Shroud Arcanum

Chapter 3: Chapter 3 - The Trial

Liam's body felt heavy, a numbness permeating every cell, making even the smallest movements feel like a monumental task. Each gasping breath was a struggle.

A mix of frigid and dry air filled his lungs as he tried to steady himself. The throbbing pain from the pendant was intense.

His jaw, still sore, served as a reminder that he was not dreaming. Warm and sticky blood still tingled on his lips, and a wave of dizziness threatened to pull him under.

Forcing his eyelids open, the world swam into focus in bits and pieces. His surroundings were a stark contrast to the dark room he'd left behind.

Instead, he found himself in an immense forest that seemed to stretch into eternity.

The forest radiated a mystical allure. It was bathed in an ethereal glow that seemed alive, pulsating with arcane energy, making the air around him vibrate.

He was surrounded by trees that towered above him, their bark aglow with luminescent moss and creepers, illuminating the surroundings with an iridescent brilliance that painted the scene in a mesmerizing kaleidoscope of colors.

This was a stark departure from the cramped, foul-smelling room where he had been unceremoniously dumped. Now, the only roof above him was a canopy of vibrant leaves, filtering the radiant light of an aurora sky.

The ground beneath him was solid, carpeted with luminescent grass that cushioned his wounded body. The blades of grass, touched with a faint, soothing radiance, felt soft against his bruised skin, offering a cold comfort in this surreal landscape.

The scent of the forest filled his nostrils, a sweet, earthy aroma that seemed to soothe his frayed nerves. It was silent, the kind of silence that could only exist in a primeval forest, unperturbed by the sounds of the modern world he had known.

All he could hear was the subtle rustling of the leaves, the distant hooting of an unseen creature, and the sound of his own breath, ragged and uneven.

Liam lay on the unfamiliar ground, the spectacle of this otherworldly forest unfolding before his disbelieving eyes. Despite his current predicament, a sense of awe overcame him, pulling him away from the grim reality, even for a moment.

Floating before him was a translucent screen, flickering in and out of existence for a moment before stabilizing. Words and symbols ran across its surface in a language he did not recognize. As he strained his eyes to decipher it, the language transformed into one he understood.

He sees a countdown timer of 00:29. As time keeps ticking, he proceeds to look further.

___________________________________________

Name: Liam Rainer

Home Planet: Earth

Prana: 3/3

Engram: none

Ascension: none

Soul Gear: Arcanum nano pendant.

Stats: Fitness 0.8, Int 1.2, Ment 1

___________________________________________________________

Before he could fully digest the words, another voice echoed.

"Warning, you still have not prepare your gear. Three seconds remaining."

The words on the screen seemed to blink more urgently now.

"Trial initiation in progress...".

The tranquil serenity of his surroundings shattered. The ground beneath quivered, pulsating with a force that expelled the air from his lungs.

A powerful shockwave reverberated through the luminescent grass and into his already bruised body. The tremor sucked the breath right out of him, his eyes widening in sheer terror.

Suddenly, a monstrous behemoth erupted from the earth's depths, its gargantuan silhouette stark against the ethereal backdrop of the glowing forest, its monstrous visage cruelly intruding upon the tranquility of the scene.

With a roar that rattled bones and echoed ominously through the vast, otherworldly forest, it heralded its arrival.

The creature, a behemoth easily twenty feet tall, towered over Liam. Its frame was a nightmarish amalgam of reptilian and mammalian features. Ebony scales, glinting menacingly in the ambient light, adorned its broad back and muscular limbs.

Coarse hair, emerging in jagged patches, contrasted sharply against its scaled hide. It prowled on all fours, its limbs culminating in vicious claws that gouged deep trenches in the earth with every step.

Most terrifying, however, was its face: a bestial visage crowned with two massive horns and set with two fiery, reptilian eyes.

These eyes, blazing orbs of malevolent intensity, glowed with a predatory fire and were locked onto Liam with relentless focus, signaling unmistakably that he was the intended prey. The realization sent an ice-cold shiver down Liam's spine.

His heart hammered in his chest, a frenzied drum against his ribcage. "What in the actual hell..." he stammered, his voice barely a whisper amidst the raw, primal roars of the beast.

Each horrifying detail he observed only amplified the absurdity of the situation.

He glanced down at his hands, strange energy still tingling through his veins. Returning his gaze to the monstrous beast, he locked eyes with it, its reptilian stare fixating on him, turning him into prey, like a mouse cornered by a lion. "This has to be some messed-up dream..."

Swallowing his fear, he shakily found his feet, his body shrieking in protest. "Alright, is this like the final boss? Or a mid-boss, at least?"

As if on cue, the beast unleashed another ear-shattering roar, a harrowing proclamation of raw power and primal aggression.

The ground beneath Liam quaked under the thunderous resonance of the creature's roar. As it charged towards him, adrenaline surged through his veins, propelling him into action.

His heart pounded a frantic rhythm in his chest, and every survival instinct was heightened to a fever pitch. As the beast barreled forward, adrenaline kicked in, elevating his survival instincts to their peak.

His mind raced, desperately devising a plan, a way to fight—or better yet, survive this nightmare. He surveyed his surroundings. The beast was closing in, its steps causing tremors that rattled his very core.

"Alright then... you want to dance, ugly?" Liam squared up, bending his knees in preparation to spring forward, a defiant glare fixed on his face.

Despite his trembling body, his resolve was ironclad. "Let's dance."

As the creature hurtled toward him with terrifying speed, Liam's eyes darted around in desperation. They latched onto a peculiar tower of crystal-like rocks, standing tall amidst the sea of trees, breaking the otherwise continuous expanse of the forest.

Each step unleashed sharp agony in his ribs, yet Liam pressed on, darting toward the tower. He wove through the forest, using the dense trunks of the trees as temporary barriers, hoping to slow the pursuing creature. With every ounce of willpower, he propelled himself deeper into the wild.

The beast, an embodiment of primal fury, pursued relentlessly. The earth quaked beneath its enormous weight with every bound. Crashing into a thick trunk with a thunderous collision, it sent the tree shuddering under the impact.

A commotion of splintering wood reverberated through the forest as the tree yielded to the sheer force, teetering perilously before cascading down. A whirlwind of leaves and debris rose in a gust, creating a maelstrom of green and brown.

Undeterred, the beast behind unleashed a deafening roar, its formidable claws rending the fallen tree asunder. This formidable display bought Liam precious moments, allowing him to widen the gap between them.

Liam's heart hammered against his ribcage, each beat reverberating throughout his frame as he sprinted with unwavering resolve. His eyes darted across the dense foliage, assessing every potential obstacle and opportunity that lay ahead.

Amidst the thick, dense forest, he spotted a colossal tree, towering above the rest. Its extensive roots sprawled atop a sloping hill. Bolting toward it with calculated urgency, Liam scooped up a handful of sharp, jagged rocks along his path.

Liam's lungs ached with each laborious breath, his exhalations emerging as ragged gasps, while his muscles wailed in rebellion against the physical strain. Nevertheless, the adrenaline coursed, unforgiving, through his veins, propelling him beyond the threshold of sheer exhaustion.

At last, with the monumental tree solidly at his back, Liam squared his shoulders, resolutely turning to face the oncoming monstrosity. His heart thundered, a desperate rhythm pulsating like an urgent war drum within his chest.

Internal voices shrieked at him to flee, to find sanctuary. But he was more than mere frightened prey.

"Hey, over here! You ugly brute!" he bellowed, hurling the jagged rocks with all the might he could muster toward the infuriated beast.

One projectile hit its mark, impacting the beast's eye. A flicker of satisfaction sparked within Liam as he murmured, "Yes, bullseye."

The beast unleashed a thunderous, agonized roar, its velocity surging in its pain-fueled rage. Its remaining eye blazed, a maelstrom of vengeance and unrestrained fury burning within.

As the enraged creature jumped into the air, Liam's heart battered his ribcage, the pounding almost drowning out the other sounds of his perilous environment.

He watched, eyes wide, as the beast lunged, its colossal maw agape, revealing a terrifying array of sharp, lethal teeth.

His adrenaline spiked, and he reacted instantly, throwing himself into a forward roll down the hill's slope. The beast's gnashing jaws snapped shut inches from where Liam had just been, the whoosh of displaced air sending a chill down his spine.

The monstrous creature, caught in its momentum, collided with the towering tree with a ground-shaking thud. Its claws instinctively latched onto the tree, the sturdy bark groaning under the immense weight and power of the beast.

However, its strength proved to be its downfall as the colossal tree succumbed, tearing from its roots and toppling onto the beast.

A guttural roar of pain and frustration echoed throughout the forest, the once majestic tree now serving as a prison, pinning the beast down. It thrashed wildly, clawing and gnashing at the woody constraint with a ferocity that sent splinters and wood chips scattering in every direction.

Liam, observing the monstrous beast now pinned beneath the massive tree, couldn't suppress a breathless chuckle. Even with fear still coursing through his veins, a smug sense of satisfaction welled up within him.

The sight of the beast writhing in frustration and vainly struggling against its wooden prison stood as a small, triumphant victory amidst the chaos and terror.

"Didn't see that coming, did you?" He taunted, grinning at the beast with newfound defiance. Despite his situation, his adrenaline-fueled audacity refused to wane.

Seizing this momentary reprieve, Liam wasted no time. Turning on his heel, he darted towards the glittering expanse of crystalline rocks. His body ached with every stride, but the sight of his goal infused him with a surge of determination.

The towering crystalline rocks loomed closer.

Their iridescent glow was a beacon in the destruction-ridden forest.

Liam rushed past the final few trees, finally stepping out into a wide-open area dominated by a massive rock formation. He caught his breath, wide-eyed, as he took in the incredible sight before him.

The area looked like something from another world, with each crystal reflecting and shining under the sunlight, making the whole place gleam like a scene straight out of a fantasy tale.

The air seemed to buzz with energy as Liam stared at the crystalline landscape. Beams of refracted light danced around him, the towering crystal structures resembling a fortress of shimmering spears under the surreal illumination.

He couldn't help but stand in awe momentarily, his breath stolen away by the otherworldly beauty around him.

"No time for sightseeing, Liam..." he muttered, his voice echoing eerily against the crystal spires. He willed his racing mind to focus, to formulate a plan amid the lethal beauty around him.

"Maybe... just maybe, I can turn this around," he murmured, formulating a risky plan. The beast was strong, no doubt, but it was also reckless and blinded by bloodlust. He just needed to use that to his advantage.

He also noticed several smaller shards scattered around, their sharp edges promising a world of pain. His mind raced, threading together a plan as he picked up a handful of these fragments, their icy touch sending shivers down his spine.

Then the ground shook, pulling him back to reality. The beast was free and closing in fast, each thud of its colossal feet sending a tremor through the ground. Liam squared his shoulders, his eyes blazing with determination. The dance was far from over.