"A trial…?"
William nodded confidently, as though he had known what was happening from the beginning but simply hadn't bothered to explain. "That's right. What we're witnessing is nothing more than a trial. It isn't as you said, Hugo. He's fighting for the position itself. All of this is happening so that he can be stopped by the Will of Heaven… and the will of the immortals themselves."
He lowered his voice as he added "The Lord of Fate himself went through the same trial… and succeeded. Lord Edminiel was the one who tormented him back then. Afterward, there was no grudge between them."
William looked toward the blazing follower and slowly exhaled, as though reassuring himself more than anyone else.
"So… once this chaos ends, everything will disappear as though it never happened."
"Why didn't you tell us?!" Henry demanded.
His eyes gleamed with a strange madness, as though the anger inside him were slowly eating away at his reason.
William immediately protested loudly. "You didn't even ask!"
But Hugo cut him off with a sharp shout. "Calm down! We need to leave immediately! That man… the other one… who suddenly appeared is even crazier than you think. Even the sky has started raining weapons! What the hell did I do to deserve all this?! That damned woman is the reason! She cursed me!"
"Which Lord are you talking about?" William quickly asked.
Hugo fell silent for a moment, thinking.
"It must be Fiona! Or maybe Arabella… Damn them both. I'm just a human!"
Amid the chaos, Kayden suddenly realized something.
His eyes widened as he joined the conversation.
"He's… not attacking us! He's only attacking his other opponent! Maybe he thinks we're nothing but ants!"
Then, without warning, Kayden slapped Henry hard on the back and shouted:
"RUNNING… RUNNING IS THE ULTIMATE FORM OF COURAGE!"
The two of them took off together.
Their bodies dodged falling rocks as the ground trembled beneath their feet.
Even Hugo, who normally moved slowly or took pride in his movements, was the fastest among them this time, running as though a demon were chasing him.
Behind them, William shouted while gasping for breath, almost choking from a mixture of laughter and tension.
"Damn it! I want to see who wins! Damn that cursed Lord of Fate, he's strong! You people… don't you have hearts?! How can you leave me behind?!"
William ran with every ounce of strength he had left until he caught up with the twins, clinging to survival more desperately than his curiosity.
As for Isildar, he lagged slightly behind, desperately trying to protect them from the shards and stones raining down like deadly rain.
Between ragged breaths and the trembling earth, Henry shouted in broken gasps:
"How… is this perfect?! We're not like you! We can't run this fast… We need to preserve our strength for longer!"
But Kayden turned toward him, his eyes wide with terror.
"Henry, don't talk! Just save your energy… Don't look back… Don't let anyone touch you… They're insane!"
His voice trembled, but his feet never stopped moving.
Running had become their only compass toward survival beneath a sky raining stones and knives.
"There isn't much time left… Get ready!" Hugo shouted.
His voice rose above the thunder of falling rocks as he quickly gathered his strength, as though afraid death might overtake him.
At that moment, a man suddenly fell in front of them without warning, like a corpse thrown from the sky.
They stopped for a moment, their gazes frozen upon him.
Then they all turned away.
None of them had the strength to confront a follower of another immortal…
And even worse would be provoking the immortal himself.
The most terrifying part was that the appearance of the Fate Followers was already a nightmare made real.
Something illogical.
Something beyond argument.
Their mere approach meant a tragic end.
Even Hugo himself, a follower of Ron Feng, trembled inwardly.
He felt as though he were being dragged into a chaos he would never escape alive.
"Form a circle! Quickly!"
Hugo ordered them in a firm voice.
He stretched out his hands and forced them to link together.
Within seconds, everyone closed their eyes.
A harsh light pierced through their eyelids, like a flash of lightning.
When they finally dared to open them, they found themselves inside a completely dark space.
A black world containing nothing but darkness.
"What… is happening?" Henry asked in a trembling voice as he stared into the void.
He tightened his grip around his brother's hand as though it were the last rope keeping him anchored in that emptiness.
Yet Hugo's hand felt colder than usual.
Almost inhuman.
"Did lightning strike us?" Isildar muttered in astonishment.
Strangely, William was the calmest among them.
He watched with a faint smile.
"The lightning struck Hugo specifically… That immortal sensed his powers."
He paused before adding:
"That makes me wonder… Hugo, are you actually powerful, or are you simply insane?"
William stepped closer and released his spiritual powers around Hugo's body.
"Don't let go of his hand… When he opens his eyes, he might be able to transport all of us… maybe."
Thanks to that, Hugo gradually regained consciousness.
He opened his eyes, staggering as dizziness overwhelmed him.
"Damn that immortal… Who strikes people with lightning like that?!"
He paused before taking a deep breath.
"The lightning didn't hit me directly… You saved me, William. You really are rare."
He then began reorganizing the flow of his spiritual power.
Gradually, the dark space began to illuminate.
Hidden walls emerged, as though the world itself were being constructed solely for him.
Kayden couldn't contain his curiosity.
"What is this place? I want to explore it!"
Hugo shook his head seriously.
"I'll bring you here one day… but not now. Exploring this place consumes more than I can afford. We need to leave."
They closed their eyes once more.
And when they opened them again, they found themselves inside a quiet guest room, completely removed from the chaos they had left behind.
Hugo sat comfortably on the sofa while the others collapsed into sleep almost instinctively, their bodies exhausted to the bone.
Yet William remained awake, his eyes gleaming with curiosity, while Isildar fought against sleep for a little longer before eventually giving in.
Neither of them had consumed much spiritual power, but their minds were weighed down.
Isildar kept seeing Hazel's holes repeating before his eyes, followed by the image of William in his role as the King of Drama, then the memories of the trial… one image after another haunting him.
He felt as though his very existence was under threat of extinction.
Isildar had always believed that he was born unique, someone who could never be replaced. He had even been willing to blame others whenever something happened to him.
But seeing William turn everything into exaggerated drama made him reject the idea entirely.
He did not want to become another version of that madness. He did not want to blame others the way William did.
He certainly did not want to become a clown.
Kayden slowly opened his eyes.
The clock pointed to nine in the morning.
The first thing he felt was a strange heaviness, as though his body no longer belonged to him. He looked down at his green shirt and remembered where he was now…
Then, all at once, everything came rushing back into his memory.
The lightning.
The darkness.
The Immortality Trial.
Kayden stumbled to his feet and left the guest room. He found Henry already dressed again, sitting with Colton and talking in an oddly calm manner.
Kayden hurried toward them, his voice urgent.
"I want to go home… Where are my clothes?"
Colton slowly raised his eyes toward him, a faint smile appearing on his lips.
"You certainly had quite the adventure."
Kayden, who failed to understand his tone, suddenly felt that there was a hint of concealed jealousy in Colton's words.
He shook his head nervously.
"We even saw part of the Immortality Trial…"
Colton nodded calmly before asking without hesitation,
"And… the holes?"
Kayden froze for several seconds, his eyes narrowing at him in sharp accusation.
"You… were watching me."
Colton simply shook his head, as though stating an obvious fact that required no explanation.
"I see everything."
He then pulled out a small bag containing Kayden's clothes and handed it to him without another word.
Kayden grabbed the bag and ran outside. It wasn't long before he returned, dressed in his usual clothes.
While they were drinking coffee, Isildar wandered around with Ayrton, quietly discussing the events of the previous night.
When he spotted the twins from a distance, he said casually,
"This isn't fun anymore… How did your clothes even come back?"
Colton merely stared at his cup and ignored the comment, as though the question wasn't worth answering.
After all, he was the one who had stolen the bag and carefully rearranged everything inside it.
Kayden lifted his cup and took a small sip. The moment he tried to place it back on the table—
The cup suddenly exploded.
Kayden gasped and quickly pulled his hand away.
"Oh my God…" he whispered unconsciously.
Unexpectedly, Isildar calmly pushed the broken glass away.
"Bad luck… But don't cling to those superstitions. Perhaps the cup was simply defective."
Yet Isildar's reassurance failed to reach Kayden.
He looked toward Ayrton, sensing a heavy shadow surrounding him.
He didn't understand why, but he had the distinct feeling that some kind of misfortune was lurking around him…
Or perhaps a curse had begun to follow him.
One in the afternoon.
On their way home, Kayden was trying to convince Colton that being afraid of holes wasn't a flaw, but simply a perfectly natural and disgusting reaction.
Colton merely shrugged.
"It's natural for you. I'm not afraid of them. That's all there is to it."
Kayden stopped, feeling insulted. He crossed his arms stubbornly.
"You don't understand… and you never will. You're an ignorant demon who needs to be educated!"
But Colton wasn't affected in the slightest. Instead, he gave him a cold smile.
"You certainly teach me a lot… but teaching me about fear isn't going to change anything."
Kayden found himself with no desire to continue the conversation, so he fell silent.
Colton continued,
"I helped Lady Isabelle with her training. Adele as well, but she left for the Council in the evening. As for your father, he went to the harbor. I suppose he's giving your mother more time to prepare for that battle.
"Anyway, I've been asked to participate in all the upcoming sessions."
Henry nudged Kayden sarcastically.
"Look at him… His life is full of delightful events. Nothing like ours."
When they arrived at the Bryce family home, the three of them hurriedly picked up the latest newspaper.
Colton opened it to the front page, and the moment his eyes landed on an article, his eyebrow rose in surprise.
"Look… This is about your brother George."
He continued reading slowly, as though every word weighed heavily on his tongue.
"It says here that George Bryce officially submitted a request to purchase all the land in the third-level slums. But Councilman Silas strongly rejected the proposal, declaring that the Bryce family's intentions were nothing more than an attempt to spread corruption, and that these people would eventually be turned into slaves."
Colton hesitated for a moment before turning the page and continuing.
"The article says that George expressed his desire to help the poor and emphasized that they deserved a better life… but his proposal was rejected by three members of Parliament, with Mr. Silas being the first to publicly oppose it."
He took a deep breath, then raised his eyes toward Henry and Kayden as he read the final line.
"After the session, Mr. Silas spoke to reporters and expressed grave concern, stating that he feared these people might be turned into weapons in the hands of others.
"He went even further, claiming that the Bryce family's own household was filled with unnatural activities, enough to raise generations of deviants, and that merely considering such a possibility could create even greater danger."
Colton closed the newspaper and gripped it tightly, bitterness evident in his voice.
"He's attacking George viciously… but George didn't say anything wrong. Why all this opposition?"
Kayden slowly shook his head, bitterness creeping into his voice.
"That man must own all those lands himself. That's why he rejected the proposal so fiercely, then smeared my brother's reputation to make his actions seem justified.
"Everything comes back to the same thing. That man… he's a huge snake. He knows exactly how to play politics."
Kayden walked away from them with heavy steps.
Just then, a strange man stopped him and handed him a letter.
Kayden examined the envelope.
There was no name.
No seal Nothing.
He slowly opened it, but did not read the letter.
As he approached the front door of the house, he noticed that it wasn't locked.
A sudden sense of unease seized him.
He glanced behind him and saw that Henry was still discussing the newspaper with Colton, both of them absorbed in its words and their argument.
Kayden took a deep breath, pushed the door open with his hand, and stepped inside.
The scene before him froze him in place.
Three men were standing there.
One of them was watching him steadily, while the other two stood behind him.
His mother…
And Mary…Both were sitting there, their faces pale and their eyes unusually tense.