4. Trial

Julius opened his eyes and he saw himself within a large hall. He could see hundreds of people walking around, most of them wearing armour that covered their bodies.

'These are wardens,' he immediately concluded.

He looked behind him and saw the large doors of the building. Outside, he could see the gate that he was hesitant to enter looming in the distance.

"Welcome to the Wardens' Sanctuary." A beautiful, feminine voice came from his front and he turned to see the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

With striking clear cyan eyes that resembled the ocean, long blonde hair that reached below her waist. Her nose was pointed and her full pink lips accentuated her beauty even further.

She had clear white skin and resembled a porcelain doll rather than a human.

Julius snapped out of his daze as his eyes caught her elongated and pointy ears and he realized that she wasn't human.

"An elf?" He mumbled.

"Oh, is it your first time seeing one? Don't worry, I'm not dangerous." A playful smile formed on her lips.

Julius wondered how she heard his mumbling with all this noise. He flinched as she snapped a finger in front of his face.

"Pay attention, come with me. How much time do you have left?" She asked him while walking to a passage by the side, and Julius quietly followed her.

"I don't understand, what do you mean by how much time?" He asked her, confusion evident in his voice.

"Above your head, you should be able to see a message above your head," she said to him, glancing at his cloak, and then a look of realization dawned on her as she spotted his worn-out shoes.

Julius silently looked up, his purple eyes seemed shaken as he saw golden words hanging above his head.

[Prepare for trial - 3 hours 15 minutes left]

"Three hours," he mumbled, and the woman in front of him didn't answer.

Questions rang around his head as he reasoned the sentence hanging on his head over and over again.

'What the hell does it mean by trial, what the hell is going on?' he had questions and he felt that those questions were about to be answered.

Soon, they ascended a staircase, going up a few levels until they reached a long corridor with doors on both sides.

As they walked forward, Julius looked inside a window and saw a person sitting in front of a door which floated in mid-air.

The more he advanced, the more of these doors he saw.

"This is a containment unit. Why do you think we kill new people who awaken if they don't come to the sanctuary?" the woman asked him without turning around, and Julius pondered about it for a few seconds.

"So that they won't grow strong and pose threats to the sanctuary?" he answered with a straight face.

The woman shook her head and a frown formed on his face.

"A warden doesn't awaken easily. A warden's power comes from stories. A story is a series of trials a warden goes through to gain access to essence and abilities. When a person awakens a story, we would know and send them a letter to come here..."

"They awaken... Stories," Julius mumbled.

He was never a big fan of the wardens back in the slums. There was one thing ringing in his mind though.

This world resembled the one he created for his new novel on Earth. It had taken him a long time to create that novel, and he died without even getting the chance to publish it.

For example, stories: he wrote it as paths of fallen legends and gods in the past, and people who inherit the stories of these beings were able to use their powers.

And it seems like it also follows the same pattern here.

"When you enter the trial, don't get carried away. Pay attention to the hint that the script would provide you. Once you fulfill the requirements, you would come out of the trial." She paused, taking a short breath.

"But if you fail, your door would open, and whatever you failed to defeat within the trial would emerge from the door."

Julius frowned as he got that information and he quietly nodded.

'So the newly awakened who don't comply with the sanctuary are killed to prevent the opening of a "Door" as she calls it,' he thought, looking forward to see that they almost reached the end of the corridor.

They both entered an empty room and then she took a chair and sat, staring at him. Julius was able to see her cleavage and he kept quiet and looked around.

The walls seemed to be made with some kind of strong alloy.

Hearing a sigh leave the woman's mouth he looked at her once again. She flicked her hair behind her and then leaned forward.

"You will gain a partial blessing within the trial. It would help you escape the trial, good luck with it." She gave him a smile and it suddenly felt as if the room was brighter, for some reason.

Clack!

Julius's purple eyes looked towards the door to see a man in a full black cloak walking towards them.

The woman in front of him stood up and bowed, and he raised a brow at the action.

A pressure suddenly landed on him and he fell to his knees instantly.

Julius groaned under the pressure and struggled to look up and he saw an angry look on the elf's face.

"Blessed Blade. It's so nice to see you again," a calm, thick voice came from within the darkness of the hood, and the man turned to face him.

"You came back to life, huh? I was scared that I would have to send out a hound again," he mumbled, but Julius heard him well.

"Your trial is about to start, young man. Don't cause trouble for us. Once you're inside, find the creature you're supposed to kill. With the help of a partial blessing, you should be able to come out alive."

Julius listened to the voice within the cloak with empty eyes, and then the man turned around and left the place quietly.

The woman who was called Blessed Blade sat back down on her chair, and he sat down on the ground as he watched the time click slowly.

...

Soon, Julius was startled by a humming sound. He stood up and turned around, seeing a golden door with what seemed to look like ink leaking from the engravings on the door.

The door opened to reveal a white space beyond and he frowned and looked back at the celebrity, Blessed Blade.

He took a breath before he stepped into the floating door.