The deeper the convoy moved into the trial, the darker the world became.
Darkness covered the battlefield like a living sea.
The sky had vanished completely.
No stars.
No moon.
Only endless black.
Mist crawled over broken stone and dead earth.
Every breath felt colder.
Heavier.
Ahead, warriors stepped carefully into the shadowed region.
Then the shadows beneath them moved.
Black shapes peeled themselves off the ground.
Monsters rose from the darkness.
Long arms.
Jagged claws.
Bodies made of writhing shadow.
Eyes glowing pale silver.
Someone screamed.
Then battle erupted.
Jade stepped into the black fog and exhaled slowly.
"Here goes nothing."
Inside his soul, he gave the command.
Fuse Ice Vine… with Rock Armor… and Shadow Halo.
The system answered immediately.
Fusion process initiated.
Jade's heart beat faster.
Fusion was dangerous.
Sometimes it upgraded abilities.
Sometimes it weakened them.
Sometimes it failed completely.
But standing still in the trial was worse than failure.
A shadow beast lunged.
Jade reacted instantly.
His fist shot forward.
Sharp Punch.
The blow exploded through the creature's chest.
Black blood splashed across Jade's face and shoulder as the monster collapsed lifelessly.
Then the whisper came.
You have slain a Shadow Beast.
You have received Data.
Jade's eyes widened.
For a second he thought the fusion had completed—
but another notification appeared.
---
Data Name: Shadow Body
Data Type: Shapeshifting
Data Rank: Initiate
Data Class: Unranked
---
Jade stared at it in surprise.
A normal shadow creature had dropped a Data.
And not just any Data—
Shapeshifting.
Useful.
Very useful.
Without wasting time, Jade spoke again.
Fuse Ant Demon with Shadow Body.
Fusion process initiated.
---
The battlefield burned with chaos.
Shadow creatures flooded from every direction.
Steel clashed.
Abilities exploded.
War cries echoed through the dark.
Jade summoned Bone Shield.
A large skeletal shield formed before him.
Then crimson Blood Wings burst from his back.
He launched into the air.
A beast leapt upward toward him.
Jade sliced the air—
space cracked.
The creature collided with the fracture and was ripped apart instantly.
He vanished.
Then reappeared above another group of monsters.
The void shard pulsed inside him.
Ever since feeding it more energy, Jade's spatial ability had become sharper.
Deadlier.
He blinked through the battlefield like a flickering phantom.
Below—
Cassie stood among the flute players.
Dozens of them.
Protected by warriors in a defensive circle.
Their flutes sang into the darkness.
Soft.
Ancient.
Haunting.
Silver-white mist spread from their music across the battlefield like flowing fog.
To humans—
it healed wounds.
Restored strength.
Cleared exhaustion.
But to shadow creatures—
it was poison.
Where the mist touched them, their shadow bodies trembled and weakened.
Their movements slowed.
Their screams became louder.
The melody itself wounded them.
Jade glanced toward Cassie briefly before diving back into battle.
Then he saw Aaron.
Aaron emerged from darkness like a blade born from shadow.
One second invisible.
The next behind a creature.
A slash—
a corpse dropped.
Then he vanished again.
Another beast died.
Then another.
And another.
To the monsters it must have felt like the shadows themselves had turned against them.
---
Jade continued killing.
One creature after another.
His fists.
His shield.
His spatial cuts.
His wings.
The system kept whispering inside his mind.
You have slain a Shadow Beast.
You have slain a Shadow Beast.
You have slain a Shadow Beast.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Until finally—
the voice changed.
---
Fusion successful.
---
Jade landed on broken stone.
Breathing hard.
He opened the notification.
---
Data Name: Obsidian Vine Shadow
Data Type: Multi-Form / Strength
Data Rank: Initiate
Data Class: Beast
Data Level: One
---
Jade frowned in curiosity.
"What does Multi-Form mean?"
The system replied:
Multi-Form allows the Data to reshape according to the user's will.
It can alter shape while maintaining its original properties.
Strength attribute indicates durability beyond ordinary material while retaining flexibility.
Data Level One indicates the lowest level within Beast Class.
Jade absorbed the information while blocking another attack with Bone Shield.
Useful.
Very useful.
Then—
another notification appeared.
---
Fusion successful.
---
Jade's eyes narrowed.
The second fusion was complete.
He opened the notification—
and froze.
For a brief moment even the battlefield noise faded.
He read it once.
Then again.
His expression shifted from confusion…
to shock.
"How…"
That shouldn't have happened.
It had exceeded his expectations entirely.
Far beyond what he imagined.
Jade almost asked the system immediately—
but stopped himself.
He didn't.
He simply stared at the result in silence.
Then slowly closed the window.
Around him, battle still raged.
Shadow beasts screamed.
Humans fought desperately.
Cassie's flute echoed like moonlight in darkness.
Aaron vanished between enemies.
Yet Jade stood still for one breath longer.
Thinking.
The system always answered.
But every time Jade questioned it too much…
he felt uneasy.
As if something beyond the answers was listening.
Watching.
Jade never liked pressing further.
What if one day it refused to answer?
What if it disappeared?
What if the connection broke?
He pushed the thought aside.
Not now.
---
Jade beat his wings once and rose into the air.
Then retreated toward the rear lines.
He flew past the front fighters.
Past the injured.
Past Cassie and the flute players.
Then farther.
Toward the true back end of the battlefield.
Behind ruined transport frames and broken black stone.
A place untouched by battle.
Hidden.
Silent.
Dark.
Perfect.
Jade landed lightly.
Folded his blood wings behind him.
His breathing slowed.
The distant sound of war echoed behind him.
He looked around to make sure no one had followed.
No one.
Good.
Then Jade lowered his gaze to his hand.
The system window remained open before him.
Waiting.
The second fusion notification glowing faintly in the darkness.
Jade swallowed.
A small smile formed on his lips.
He had no idea what he was about to become—
but whatever it was…
it had changed everything.
And here—
alone in the shadows behind the battlefield—
was where Jade would find out.