Ascension: Rebirth in a World of Powers-Chapter 37 - : The Trial of Ascension

Eren's breath came in shallow gasps as he took in the infinite void surrounding him. Stars shimmered in the distance, their light distant and cold. The ground beneath his feet was a strange, shifting plane of dark energy, solid yet intangible. It was as if he stood on the very fabric of existence itself.

Veydris stood before him, unshaken. The Harbinger's dark armor seemed to absorb the surrounding light, making him appear more like a shadow given form than a being of flesh and blood.

"Your world has clung to stagnation for far too long," Veydris intoned. "It is time to determine whether you are worthy of the next step."

Eren clenched his fists. "And what if I don't care about your 'next step'?"

Veydris tilted his head slightly. "Then you will perish. Just as countless others before you."

The Harbinger raised his hand, and the stars around them trembled. The void itself seemed to ripple, and suddenly, Eren felt an overwhelming pressure pressing down on him. His knees buckled, and he barely managed to keep himself from collapsing.

It was like gravity had increased a hundredfold, yet Veydris stood unaffected.

"This is merely the beginning," Veydris said. "You seek power, yet you do not understand its cost. Let me enlighten you."

With a wave of his hand, the space around them shifted. The void melted away, replaced by an unfamiliar battlefield. Towering ruins stretched in every direction, remnants of a civilization long lost. The air crackled with energy, and above them, the sky was split by massive rifts, similar to the one Eren had just sealed.

And all around him—bodies.

Thousands of warriors, clad in armor from countless different cultures and time periods, lay motionless. Their weapons were scattered across the battlefield, their final expressions frozen in horror and despair.

Eren's stomach churned. "What... what is this?"

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Veydris stepped past him, gazing at the destruction with something akin to nostalgia. "This is the fate of those who failed the Trial of Ascension. Countless civilizations, each believing themselves powerful, fell before the might of what lay beyond."

Eren's fingers curled into fists. "You did this?"

Veydris shook his head. "No. I merely oversaw the trials. They failed on their own."

Eren's heartbeat pounded in his ears. He had seen destruction before, but this—this was something else. Entire civilizations wiped out, their warriors unable to overcome whatever challenge Veydris had presented them.

He refused to let that be his fate.

"I'm not going to end up like them," Eren said, his voice firm.

Veydris turned, his masked face unreadable. "Then prove it."

A surge of energy erupted from the Harbinger's form, and suddenly, the battlefield shifted again. The bodies vanished, replaced by shadows that took humanoid shapes. Dozens of figures formed around Eren, each crackling with dark energy. Their eyes glowed with an eerie red light.

Veydris extended a hand. "Defeat them, or be consumed by the void."

The shadow warriors rushed forward.

Eren barely had time to react. He drew on the Shard's power instinctively, channeling its energy into his limbs. His body felt lighter, faster. He sidestepped the first attacker, striking it with an energy-infused punch. The shadow warrior exploded into dark mist—but three more took its place.

They were relentless.

Eren dodged, weaving through their attacks as best as he could. Each strike he landed dissipated one shadow, but for every one he destroyed, another two emerged.

He was being overwhelmed.

Veydris watched in silence.

Eren grit his teeth. If brute force wasn't enough, he needed to change his strategy. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, focusing on the connection he had with the Shard.

The crystal pulsed in response.

A sudden understanding filled him.

Instead of merely using the Shard's power for raw strength, he needed to control it. Shape it.

When the next wave of shadows lunged, Eren moved differently. He didn't just strike—he manipulated the energy around him. He extended his will outward, wrapping his power around the shadows instead of fighting them head-on.

And in an instant, they froze.

The battlefield fell silent.

The dark mist that formed the shadow warriors began to dissolve, unraveling at Eren's command. Within seconds, they had completely vanished.

Eren exhaled, his body trembling from the exertion. He turned back to Veydris.

The Harbinger regarded him with quiet interest. "Better. But you are not finished yet."

Eren barely had time to react before the world around him shifted again.

The battlefield faded away, replaced by a vast, endless sky. Eren found himself standing on thin air, weightless. The stars above seemed to stretch forever, and below him was nothing but an abyss.

And then—

A massive form emerged from the darkness.

A monstrous entity, its body made of swirling black and violet energy, rose from the void. Its multiple glowing eyes locked onto Eren, and an earth-shaking growl echoed through the emptiness.

Eren's blood ran cold.

Veydris raised a hand toward the creature. "This is the true test. The Harbinger's Beast. If you wish to ascend, you must conquer it."

The beast let out a deafening roar, its presence suffocating.

Eren steadied himself, preparing for the fight of his life.