Maximus stood before a massive door, adorned with ancient, glowing symbols that shimmered in the darkness bathing the corridor.
The atmosphere was heavy with a silent gravity as a window appeared before his eyes.
[Every being's story must have a beginning. The self marks its foundations. After freeing oneself from the chains that hinder progress, one must demonstrate their perspective.]
[To create a story, one must first determine its nature. Thus, to understand the path of one's being, one must traverse the world. Prove your understanding of the world.]
Maximus took a deep breath and stepped through the door.
He immediately found himself in a disorienting world, a landscape where light and darkness clashed tumultuously.
[To understand the world, you must enter Eclipsaris. This world, which has failed evolution, has lost its right to Record.]
[ On this land, a chaotic reflection of reality, where darkness has dominated light, attest to your presence through your understanding.]
[Each of your actions affects your story.]
The ground beneath his feet seemed to shift, undulating like a turbulent sea, while shards of light pierced the moving shadows, creating an incessant dance between clarity and obscurity.
At first glance, it was a chaos without end. Colors swirled in a vortex of changing hues, and the shapes of the landscape were distorted, shifting unpredictably.
Maximus noticed that creatures of darkness, barely discernible in the shadows, emerged sporadically, their eerie silhouettes challenging the fleeting bursts of light.
As he walked, he muttered to himself, "This world is completely different from what I've known. The darkness seems to engulf the entire environment. There isn't even a sun. If it weren't for the faint lights still present, I wouldn't be able to see anything."
Without clear landmarks, he ventured into the world, trying to familiarize himself with his surroundings.
The shadows, though intimidating, were somewhat familiar. He observed that, at times, the bursts of light revealed hidden paths in the darkness, narrow passages between shifting walls, and dark routes turning into illuminated avenues.
These lights were peculiar. They seemed animated as if trying to show him something.
He proceeded cautiously through this fluid reality, observing how the light and shadows interacted.
He tried to understand the elements of the world, but despite the clues for this trial, the only thing he understood was that he had to grasp this world.
His efforts, however, proved futile. The complexity of the world seemed to increase with every attempt at understanding.
The landscapes changed abruptly, altering the appearance and arrangement of elements, making navigation even more challenging.
He often felt lost, entangled in a tangle of shifting shadows and fleeting lights. His sense of time had vanished, his sense of direction was useless. His senses were also inadequate.
The only thing he could do was deepen his observation of the duality of light and darkness, though weak.
What troubled him even more was what lay hidden in the distance.
Nightmarish creatures, ghostly figures twisted from pure darkness, emerged from the shadows.
They lay in wait, searching for any sign of light. Maximus had to not only hide and move cautiously but also contend with the growing complexity of the landscape.
His light movements, which had sometimes pushed back the darkness and shadow creatures, were no longer as effective as the darkness seemed to strengthen.
He began to understand that the shadows had their own intelligence, reacting unpredictably to attempts at manipulation. The bursts of light did not always behave as expected, and stabilizing the terrain was a constant challenge.
The walls of light deformed, retracting and expanding capriciously, and the paths often became impassable as shadows invaded them.
Several times, Maximus found himself in desperate situations, trying to grasp at the lights that seemed ephemeral.
He attempted to manipulate them while concentrating more on observing them to find a viable solution to prevent the shadows from encircling him and the paths of light from disappearing.
He was put to the test, and every lapse in concentration had immediate consequences. The passages he thought he had stabilized closed abruptly, and the openings he had created were lost in darkness.
The lights guiding his steps seemed to flicker, and the shadows appeared to reform in chaotic responses to his actions.
Maximus's frustration grew as he struggled to maintain his efforts; the manipulation of the elements was being tested in a world that was becoming increasingly difficult to control.
Yet, he persisted, searching for clues in the chaos. He began to note patterns in the movements of the shadows and bursts of light, trying to discern an underlying logic in what seemed like an endless swirl of confusion.
He learned to control the balance between light and darkness, which seemed to align more harmoniously.
The chaotic world continued to evolve around him, with cycles of light and darkness changing unpredictably.
Maximus began to understand that the events were not entirely random but followed subtle patterns.
Using these observations, he attempted to overwhelm the darkness in a constant effort, though he was constrained by the dim power of the light.
The process of understanding this world demanded a lot of time and effort, and the light of this world seemed to wane with each of their manipulations.
He needed to quickly find another source, which also seemed to be diminishing.
He thought, "This world, despite its darkness, has light. But this light seems to be depleting with each of my attempts. I've understood the behavior and the duality between these two elements, but it's not enough."
He cursed as the darkness advanced, "Damn it, if it's like this, I'll get swallowed by these creatures. But where would I find light, and even if I found a source, what am I supposed to do with it?"
He didn't seem to notice that the path he had taken led him back to the source of darkness until he paid attention.
But it was more than that. There was a figure with a sword still in its hands, resembling a corpse. It would be difficult to discern if it weren't for the weak particles of light emanating from this person.
Maximus thought, observing this strange sight, "It's as if this world is trying to show me something."
That was indeed the case, but it was much more. Each person noticed something different depending on their perspective. Nothing could be drawn subjectively.
While he observed a light struggling against the darkness, others would see the darkness dominating this person, while some would view this scene as the death of the individual. It reflected a person's state of mind.
Maximus, unlike others, was striving to see much more, to go further, because he didn't want to believe that this was all.
He understood that the source of light had to be the person, their being, which was supposed to nourish him, but what good was that if he didn't understand how to use it?
It was all well and good, this portrayal of the battle between light and darkness, but that was all.
He seemed to understand something about the behavior of light that seemed to guide his path, but it was doing much more. It wasn't just pushing back the shadows; it wasn't just illuminating this world. It guided his being in every action.
Maximus looked even more closely at the ephemeral sword, which was a replica of the warrior's sword, following the winding trails left by the light particles.
He understood that it guided the sword, not the actions of a being fighting against the world.
No... It was much more...
It seemed to guide the warrior's thoughts.
Maximus searched further by broadening his perspective. This landscape, which seemed to seek to make something clear in this world, was changing.
The warrior fighting the world of darkness used this light to affect the environment.
No... it was much more...
Maximus was confused and perplexed. He couldn't find what was missing.
As the warrior's battle continued in a chilling silence, he muttered, "A warrior wrapped in light fighting a world of darkness, it's symbolic, but what does it mean..."
He thought, "What if this battle was much more symbolic than a mere duality of elements, and if darkness was a force..."
He continued, "An absolute force, almost impossible to fight."
Maximus observed the effects of the light particles more closely. "Is this light the key?"
The scene changed to reveal a broader environment where the same battle was taking place, but where metaphysical elements resembling threads, which were not normally visible, were now observable. At a glance, one could understand that they represented probabilities, chance, or even luck.
Suddenly, light particles approached and altered their positions. This had an impact on the battle, where the warrior seemed to gain an advantage as if the environment was assisting him by offering opportunities.
The trial seemed never-ending. Days and nights intertwined, and each moment was filled with challenges and discoveries.
Maximus gradually realized that the key to success was to accept chaos as an integral part of order and to learn to use this understanding to shape the world according to his will.
Shadows and lights were not just obstacles but also means to rewrite the world around him.
At the very end, where the warrior seemed on the verge of victory, Maximus muttered, "The power to change a desperate situation into an advantageous one. The power to reverse chances by using light to create hope amidst chaos."
Suddenly, the world of Eclipsaris blazed with a thousand lights. The warrior, amidst the dark lands of this world, ascended to the sky to become a star banishing the evil of this world.
Maximus, shouting into the blinding light, could not help but close his eyes. And when he opened them, he found himself in the room for the second trial, still under the apprehension of the spectacle.
Suddenly, a luminous message appeared before him, announcing the end of the trial:
[In the world of Eclipsaris, where darkness engulfed the light, you revealed yourself as a source of hope]
[Through your efforts, you have demonstrated your profound understanding of your nature. You are the one who, using your source, transformed chaos into opportunity.]
[The reversibility of light and darkness was revealed through your actions. By shaping your environment and uncovering the hidden order in disorder, you have proven your ability to influence and comprehend the world.]
[You are the one who uses the Aurora's Reversal.]
[End of the 2nd Trial]
Maximus looked around with a sense of relief. This trial had been unique and strange to him but no less stressful.
It tested him on things he had never understood and still had not grasped fully, including his own 'history.' Yet, despite everything, his life was still hanging by a thread, and his efforts were crucial.
He sat on the floor to relieve the pressure and alleviate the mental fatigue he had accumulated.
After about fifteen minutes, feeling sufficiently rested, he moved toward the third grand door, which seemed to invite him to open it.