Chapter 1578: A Warning

Erend could already feel the change taking shape inside him. He was certain that he had finally found the foundation he needed to fully tame the Black Rage within him.

He still had a long way to go before he could completely control it. Understanding the difference between his own emotions and the Black Rage was only the beginning.

He would need time, experience, and countless moments of self-control before he could truly master it.

But for the first time, Erend no longer felt as though the Black Rage was an impossible burden. He finally had something to build upon.

He let out another long breath and felt some of the tension leave his body.

Only then did he remember his friends.

Now that his own Trial had finally stopped overwhelming him, Erend could think about Eccar, Sylven, and Aesa again.

The thought immediately filled him with worry. If his own Trial had pushed him this far he could only imagine what the others were experiencing.

The Trial would not give them an easy path. It would find the deepest wounds inside each of them and use those wounds against them. Erend knew that much now.

And there was nothing he could do about it.

Eccar, Sylven, and Aesa had to face their Trials on their own. No matter how much Erend wanted to help them he could not reach them from here.

He could only hope that they would find the strength to overcome whatever the Trial threw at them just as he had.

He lowered his head and stared at the black sand beneath his feet.

"This is probably the worst battle we’ve ever fought," Erend muttered.

He did not mean the physical battles they had fought together. They had faced monsters, armies, gods, and cosmic beings that could destroy worlds. Yet this Trial felt different. It forced them to fight against themselves.

There was no enemy they could simply overpower with strength or Magic. Their greatest weaknesses had become their opponents now, and every attack struck the pain inside their minds.

Erend looked around the dark landscape and waited.

Now that he had overcome his Trial he expected something to happen. Perhaps the Trial would send him back to the real world, or another sign would appear to tell him that he had succeeded. He stood there patiently for a while, but nothing happened.

The silence continued.

A few more moments passed, but still nothing.

Erend’s expression slowly tightened. "Is it not over yet?"

A faint sense of unease returned. After everything he had endured, he could not help but wonder whether the Trial had another challenge waiting for him.

His body was tense as he looked across the dark landscape, preparing himself for whatever nightmare might emerge next.

Then he heard a voice.

"Erend, it is nice to see you again."

Erend immediately whipped his head toward the sound and saw a man stood several meters away from him.

He was short in stature with dark raven hair and pale skin. A black robe covered his body along with black trousers and a black shirt underneath. A faint smile rested on his face as he calmly looked at Erend.

Erend was shocked. That face belonged to someone he had not seen for a very long time. Long enough that he had almost forgotten that the man existed. But somehow he still remembered his name.

"Haril?" Erend asked in disbelief.

The man smiled. Haril was the entity that lived inside the System. He was also a Boss Monster whom Erend had encountered long ago when he had first gained the power of the System.

Erend never expected to see him again, much less inside a Trial like this.

His surprise quickly turned into suspicion.

Erend’s body stiffened as he watched Haril carefully. Was this another illusion? Was the Trial using someone from his past to create another trap?

Haril noticed the change in Erend’s posture and let out a quiet chuckle. He raised one hand in a calming gesture.

"Calm down, Erend. I am real. I don’t mean you any harm right now. There is something I want to tell you."

Erend blinked.

He still did not lower his guard. After everything the Trial had shown him he had no reason to trust anything that appeared before him.

But Haril’s presence felt different from the previous illusions, and Erend decided to listen before making any judgment.

"First of all, why can you appear here if you are real?" Erend asked.

"I understand why you are wary. But I did not appear inside the Trial. I appeared inside your mind. Only you can see me."

Erend slowly nodded.

That explanation made sense, especially after everything he had learned about the Trial and the System.

"So what do you want to tell me?"

Haril’s smile disappeared. His expression became serious as he looked directly at Erend. "I think I can feel the entity that killed me and destroyed my world setting its eyes on you."

Erend’s eyes widened as the meaning of Haril’s words sank in.

He never knew what kind of entity had destroyed Haril’s world but whatever it was, though, it certainly was not something good, and it was definitely not something weak.

The fact that Haril had appeared after so long only made the warning more unsettling, especially after everything Erend had just endured inside the Trial.

"Listen, we have to talk more about this later," Erend said. "I can’t do this right now. You have no idea what I just went through."

Haril nodded. "I understand. I just wanted to tell you as quickly as possible because you need to be aware of this. Later, we have to talk more."

After saying that, Haril turned around and disappeared. Erend watched the spot where he had stood for a moment before letting out a long breath.

"Why does the trouble never end?" he wondered. Yet he did not have enough energy left to think about another threat. He had just finished confronting the deepest parts of himself and for now that was more than enough.

The black sand beneath his feet suddenly began to distort. The landscape twisted like the entire world was losing its shape, a brilliant white light soon surrounded him.

Erend felt himself being pulled into the same white tunnel he had entered when the Trial first began. The strange passage tugged at both his body and his soul, dragging him away from the dark world he had just endured.

Erend did not resist and just let the strange force carry him as he felt the Trial finally slipping away from him.

After everything he had faced, he knew that the Trial was finally over.

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