Ascend Through the Void

The moment I accepted the trial, a force unlike anything I had ever felt wrapped around me.

It wasn't like flying, nor was it like falling. My body—if I still had one—stretched, dissolved, and then reformed. The sensation was neither painful nor pleasant, just… strange.

I tried to move, but for a brief moment, I couldn't tell if I had limbs. Or wings. Or even eyes. Was I being taken somewhere? Or was I simply ceasing to exist?

Then—stillness.

I opened my eyes.

The world had vanished.

In its place stretched an endless, colorless expanse. The System Void.

There was no sky. No ground. No horizon. The surface beneath me wasn't solid, yet I stood upon it. There was no texture, no scent, no temperature.

I lifted one of my blade limbs, watching its faint reflection in the barely visible surface below me. My body was still here. Or at least, it felt like it was.

I flexed my wings. They responded. I shifted my weight. Balance still existed.

But was this my physical body?

Or had only my mind been transported?

Or my soul?

I clenched my limbs. It all felt real. But if my body was still in the forest, what was happening to it?

Was it unconscious? Vulnerable?

And if this was only my mind, then why could I still feel the strength of my exoskeleton? The sharpness of my limbs?

The more I thought about it, the more the uncertainty clawed at me. If this was my soul, could I even die here?

Then, for the first time, a System Notification appeared—not inside my mind like usual, but manifesting physically in front of me.

---

[System Notification]

The path forward is not given—it is taken. Only those who defy stagnation may step beyond.

To ascend, you must face the only foe who knows you as you are… and as you could be.

A Void Creature has manifested, a perfect reflection of your strength, skills, and instincts—unyielding, unchained, and unrestrained. It is you at your peak.

The more you endure, the greater the storm.

Rewards will be granted based on performance.

---

So this was the test.

I reread the notification carefully, analyzing every word. This wasn't simply about winning.

The performance-based rewards meant efficiency mattered. How well I fought, how little I was hit, how effectively I used my abilities—all of it played a role.

And if rewards were granted, then failure was possible.

I swallowed the thought. What happened if I failed?

Would I be thrown back into my body, having wasted my one chance to evolve?

Or would I simply cease to exist?

No.

That wouldn't happen. I refused to let it happen.

The void remained silent, but I could feel something shifting. A presence—something forming in the empty space ahead.

Then, the creature appeared.

At first, it was nothing but a swirling black mist, like the void itself was coalescing into form.

Then, gradually, it solidified.

And I was staring at myself.

Its exoskeleton was identical to mine. Its blade limbs, its wings, even the segmented shape of its body—all the same.

Even its compound eyes reflected mine—empty, emotionless, yet filled with an understanding of exactly how I fought.

I tensed.

This wasn't just a copy of my appearance.

It had my skills. My movements. My instincts.

Then, it moved.

The void creature lunged, blade limbs slashing toward me with the exact same precision I had mastered. I dodged on reflex, but it was already adjusting, mirroring my movement and attacking again.

It fought exactly like me.

I parried, our blades clashing mid-air, sending vibrations through my exoskeleton. The force was identical to my own strikes. The way it recovered, the way it adjusted its stance—it was a mirror image.

I tried to outmaneuver it, using my Compound Vision to track the finer movements of its limbs. But it reacted at the same time I did. It anticipated my next move because it fought exactly how I would.

I dodged. It dodged.

I struck. It countered.

Every motion was a perfect reflection, making it impossible to land a decisive hit.

I leaped back, wings spreading as I took a defensive stance.

This thing was flawless in imitation, but that was its weakness.

It wasn't thinking.

It was simply reacting, mirroring, executing the most efficient move based on how I had fought so far.

That meant if I kept fighting the same way, I would never win.

I needed to disrupt its expectations.

I rushed forward, deliberately feinting an attack to its left.

It reacted exactly as expected—moving to block the feint.

That's when I twisted my body unnaturally mid-air and landed the real attack on its right side instead.

The blade cut deep.

The creature shuddered, taking a step back for the first time.

I continued, fighting unpredictably—breaking my own habits. Instead of going for expected weak points, I targeted random spots—its knee joints, the tips of its wings, even shallow cuts along its exoskeleton.

It was breaking down.

It couldn't keep up.

I forced it into a reactive state, where it was no longer mirroring but simply trying to keep pace.

Then, I landed the final strike—blades piercing straight through its thorax.

The void creature convulsed once, then dissolved into nothingness.

The void fell silent.

Then, another System Notification appeared.

[System Notification]

Void Creature Defeated.

Trial Progress:1/??

Would you like to continue the trial?

[Yes]

[No]

I stared at the message.

I could stop here.

But something inside me refused to accept that option.

In my past life, I never had choices.

Or rather, I had them, but they were never truly mine to make.

People always said, "Work hard, and you can be anything." That was a lie. A cruel illusion dangled in front of those like me—those born into nothing, expected to carve a future from air while others were handed everything from birth.

I was born into a system designed to keep me in place. A world where opportunities existed, but only for those who already had power, wealth, or connections.

I was not one of those people.

I fought. I endured. I worked harder than anyone around me. But the truth of my reality was simple:

Hard work was not enough.

They told us, "Study well, and you can rise above your circumstances."

But education cost money. And when survival itself was a struggle, how could I afford the luxury of studying?

They told us, "Invest wisely, and you can build your future."

But what did I have to invest? I had no capital, no resources.

They told us, "Dream big, and you can achieve anything."

But dreams didn't fill empty stomachs. Dreams didn't protect my family when they took our land.

In the end, I had no real choices.

I could work harder than anyone else, but a single corrupt official could erase everything in an instant.

I could struggle to save money, but inflation and exploitation would ensure I never had enough.

I could fight back, but those in power would crush me before I ever became a threat.

And in the end, that's exactly what happened.

I died powerless.

Shot down in the streets, discarded as if my life had no value. Not because I made the wrong choices, but because the system never allowed me to make the right ones.

But now… here I was.

A new world. A new body. A second chance.

I wasn't human anymore. I wasn't bound by their rules.

But nothing had changed yet.

I was still weak. Still struggling.

Still at the bottom.

But this time, I had a choice.

No one was holding me back. No corrupt politicians were deciding my fate. No powerful elites were stacking the deck against me.

This system didn't force me to stay weak. It gave me a path to grow.

It didn't hand me power.

It let me take it.

That was all I had ever wanted.

Not wealth. Not luxury.

Just a fair chance to fight for what was mine.

A chance to be strong enough that no one could take from me again.

A chance to be free.

I clenched my blade limbs.

I had already wasted one life.

I would not waste this one.

I reached forward, selecting the only option that mattered.

[Continue the Trial]