Deathly silence descended. The crowd of aspiring students became as silent as the tranquil waters of a lake. But before they could fetch up a reaction. A cold harummphh was heard as a resonating sound struck.

"Though I said that you must keep yourselves alive, and even though I said that you cannot bring your Radiant Weapons inside the limestone cave, that doesn't mean that you cannot have any weapons, since going there empty handed would only make you a cannon fodder, We'll give you all the privilege to choose any weapon to bring inside the trial!" The man continued as he howled.

He then waved his hand in mid-air as a table of assorted weapons appeared before him. Guns, stun guns, wooden swords, grenades, Rocket propelled grenades, and even knives.

"But though I said that you could choose, that doesn't rightly mean that you will choose! The weapons will be handed out in random!" Hearing this, many students gaped open in shock. Specially those eyeing the rifle guns.

Riku just stood there with an indifferent expression. Even though there were weapons, he didn't have any knowledge in using those, with the exception of the knives, of course.

A minute after. A revolving violet mist appeared before Riku. Turning his head around the area, he found out that all of the students had this revolving violet mist before them. After he waited about three minutes. A weapon finally congealed before Riku.

"Pfft..." A sudden burst of laughter came out from Fang Xue's mouth who was beside him. Riku himself felt dismay as he glanced over his newly congealed weapon. The students around him couldn't even help but reveal a mocking sneer.

A fork! A stainless fork appeared in the air before falling onto Riku's palm.

"M-miss Fang, wh-what weapon did you receive?" Riku stuttered as a heatwave of pain appeared in his mind. To use a fork as a weapon, It would be quite humiliating to do that.

The violet mist before Miss Fang congealed into a small portable weapon with metal like pincers on its head. Riku didn't know what it is but judging from Fang Xue's bitter smile, he was able to faintly deduce its power.

"A stun gun... Seems helpful." Fang Xue sighed as she pressed a small button on the stun gun. In that instance, a crackling of light appeared accompanied by a rattling sound. Seeing the small lightning spark before her. Her sigh became even more long lasting.

Seeing the crackling lightning. Riku's eyes lit up. A surge of desire to exchange his fork with that certain weapon appeared in his mind. But Riku dismissed the idea as exchanging a fork for a stun gun was like exchanging a water for saltwater!

"Let's not delay this any longer! Aspiring students! Choose the cave that you want to enter and I wish you good luck! You will find various information about this third test near the entrance of your selected cave! " The announcer shouted in vigor as he waved his hands in a bard like manner.

The students below the podium could only led a small bitter smile. But those who got rifles and grenades had a beaming smile with them. Seeing these smiles. The scar-faced elder revealed a mocking smile towards this people. Specially those who received the grenades.

"Hah! Are they trying to kill themselves? Using a grenade inside a remote area such as a cave? This crop of aspiring students really leaves me dumbfounded by their stupidity." Mocked Jackson as he led a small bitter sigh.

"But that's still okay you know? Jackson. By failure as a means, those students can learn something new!" A middle aged man wearing glasses said in a vitality filled voice. The air around him was scholarly but if someone were to concentrate, they would feel the chilling air surrounding this man.

"Oh, shut up! Four eyes." Jackson shrugged as he chugged on the flask on his hand. "But still, that man amazes me." His gaze turned to a piercing one as he darted it towards the figure of a young student standing with a beauty beside him. The young student was filled with a bitter smile as the female student teased him while revealing her reddish tongue out.

Riku slightly shuddered as he felt a piercing gaze on his way. Riku looked around as he frowned his eyebrows. The observing this time had a high level in concealment that Riku wasn't able to catch a glimpse of the source of this gaze.

Since the gaze didn't contain any hostility within it. Riku shrugged it off his mind as he walked towards a cave entrance. A transparent screen flickered over the cave with a number two in it. As well as basic information about this cave entrance.

Before the cave entrance, a crowd of aspiring students were together as they read the basic information terminal. But just as they finished reading the tablet. They led out a small bitter smile and sighed as they walked away. Riku himself frowned as he glanced over the information.

There it said that this cave entrance was at least five kilometers long, but the width of it, according to Riku's calculations was enough to nimbly dash inside. Though they may be dangers lurking inside. This was still enough for them to safely reach the goal.

"Let's go, Riku. " Fang Xue decided to leave as she finished reading the information. But she suddenly stopped as she found out that Riku's right hand tightly clutched on his left arm. Not wanting her to leave.

"This is the cave, let's go in." Riku murmured in a low voice. But Fang Xue clearly heard it as she slightly frowned. This cave was two kilometers longer than the other caves where mostly all of the students were flocked.

"Why do you want to go inside this cave? This is obviously longer than those." Fang Xue puffer her cheeks as a slight red line appeared on it. Her voice was low enough that Riku couldn't clearly hear it.

"Hmm? " Riku questioned.

"Nothing." Fang Xue shrugged as she decided to trust this young man for this particular time. She had a peculiar feeling that this young man before her was right in his decisions.

With that, the pair troubled themselves to pick up a badge signifying their entrance. There before them was Laura and her female companion.

Laura's complexion beamed up as she shouted while waving her hands. "Riku!"

"Oh? Laura!" Riku replied with a small smile. Seeing the beauty before him affectionately calling his name in such a welcoming manner, Riku couldn't help but feel a little bit emotional. Riku had lived for about two thousand years and all of his knowledge regarding human emotions and facial signs showed that this woman wasn't scheming with him.

And so, Riku felt at ease. Acquiring friends was something vital to him for the time being.

But what he didn't notice was Fang Xue beside her puffed her cheeks as she murmured in the air. "Hmmph..." All the way while rolling her eyes at the young man beside her. She then clutched the red badge on the table as she shrugged. "Let's go."

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Riku turned around and found the strangeness of Fang Xue's current behavior.

"Nothing!" Fang Xue snorted and entered the cave entrance.

Riku treated it as coolly and didn't mind it anymore as he waved towards Laura and her grinning companion. It was quite unfortunate that they wouldn't join Riku's group as they decided to choose the shortest way towards the cave exit.

The cave they chose was Cave Number #3 which has a length of two kilometers. Laura replied with a smile, and her friend beside her grinned from ear to ear as she started to murmur something in Laura's ear which made her burst in red.

Riku faintly chuckled as he clutched the badge on his hand and started to make his way towards the entrance of the cave.

There, the insides of the cave weren't even illuminated. Fortunately, Fang Xue had given him a small portable flashlight to use. With a clicking sound. The light from the flashlight lightened the area around Riku.

Riku's eyebrows frowned. He wasn't able to catch a glimpse of anyone inside the cave. Looking back on the entrance. He could only see a pitch black deep abyss that even his Core Formation Soul wasn't able to pierce.

"R-Riku..." A faint familiar sound resounded before him.

But to Riku, this voice was extremely familiar to him. Trembling. Riku turned his head around and.

BOOM!

Riku's mind completely reeled in as his mind fluctuated in a manner that he didn't even experience before! The woman before him. Her graceful fluttering hair. Her chiseled jaded complexion and her smile that filled his heart with warmth!

"S-s-s-Suo Qing!" Riku hoarsely cried as several memories of the past flashed by inside his mind.

...

The breeze of the fresh air surrounded the tranquil waters of the lake surrounding the plains. There, a youngster with a slightly disheveled hair and a smooth complexion rode a small boat while clutching a small thread of line.

Beside her, a young girl merrily sat down beside the boy, singing a lullaby song while waiting for a small catch of fish.

The youngster and the young girl joyfully chatted to each other. Their laughter spread upon the cool breeze of spring. Every moment that Riku spent with this girl. He was extremely happy.

That was until...

"Arson!!!" A manservant cried in horror as he glanced over the adjacent room on the hallway. The intricate tactful decorations surrounding the hallway was now in flames.

"What happened in young mistress' room?!" A maid hurriedly stepped forward as she threw a bucket of water towards the raging fire. But her actions was like dropping a glass of water inside a raging wildfire. It wasn't able to do anything significant.

"I don't know! The room suddenly engulfed in flames! I was sleeping there when I was woken up by young mistress' scream!" The manservant frantically explained everything he remembered. But suddenly, a crashing sound appeared followed by the desperate cries of the maids.

"Ah! Don't go there young man!" But they were too late, the young man already pierced through the door as he used his Mana to fend off the flames surrounding him. But his cultivation was still too low and unstable that the barrier surrounding him chaotically distorted.

Seeing the fallen girl struck by a part of the ceiling. Riku howled a despairing cry. "S-s-Su Qing!!"

Not minding the raging fire. Riku cleaved through the flames using his bare hands. His crimson red blood fell down the ground as it was immediately engulfed by the furious fire. All the barrier of Mana surrounding him was transferred towards Su Qing.

He didn't even utilize an inch of his Mana to cover his body with a small barrier. He lend it all to Su Qing. Cleaving through the pieces of fallen blazing woods. Riku felt fatigue permeating his mind as intense searing pain came all over his body, especially his two hands.

The pain was intense enough that Riku was in the brink of unconsciousness. But still, he gritted his teeth and overdrafted his mind as he forcefully cleaved the remaining blazing woods.

Finally, the figure of the young girl was visible to him now. But his mind immediately felt like it was being pierced by countless needles. The young girl's lifeforce before him was too weak! As faint as an infant.

That's because, Su Qing didn't cultivate. She spent her life in leisure activities, and since she didn't have any significant talent in the line of cultivation. Her family let him did whatever she wanted to.

Clutching the injured unconscious girl in his arms. Riku gritted his teeth as he stood up. Utilizing all his remaining strength to at least save Su Qing. But it was too intense... The fire surrounding them was too intense that smoke practically covered everything within Riku's line of sight.

But still, he didn't give up. Using his Eidetic memory, Riku drafted a map inside Su Qing's room leading to the exit as he firmly grasped on the girl with him and made his way towards the exit.

Seeing the vague silhouette of the door. Riku mind slightly relaxed. But what he didn't expect was a piece of the ceiling started to fall towards him!

Without any strength left to protect himself. Riku almost snapped his teeth with his furious gritting.

Bam!

The blazing wooden plank struck him squarely in the back as blood sprayed out from his mouth. But without any regard with his own safety. Riku decided to use the momentum of the blow to propel himself outside of the door.

Su Qing and Riku's body fell on the ground with a thud. They were finally outside the hallway. Looking around the area, there were no servants on standby. As if everything here became a desolate space.

Hearing a despairing feminine cry. Riku's pupils constricted. Followed by sound of footsteps. A man with a scar filled face had a twisted smile as he approached the area within Riku's vicinity. Sensing the leaking killing intent. Riku tried to get up and protect his dear one.

"Hahahahahaha..." The man maniacally laughed as he waved his katana in mid-air.

"Riku Lightshield, you were very noble this time." The man once again formed a twisted smile as he clutched Su Qing's hair. The pale complexion of the girl was fully shown before the desperate Riku.

"Don't worry... I'll at least give you mercy and have you witness her death!"

"NOOOO!!!!"

Blood sprayed on the ground as Riku's despairing cry kicked to its climax. The man's complexion still had his mocking twisted smile as he clutched on Su Qing's decapitated head as he murmured. "This is my trophy, and don't blame me for your death, young mistress. If not for your Su household gravely injuring my household's next heir. I would not even bother with you."

With that, the man's visage disappeared from the night.

At the same time, Riku himself lost consciousness.

This was the most painful memory he had two thousand years ago...

The memory that he will never forget.

TO BE CONTINUED: Chapter 16: Trials [1]. END

Author's Note: This was an extremely depressing chapter for me to write. That I didn't even had the heart to finish this earlier and after finally mustering up my courage to write. I finally finished this one.

As usual. If you have any comments, suggestions, criticism, or anything that is significant to improving my mood or this fiction. Please place it in the comments!

PS: If you have any time for spare, Please take a look at my second fiction! Eyes of Time: New World !

This fiction is greatly influenced by Code Geass, but not the mecha's stuff. I'm sorry >.

Goodbye and see you next chapter!