Chapter 31 - Awakened Realm
A full day had passed since Sid was ejected from the trial space. His body lay quietly on the grassy hilltop, motionless, yet breathing steadily.
Suddenly, his eyes opened.
The world around him felt… different.
Sid blinked a few times, adjusting to the light. The heaviness in his limbs was gone, replaced with a strange stillness. His body, fully healed, showed no trace of the torment he'd endured. But what shocked him more than the absence of pain was something far more subtle—his awareness.
He could feel the breeze brushing against a tree… several meters away. The ants crawling beneath a rock he wasn't even facing. A bird rustling on a branch too far to see.
It was as if his very being had expanded.
He sat up slowly, still processing it.
"This is…"
He willed his perception outward, stretching as far as instinct allowed. It expanded without resistance, flowing outward like breath. Then—he hit a wall. His senses stopped there.
That was his limit.
But even so, it was far more than what he ever had before.
Sid quickly stood up, then checked his arms, his legs, his torso. He was still amazed. Despite the violent, hellish awakening he experienced, his body had not only recovered—it felt stronger. Denser. Sharper. Alive.
He clenched his fist.
The sensation of strength curled within it.
Not the shallow confidence he had before, but a raw, burning power waiting to be released.
A strong urge grew inside him.
An urge to unleash.
To strike.
To crush something.
He looked around and spotted a boulder the size of a cart. Without a second thought, he dashed forward and slammed his fist into it.
BOOM!
The rock didn't just crack. It shattered—like it exploded from the inside, fragments bursting outward in every direction before crumbling into fine dust.
Sid staggered back slightly, staring in disbelief.
"That… wasn't even everything."
Not satisfied, he found a larger rock—a boulder twice the size. This time, he launched a kick.
CRACK!
The rock split clean through, then crumbled into pieces, as if hollowed out by the strike.
Breathing heavily, Sid stood still and slowly sat down, heart pounding—not from exhaustion, but exhilaration.
He opened his hands, staring at them.
Then he closed his eyes and focused inward.
A calm came over him.
He reached into that endless, deep sea within—where his power now dwelled.
And from it, he pulled.
He imagined the dark energy flowing to his hands, wrapping them like a living aura.
Suddenly, a low hum.
A subtle chill.
His fists began to glow—not with light, but with a tangible shadow, dense and heavy.
Sid opened his eyes.
His hands were cloaked in thick, dark energy.
He grinned faintly.
He had to try it again.
One more test.
In the distance stood a massive tree—five meters wide, thick as a fortress pillar. He approached it, focused his energy into his fist, and let it loose.
What followed was not a clean break or a simple display of force — it was eruption.
The trunk shattered on impact, every inch of it bursting outward in a sudden, violent explosion. Bark, splinters, and wood dust filled the air. But it didn't end there.
The punch had unleashed a wave of uncontrolled energy that blasted through the forest behind the tree, carving a long trench into the ground, uprooting shrubs, and snapping smaller trees like twigs. Leaves fell in a slow cascade as silence reclaimed the air.
Sid stood frozen, his eyes wide, arm still extended.
He hadn't meant for that.
He hadn't expected it.
He couldn't even stop it.
"That… wasn't just strength," he muttered, lowering his hand.
His fingers trembled slightly — not from fear, but from the echo of power that hadn't fully faded. His breath came out unsteady, not from exertion, but from realization.
He was no longer the same.
A faint grin crept onto his face despite the destruction.
"Now I understand what Aunty meant back then. Surviving the hellish trial is worth it!"
He turned away, eyes gleaming with a mix of wonder and wariness, stepping forward into the forest that now seemed smaller than it did the day before.