At this moment, Ray had no idea what the system's so-called trial entailed.
After the system forcibly initiated it, he found himself floating in a vast, white world.
In this boundless whiteness, everything was quiet, soundless, and still.
Yet, in a bizarre and unsettling paradox, the surroundings also seemed to be in constant motion.
He couldn't see any of his companions.
In this endless, sterile expanse, Ray was alone.
As if a long time had passed, a familiar feeling gradually welled up in Ray's heart.
Loneliness. Isolation.
Already not one to express himself, he grew even more silent in such an environment.
His handsome face showed no trace of emotion.
His mind seemed to have ceased all activity.
Gradually, thoughts that didn't seem to belong to him began to enter Ray's mind.
[No one can understand my heart.]
[I will always be alone.]
[I don't need the approval of outsiders!]
[Only power is what I pursue!]
[Father, you were wrong!]
[I, Sesshomaru, am the strongest.]
[Tessaiga is mine!]
The last sentence echoed repeatedly in Ray's mind.
Finally, the white light faded. Ray realized he had likely arrived in a real world.
As the surroundings gradually cleared, a massive yokai skeleton appeared before Ray.
It stood at least 500 meters tall.
Clad in armor, one of the skeleton's canine teeth was broken.
This familiar, iconic scene made Ray realize instantly where he was.
[Inu Taisho's grave?]
Ray was about to ponder what the system meant—had it brought him to the Inuyasha era?
Unfortunately, someone wasn't planning to give him time to think.
And that someone... was himself.
At this moment, Ray was also in a demonized form, though his size had shrunk somewhat.
Approximately 15 meters tall and 25 meters long.
But with a slight perception, Ray knew this demonized body was incredibly powerful.
It seemed to be a demonized form that could freely control its size, and it was different from Chouchou's.
Chouchou grew stronger as he enlarged.
This demonized form, even when shrunk, was tougher than Ray's previous 80-meter giant dog body.
The frightening part was that Ray couldn't control this body.
It was as if he was merely a consciousness trapped within this form.
The Demon Dog leaped high, extending its left forepaw to attack someone below.
Below, a young man in red attire, wielding a large sword, with silver hair and two dog ears, glared up at him in fury.
Ray was utterly speechless; he was all too familiar with this scene.
Was the system making him experience Sesshomaru's pain of losing an arm?
But besides speechlessness, Ray felt another emotion bleed into him at this moment.
Jealousy. Rage.
He wanted to tear apart the young man named Inuyasha before him.
"Come on, Sesshomaru!"
With a roar, Inuyasha raised Tessaiga and slashed at the Demon Dog's arm.
The two crossed paths, and the dog demon's left arm was completely severed by the great sword.
Within the dog demon's consciousness, Ray felt pain, hatred, and speechlessness.
He experienced Sesshomaru's fury and endured the slashing wounds Sesshomaru suffered.
And, damn it, he was utterly powerless, his body no longer under his own control.
Ray's consciousness began to rant internally.
'What the hell is Sesshomaru fighting like? Does he have zero combat intelligence? Charging head-on with his claws against Tessaiga, forged by your own father—really... If you're not in pain, I sure am!'
Inuyasha slashed the dog demon again and again.
Finally, severely wounded, the dog demon fell from the shoulder of Inu Taisho's skeleton, plummeting downward.
"Inuyasha, I knew you could do it."
This was the last thing Ray heard before tumbling down the cliff.
…
Back once more in that familiar white space.
Ray's heart now held additional emotions.
Another wave of thoughts not his own began to surface in his mind.
[Why did I lose to that half-demon Inuyasha?]
[If it weren't for Tessaiga's help, I could kill him as easily as slaughtering a chicken.]
[He's my younger brother? Don't make me laugh.]
[A half-demon who fell in love with a human woman is unworthy of being part of my dog demon clan.]
[My father's compassion for human women—I inherited none of it.] …
[Next time, I will not only seize Tessaiga but also kill Inuyasha!]
As the final thought faded, Ray felt Sesshomaru's emotions from this period even more clearly.
His obsession with power was too rigid, to the point where Tessaiga had become a mental demon.
All that incessant mental chatter, and not a single word about Tenseiga, which accompanied him at his waist.
Tenseiga seemed to say: Scumbag!
But now, Ray also realized that Sesshomaru's emotions were affecting him more and more severely.
It was as if Sesshomaru's thoughts had become his own.
He could only strive to maintain a sliver of clarity in his mind, lest he eventually lose sight of who he was.
Before Ray could ponder a solution, he found himself in a new environment.
"Sesshomaru-sama, with the human arm Naraku gave you, you will surely succeed in seizing Tessaiga."
A small yokai holding a human-headed staff chattered beside Ray.
The two of them were riding on the shoulder of a hundred-meter-tall mountain monster, slowly advancing toward the temple where Inuyasha was.
...
Some time later, the two brothers clashed again.
This time, Sesshomaru in his human form completely overpowered Inuyasha.
Using the human arm gifted by Naraku, he successfully grasped Tessaiga.
With a light swing, hundreds of yokai, along with two large mountains, were utterly obliterated, leaving only a field of magma behind.
In that moment, Ray felt the full might of Sesshomaru's complete form.
The "Wind Scar" unleashed casually with Sesshomaru's demonic power was even more devastating than Ray's full-powered Azure Dragon Break.
But afterward, the human woman beside Inuyasha used a sacred arrow to dispel Tessaiga's transformation.
At the same time, to protect his companions, Inuyasha unleashed his latent potential, tearing off Sesshomaru's recently attached human left arm.
However, Inuyasha was also pierced through the chest by Sesshomaru's claw.
On the verge of death, Inuyasha fell unconscious but still tightly gripped Tessaiga.
Whenever Sesshomaru approached, Tessaiga would actively borrow Inuyasha's power, erupting with the Wind Scar to counterattack.
Perhaps out of fear of Tessaiga's power, or perhaps because Sesshomaru was unwilling to kill Inuyasha at that moment... He left.
Returning to the white space once more.
Ray felt somewhat helpless, as if he had been forcibly dragged along to watch a play.
And it was in 6D high definition, with pain, thoughts, and movements all feeling completely real.
At that moment, Sesshomaru's thoughts surfaced again.
[This half-demon, for the sake of a human woman, actually persisted to such an extent.]
[Father, Inuyasha, both of you are fools.]
[Only strength is fundamental.]
[Protecting others? Ridiculous!]
Throughout the entire process, Ray was experiencing Sesshomaru's thoughts and emotions.
At that time, he had absolute confidence in killing the unconscious Inuyasha.
But he disdained such actions, and at the same time, he was shaken by Inuyasha's unwavering belief.
Thus, Sesshomaru left.
...