...
The ground cracked beneath Edward's feet like a roar from the underworld.
Before he could react, it gave way entirely. He plummeted into the void.
Wind whipped at his face, dust and stone spun past him, darkness swallowing everything. There was no bottom. No end. Only falling.
This is it...
But then, the world shifted.
---
Edward woke to warmth and the faint smell of flowers. Sunlight spilled over lush green grass, and high stone walls enclosed a quiet garden. The world seemed almost unreal — too calm, too perfect.
"Am I… alive?" he whispered, sitting up. His head throbbed, memories of the last trial flashing through his mind. I passed… I really passed.
A shadow fell across the garden.
The old man sat on the castle stairs, silver eyes gleaming. "So, you've woken. You almost disappointed me last time. Now comes the next — the Trial of Strength."
Edward stood slowly, muscles tensed. His voice carried no anger. Only calm, lethal certainty.
"Two more trials. Then I'll use you... to take revenge. And conquer the world."
The old man's lips curved faintly. "You look miserable. But it doesn't matter."
Edward frowned. "What am I supposed to do now?"
The earth shook. Light gathered into a towering gate — gold and blue, pulsing, alive.
"Enter. Prove yourself."
Edward smirked. "Roger that."
Step by step, he passed into the light.
---
The world that greeted him was nothing like the garden.
A prison, old and decayed. Water surged from cracks in the walls, rusted yellow veins running across broken white stone. Shadows flickered across shattered windows. The current swirled around his legs.
"So this is the next trial," Edward murmured. "But where's my enemy?"
A voice echoed, deep and distant.
> "You must slay the Serpent of Toxins before the water drowns you… or you die."
Edward's jaw tightened. He spotted a sword lying in the water. Gripping it, he felt the chamber vibrate beneath him. A hiss, sharp and deafening, cut through the air.
From the shadows, it emerged.
The serpent. Dark scales like scorched stone, eyes glowing molten red, muscles coiling like living steel. Its hiss was louder than a lion's roar — sharper than metal on stone.
Edward's breath hitched. "Fine… you're mine."
He charged, blade swinging.
The serpent's tail lashed out. Edward slammed into the wall, stone cracking, blood spilling. Pain seared through his body. "I… I'm weak…"
The water rose fast, cold and ruthless. His chest burned, lungs screamed. Yet he forced himself up.
"I have to fight… for them. For all of them."
Strike after strike, swing after swing — the serpent didn't flinch.
Edward's eyes narrowed. It's holding back… why?
He spotted a glint on the serpent's neck — a metallic object fused to its scales. That was the weak point.
The sword in his hands shimmered. It transformed into a wand — simple, strange, but familiar.
"Childhood memories… let's see if they work here," Edward muttered. He imagined flames dancing from the wand. A spark ignited, then flared into fire. He hurled it at the serpent. Nothing.
The metallic object pulsed. He understood.
With desperation, he conjured an air bubble — glowing, floating, containing fragments of his past: a radio, a comic, a bowl of ramen. The serpent recoiled, confused by the illusion.
Water surged to his waist. Currents tried to drag him down, but he sprinted forward. Knife in hand, he leapt, plunging it into the weak spot.
The chamber erupted in light. The serpent's roar shattered the air, then dissolved into mist, leaving nothing behind. The water drained, leaving only silence.
Edward fell to his knees, chest heaving. Then — for the first time in forever — he laughed.
"I did it! I really did it!"
He remembered her face. White hair. Faceless. Elsa.
"Wait for me… I'll avenge you," he whispered, tears sliding down his cheeks.
Before he could rest, the ground trembled again. Cracks spread beneath him. He began to fall.
Again…
---
When he opened his eyes, a frail man with white hair and a dry, wrinkled face sat by a campfire. Edward smiled.
"Grandpa?"
Thwack!
Pain exploded through his head. "What—!"
The old man stood, staff in hand. "I am not your grandpa. I would never be."
Edward rubbed his skull. "Ouch…"
The old man's eyes gleamed. "Still, you passed the Trial of Strength. I'm impressed. Now… the final trial — the Trial of—"
The ground shook violently, cutting him off. Light surged. Edward braced himself.
> To be continued…