The darkness around Uziel flickered.
Not like light… more like breathing.
The countdown had ended minutes ago.
The cavern had gone completely silent.
But Uziel knew one thing now:
He wasn't alone.
His shadow—no longer some flat black stain—rested at his feet like a crouching predator, its edges pulsing with faint silver veins.
He could feel it watching him.
Not with eyes.
With hunger.
The System spoke again.
�
Your shadow has awakened.
Warning: A newborn shadow is unstable and will act on instinct. Control is required.
A cold wind rushed through the corridor, making the lanterns sway.
Uziel exhaled, a shaky smile forming.
"Yeah… I figured."
The next gate rose from the ground.
Not a door.
A circular ring of stone with ancient symbols etched across it, all glowing with faint blue dust.
Inside the ring, nothing existed.
Just black.
Not darkness—
an absence.
Uziel stepped forward, gripping the broken blade he had picked up earlier. It wasn't much. Half a knife, rusted and dull, but it felt better than empty hands.
"Shadow," he whispered, not knowing why, "stay close."
The shadow didn't respond.
Instead, it expanded slightly—
Like a panther stretching before the hunt.
The Ring activated.
A sudden blast of air sucked Uziel forward.
He tried to step back—
but the ground beneath his feet tilted.
"Not aga—!"
WHOOM!
He was pulled in.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
He landed in sand.
Hot.
Dry.
Suffocating.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing in a massive arena carved from sandstone. High walls surrounded him, decorated with bones and ancient carvings.
Above him was no sky.
Only a swirling orange storm.
�
Uziel clenched his jaw.
"Of course it's another monster."
The sand around him trembled.
Then—
HIS SHADOW MOVED ON ITS OWN.
It snapped upright like a living spear.
Uziel froze.
"Shadow…?"
It didn't look back at him.
It stared at the sand.
A deep rumble shook the arena.
The ground split open.
And something enormous began rising.
First came a horn.
Then another.
Then a skull-like head made of shifting sand, with burning amber lights inside its hollow eyes.
A creature the size of a bus, made entirely of desert storm.
A Dunewraith.
It let out a guttural roar that shook the arena walls.
Uziel's blade vibrated in his hand.
His heart hammered.
But his shadow?
It grew taller.
Longer.
Sharpening at the edges.
Almost as if it were… excited.
"Bro… I think you like this too much."
The Dunewraith slammed its tail, sending a shockwave of sand toward him.
Uziel dove to the side—
But the wave was too fast.
It would've crushed him—
Except—
His shadow rose like a shield and absorbed the impact.
The sand passed through it as if hitting a bottomless pit.
Uziel gasped.
"You can DO THAT?!"
His shadow tilted its head as if annoyed he didn't know sooner.
The Dunewraith roared again.
Uziel wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Alright… let's do this together."
The shadow curled behind him like a cape.
A living weapon.
The Trial wasn't about killing.
It was about surviving.
But Uziel felt something burn inside his chest.
Not fear.
Not rage.
Desire.
The desire to win.
To evolve.
To climb higher in this hellish world.
The Dunewraith dug into the sand and lunged toward him in a tornado of dust.
Uziel sprinted forward.
His shadow followed—
Silent.
Deadly.
Smiling.
And so began the second battle.