"Alrin hurry up I haven't had anything good to eat in months!" Sitting atop a young man was a little bird that looked like a white crow but its beak and wings were tinged gold.
"Kor, you can wait you do not need to eat." replied the young man who had black hair, gold eyes wearing black robes with a distinct crimson cloak over them.
"Alrin you foolish mortal you never learn I've already explained this many times eating is one of life greatest pleasures. If I was free to act on my own I would long since left the wilderness in search of delicacies." Although Kor kept speaking Alrin began to ignore it as they had arrived at their destination.
In front of Alrin stood a sign and this sign was the opportunity that had taken him almost a decade to reach. He had traveled across the lands and endured many life threatening situations to reach this spot. While the thought of giving up had entered his mind he had endured the journey for this opportunity. In the end all his struggles paid off as he arrived at Star Sect.
Standing at the base of a mountain snow continued to fall on him but strangely enough the sign that stood in front of him was completely free of it.
Take the path to reach the summit only those who can reach it are qualified to join Star Sect.
Behind the sign were stairs that were also completely free of snow like the sign. Alrin tried to see the peak of the mountain but the peak was taller than the clouds.
As Alrin began approaching the stairs the Kor spoke up, "Whoever made this is pretty good for here at least. It can test talent and will while also being able to judge intent. Not bad not bad, if they are capable of this they should have some good food." Kor spoke although it somehow ended looping back to food.
After letting Kor finish speaking Alrin reached out his hand and grabbed Kor from atop his head. "I've told you to give me a warn…" Kor tried to reprimand Alrin but he vanished into the white ring with pink clouds he wore under his clothes as a necklace. With Kor gone he took his first step to ascend the stairs and as soon as he did the world around him changed.
Choose your path, the left will test your strength of talent while the right will test your strength of will. Usage of external items is forbidden. If you wish to quit at anytime simply step off and you will return.
Appearing in an unknown location the voice of a woman suddenly echoed loudly in Alrin's mind. Looking around his surroundings he was now in a starry void where other than the platform he stood on were two sets of steps with both going far beyond what he could see into the void. With no hesitation he walked over to the steps on the right and began his trial.
The reason Alrin came to the Star sect was because they were the only great sect that sought out cultivators with strong wills. Hence he immediately went for the right steps since the left was never an option due to his lack of talent.
As soon as he did an invisible pressure appeared over him but at the start of the trial it was small increase just barely enough to be noticed. If not for the fact he was expecting a change he might not have even noticed with how little it was.
"A very straightforward trial but the hard part is not know how high I will have to climb to pass." With this thought he began his ascent.
He took his first few steps at a normal pace since he believed this would take a while. Even after climbing ten steps the pressure weighting down on him had not increased much.
It was only after taking a hundred steps that the pressure on him had only reached the point of doubling and for someone like Alrin who pursued the path of body cultivation and pushed his own cultivation to the extreme it was only barely worth mentioning. Before coming hear he had heard that only a handful of people had passed now he could understand why.
While the trial was simple in that all you had to do was climb it also gave nothing. You would receive no time limits, food, water, or even a criteria for passing. It simply told you to go; no not even that it only told you how to give up as for passing the trial it possible you could have long since passed the trial and are continuing to endure for nothing. This was the pressure of the mind one had to enjoy in this void that was slowly worsened as the pressure on the body increased.
After a thousand steps the pressure had finally increased to the point of being able to slow his steps but slow was all it did he continued to move without rest not that he truly could with the pressure weighing down on him.
After three-thousand steps he finally felt the effects on his body as his breathing grew more haggard as felt the pressure increasing on his internal organ but he continued climbing.
After five-thousand steps he could no longer rely solely on the strength of his body and began using the energy of the universe Life Essence that all living beings had and needed to live. Alrin had not been using the energy of the world Sencia to conserve it but now that he was feeling the effects it was time to start. Circulating Sencia throughout his body it quickly became reinvigorated.
After Eight-thousand steps he began to see illusions of his parents and the friends he had lost along the way but even still he grit his teeth and walked passed the illusions pressing on. These illusions he had seen had been purely illusion of the mind not something the trial had created.
After nine-thousand steps he began to cough up blood as even with the support of Sencia his body was being destroyed from the inside his organs were being crushed as blood also began to leak from his eyes and the rest of his orifices but he would preserve as long as he lived.
After nine-thousand-three-hundred steps his body began to wither away as his Sencia had run dry but he was still forcing his body to keep going through sheer will. Did the thought that he had already passed the trial cross his mind? Of course it had how couldn't it? All he had were his thoughts in this empty void. Yet he was still forcing his body to take even an extra step why? Because he hadn't passed the trial and he had gone through too much to get here to not push himself to his absolute limits.
After nine-thousand-three-hundred-thirteen steps he finally hit his limit and collapsed losing consciousness.
***
"Alrin! It's time to get up your dad will be back!" a shout woke him up. Hearing this he quickly jumped out of bed and got dressed before heading to find his mom.
Running into another room Alrin who now appeared to be around 8 years old jumped into his mother's arms. His mother was a beautiful woman who had blue hair and gold eyes like Alrin and wore matching blue robes.
"Let's go dad said he found a cultivation book for me."
"No rush no rush we still have plenty of time. You also still need to eat first and go wake up Evelyn for me." She said with a smile.
"OK…"
***
As soon as he replied the world around him changed once again to the time where his father had arrived.
"Dad, dad where is it!?" Alrin asked his father who looked similar to himself in the future with the biggest difference being he had red eyes instead of gold like his own.
"Calm down, I have it here it's still sealed but it will be all yours once I unseal it."
The world around them changed again this time it was to the moment he received the book from his father.
"This cultivation is perfect for you as if it was made with you in mind." His father laughed as he handed the book to Alrin.
"You will be able to surpass us in no time." His mother added.
Grabbing the book Alrin was the most excited he had ever been in his life as he began to read it but his expression slowly changed.
"Alrin, what's wrong?" his mother asked seeing him frown.
"No…" he quietly said as he felt the rage he kept trapped inside his heart began to slip out. "To distort my memories in this way! This isn't what happened never be satisfied living such a lie! I could never rest until I personally kill the— no eradicate their entire bloodline!" As his wrath grew the world around them slowly crumbled turning into darkness. His consciousness began fading with the crumbling world but before it fully disappeared he felt a strange warmth he had not felt in a years. The last thing he could remember seeing before losing consciousnesses was the the vivid pink eyes of a white haired woman.
"Alrin… you've done well." A gentle voice spoke to him as she caught his falling body. As the woman held Alrin in her arms she felt an inexplicable happiness as she looked at him.
The fateful meeting between the two had occurred and the consequences would be for the world to bear.