All that remained before Rainn’s eyes was endless darkness, a darkness that stripped away every sense.
She stood alone in an empty space where even ti seed to have stopped.
There was nothing around her to hold on to. No sound. No light. Only a suffocating silence.
"Rainn."
An extrely old, withered voice suddenly echoed from the depths of the darkness, as if it had crossed countless ages to reach her.
Rainn snapped her head up. Magical power surged around her by instinct as she went on guard.
In the endless void, an old woman in an ancient white robe floated silently in midair.
Her eyes were pure milky white, without even a trace of pupils, yet they gave off a soft and holy light.
"Who are you?" Rainn asked coldly, her voice filled with deep caution.
"I am the Wraithshard of the third-generation Primordial Miko."
The old woman slowly descended in front of Rainn, as light as a weightless feather.
"I am also the final guardian of this trial."
"The fact that you made it here alive ans you have the potential to beco a true Primordial Miko."
"But you must still pass the final test—the trial of the soul."
Before her words had fully faded, the old woman gently waved her thin, bony hand.
The dead darkness was torn apart like a curtain by an invisible force, revealing scene after scene so real they felt alive.
They were Rainn’s most painful childhood mories, the ones she had buried deep in her heart and never wanted to face again.
In those scenes, her young self wandered and begged with her equally thin little sister through the freezing wastelands of the Abyss.
Cold and starving, they were beaten and bullied by other races of the Abyss like stray dogs. In the end, the entire Miko clan cruelly abandoned them among a pile of corpses.
"Your childhood was filled with betrayal and pain."
The old woman’s pure white eyes seed able to see through Rainn’s soul.
"After suffering through such hell, why are you still so determined to beco a Miko?"
"Because I want to protect my sister."
Rainn’s voice was surprisingly calm. Her gaze was as firm as ancient ice that could never be broken.
"I don’t want her to suffer even the slightest bit ever again."
The old woman looked at her deeply, then gave a small nod and waved her hand once more.
A second bloody scene appeared in the void.
It showed the mont Rainn, in order to seize the inheritance of the Primordial Miko, drove a blade into the heart of her foster mother without hesitation.
The old Miko in the vision had once abused her in every possible way. In the end, she had even planned to kill Rainn and use her as a sacrifice.
"You killed the person who raised you with your own hands."
The old woman’s voice suddenly rose, carrying a terrifying pressure that shook the soul.
"Do you feel no guilt at all?!"
"She was never my family."
There was no emotion on Rainn’s beautiful face. Not even her eyelashes trembled.
"She was only an enemy who wanted to kill ."
A strange look flashed through the old woman’s white eyes. Then a third scene exploded in the darkness.
It showed the terrifying hunt launched by the Selwyn Family of Winterhold.
In the vision, Rainn was covered in blood and wounds as she protected her sister. She was so badly injured that she was almost at The Underworld Gate.
"When you face true despair, are you afraid of death?"
The old woman’s voice turned into rolling thunder, shaking the empty space around them.
"I am."
Rainn raised her head and looked straight into the old woman’s oppressive eyes.
"But I’m more afraid of my sister dying."
For a long mont, the empty space fell into dead silence.
After what felt like ages, a relieved smile finally appeared on the old woman’s tense, aged face.
"You have passed."
"The true aning of the Primordial Miko has never been absolute Strength."
"It is protection and sacrifice."
As she spoke those ancient words, the old woman’s body began to break apart inch by inch.
She turned into a brilliant white light, bright beyond words, like a falling star. Then it rushed straight into Rainn’s forehead.
Boom!
Rainn’s whole body shook violently.
She felt a vast ocean of ancient mories and supre power pour wildly into the depths of her soul, unstoppable and overwhelming.
...
Outside, three days had quietly passed.
In front of the black stone gate, Cheryl was already as anxious as a cat on hot bricks. She paced back and forth, unable to sit still.
"Why isn’t she out yet..."
"It’s been three days. Nothing happened to my sister in there, right...?"
Cheryl bit her lower lip hard. The staff in her hand creaked under her tight grip.
Behind her, Aiden was still leaning against the stone wall with his arms crossed, his eyes half closed.
But his long, strong hand had already tightened silently around the handle of his Legendary Rank staff.
Inside him, the terrifying magic power of a level 80 Legendary Rank Magic Apprentice was building up like a deep-sea tide about to break through a dam.
Just as Cheryl was about to lose control and forcefully blast the gate open—
Buzz!
The black stone gate, which had been silent for three whole days, suddenly burst out with a blinding holy white light.
Cheryl suddenly stopped walking, holding her breath at once.
Rainn’s tall, graceful figure stepped out from inside the gate, walking slowly through the rolling waves of light.
She had changed completely, as if she had been reborn.
The gloom and hostility she had carried from growing up at the bottom of the Abyss, built up through years of fighting just to survive, had now been washed away completely.
In their place was a calm confidence, as if she could control the world itself, along with an unshakable royal dignity.
The most striking change was at the center of her smooth forehead.
The faint white vertical mark that had once barely shown was now deep and clear, like the closed eye of a god.
"Sister!"
Cheryl scread and rushed forward without a second thought, wrapping her arms tightly around Rainn’s waist.
"You really scared to death!"
Rainn’s eyes softened at once. She raised her hand and gently patted her trembling sister on the back.
After calming Cheryl down, Rainn lifted her head. Her beautiful eyes, now even deeper than before, looked straight at Aiden, who was leaning against the wall.
"I passed."
"The Wraithshard of the third-generation Primordial Miko gave all the inheritance in this ruin."
Aiden slowly opened his eyes. Rainn’s amazing new presence was reflected in his dark gaze.
"What level are you now?" Aiden asked calmly.
"Level 88."
A confident smile appeared on Rainn’s beautiful face. The air around her twisted slightly because of her terrifying power.
"I’m only one step away from reaching level 90 Venerable."
Aiden raised an eyebrow, neither surprised nor doubtful, then gave a small nod.
"Not bad."
"Since you received the complete inheritance, do you know the exact location of the Supre Miko’s treasure?" Aiden got straight to the point.
"It’s underground."
Rainn raised a pale fingertip and pointed at the ancient, cold stone floor beneath their feet.
"Under this temple, there is a huge underground palace. The core of the treasure is sealed there."
"Then let’s go."
Aiden straightened up without hesitation. With a casual motion, he spun his staff in an extrely flashy flourish.
But he did not look toward the entrance to the underground passage right away. Instead, his cold, piercing gaze turned toward the bottomless darkness outside the temple, almost as if it had beco solid.
"After all, soone has been waiting for us in the dark for a long ti."
Aiden was not saying this without reason.
The mont Rainn passed the trial and the black stone gate opened, his passive skill, [Magic Mastery] which covered the whole area, had caught an extrely faint but deeply vicious wave of killing intent.
As expected, the rats under the Raven Miko could no longer hold back. They had finally bared their fangs.
"Clowns like that can live a little longer."
Aiden withdrew his cold, solid-like gaze, and a mocking smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
The most important thing now was to open the treasure.
"Follow ."
Rainn ignored the trash outside and turned toward the deepest part of the temple hall.
Aiden and Cheryl followed close behind her.
Inside the wide, empty hall, two rows of giant Miko statues stood tall like loyal guards.
But Rainn finally stopped in front of a completely different giant statue.
The statue was more than a hundred feet tall. It was carved entirely from an unknown black divine stone and gave off a frightening pressure.
Unlike the other statues, she was not holding a staff. Instead, her head was slightly lowered, and both of her hands were holding an ancient stone box with deep respect.
Rainn looked up at the statue with a serious expression.
Then she slowly bent her right leg and knelt on one knee against the cold stone floor.
She raised her right hand and, without any hesitation, brought her thumb to her lips and bit it hard.
A drop of crimson blood, mixed with faint holy white light, fell perfectly onto the old stone box covered in the marks of ti.
Buzz—!
The mont the blood touched the stone box, the entire statue burst out with a blinding crimson light.
Click.
A dull, dry sound of an ancient chanism rang out.
The stone box, which had been sealed for countless years, slowly opened in front of the three of them.
An extrely ancient aura rushed out from inside.
At the center of the stone box lay a simple old token made from so unknown material.
Its surface was covered in complex and hard-to-understand origin runes of the Miko clan.
Rainn stood up and gently picked up the token with her pale fingers.
Boom!
The power of the Primordial Miko inside her body, the power of a level 88 expert, poured wildly into the token like a broken dam!
The old token lit up completely in an instant, bursting with bright white light like a blazing sun.
Whoosh—!
A solid beam of light, as thick as an adult’s arm, shot out from the center of the token!
The beam struck the ground in front of the statue with unstoppable force.
Rumble...
The entire temple shook violently, as if an ancient formation powerful enough to suppress heaven and earth had been activated.
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