Chapter 1579: Came Back

Erend felt a sense of relief that words alone could not describe when he finally realized that the damned Trial was over.

All the suffering that had seemed endless had finally come to an end and the strange force had pulled him free from that nightmare.

For now Erend did not even care whether he had passed or failed. The result could wait. What mattered most was that he was finally free.

His feet touched a solid surface after what felt like a long time floating through the tunnel of white light. Yet the brightness still filled his vision and prevented him from seeing anything around him.

Erend did not feel any need to hurry, so he just stood there and waited while allowing the light to fade on its own.

The brightness gradually disappeared and the world slowly returned to his sight.

Erend found himself standing in the middle of a large room made entirely of metal. For a moment he needed to gather his thoughts before he could remember where he was, but it did not take long.

He recognized the place as the home of Askar, the Dragonborn who guarded the Trial.

Three more lights appeared around him. They took shape one after another before fading away and revealing three familiar figures. Aesa, Eccar, and Sylven now stood nearby. They had also completed their Trials and returned to the same room.

The four Dragonborn exchanged glances without saying anything.

Their eyes met for only a few seconds, yet they seemed to understand one another without words. Each of their expressions showed the same mixture of relief, exhaustion, and lingering pain.

They had all survived something that none of them wanted to remember more for now. Their bodies stood in the same room as before, but something inside each of them had changed.

Their expressions looked heavier, their eyes looked more distant, even the way they stood showed a tension that had not existed before.

They had faced the deepest parts of themselves inside the Trial and emerged from it with wounds that were not caused by any physical battle.

Erend looked at Eccar and noticed the tiredness in his eyes. Eccar looked at Aesa and Sylven in return. Aesa quietly studied the others. Sylven was the quietest of them all right now, his gaze lowered toward the metal floor as though his thoughts still remained somewhere inside the forest he had left behind.

None of them asked what the others had experienced. They seemed to understand that the question could wait.

A figure then emerged from the shadows at the far end of the room.

Askar walked toward them with his usual calm expression. His eyes moved across the four Dragonborn one by one. He studied them carefully as if he could see the subtle differences in their expressions, movements, and air around them.

For a few seconds he said nothing. Then he gave a small nod of satisfaction.

"I’m glad you returned," Askar said. His voice still carried the same cold tone as before, yet somehow it sounded warmer than Erend remembered.

The four Dragonborn didn’t answer him immediately. Erend looked into the distance while Aesa lowered her gaze. Eccar stared at the floor and Sylven remained silent.

Their minds still carried fragments of everything they had experienced inside the Trial. Those memories had changed them in ways they could not explain, but they had also left behind pain that still felt too fresh.

"What did you know about what we would experience down there?" Eccar finally asked as he looked at Askar.

Askar sighed. He looked at Eccar for a moment as though he could tell that the Dragonborn had gone through something difficult.

"I didn’t know exactly what you would experience," Askar answered. "But I already told you that it would not be easy, right?"

Eccar let out a long breath and rubbed his face. "Indeed. It was not easy. Not easy at all."

Askar looked at all four of them before gesturing toward several metal chairs nearby.

"You should sit down and rest. I’ll bring you something to eat. You need to replenish your psych and recover your strength."

The four Dragonborn did not argue. They walked toward the metal chairs and sat down one after another.

The cold metal pressed against their tired bodies, but none of them seemed to care about anything right now.

Askar turned around and disappeared into another part of the room, leaving the four Dragonborn alone.

The room was filled with silence again. They didn’t speak. They just sat there and allowed themselves to breathe.

They understood that the others had experienced something terrible inside the Trial, even if none of them knew exactly what it was.

They also understood that this was not the time to force each other to talk. Whatever happened inside that strange world still remained too close to the surface. For now, silence felt more comfortable.

After some time, Askar returned carrying four steaming cups and four brown cakes. A warm and sweet scent spread through the metallic room as he approached.

He placed one cup and one cake in front of each Dragonborn.

"These should make you feel much better," Askar said.

Erend looked down at the steaming drink. He was not convinced that food could make him feel better after everything he had just experienced.

Eccar seemed equally doubtful while Aesa simply stared at her cup. Sylven quietly studied the cake in front of him.

But none of them saw any reason to refuse.

They picked up the cups and began drinking.

The warmth spread through Erend’s body almost immediately. It was not enough to erase the memories of the Trial, but the heat soothed his exhausted muscles and gave him a strange sense of comfort.

The others experienced something similar. They slowly closed their eyes for a moment as the warmth settled inside them, the tension in his face eased.

They eventually ate the cakes as well. The sweet and slightly warm food gave them more energy than they expected. Their bodies still felt exhausted and their minds still filled with the weight of what they had experienced, but the heaviness no longer felt quite as overwhelming.

Erend leaned back in his chair and let out a quiet breath full of simple relief.

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