The Remnant's evolved form hit the ground with a quake that cracked the ridge in half.
Six limbs became eight.
Stone plates thickened into jagged armor.
Silver runes burned across its body like molten scars.
Its presence pressed against the air—
dense, suffocating, ancient.
The Frontier operatives stumbled back.
"That's a Tier A Remnant—!"
"We can't fight that! Pull back—PULL BACK!"
But the creature wasn't looking at them.
It was looking at Aren.
"Begin… trial."
Aren steadied his stance, heart pounding.
The void inside him twisted like a storm coiled in a bottle.
He whispered:
"…Trial?"
The rival entity's voice drifted from the rift:
"To control the Voidscar…
you must survive the instinct of the void itself."
The Remnant lunged.
Aren reacted instinctively—
Voidscar pulsed.
Spatial Rip — instinct trigger!
A jagged violet tear flickered in front of him.
The Remnant's claw scraped against the tear—
was dragged sideways—
and slammed into a stone pillar.
BOOOOM—
Dust exploded.
The female operative stared.
"He didn't even aim—! The void moved on its own!"
The older operative shouted:
"That's not good! That means he doesn't CONTROL it!"
Aren stumbled back as the Voidscar surged again.
"Stop—! Listen to me—slow down—"
The void didn't listen.
It never listened.
━━━━━━━
The Remnant recovered instantly.
Its runes flared.
"Instability detected."
It charged again—
faster than before.
Aren raised his hands—
but the void burst out too early—
SHRRRRIP—
A second Spatial Rip opened at the wrong angle.
The Remnant slid past it, unharmed, closing the distance.
Its claw came down.
Aren braced—
KRAAACK—!!
A shockwave blasted through his arms as he blocked with raw void energy.
The impact nearly broke him.
His knees buckled.
The Remnant spoke:
"You react.
But you do not choose."
Aren snarled.
"I AM choosing—!"
"No."
"Void chooses for you."
"You are its host."
"Not its master."
Aren felt a chill.
Master.
Host.
Weapon.
He grit his teeth.
"I won't be someone's weapon again."
The Remnant lowered its stance.
"Then show will."
━━━━━━━
The Voidscar pulsed harder—
trying to reach outward—
trying to shape space on its own—
trying to fight without Aren's intent.
Aren forced it down.
"STOP—moving—on—your—own!"
He felt resistance.
Pushback.
Like pushing against a waterfall.
The Remnant charged again, preparing to crush him.
Aren closed his eyes.
Focus.
Not on power.
On will.
He grabbed the void inside him with sheer mental force.
And whispered:
"…Move when I say."
He raised his hand—
The Voidscar hesitated—
flickered—
wanted to act—
Aren forced it.
"NOW!"
Spatial Rip! (Manually controlled)
A perfect tear opened directly in the Remnant's path.
Its massive arm slammed into the distortion—
TWIST—CRACK—BOOM—
The limb bent backward unnaturally.
Stone plates shattered.
Silver runes flickered.
The Remnant roared in pain.
The female operative gasped.
"He… he actually controlled it!"
The rift entity whispered:
"Good."
━━━━━━━
But the Remnant wasn't done.
It instantly regenerated the broken limb.
Ripped more fog into its body.
Runes expanded again.
The creature grew larger.
Faster.
Stronger.
Aren's breath caught.
"It's evolving again?!"
The Remnant's voice deepened:
"Phase Two:
Void pressure test."
The ridge cracked beneath its feet as it surged with terrifying speed.
Aren drew the void.
The Voidscar trembled.
He forced it still.
"No. You move when I tell you."
The Remnant appeared in front of him—
Aren slashed the air—
VOID RIP — horizontal!
The space in front of him tore open—
The Remnant's attack slipped through the tear—
and came out behind Aren, missing entirely.
The Remnant blinked.
Then growled approvingly.
"Control.
But incomplete."
Aren panted.
Sweat dripped down his neck.
He could barely breathe.
But he stood.
"I'm not done."
The Remnant's silver runes flared blindingly bright.
"Final phase."
Aren braced.
The Remnant lowered its torso to the ground—
The operatives screamed.
"AREN—MOVE!"
Then—
BOOOOM—!!!!
The Remnant fired a shockwave of void-touched force that obliterated the entire ridge.
Aren was swallowed by smoke and falling stone.
The Remnant watched the collapsing cliff.
Its voice rumbled:
"If you survive the fall…
you earn the right to learn."
The ground gave way.
Aren dropped into darkness.
━━━━━━━
As he fell through the shattered ravine, Aren steadied his breath.
He raised his hand.
Void pulsed weakly.
"I'm not dying here."
He forced the Voidscar to respond.
"LISTEN TO ME—!"
The void surged—
Aren slashed downward—
VOID RIP — BREAKFALL!
A violet tear opened beneath him, slowing his descent.
The world twisted.
He slipped through the rift—
and landed on a ledge far below.
Hard.
Painfully hard.
But alive.
Arena collapsed to one knee, coughing.
Above him, the Remnant peered down the ravine.
Its voice echoed:
"Trial complete."
Aren lifted his head.
The Remnant spoke words he didn't expect—
"I acknowledge you,
Voidscar bearer."
Aren's breath caught.
The Remnant continued:
"Return to the ridge tomorrow.
Training begins."
The rift behind the Remnant pulsed quietly.
The rival entity whispered:
"You survived.
Now learn."
The Remnant vanished into the fog.
Aren leaned against the rock wall, trembling with exhaustion.
But a faint smile touched his lips.
"I… controlled it."
Not perfectly.
Not safely.
Not cleanly.
But for the first time—
He chose.
And the void obeyed.