It had been three days since Cineris met Neva. Neva was still leading the way, followed by her sharp and unwittingly serious companion. Soon they reached the base of a small hill in the lush green forest.

  “Are you sure this is the right place?” Neva questioned, observing their seemingly unsuspecting surroundings.

  “If we followed the map, then yes. There must be something—a mechanism of some sort—left behind by your teacher. Let's search around for it,” Cineris replied, taking the lead in combing the area. Her senses spread for several miles, centered around her. According to the map, the right location was where they were standing. Neva also extended her senses to search for clues. The senses of a Rank Three Archon could span a mile, receiving responses through the elementals scattered around, which acted as their eyes and ears.

  Even after some time had passed, no clues were found. Neva began sending pointed looks toward Cineris. Unable to bear it, Cineris snapped, “This is the right place according to the map you showed me. If it's anyone's fault we're lost, it's your teacher's for not leaving anything behind!”

  Neva's face turned stern at these words, and the ice elementals around them began to vibrate. Cineris's angry face rapidly lost color, and she hurriedly corrected herself, “I meant… I meant that your teacher must be testing you. So he left clues that are very hidden from the normal eye.”

  Listening to the explanation, Neva's sharp gaze softened slightly, but the elementals were still accumulating around her fist. After a considerable number had been compressed, she punched toward the hill. A fist made of solid ice shot out and completely froze the small green hill. With a soft, crackling whisper, the hill slowly crumbled into tiny ice particles and vanished, leaving behind a large crater. At the center of the crater was a large black stone embedded in the earth, its base hidden beneath the soil.

  “Did you know about it from the beginning?” Cineris shot Neva a questioning look. Neva shook her head in denial. She had simply been frustrated and wanted to release her anger. But as luck would have it, the hill she had blasted was hiding the entrance to the passage they were searching for. If not for that, they might have spent several days searching with nothing to show for it.

  Cineris and Neva approached the large black stone cautiously, their guards up and bodies tense for any sign of threat or movement. But even as they stood side by side beside it, nothing happened. They both began to observe it closely, but there was no sign or hint on its surface—only complete, abyssal blackness.

  Cineris absentmindedly lifted her hand and placed it on the rock. Immediately, she pulled back in a hurry.

  “What happened?” Neva asked, a tint of worry crossing her face.

  Cineris rapidly shook her hand and replied, “It's very cold. Not only on a physical level, but it's also affecting the soul.”

  Neva's brows furrowed at this. Lifting her own hand, she placed it on the stone. She felt a chill rapidly spread from the black rock into her hand. Elemental energy from her Nexus Rings coursed through her body and began to counteract the cold current. She felt a familiar yet unknown connection with it, and after a brief struggle within her body, the chill was subdued by her elemental energy.

  Just as she was about to pull her hand back, a spell diagram appeared in her mind. The stone rapidly lost its shine and crumbled away. Where it had stood was now just a deep pit, leading to some unknown place.

  Neva turned her gaze toward Cineris and asked, “Are you coming?” while extending her hand forward. It sounded less like a request and more like a command.

  Cineris just looked at her, dumbfounded. Regaining her senses, she begrudgingly extended her right hand and took Neva's. Then, together, they jumped into the dark pit.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  After some time had passed, a dark shadow appeared and followed them inside the dark pit, its intentions unknown.

  Cineris's and Neva's feet soon landed on solid ground, their fall softened by their transcendent bodies. Looking around, there was only darkness. Their eyes began to glow as they activated their Soul Vision, and their surroundings came to light. It was just a small passage, and directly behind them was a wall, signaling either the start or the end of it. The passage was constructed with hard rocks that seemed to have been properly cut and placed there.

  Neva began to navigate her way by slowly moving ahead, with Cineris closely following behind. Soul Vision was useful in such situations, as it allowed them to observe the essence of things, but it was far from foolproof.

  After walking for a few steps, Neva felt the snap of an invisible string against her torso. She suddenly ducked down while also pulling the unsuspecting Cineris with her. Just then, the space above them was completely filled with spikes emerging from both sides of the wall.

  Cineris was completely frightened. She hadn't sensed it at all before it happened. Although Ascenders possessed high healing abilities, if damage occurred to their body on a metaphysical level, it was still hard to recover from, and it might also carry intrinsic costs for its recovery. What have I done wrong to deserve this? she screamed in her heart.

  Noticing the shudder running through Cineris, Neva softly brushed her hand over her head. Cineris wanted to shout at her to stop making it worse, but the words died in her throat.

  After that, they crawled forward slowly, moving past the ice spikes. Standing up once again, Neva lightly stretched her arms and rolled her head. Going forward, she was extra careful and didn't trigger any unnecessary traps. Cineris followed her exact instructions, for the sake of her life. The access to the Void Realm was completely blocked in this space.

  There were various traps laid out, but due to Neva's quick reflexes and Cineris's fire-attributed elemental spells, they were able to swiftly clear them. Even when they made mistakes, Neva was beginning to grasp the silent, invisible strings, and as a result, they made fewer mistakes.

  When they were halfway through, sudden loud noises erupted around them.

  “Why is this happening now?” Cineris panicked. She had faced more life-and-death situations in a single day than she had in an entire decade.

  Neva shook her head. “It's not us. Something must have activated when we crossed the midpoint.”

  Suddenly, the walls began to close in on them.

  “Run!” shouted Neva, and she dashed through the narrowing gap. Recovering from her dazed state, Cineris closely followed behind. They threw caution to the wind and started to recklessly use their elemental energy to face the traps head-on. Fire and ice spells were thrown left and right, creating a colorful atmosphere, but it was anything but peaceful.

  Wounds rapidly accumulated on both Cineris and Neva. They began to wonder whether this place was really a test, or if it was a burial ground designed for them. After what felt like an eternity, they finally saw a bright light ahead. Giving their all, they narrowly escaped the gap before it closed completely.

  Cineris put her hands on her knees and rapidly gulped air like water. Even as an Ascender, her body felt unbearably heavy, her limbs trembling from the relentless strain. That alone spoke volumes about how unforgiving the passage truly was. Her gaze wandered toward Neva, who didn't show any excessive movements, but even her forehead was dotted with several drops of sweat.

  After steadying her breathing with a few more slow breaths, Cineris lifted her head. Her gaze moved toward the center of the room, from which radiated the bright light illuminating the whole chamber. Placed in the middle was a large tree trunk that had been hollowed out. And in that hollowed cavity, a single cyan thread floated around, forming different shapes as it radiated a soft, steady glow.

  “A Trait,” she unconsciously commented.

  “Seems like it,” Neva agreed. She had only recently Ascended, and her Seventh Nexus Ring was still without a trait. Maybe that's why Teacher sent me here, she thought.

  Traits were a crucial aspect of Soul Casting. Each Nexus Ring could possess a single trait aligned with its element, imbuing it with specific properties. This was especially significant in battles below Rank Three, where spells were the primary form of attack. Although their direct importance diminished after Ascension, their intrinsic value increased. An Ascension Spell had to align with the properties of the Nexus Rings, either combining them or forging a new property altogether, as her teacher had done.

  Neva stepped toward Cineris and extended her hand. Resting on her palm was a blood-red gem. She motioned for Cineris to take it.

  “Use it if things turn dire. And watch over me while I claim the trait.”

  With that, Neva approached the hollowed tree trunk and sat cross-legged beside it. Cineris studied the crimson jewel for a moment before pocketing it. Then she took her position, senses sharpened. Even the slightest disturbance could prove disastrous in Neva's current state.

  Unbeknownst to them, a dark shadow had slipped through the barely sealed gap, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.