The trials (END)

What was so impressive about Bamboo's breakthrough anyway, you ask? While most individuals in the universe had goals and ideas powering and propelling them to continue going and moving forward, this was always seen as some kind of clutch in the cosmos as it meant that one wasn't powerful enough to be their motivation.

While it might sound like vanity, one needed to have sufficient strength to motivate them to keep going even when they had met all conditions. This was because, while having external motivation as a mortal or a weakling was good for motivation, truly powerful beings had no opponent, and hence there was barely any need to keep going.

Even now, Dane himself had not found such perfect clarity to be able to keep himself going. For a while, he thought he was impressive and had no need, but now, a different ingrained need burned deep within, a need for vengeance and a chance to fight for and reclaim all he had lost.

The question was, for an immortal, after he had seen it through, after his need was met, then what? Would he keep growing, or stall as so many had. It was always a bad place to be, to be content with what one had.

Bamboo had escaped that right from the start, he was his motivation, and he would be his reason for digging deep and pulling out miracle after miracle. Such a mentality also bred a stronger soul, as relying on oneself for even this made the soul mature more and break away from the yokes imposed by mortality more easily.

Remember, just because one had awakened an ability did not automatically mean that they were immortals, some various levels and ranks had been established in the universe. He needed to be careful while choosing a training path.

The paths of the immortal, or better known in the cosmos as training paths, were established ways in which one could grow and consolidate their power. These were like set down curricula for those gifted in the universe to follow and train.

The more powerful a path one took, the stronger they stood to rise. Though this statement was true, a peerless genius with a trash path could outdo even the top paths if they set their mind to it, though this required effort and a lot of strain. Paths were just tools, and one chose the best for the job or the one available for them.

Usually, a path wasn't just chosen on a whim. Like the power, it all depended on the first ability. This served as a foundation for the individuals' power, and unless a major event happens in their life, the individual remained in that ability, often using it to power up domains, once they were powerful enough to have domains.

Broadly speaking, abilities came in different forms. The most common and prevalent way was awakening an affinity to an element. Others, due to hard work and persistence, awakened special skills related to their work, leading to gifted smiths, cooks, and other crafts. Of course, to achieve this you must have had a resonance with the craft in question.

Dane's ability was that he had a high affinity to the space element. It was always a point of wonder, that of all the ways the space element affinity could have chosen to manifest, it went for the most grand and highly sort after power ability, creating spatial dimensions.

It can be said that almost everyone with some kind of affinity towards the space element would strive to learn this skill, and the other closely related to what Maple experienced in her breakthrough, to teleport.

Having a direct affinity to an element was one thing, but soon after breakthrough, or awakening, one had to go through a period of intense training to even begin to have some bit of proficiency, but all this will be explained during the training period. Suffice it to say that awakening an ability was just the first step in a long journey, and not a destination in itself, as most mortals usually treated it.

This was also another thing, awakening an ability didn't necessarily mean one was immortal, as they too could suffer death. Not even Dane could be said to be truly immortal, as even he could be killed. However, if immortality was taken to mean not having a definite lifespan, then Dane could be considered to be one. As one rose in power, their lifespan continued to expand, rejuvenating them to be like their youthful selves. Past a certain point, age becomes meaningless, as Dane couldn't even tell how old he was, and also, which life one was referring to.

This was also partly true that though they were using universal calendar years, sometimes in one's travel, training or hibernation, one would completely lose track of time, and the ones that they knew, mostly the mortals, would have long died and probably reincarnated, meaning they were now different personalities, but at least, not lost completely. Of course, if they had succeeded in increasing their strength, maybe they would get a chance to meet again, but that entirely depended on the individual left behind and their capabilities.

In some cases, Dane had left behind powerful lineages, and some had risen to the point to gain recognition, but at the time of his exile, he didn't know this. Though he knew he had left behind many followers and disciples, many of whom were powerful enough that they were still alive, he didn't expect that some of the wives he had acquired along the way, and even lived happy mortal lives with before they died, had left him powerful descendants who were loyal to his legacy.

When he saw beautiful women who had power and charisma, his type of course as an alpha male, he would adopt a mortal life. One such beauty, whom he so aptly named Emerald, because of her emerald green eyes, had captivated him while he was on training holiday. He had two centuries off before he embarked on hard training, and it was during his walk in a mortal world that he came across her.

There are several kinds of worlds, and they were named for the kind of power they gave off. There were worlds where there was no magic at all, little to no mana. In such worlds, mortals were adept with technology and refused to believe in the existence of magic. It was in such a world he had met this beauty and enticed her.

She was a passionate woman, and her love for the people that trusted her moved her the most. He had raised an army, and upon meeting her, he had offered her his armies and his power to seduce her, and while she had been hesitant at first, she, later on, gave in to love. Given that he was in a mortal world, he could only display too much strength, and he hadn't raised quite a big army to take down an evil empire that had been oppressing the people in her world.

All he had at that point was charisma, and a name that had span across the empire as he and his band had been in guerrilla warfare, sneak attacking and then disappearing. They have wanted fugitives, not many, but each as fierce as a ferocious beast. On her side, she was a passionate activist who spoke out against the evils in the society, the mistreatment of the empire, and the adversities within.

While he was a fugitive and an outlaw, she was in the spotlight as she was not so simple. She was a daughter of the then puppet king of the empire in their kingdom, and while the man himself had several wives and didn't know all his children so well, it brought shame to have his child speak out against his benefactor. As such, she was a renown figure and quite influential among the masses.

On the day they met, she had been captured and imprisoned. Given her special status as a princess, she could only be placed in the most decent cells in the dungeon, which was a female senior guard giving up her quarters. The most ruthless gang had been spotted around the area, and hence the guards were on high alert.

Yet no matter what they tried, Dane and his gang, whom he had trained personally, were able to penetrate their defenses and capture the princess. To her shock, they didn't try to harm her and instead offered themselves as her soldiers.

All her life, she had abhorred criminals, so she was in a tight spot. For one, having a bunch of warriors to serve as her guerrillas was not a bad thing, but on the other hand, she didn't want to be dubbed a fugitive and an outlaw. The leader of the gang had offered to work for her in secret, working behind the shadows and affecting her agenda with swift and merciless precision.

It was one such mission that had exposed her as the one calling the shots in the Wolves gang, as they were called. Dane had adopted the symbol of Frost wolf, a monster prevalent in the area. They were feared for their ferociousness, and after all, wasn't that what he was going for.

In a twist of events, she had publicly acknowledged that yes, she was indeed their leader, and pronounced a taking up of arms under the sigil of the frost wolf, with Dane, who was known then as Kendar, as their commander. With her to handle the politics, Kendar had led his army from victory to victory, growing in size.

Due to the oppressive nature of the empire, many joined his ranks and took up arms, resulting in a revolt that overthrew her father as king and placed Emerald as queen. She'd been born princess Peronell, but since the love of her life and the man whom she knew was the source of her power named her Emerald, she took that as her moniker and became Queen Emerald. To fully convince her, Dane, had to use some mind control.

Still, it worked out well since with a change of name came to change of status, she was no longer a local princess, but one qualified to challenge the empire. Many more people joined the ranks from other kingdoms, which led to a showdown, a major battle to decide the fate of an empire.

Kendar, in fear of dying in the upcoming battle, convinced his beautiful queen to marry him, a major event that spurred the blood of everyone in the army, as both of them were deeply respected in the kingdoms. This led to a beautiful time as Kendar knew he'd die in battle the next day. His whole purpose had been to destroy that empire, as the pioneer king had been a rival before he went to training, and coming back to find he'd started a kingdom, which grew to become an empire, irked him to no end.

To his joy, the empire was mismanaged, and it was in shambles. To please the nobles and the powerful people who trade and influenced kept the empire from tumbling down, the emperor at the time had taken to appeasing them and ignoring the pleas of the people. A foolish move, but one that allowed a dangerous enemy to work towards his revenge.

While he was battling, the moment he had planned came. He had won a major victory, and to solidify his position, he needed to die a martyr, so he had planned to set into course a series of events that would lead to his death after crushing the empire. Which his queen having a bun in the oven, his lineage was secure.

However, at the point of death, he decided against it, he simulated fighting bravely and overcoming what seemed to be impossible odds, and even when everyone thought he would die, including his queen, he lived! This was also his plan, if he didn't die, he would showcase so much power to have a similar effect, albeit slightly reduced, as if he'd died.

Alas, the woman was too good to leave, and he even ended up extending part of her life, until they lived almost a hundred years. At that point, he allowed her to die peacefully but transformed her body into Emerald. This was later ruled to be a myth by later generations, but he knew the truth.

What Dane didn't know was that since he had sired a child, his bloodlines and his power, talents, and affinities had been passed down and finally brought magic into that world, and what a grand world it had become. Yet this was a world that spoke of him as The ancestor, akin to a god. Many who would grow powerful enough would know the truth about his disappearance, and over time, they had set up an order to protect his legacy on the planet and ensure his position as king of the planet once he returned.

The person in question was currently in his draconian form carrying a lavel while his mind was on a vasil. In truth, Barcova didn't need the trial since he had awakened an ability, and all he needed to do was use it and he would be considered as having passed.

Still, no one told him that. He was afraid to show his power since he wondered what repercussions he would face for showing his ability to a monster whom he suspected was watching. He was right to be wary of course, a fact that Dane commended.

Everyone had their limits, and when Barcova was completely overwhelmed, he transformed to escape. He passed out, but not before seeing his doppelgangers dissipate into thin air, and with that, the trial was concluded.