For a moment, the whole world was painted in black. And then slowly, light crept with the same intensity as when one wakes up. But, it was a different world, the one where Oyzal stood now. The world around him was wearing a grey mask that failed to hide signs of decay. Trees were dead, dying and no blades of grass stood. And surprisingly, broken tiles were marking a path in front of him.

Oyzal looked at his arms and saw they were a sickly grey and had the appearance of mist. Oyzal looked behind and stood shell-shocked. It was breaking away, the very ground he stood on along with the sky and all the earth contained. They broke into motes of dust that spiralled into blackness, as was the world behind him.

Panic enshrouded Oyzal, so he ran. The ground felt hollow, giving him the impression of walking on glass. Sure enough, he looked down, and dark lines traced his path before blending in with the darkness. Oyzal ran as he had never before. Every step fed into his panic and turned it into terror as the ground started falling away almost parallelly with every step he took. Suddenly, the floor in front of him broke, and a dark fist emerged, followed by the limb. Oyzal could feel his heart in his mouth as he attempted to dodge the shadowy hand. But the hand made a swipe for Oyzal as he tried to jump to his left. The hand raked his right leg. Pain erupted from the area, and it felt like a thousand needles had penetrated his skin. Oyzal screamed as he fell to the ground, his left leg unable at that moment to bear his weight, and the ground started to break away around him. It felt like something cold was slithering up his backside as the darkness closed around him, and soon, his body started breaking into fragments. Oyzal screamed as the cold made its way through his body, numbing his movement but not the sense of impending doom. And then it felt like cold spikes had been planted all along the length of his body. The light of his body as the black void covered him. This time, his scream was silent, and then everything went black.

The light slowly poked through his vision, and then Oyzal opened his eyes. He was huddled around the cave floor and not in the world of grey. The pain was gone, replaced by fatigue. The white shadows swimming in the orb were brighter than before as Oyzal made his way to his feet. The memory of pain impeded his mind, and he winced. But he was confident he had to go in there again. Oyzal placed his hand on the orb again.

He was back in the world of grey. The sky itself was a more washed-out version of the colour compared to the ground; it helped create a contrast between the two. Oyzal stood for a moment, taking everything in. He started walking now, not taking a single glance back to observe the decay that had formed.

Oyzal found that the tiles were more reliable when stepped on than the hollow feeling given out by the raw ground. He carefully picked his way across the tiles, hesitantly stepping foot on the earth between two distant tiles, vowing never to step on the floor again. And then there appeared a tile that required him to jump, so Oyzal jumped. The force of his impact caused the tile to break. The tile gave way to the black void underneath, Oyzal barely managed to get his right leg away from the hole, but a dark shape sucked in his left leg. Pain raced through his body. He was forced to scream as it felt like his left leg was being ripped apart from his body and then the cold came. And then, darkness.

He was back in the cave, pools of sweat dribbling down his whole length, body aching. Surprisingly, in the grey world, his body did not ache at all. It gave him something to ponder as he stared at the movement inside of the orb, growing brighter every time he was sent back. He wondered if he could formulate a plan but then realised that the grey world changed along with every step he took. Even his physical entity changed once he was there. He would have been shocked if it were uncommon, the existence of constructs that could lead to such. Oyzal took a deep breath and placed his hand on the orb again.

This time, he did not jump, walking over to the other tile. He ignored the nervousness caused by the hollowness of the earth. Oyzal took a few more steps and then suddenly grey hills started emerging on either side, forcing him to travel through the path they created. The hills became mountains blending with the grey sky but dark lines were cascading down their length. There was something ethereal about everything happening around Oyzal that made him want to pause and take note but he feared the dark lines that traced him. But, seeing this only heightened Oyzal's desire to become stronger in the divine arts.

He did not know how long he walked among the cracked tiles, guarded by the mountains. Soon the mountains started descending into hills and then they turned into a desert of grey sand. There started a breeze that swept through Oyzal and he dared a glance back. A wall of black and Oyzal had the ominous feeling that was waiting for him with an evil smile. He shuddered and focused up ahead.

The tiles were gone, only sand to greet him. He stepped foot onto the desert and the sand gave away. It felt like falling through water and before he could react, Oyzal was submerged in grey and then the familiar feeling of pain reached his legs and then his whole body. Black, again.

The aches were back in twofold, with such intensity that it made him want to go back to the grey world. Oyzal thought it needed a name, considering the number of times he was visiting. He settled upon Greymist and placed his hand on the orb again.

Greymist greeted him with the same monotony as always. After an incalculable amount of time, Oyzal found himself standing in front of the desert again, the black lines waiting for his steps. That meant he had time, the desert had no elements of its own to affect him apart from a random lifeless breeze. Oyzal stalled, trying to figure out a way God traverse through the desert. Nothing from the cave arrived with him at Greymist.

This time, he placed his right foot on the sand and nudged the sand to either side. A tile! Excitement bubbled inside Oyzal and so he did the same with his left foot. A hole appeared there, a perfect circle big enough for him to fall through. He then moved to the right of the tile and moved the sand away, revealing another tile. Two tiles with holes on either side.

Oyzal carefully stepped onto the tiles, his grey foot clearing the way forward. It was tiring work, to move all the sand. He felt sweat, but the sweat was not physically present, just the feeling of it. It proved to be more annoying as he was left with wiping away nothing. After moving deep into the desert, a hole appeared instead of a tile in front of him. The path to the left was also blocked by the emergence of a hole, so Oyzal was forced to take a turn to the right where a tile was covered by the sand. And he kept walking till he was again forced to take a right turn.

Interestingly, the decay that had pushed him to the desert did not enter the desert itself. A black wall covered the edge of the desert, like a sentry. Oyzal did not like being forced into doing something, but he had no options now as turning could potentially lead to the black void again, the thought of the pain made the feeling of sweat more profound. For the first time in a while, he thought about Izar and wondered how she was faring. He was certain that she had been separated for her own trial and mused if he would see her again. He hoped so as he thought longingly about her holding chip. He smiled inwardly; who doesn't mind spending time in the company of a beauty? Oyzal shook his head, another hole in front of him and then on the left. To the right, again.

Square! Oyzal was convinced he was forming a square, and that would most probably activate a construct. His left side was now inches away from the black wall, the wall was constant in its darkness, an eerie feeling emitted from the wall, making Oyzal uncomfortable. And sure enough, he spotted the first tile he had cleared. After a few moments, he stood on a tile just before the first one. He was afraid stepping on the first tile would break it and send him towards the void. So Oyzal now stood on the tile, looking in front of him at what he knew to be a square of grey sand. His back was almost hugging the black wall of Greymist as he contemplated his future course of action. He concluded that he was helpless, a leaf in the tempest of someone's power.

The need to become stronger welled up inside of him. But Oyzals thoughts were interrupted by a grating sound followed by a screech as if something metallic had been moved. And then a dark glow appeared in the square of sand. Strands of dark light filtered through the sand, trying to reach the grey sky. The sand was slowly disappearing, replaced by limbs of dark light. Oyzal stood in horror as wails started to emit from the square, the glow from it was growing in intensity to the point where he had to shield his eyes. The wails carried with them an infliction of pain that even managed to touch him, made him wonder about pain he had never felt. Oyzal was terrified to realise that vines of darkness had crept out from the tile he was standing on and wrapped around his feet and hands, rendering him motionless. He couldn't feel them and yet they had fastened him to the spot.

The cries and wails coming from in front of him caused blood to dribble down his ears while his eyes were unable to accept the fierceness of the dark light being exhibited. Greymist appeared to be blinking to Oyzal, constantly it lost all its grey monotony and replaced it with complete darkness only to revert back to its namesake. And then something strange started to happen. The square of dark light started to move. It started to spin, and the light was spinning. A tornado of blacklight spun in the desert of Greymist. Oyzals body shook every time a wail emitted from the spinning light. He was terrified to the point where he was numb, not being able to process what was happening. The thought of his mortality crossed his mind, but the wails kept thoughts away, letting only the pain the sight and the sound caused to remain.

Oyzal watched in horrified fascination as the tornado of light started to move. The whole square now was black, playing host to the moving light. And the light started moving towards him. Oyzal desperately tried to move but could not move even a centimetre, such was the tightness of the ropes of darkness. The tornado moved slowly towards him as if it knew it had time in abundance. Even in a moment as dire as this, Oyzals lips curled into a self-mocking smile, he had thought the trial was too easy! A part of him wonders if this is even a part of the trial, whether or not they had stumbled upon an area not meant for them. How could they expect him to fight against whatever it was that was approaching him. What if everything was an illusion? And then a cry from the vortex of light dispels that notion as his ears suffer again.

And then a searing heat pressed upon Oyzal as the tornado arrived within touching distance. It had a presence, a physical force that pressed down upon Oyzal. Oyzal felt like he was being crushed by the presence of the dark light while being burned as well. He screamed, the pain a constant that drowned out thought. Suddenly, the tornado started to shrink. It was reaching the skies only a few moments earlier but now it rapidly decreased in size till it was level with Oyzals eyes. Dread filled Oyzal as he had an inkling of what was to come and sure enough, the top of the tornado extended towards Oyzal. He screamed, it felt like every single hair on his scalp was being ripped out and then it felt like his skin was being peeled. Only a moment more and then Oyzal was completely engulfed by the spinning vortex of light.

The light acted as a mode of transportation, and he found himself emersed in darkness. Oyzal had the feeling of floating in thin air, inside of a black cloud. Strikes of lightning pierced the shroud of darkness that engulfed him. All around was darkness and he was a stationary being amongst it. As the light of the soundless lightning flashed again, Oyzal caught sight of his arms, it was a dim outline of almost transparent light. He tried moving it and the outline of his arm followed his every whim. But he could not feel himself as whole. He moved his hands over his face, it felt like he was touching something hollow. He probed for his eyes and mouth but found nothing. Not even his core. Oyzal now was an outline made of light. He wondered if there was any substance to his current existence.

But his thoughts were interrupted as an orb of white light appeared in front of his face, the light enough to dispel some of the darkness. The orb circulated in front of him for a moment before dashing away, turning into a tiny speck of light that slowly disappeared, plunging Oyzal into darkness again. Oyzal tried moving his arms and to his surprise, found movement to be fluid. And then the orb of light was back. It made circular motions again and then the orb moved forward and backward. It was motioning! Of course! Oyzal realised that the orb was his guide through this abyss. But he wasn't sure how he could follow the orb given the feeling he had from his surroundings. He wasn't even sure he was standing, rather he just existed at that moment, in that position.

The orb moved forward again prompting Oyzal to try something. He nudged his head towards the direction of the orb and found that his body followed. It was as if he was a hot knife slicing through butter. The world he was in offered no resistance to his movement and a smile slowly tugged Oyzals lips. He was now an arrow following the orb.

Suddenly, the glow of the orb increased causing Oyzal to blink. A screech and then a hand reached out from Oyzals right causing him to stop in his tracks. The hand was like a thin black branch with three claw-like fingers and they grabbed his right hand, pulling him towards the dark recesses from which it emerged. Pain erupted in his right arm as the claws secured their grip. This time, Oyzal fought back. Instead of pulling back his right hand, he grabbed the encroaching limb with his left hand and twisted it with all his might. There was a sound akin to that of a stick breaking followed by a piercing cry that made Oyzal wince. The claws stuck to Oyzals hand started to dissolve as the glow of the orb commenced dimming. The orb resumed its role as Oyzals' guide.

It felt every few hundred feet the orb would expand its light in warning. Oyzal had to punch, kick and sometimes twist his way through the barrage of claws. Sometimes there were more than one set of claws trying to capture him, leaving two of his limbs powerless. Oyzal needed extra effort of will to fight through attacks such as these. In between the attacks, he wondered where he was, what was the form of his body. In Greymist, his body was more physical but grey. Here, it operated like his physical body but felt more like something hollow, intangible. He was sure it was another realm, a realm where the laws of the world did not work. Otherwise, he would have been dragged down through the sheer force of the world.

But more importantly, Oyzal wondered when would this trial end? He did not want to admit it but he was tired. There was no option of giving up not that he had ever contemplated the possibility of giving, that was just not in him.

Abruptly, Oyzal stopped. The memories from Greymist assaulted him. The falls into the abyss, the cold that had engulfed him, the pain. His body or rather being, shudders. The orb returns but this time it glows with a softer light which radiates over Oyzal as if trying to shed the darkness inside of him away. Oyzal steels himself. He wouldn't fold, no, no matter what. His jaws would have hurt from how hard his teeth were clamped together, if he could have felt them. His hands form fists, he shakes his head. The darkness tries to linger in his mind, but no, he has had enough. The glow that is Oyzal shines a bit brighter. The orb circles around him before moving again through the darkness, Oyzal follows suit with renewed determination.

More claws tried to stop him but failed. Oyzal himself was now a beam of light travelling across this dark world, though not as bright as the orb. A flash. The orb flashes with all the intensity it could muster causing Oyzal to be momentarily blind. And when his vision returns, the feeling of shock passes through him. He is surrounded by the branch-like limbs. Surely over a few dozen are around as he chances a glance behind him. They form a circle with him in the middle and they try to close in on him. But Oyzal does not panic, he takes inspiration from the orb floating overhead. He dives as the limbs reach out for him, kicking the ones that almost touch him and Oyzal away towards the orb. The hands follow, he knows as a few get close enough to nibble him. But the feeling that courses through Oyzal now is exhilaration. He wants to laugh. This, this is so much fun. The chase and the thrill of it makes him want to laugh as he kicks a hand that had managed to wrap around his left ankle. Focus.

It has been a while since a hand had managed to get close to his legs, but he cannot confirm it due to the darkness all around him. Despite himself being a body of light, he does not emit enough for vision. But something else does as suddenly a dark blue light spreads around him. The orb, it's gone or rather it has dissolved into the blue glow that now surrounds him. And amidst that glow something else appears at least a few dozen feet away from him. Something like a distortion, as if a knife is being run through and an egg shaped tear appears where the orb was previously. The tear flashes white before it shows what is inside. An image that appears to be tinted in blue.

It is a cave and there is a pedestal. In front of that pedestal, lies a person on their knees. The person is wearing a black robe and dark brown hair can be seen. Oyzal gasps or would have if possible.

It is him!

Instinctively he looks at his current form and realisation dawns on him. This, this is his soul or spirit. It has been separated from his body.

The image itself starts to distort.

A portal!

Of course, this was how the trial would end, Oyzal has no doubts about that now. Without hesitation he rushes towards the portal only to be stopped as two figures emerge out of nowhere. The figures are hooded under a black cloak, no limbs are visible. What should have been a face is darkness instead. The ends of their cloaks wrap around a black trident respectively. The tridents are at least half a dozen feet long and they point towards Oyzals throat. But something else catches Oyzals attention.

The portal is closing!

Oyzal notices it as the outline of the portal glows while it starts to shrink. Initially, it was large enough to easily cover Oyzal. It can still fit his whole frame but is growing smaller.

Oyzal wastes no time as he takes a few steps back and the hooded figures immediately turn their backs on him and start floating towards the portal. This time, Oyzal inches forward and the hooded figures return.

So, they have a radius. Constructs again. But unfortunately, the figures stand in his way.

Oyzal tries to move towards the right, sidestepping away from the path of the hooded figures but his path is blocked immediately as the figures zoom in front of him. But they do not attack only keeping him in check. Meantime, the portal is growing smaller as it is now the size of Oyzal.

Panic fills Oyzal as every attempt at trying to pass these constructs ends in failure. They somehow manage to move fast enough to block his path and every time he attempts to grab hold of the cloaks, they dodge with unnerving speed.

He does not want to think about what will happen if he fails to get to the portal before it closes.

No, he will find a way. They will not stop him, nothing will stop him.

As determination courses through Oyzal, the outline of his soul glows brighter. The hooded figures flinch back as if his presence burns them. Seeing this, Oyzal moves forward and the figures step back.

But, the portal is closing faster now. It's outline glows with enough intensity to match Oyzals soul. This does not deter Oyzal. His will is reinforced as he dashes past the hooded figures. He shines bright enough to paint his surroundings but he does not have time to notice.

The portal has shrunk in half.

He is 12 feet away.

The portal is half his length.

He is 5 feet away.

The portal is the size of his head.

1 feet away.

It is the size of a fist.

He will not make it.

No.

He. Will.

A sudden burst of acceleration pushes Oyzal through the small circle no bigger than his core. The moment his fingertips touch the portal, his soul is sucked in.

The next thing he knew, Oyzal was panting. His eyes were locked on the ground, but a smile tugged his lips. He had made it! He looked at his hands with renewed appreciation as he rose to a sitting position. He reached out and touched the pedestal. As if on cue, the orb flashed.

Once, twice, thrice.

With each flash radiated healing energy that cleansed Oyzal. All the weariness that inhabited his body was now gone, replaced by relief. His breathing returned to normal.

The pedestal started sinking into the ground, taking the orb with it.

Oyzal now stood. In place of the pedestal opened up a square from which steps could be seen. A cold wind brushed past him as a grating noise followed.