Chapter 32: Trial Of Soul

(Chikyu Trivia: Chikyu once met Ms. Joke on one of her patrols when he was on a late night walk in the city. She's also one of the few heroes he likes, as she matches his criteria of staying true to themselves.)

-The next day-

I had done the same thing as yesterday: Have fun with my family until night fell. We did the same things as yesterday too, except for the movie.

I also took mental note of the changes that were present after I consumed the demon's mind. For starters, my mental processing speed was much faster. I also noticed that my perception of time was slightly better, even when I'm not fully concentrating on something. Everything was a little bit slower than normal as a result.

I also felt foreign, strange energies enter my body periodically, and I felt the strange feeling inside me grow. It didn't feel painful, instead, it felt calming, so I'm sure it's not anything dangerous or harmful to my body.

As everyone but me was asleep, I once again entered Mienai and went to Kindan. Over the course of our interactions, we were getting more acquainted with each other, talking more casually than we used to before. Not quite on the level of friends, but we were friendly with each other, and I trusted him enough to the point where I didn't have a hand out ready to crush him with his metal constraints at all times.

"Ah, greetings once again. I assume the Trial Of Mind went well?"

"Yeah. I actually want to talk to you about some of the things that have been happening since then, seeing as you were curious about it yourself before I went to go do it."

"Ah, excellent. What are the most prominent changes you can feel?"

"Well, for starters, my brain processes stuff way faster than before, and my perception of time is improved, which allows me to see everything a bit slower than it really is."

"Interesting. It seems the mental prowess of the Zyitkan demon has made itself a part of you after you consumed it. Anything else?"

"Yeah. I've been feeling foreign energies go into my body, and a weird feeling in me gets stronger each time it does. But it feels calming, not damaging."

"That would most likely be the magic that Zyitkan demons are infamous for in the Underworld. From what I know about them, they are able to manipulate this magic thanks to the properties granted to them by their unique soul, which shall be yours should you complete this last initiate trial."

"Well, you know what I'm gonna ask next."

"Indeed. Simply follow the trail as you have done the previous two times. I shall see you sometime soon"

-3rd POV-

Chikyu followed the trail provided by Kindan, which glowed in a neon white. He soon found the entrance to the last initiate trial.

He also saw another rune above it. It was the rune of Sowilo, a rune that represented many things, victory being one of them. This probably meant that it was intended to be the last initiate trial done.

Entering, the entrance behind him closed just like with all the previous trial entrances. As soon as the door closed, his vision was covered by a bright light, and when he opened his eyes once again, he was in a forest that had a neon purple glow to it.

(The forest)

Before he could start thinking, he heard a voice.

"Welcome, Earth Born, to your soul. For your last initiate trial, you will face a combination of the previous two trials that you have completed. Good luck."

After saying that, the voice disappeared.

While he was confused about the voice, he paid more mind to what they said about the combination. That meant he was going to face enemies that he could harm directly with only his physical strength as well as some that he had to kill through indirect means.

He decided that he was going to try and get rid of as many physical immune creatures as possible before they got to him. He took psychic hold of the ground around him for a range of 2 kilometers and waited.

Soon after, he heard loud, thundering steps approaching him. Not long after hearing it, he saw them.

A collection of what must have been 50 of the creatures he faced during both trials. 25 of the last creature he faced during the body trial, and 25 of the creatures he faced during the mind trial.

As the creatures entered his range, he set his trap into motion. The entire 2 kilometers of earth that he had psychic hold of turned into quicksand. The physical creatures simply jumped over it using their body's pure power, but the swift creatures were going too fast to stop their momentum and got caught in the quicksand.

And with that, what would have been the most difficult part of the trial had been taken care of. Now only the physical creatures were in his way.

When he first faced one of them, he had to use Bo-Bup to have a chance to beat them, as they were extremely quick. But now that his perception of time was better, they were three times slower than they used to be. Still quick, but now he could comfortably react to them without having to use Bo-Bup. Not only that, his physical ability is so much higher than it was then that he felt safe to try and experiment with some things.

As two of the creatures reached him in close range, he attempted to dodge their punches without using Bo-Bup and simply using his body. He succeeded, slipping and ducking their attacks with ease. This proved that his body was on the same level of reaction speed as his mind, which was good. He was worried that there would be an imbalance.

He slipped one of their punches once more and decided to counter, hitting the one he dodged with an uppercut to the ribs. He heard an audible crack, and the creature stumbled, holding its side.

"Perfect", he thought. His physical power had skyrocketed so much that he could afford to just use regular attacks instead of having to use his martial arts to try and trip them up to get free hits safely.

Of course, he was still going to use them. He just wanted to see if it was a necessity.

Content for now with his findings, he went on to destroy the rest of the creatures who stood in his way. He surprised himself when he killed 15 of the 25 creatures with a single Fist Of The Black Turtle. The last 10 were killed with another one. He saw no need to be fancy with it when he could just use one more simple move to end it.

As the last of the creatures died, a calming silence fell over the area. This silence allowed Chikyu some time to think to himself.

"So this is my soul. It's much more beautiful than I thought it would be. I feel calm here too."

Shortly after, he saw something that definitely wasn't there before. A completely grey plant with the exception of a bright pink flower. And lo and behold, another plaque near it. The only difference between this and the previous two trials was that his reward wasn't on a pedestal. Going to the plaque, he read it.

(The plant)

"He who has proven himself worthy in the Trial Of Soul has proven himself worthy of stepping onto the stairs leading to true godhood. Bask in the glory of your success over the last initiate trial and consume the demon's soul, cementing your start on this journey!"

-Chikyu POV-

This implies that this trial was definitely supposed to be taken last. So, this pretty flower is the soul of a Zyitkan demon? Today has proved to me that souls are more beautiful than I thought.

Taking the flower off of the plant and swallowing it, I once again underwent a change that I could feel. However, I didn't immediately notice anything different. Thinking little of it and assuring myself that I'd just check it out later, I went back to the surface and went to bed.

Trial of Soul, complete.

Initiate Trials, complete.

(Chikyu Trivia: Chikyu admires Izuku's habit of keeping notes on everyone he meets. He sees it as a clever strategy, and has started to do the same in secret.)