Fallen Fate Online

In order to reach the Arisen Grade one had to go through the Awakened Process, and everyone had a different path to this unusual phenomenon.

Some managed to do it during mortal combat, some after years of long training when one day, the fighter finally did not realize his essence, his power.

Some could do it simply because of some thought or philosophy.

For Zayne it was a mixture of the first and the third way, as he fought a lot, and only before the fight with Clort, he defined his path and his concept of justice.

Defeating Clort, when he was able to freely use his power, was the last frontier for him before his mind plunged into darkness.

Crackle.

With a blank stare, Zayne fell to the ground while still clutching his sword tightly in his hands.

"What\'s going on...?" Kota muttered with a worried expression, "Is he injured...? Damn! I knew that mage had time to do something!"

"Nah, he\'s perfectly fine." Edvin said calmly as a satisfied smirk appeared on his face, "He went through two stages, but it was enough for him. He\'s actually progressing pretty damn fast."

It wasn\'t just Edvin who realized this, anyone who had been through the Awakened Process along the way understood what was happening and soon enough, streams of energy began to flow from Zayne.

There were two kinds of flows, red and chaotic, moving like a wild beast, and white, perfect and calm, as if they were calculating their every move.

In a way, they were two opposites fitting into the body of one young man.

Everyone waited for Zayne to rise while he was in his inner space at this time.

Zayne watched as darkness dripped down from the massive altar. The altar was stone, with two tiers. On the first tier, there were five cells like stone petals, and the white liquid that was left after the destruction of his arcs immediately flowed to them. 

One of the cells was filled more than the others, but now Zayne felt that he could enlarge them almost indefinitely. All he needed was time, battles, and practice.

In the center of the petals, there was a red-blue ring that the spheres of Chaos and Fate had turned into. The ring was spinning rapidly, as if gathering some kind of energy within it.

A sphere hovered above the altar, the last of the darkness to descend from it. The sphere consisted of two parts, one was white and the other red. Each part had a special sign on it, the red part had the sign of a wolf, and the white part had a dark silhouette.

Zayne had already forgotten that he had to appear in front of it, as he didn\'t really need it anymore.

He felt that this power was his, and he knew what its name was.

"Polarity... Wildness and mastery... Yeah, that\'s definitely what I\'ve been experiencing and what I want." Zayne muttered with a deep gaze. 

Then, the sphere shone brightly, and three golden circles appeared above it. Each of them stood for one Grade, so now Zayne had reached the same level Toruf was at.

"Arisen Grade... And there is still the third stage of the Chaos Trial to come..." Zayne muttered with a dazed expression, "However... Something tells me that doesn\'t mean the end will be easy."

After a while, Zayne\'s mind returned to the real world as he slowly rose from the ground.

He felt a lot of eyes on him, but it didn\'t bother him.

Step. Step. Step.

Slowly, Gron emerged from the forest. He was exhausted, but seeing the defeated Clort, a wide smile appeared on his face.

"Damn... You truly managed to do it... Thank you... I didn\'t even count on anyone helping us." Gron said sincerely.

Zayne nodded as his ring shone brightly. A fruit core appeared in his hand, which he tossed to Gron.

Gron was slightly surprised, but he caught the core with ease and nodded in thanks.

"I\'m leaving now. I hope all is well with your village." Zayne muttered quietly, heading forward.

Gron nodded, "Sure, now we can heal our people. Without you, we couldn\'t have done it."

"Also... I guess I should apologize for what I\'m about to do." Zayne said quietly, walking next to Gron.

"What...? What are you talking about?" Gron was puzzled, but when he turned around, Zayne had already disappeared.

Gron looked around, but he didn\'t know where Zayne had gone, though it was pretty obvious to some. 

"Well... Anyway, I have a more important task right now than looking for him." Gron looked at the fruit core and ran towards the village.

At the same moment, Zayne was approaching Snake Tree with clear intent.

\'Hmm... Perhaps I shouldn\'t interfere in their affairs, but sooner or later there will be conflict between them again because of this, right?\' Zayne pondered, stopping in front of Snake Tree.

\'Moreover, considering what happened today, it\'s likely that one day, this tree won\'t grow any fruit at all. Then, they won\'t be able to save anyone, that would be a real tragedy.\'\' Zayne inwardly muttered as his gaze deepened.

Then, behind him, scarlet wings unfolded. Now, they were much larger than before and denser, as if they were composed of thick blood rather than weak energy.

Step.

Zayne\'s foot touched the ground as he turned into a scarlet flash.

In a heartbeat, he passed through the tree, cutting it in two. It was enough for the massive tree to gradually fall towards the river, sinking completely into the murky water.

The river was powerful and wide enough that after a few minutes, no one would be able to find where the Snake Tree was. Now the tree that was a blessing and a curse at the same time could no longer harm anyone.

"Agh... I don\'t know what I should do now, but if you can hear me, I\'m ready to move on. Let\'s get this over with." Zayne muttered, looking at the amulet in his hand.

The shield mark and sword mark now shone brightly, and only the broken heart mark remained. This was the last stage Zayne had to go through to complete the Chaos Trial.

A few seconds later, as if hearing him, Zayne\'s body was covered in scarlet flames. The next time he blinked he was once again in the center of the lake.

Zayne turned around, as his gaze met Edvin\'s one. He also noticed Karin, who was smiling happily and waving her hand in greeting.

Fride and Zayne didn\'t know each other, but he realized that she too was a Moon, by the sign on her neck. They only nodded slightly at each other. Then, Zayne looked at Toruf and saw his happy smile, like a teacher whose student had successfully passed an exam.

"Unbelievable..." Marcus muttered in disbelief, "With such talent, in the future, he could become one of the strongest Crusaders... However, he has already chosen his path. This is a true failure for Order..."

Sara looked at Marcus, "What are we going to do? He\'s our enemy now, right?"

"Yeah... However, we won\'t be able to attack him. Just wait until the Chaos Trial is over, then we\'ll make the best decision."

Fosca silently looked at Zayne with obvious envy in his gaze. In two stages, Zayne had become much stronger, and Fosca realized that it would take her years if not decades to reach the same level. She didn\'t believe there could be anyone so talented and capable than her.

"Hah, he did a great job, didn\'t he?" Toruf exclaimed with an excited expression as he looked at Edvin.

"Yeah, you\'re right. I just can\'t disagree with you. However..." Edvin\'s face abruptly became much more serious, "The last stage will be the most difficult, moreover I am troubled by this sign of a broken heart..."

Edvin sighed, "I mean... Sword and Shield... It was pretty obvious with those signs, although the second stage was more complex, but what does the heart mean? What will he have to do to pass this stage and Trial?"

Toruf\'s face became complicated, as did the others.

Karin always looked like she knew all the answers, but now her face didn\'t have her usual sly smile. 

She was looking thoughtfully at Zayne, waiting for Chaos Trial to move on to its final stage.

Zayne was in the same situation, he was just looking at the amulet.

After a while, when there was silence, the broken heart sign on the amulet shone brightly, and another portal appeared in front of Zayne.

\'Oh... So I have to go somewhere again...\' Zayne internally muttered, looking at the portal that led to an unknown destination, \'Well, I\'m ready. I\'ve never before been more confident in myself and my abilities than I am now. I can do this.