Mother's trial [6]

"I thought you gave up after you didn't appear for the last four days," Fenella said, her voice flat, her face devoid of expression as she stared at Ardyn.

There were no threads extending from her to him.

Because she had the same eyes as him—a special eyes that only those from the Haze bloodline possessed.

While these eyes allowed them to see the emotions of others, they couldn't see through someone who shared the same eyes.

Still…

I don't need my skill to read her emotions - Ardyn thought, his gaze locking onto her piercing purple eyes.

She was irritated — he could see it.

The subtle clench of her fist, the slight dilation of her pupils.

She wasn't as unreadable as she thought - at least to him.

"I wanted to face it only after I completely mastered my skills," he said, his tone gentle yet resolute.

"That's why I didn't come for the last four days, Mom."

Fenella's brows twitched slightly, and her hands clenched tighter behind her back.

"Ok," she said after exhaling a deep breath, her voice steady.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes," Ardyn replied confidently before tilting his head.

"But where is the Dreadspine, Mom?"

He assumed that she would take him into a low-level crack to face the Dreadspine.

But instead, they were still in his personal training room—a spacious area with pristine, bright white walls that reflected the light, making the room seem even larger.

Without saying a word, Fenella raised her right hand and snapped her fingers.

In an instant, the entire training room shifted.

***

The ground beneath Ardyn's feet transformed, becoming dry and cracked, the blackened soil splitting apart with dead roots sticking out like skeletal remains.

Tall trees began to rise all around him, their branches twisted and lifeless, stretching out in unnatural shapes.

Ardyn tilted his head upward, his gaze fixed on the sky.

The once bright room was now covered in a darker, oppressive atmosphere.

The sky above was a swirling mix of deep purple and black, resembling the fading shades of evening after the sun disappears.

But here, there were no stars, no moon, and no sun to provide light—just a dull, empty sky, stretching endlessly like the void.

"Was this Mother's domain?"

Ardyn muttered as he infused mana into his hands and struck the nearest tree with a powerful punch.

A large crack spread across the twisted trunk, shards of wood flying in every direction.

He stepped back, brushing the splinters off his hands.

Now he was certain.

"I'm not inside a crack," he said to himself, his tone certain.

"This is Mother's domain."

Fenella was an elemental with an illusion affinity, and she had reached the rank of Elemental Lord—a stage where one could develop their own domain.

Inside her domain, Fenella could create anything she desired with illusion alone.

But the problem was...

"This isn't a normal illusion," Ardyn muttered, his gaze sweeping over the dark, twisted landscape around him.

"Everything here is real."

Because, after advancing to stage two, elementals begin learning how to materialize their elements.

An Elemental Lord, however, could transform any location into their domain, shaping reality itself and creating anything they wanted within it.

Grrrr…

His thoughts came to a halt as he heard a deep, rumbling growl.

When he turned in the direction of the sound, he saw a black, wolf-like creature with sharp, jagged red spines protruding from its back.

His heartbeat thundered in his ears as his eyes locked onto its glowing red ones, burning like embers in the darkness.

Its mouth was filled with razor-sharp teeth, a dark, corrosive liquid dripping constantly from them.

"Shit!"

Ardyn quickly activated Void Shell as the Dreadspine shot a crimson spine in his direction.

The shell successfully stopped the attack, but the sharp edge of the spine managed to penetrate the barrier slightly due to its incredible speed.

He forgot to breathe as he looked down at the spine's edge, now just inches away from his heart.

When he looked up the beast was already halfway to him, it's massive frame moving with a terrific speed.

He quickly calmed himself and created a Mirage Clone, placing a Black Sun inside it.

The small dark orb grew even darker, absorbing the surrounding light as it pulsed ominously.

Ardyn moved behind a nearby tree, keeping himself hidden as his clone advanced toward the Dreadspine.

The beast let out a feral growl before pouncing on the clone, its jaws wide open, ready to bite its head off.

But as its teeth closed around the target, the Mirage Clone vanished into thin air.

At that moment, the Black Sun, now eerily black, detonated in a blinding explosion.

It detonated with a deafening roar, releasing a wave of dark energy that rippled outward.

The Dreadspine, caught in the blast, was thrown slightly backward, its massive frame crashing into a nearby tree with a heavy thud.

Grrrr…

It growled weakly, shaking its massive body as it struggled to regain its footing.

Purple liquid seeped from its injuries, dripping onto the blackened ground, and its maw hung slightly open, its movements disoriented and sluggish.

Without wasting the opportunity, Ardyn quickly threw the Ebon Chain.

The dark, shadowy chain shot out from his hands and latched tightly onto the beast.

"Haah…"

A sound of exhilaration escaped his lips as he felt his dark core rapidly replenishing, the chain draining energy from the struggling Dreadspine.

While the beast didn't have a beast core since it was an illusion, it still contained mana.

But his exhilaration was cut short when the Dreadspine shook the chain loose and fired multiple crimson spines in his direction.