The test of mental fortitude broke everyone. The only person who actually made it through was Quin; he managed to survive without having a full breakdown.
Silva also didn’t want to allow them to just sleep after the mental breakdown, so he sent abominations to fight all of them. Through the night, they fought with what little energy they could until they all collapsed.
But the training showed some actual results because all of them leveled up a few times and were now closer to evolving.
That made Silva happy, but it also meant that he would buff the difficulty. He was going to break them even more since he now knew that the training was working.
“Drake, give me ideas. The whole fighting abominations and us is making it boring. I want something really striking that will force a very good amount of leveling up,” Silva said as he sat on a tree.
Fang, Drake, and Zach were there listening to him.
“There are a few ways, Master, and I can actually help with this one. There is something I know from the vampire race.
It’s a ritual used to choose the best and strongest young vampire; it’s called the Tower of Dracula.
For this, a tower is set, and the vampires have to climb to the top to win the prize. But the way up is filled with any and every obstacle possible. It is a really terrible experience.
Because to get to the top, it would mean they have to fight not only the monsters and obstacles, but they would have to deal with the tower trying to get rid of them, and also lots of other things.
We can replicate this and tell them they can win freedom from this hell if they make it to the top or something like that,” Drake said.
“Hmm, that is an amazing idea, but it will be better for a trial for something else. Remember that we are trying to make them forget that this is training.
But I have an idea. It might not be anything special, but a full-powered dragon flying through the sky, raining flames and all on the forest.
And not just flames, also thunder and blood spears. All of you will be on my back as I fly around, and as I pour flames, you also use your powers to attack how you can.
But we will not stop there. We will make it more and more terrible because Lily and I spoke just now and she is on her way to actually help me.
She will be coming with Aris and they have a plan that would make chaos gas spread all over the forest.
So while they are fighting the flames and attacks from above, they will be struggling with the gas that is burning their insides. They will have to go above and beyond to actually survive,” Silva said.
“Can I point out that your plan is straight diabolical?” Drake said.
“Nah, they will survive it. It’s not like they will die, just be pushed to the brink of their existence,” Silva said.
He came down from the tree and started walking. “So let’s get going. We have a complete group of people to scare shitless,” Silva said.
“Master is having too much fun with this,” Fang said. Silva smiled in return and continued walking.
—
Aaron was walking through the forest, tired and exhausted. He was on his last leg at this point.
After a while, he noticed red fog pouring towards his direction. He hadn’t even taken in a breath, and his lungs were burning up.
And that was his sign to run. He turned away, but right in front of him, a huge pillar of flames came from the sky.
He managed to react faster and change direction. Using his wing magic, he took out his wings and tried to fly away immediately.
But a massive bolt of lightning fell from the sky and struck him, injuring his wings. He fell to the ground.
He looked up into the sky and saw that a dragon was passing over, and then he understood a bit of what was happening.
If this was Silva’s doing, then he would have to run now, or he might as well end up dead. He got on his feet and started running, but the red fog rose higher and higher.
His lungs were burning up because the more he ran, the more breathing he had to do, and the more fog he took in.
It was like a fire was lit in his chest and he was burning. He tried to use wind to part a way for him to get through, but nothing happened—the fog was too thick.
He tried to push through and fight, but with every step, it felt like he would turn to ash. He strived and took more steps, hoping that he would see a place that didn’t have any fog.
But the fog soon rose up to his shoulder level, and if things couldn’t get worse, another pillar of flames fell from the sky and blasted close to him. The impact force threw him right into a tree.
He fell to the ground and struggled to catch his breath, but that caused even more harm. He started bleeding from his mouth and nose. His eyes turned red as he took in more of the fog, and in a few minutes, he passed out on the floor.
“Master, he is out cold,” Drake said on Silva’s back.
“Yeah, I’ll ask Lily to clear the fog around him so he doesn’t die,” Silva responded telepathically.
“Master, I feel like you are simply toying with them at this point.
He stood no chance of winning. Right off the bat, he was going to end up like this,” Drake said.
“The important aspect, Drake, is that their bodies will register it as experience and they will level up faster.
Let’s move on to the next person. We don’t have a lot of time; we have to deal with the others,” Silva said and flapped his wings, blasting off.
—
Lia was faced with huge amounts of fog all around, so she created a large ice dome around her to keep it away. But she was quickly running out of oxygen and didn’t know what to do.
She thought of different ways to get out, but all would lead to her taking in some of the fog. Her choices were limited, and so she was beginning to think about taking that risk.
But before she could make a move, a spear made of blood stabbed into the ice dome and then exploded, destroying the dome. What followed was a massive pillar of flames.
She created another ice dome quickly to block the flames, but the flames were too intense, and the force sent her flying with several burns all over her body.
She struggled to get back up, but as she did, she inhaled the fog and her lungs screamed out in pain. She rolled on the ground while holding her neck.
She struggled so much that her legacy kicked in, creating an ice coffin around her to keep her safe. But the red fog was locked inside the coffin with her, and it got into her lungs more.
She could no longer take the pain and passed out right there. The coffin melted after that, and she was left on the floor.
—
Back in the castle, Lily finished setting up what Aris would need to make the fog. Then she left her for a bit to come check on Gabriel and Rose.
Rose was still on the bed, in a coma, and nothing much had changed.
“Any changes?” Lily asked Gabriel, who was sitting beside the bed.
“No, her breathing is normal, but I have not been able to talk to her. She is like a breathing corpse, and that scares me,” Gabriel said.
“I see. Her heart is still beating, and that means there is hope. I’ve taken her blood and done some research into what could be wrong.
Nothing had really come up, and I’m running into blanks at this point. I even tried to look into her future, but whatever it is that is blocking her from waking up is also blocking me from seeing her future.
I tried looking into yours to see if there is a parallel that you and her are there together, but nothing came up.
I’ll be going into the main library to see if there is anything on what is wrong with her, so you’ll have to hold on for much longer.
I know it’s hard. She is right here, and yet you can’t seem to connect with her. But we will do all we can to make her wake up.
After all, Silva has chosen you and has promised to help. But you have to remember, the Empire is your enemy now and you are our way in,” Lily said.
She walked out of the room, then headed to meet Aris to continue helping Silva.