hold a candle against them, and he was considered one of the strongest in their generation. In these two months, Augustus had caught up to Samael and Eleutherios, reaching the 15th stage of his body refinement. Though still not quite as strong as Samael, his control over Chaos Energy and Soul Essence was leagues superior to the five youths they had fought.
At that time, the voice of one of the Elders, Elder Jonathan Voidstar, rang out over the entire complex. His voice reached everywhere, even the furthest sections over one hundred miles away, carried by his Chaos Energy and Soul Essence. "All youths under the age of seventeen, come to the main courtyard. The selection for the Aurora Pocket Realm event will begin in exactly one hour. "Come on, Mael. Let's go to the courtyard." "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming, Aug." The two boys make their way over to the main courtyard, the same one they had arrived at when they were teleported here. Five minutes later, the courtyard is packed with over two thousand youths, all between the ages of fifteen and seventeen. "As most of you know, the Aurora Pocket Realm is a small dimensional pocket opening once every one hundred and fifty years. It is now time to select the three hundred youths with the most potential to enter the pocket realm and explore it. The selection will consist of three separate trials. The first will be a trial of the body, the second, a trial of will, and the third will be a trial of combat. Prepare yourself, the first trial begins in 5 minutes."
"Let the first trial… begin!" The pressure of the elders' aura crashed down on the youths like a tidal wave. Within thirty seconds, over four hundred youths, of all ages, had fallen to their knees, unable to withstand the brutal pressure. Time slowed to a crawl for the boys as the pressure slowly ramped up. The goal of the first trial was to last as long as possible under the elders' aura, and the trial would only end once there were one thousand youths remaining. Minutes passed. More and more youths fell to their knees, getting taken away by one of the other elders, and brought outside the reach of the elders' pressure. The pressure was heavy, even on Samael and Augustus. Despite their powerful bodies, far stronger than their peers, they were struggling. They were as strong as the strongest of the native youths, even when their cultivation was lower. Minute after minute, pressure grew stronger, but the end was in sight. There were only one thousand one hundred youths left standing. Another few minutes passed, and the aura was now equivalent to the full power of someone at the 5th stage of Chaos Acceptance and Chaos Soul Realms combined. Even so, they all stood firm. Their bodies were shaking from the strain, but both Samael and Augustus refused to give up. The opportunity was simply too great to give up on. Another five minutes passed, and the pressure disappeared. All the remaining youths fell to the floor, covered in sweat. They had cleared the first trial.
"The second trial, the trial of will, shall start immediately. Arrange yourself in rows and sit in a lotus position. In this second trial, you will be put in an illusion by one of our elders, Elder Hana, who specializes in illusions. Your objective is to break free of the illusion as fast as possible. Only the six hundred fastest will proceed to the final trial. We will hold the trial for one hundred youths at a time; the rest of you can cultivate to regain your strength for the third trial. "It's incredible, isn't it? Their power dwarfs us like comparing a candle to a star." "I wonder what their true cultivation is, Aug? They have to be at least Tier 12, right? Their power seems so much more overwhelming compared to the Matriarch of the Soulborn House." "Yeah… I can hardly wait to reach those heights myself. Soaring across the stars completely unrestricted must be amazing, Mael." Time passed quickly, and soon the first youths began emerging from their illusions. It had taken them three hours to break free. A disappointed look filled the Elders' faces as they looked at the first group. It was clear that they weren't happy with the results, though what exactly caused them to be disappointed remained unclear. More time passed, and the second group began their trial. The fastest of this group were out in less than an hour, a massive improvement compared to group one. Group after group, the trial continued. Soon, it became group seven's turn, the group of Samael and Augustus. The two boys stopped their breathing techniques, and a focused look came over their faces. The time for their second trial had come.