Rivers of the Night - Chapter 650
Chapter 650: Too Dangerous
Theron stepped on the top stair leading into a large archway. The moment he did, a ripple of energy spread out in a shockwave, threatening to throw him back.
He paused, strong waves of chill penetrating into his soul. It was continuous and relentless in a way he couldn’t describe.
Almost instantly, ice began to appear along his skin.
The Trial of Heart was, unsurprisingly, a test of the soul. The trouble was that the Heart Pavilion could only gather so much energy. As such, there was a special opportunity for the first ten people that stepped into the courtyard that wouldn’t be there for those that followed after.
As much as this was an opportunity, though, it was likewise a responsibility, one that fell heavily onto the shoulders of the ten disciples who took it on.
Unless they could survive this wave of assault against their soul, the other disciples would never get a chance to progress forward.
It was said that those who could withstand this baptism would have double the chance of reaching the Quasi Dome of Heaven Realm in the future and eventually reaching the Dome of Heaven Realm itself.
Of course, doubling a very small chance still made it incredibly difficult. But for geniuses on the level of Rose, Ailon, and especially Orin, surviving the baptism was akin to a guaranteed stamped ticket.
It would almost certainly be the same for Theron too…
If everyone hadn’t assumed he failed his Tribulation.
There was trouble, though.
Logically, Theron, who had just progressed his soul to the same Resonance as the geniuses around him, should have been able to plow through this Pavilion’s challenge as though it was nothing at all.
But here he was, still stuck at the first step.
As for why, it was all too obvious.
His mental state had never been worse. He had quite literally failed his Soul Tribulation.
The frozen disciples of the Pavilion that formed statues lining the sides were examples of former geniuses who couldn’t guard their hearts in the Pavilion. And any one of them had Demons far weaker than what Theron was fighting right now.
A pillar of silvery blue shot into the skies. Crackling icicles began to form over the roof of the Pavilion.
Waves upon waves of strong Ice Mana poured out.
Orin and the others were rushing up the steps, only to be blown back.
Chi. Chi. Chi.
Theron was suddenly entirely encased in ice, his body frozen at the very first step.
Shock was the only response that seemed appropriate. They knew that Theron’s mental state couldn’t have been the best right now. He was a genius who had just had his future cut short.
But never did they expect him to not even be able to survive past the first step.
The worst part of all of this was that with one less genius, the wave of pressure the other nine had to face right from the start had increased exponentially as well.
One would think that it would just be evenly divided. But the problem with the Trial of Heart was that it reacted based on a person’s weakness. The sheer amount of pressure that came down on Theron just now was exponentially more than it should have been.
Any sliver of pressure beyond what the Pavilion was designed to target you with was already too much. If that sliver was as much as what had just blown them back…
Stepping inside could very well be a death sentence—
BANG!
The ice that covered Theron shattered apart.
They hadn’t even had the time to grapple with the changes before Theron was suddenly whole again. As though he had never been encased in the first place, he took another step.
Chi. Chi. Chi.
A scene they had only just seen play out replayed itself right before their eyes.
Theron was entirely trapped in ice once more.
BANG!
Theron took a third step.
The Pavilion shook on its very foundations, the pillars—so thick they seemed to hold up the skies—swayed from side to side as though willowy branches.
Chi. Chi. Chi.
BANG!
A fourth step.
A fifth.
A sixth.
Every step Theron took, the pressure grew greater and greater. Ice Mana stored in the Pavilion for countless generations, buried beneath layers upon layers of frozen, solidified energies, was stirred by the agitation in Theron’s heart.
Normally, this Mana would remain completely inaccessible.
What too few understood about the Heart Pavilion was that it functioned on a feedback loop. As helpful as it was to the disciples, whenever there was a death, the souls of said disciples would forever become part of the foundation of the Pavilion.
However, things were also not that simple either.
There was a reason the opening of the Pavilion coincided with the gathering. The peak development of the Ice Spirit Beasts also matched its cycle with the Heart Pavilion.
The unique energies of the Ice and Heart Planet produced incredibly pure Ice Mana, a unique fusion of Elemental and Soul Mancy that came together to have profound effects on the soul.
Ten of the strongest disciples had to be the first to enter because they were the only existences that could withstand the first wave. The Heart Pavilion was essentially a twisted mass formation of Ice Spirit Beasts… it was just that it was formed by the Heart Demons of every disciple that had fallen here.
However, much like other Ice Spirit Beasts, it lacked intelligence. As such, it played to the level of its competition. This was why the strength of the Core Disciples was a perfect sweet spot for entry, while the Elders and Matriarch would never enter.
It was simply too dangerous.
Theron, though, was an existence far beyond the Core Disciples of the Hall by now… and the Heart Demon within him…
No.
The Heart Demon he was reflected the very being the Pavilion hoped to be.
When it faced him, it was stirred to its deepest depths, and it roared.
BANG!
The skies rumbled, and the eyes of the spectators opened wide.