Published at 15th of October 2026 8:40 am

Chapter 2109: One Final Time

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The third trial began immediately after Adam reached the center.

Already stripped of all weapons and artifacts, he was placed inside an enormous underground wilderness. Dark places, marshes, and poisonous undergrowth made for the perfect hunting ground for snakes.

The snakes weren’t stronger than him. But they far outnumbered him. An army of ants could kill an elephant, they said. So this trial wasn’t about defeating the proverbial ants, but to survive them.

Serpents hunted him through scent and sound and sight. Surprisingly, there were many that could even sense his spirit energy. Others could simply sense his fear. And he was filled to the brim with fear.

If a candidate somehow managed to survive the first two trials, they would fall within the first day of the third trial.

Adam did not. Fueled by rage, he survived all seven days. He feasted upon snake meat, vindictively biting into them.

No weapons? No problem. He used the serpents as whips and killed any snake that was unfortunate.

He had survived in the pit of vipers for seven days. He had reached the center of the labyrinth on the seventh day. And now, he had managed to survive the third trial for seven days.

***

Without a moment of respite, he was thrust into the fourth trial.

On the surface, it was a simple test. But it was far from simple. Adam had to cross a long, vast path while dozens of ancient serpents watched him from the sides.

It was dim. The only thing visible was the glow of the serpents’ eyes. Vertical slits as tall as him. The amount of pressure they exerted on his little, fragile figure was nightmarish.

The collective aura of the serpents he had to endure in the Council of Vipers was nothing compared to what he faced now.

No matter how much those councilors humiliated and despised him, they were still mindful enough not to kill him.

But these ancient serpents within the fourth trial? They were hellbent on killing him.

That was their purpose. Release their combined aura and suffocate the test taker.

For the first couple of seconds, Adam was able to walk. But then he began to crawl on all fours. Then he had no other option but to drag his body across the floor. Blood spurted from his facial orifices.

He lost consciousness several times. But the sheer hostile aura bearing down on him woke him up every time. It seemed that the combined aura became heavier the more he ventured deeper into the trial. He could not tell.

His heart thundered inside his chest. It might have even stopped beating a couple of times. He did not know. Was he even alive? Was this the afterlife?

***

Adam passed the trial. He did not know how. Now, he was thrust into the fifth trial. Everything was a blur. He had lost his senses. Probably gone mad again.

He remembered fighting. Or was that just a dream? He couldn’t tell any longer. He remembered the crack of whips, the hiss of serpents, the dying breaths of those he had slain.

What was going on? Was he fighting? Was he sitting? Crawling? Sleeping? Was he... alive?

Magic was suppressed. He remembered using his body. Corpses of serpents as weapons. Whips. He remembered killing. Could have been an illusion. He couldn’t tell at this point.

His sanity was slowly being chipped away.

Just like that, he passed the fifth trial. Then the sixth trial.

And now, the final trial began.

***

Darkness.

Someone spoke to him. Someone familiar. Who was it?

Sounded so ancient, and wise, and warm. Warm in this cold and ruthless world that tried to strip everything away from him. Even his humanity.

Adam knew who it was.

No, he didn’t.

He was imagining it. Voices in his head. Definitely voices.

Darkness all around him. He could feel the cold stone floor beneath him. His figure was hunched. Not enough space for his nearly 1.9-meter body.

Was he confined? In a prison cell? He couldn’t tell.

There was darkness all around him. Sands of time continued to fall. Hours turned to days. Days turned to weeks. Weeks turned to months.

What was it that the voice had said to him in the beginning?

Adam could not remember it anymore.

He felt the auburn band around his finger. It was the only thing tethering his spirit to sanity.

As the months turned to years, Adam grew smaller and smaller. Hunched, frightened, and on the verge of going insane.

Give up.

The darkness spoke to him.

"...Shut up."

Adam had believed that he could endure any form of torture. He was proud of his pain tolerance. Thought it made him manlier than most men.

He was wrong. So very wrong.

No one cares for you. Give up.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Adam clasped his hair, curling into a fetal position, thinking that would protect him from the dangers outside.

But what about the dangers within?

Darkness. Isolation. They were far more brutal torture methods. They dealt greater damage than physical pain ever could. Combine them together—isolation within darkness—and even the mightiest of men would crumble.

Look at you. So frail. So pathetic. You don’t deserve Valerian. You don’t deserve Genevieve.

Adam’s teeth clattered. The voice inside his head grew louder. No, wait. Was it the voice inside his head? Or the voice from the darkness?

"No. No. No." His teeth clattered. "You’re lying. You’re lying! They love me!"

The voice snickered.

Genevieve is a princess. Valerian is a prince.

Who are you? A son of farmers.

You are a slave. A nobody.

What gave you the idea that you could call Valerian your brother and Genevieve your lover?

Know your place!

"You’re lying! You’re lying!" Adam cried, his heart aching. "I love them. I love them. And they love me. I know they do. Please... please... stop it."

You know how to stop it.

There is only one way.

You know it.

Do it!

"No, no, no," Adam murmured, bawling like a little boy. "No, I won’t. I won’t do it. No, please, no."

Yessssssss.

Adam shook his head. Banged his head against the floor. His forehead burst open, and warmth flowed down his face.

Harder. Just a little more.

You can free yourself.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

Adam banged his forehead against the floor, cracking his skull open. More blood gushed out. His forehead caved in. Bone splinters clung to skin and stone.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

"I said SHUT UP!"

Adam pulled his head back, using what little strength remained in his body. He was going to obliterate his head. The voices would stop. Yes, that would definitely work. He would finally find peace.

Then he slammed his head into the floor one final time.

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