The Awen represents the Soul Trinity and is why the Draoidh believe the number three is sacred.

~Mother Danu, The Primordial Goddess of Nature

In the shadows of a monstrous statue, a cliff stood at the edge of a realm filled with rich Origin energy. It was so thick and pure that even a sickly person would suddenly feel their illness fading after one breath. Between the legs of the statue was a verdant prairie, brimming with life and beasts.

Strangely, the statue’s upper half was shrouded by mists, making it impossible to see its face. It was so large that anyone on the platform couldn’t see around it, so the view between its legs was the only light and color to be seen.

The platform on top of the cliff was circular, but only half of it jutted out from the mountain. The other half was gouged from the mountain and looked like a massive amphitheater. Three rings of stacked stone were on that circular platform, and they formed crude gateways. The design was very similar to the Darach Henge north of Oiche.

Only four gates were in the center-most ring, and a low hum interrupted the sudden stillness of the place. A gate shimmered, and the stones emitted an emerald glow while its center rippled like a pebble tossed into a placid pond. Thick vines with vicious thorns wrapped around the stone gate and plunged through the center of the portal. The tentacle-like appendages writhed and stiffened seconds later. Slowly they retracted from the entry and dropped a man-sized bundle on the ground.

Crow shivered, looking at the portal he just came through, which hadn’t deactivated. However, a grid of vines appeared over the shimmering surface, blocking him from leaving. Shivering at those freakish thorns, he looked down at his shredded clothes. The thorns hadn’t don’t much damage to his flesh, but his clothes were barely staying—were staying on his body. Watching the remnants of his outfit fall to the ground, he felt wronged.

He’d been so busy with his preparations and hadn’t told anyone that Kitten had destroyed his clothes. He didn’t have a change of clothes. Sighing, he looked around, especially at the center stone at the top of the arch. The symbol was a thorn-covered vine, but he didn’t know if that was supposed to mean something.

The other doorways had different markings, but the broken ones drew his eye because their symbols were gone. The first thought that came to mind was that the linked treasure was destroyed. Looking back at his gate, he could see that symbol marking resonated with his Soul, which meant the ring on his finger was definitely Soul-Linked. None of the other gates were illuminated, which gave him pause. As the first to arrive, there was a chance he’d have to wait a while.

Against the mountain, he had already spotted a massive archway but decided to explore the platform first. Walking toward the statue, he stood at the cliff’s edge and looked at the prairie below. Crow didn’t think it was that far down but felt that none of his powers would save him if he jumped down. Even transforming into his bird form didn’t feel like a smart move. There was this pervasive sense of impending doom if he intended to cheat the trial.

There wasn’t much to see, but he did memorize all the symbols. He wasn’t sure if it would help, but it couldn’t hurt. After that, he approached the exit. Crow wasn’t sure why there was a barrier here, but they seemed to like them. Out of curiosity, he tapped it, and it felt as solid as glass. There was even faint energy feedback. Tapping it harder, the feedback reciprocated, and he immediately stopped experimenting. Even though he only tapped slightly harder the second time, the feedback nearly doubled. If anyone punched that thing, they’d most likely cripple themselves.

If that was surprising, the voice speaking to him nearly caused him to strike at the barrier anyway. Crow didn’t startle easily, but he suspected the voice waited for when his guard was down.

“Runes along the archway match the portal you entered through. Tap it, and you’ll be able to access to kitchen, garden, leisure area, or your sleeping quarters. The last location will only open after all have arrived.”

“How long will that take?”

“As long as it takes,” the monotonous voice replied. The sound was coming from the amphitheater-like wall, so it was louder than it needed to be. Crow wondered what kind of magic created such a place.

“Who are you?”

“Your host.”

“What are you?”

“I am your subconscious.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“The formations that maintain this place manipulate your subconscious into communicating with you.”

“Then how can you have knowledge about a place I’ve never visited? Your logic is flawed.”

“The formation is supplying the knowledge. The subconscious requires very little energy to manipulate, especially for a weak human like you. It shares information, which means the formation can run on ambient mana indefinitely. Maintaining an item spirit is cost-prohibitive. Using your own mana to communicate with yourself is much better, right?”

“Is there a reason to be so frugal?”

“Time. The Sacred Order weren’t sure how long they’d need to maintain this place, so everything had to be extremely efficient.”

“Am I really talking to myself?”

“You are.”

“Are you saying my subconscious is calling me a weak human?”

“You said it, don’t blame me.”

Suddenly Crow felt like those people in the arena all those years ago. If they felt like this while he taunted them, it is no wonder they despised him.

Mana Sense spread from him like a fine mist and gently probed at the formations in the stone all around him. Because of his Soul Carving, he’d become even more sensitive to the energy contained inside inanimate things. It was barely detectable except for the gate in front of him, but it was definitely active.

Tapping the thorny vine symbol, glowing runes popped out in a circle around it, and he quickly figured out what they each meant. Only one of the runes was inactive, and he wondered why it would bother adding it. In his mind, leaving this place was starting the trial, but this made it seem like they’d come back here.

Not wanting to roam around naked, he decided to go to his room. The space was fifty meters wide and thirty long, so it wasn’t small, and it had two side rooms. One was the bedroom and the other a bathroom. A balcony faced the statue, and he immediately realized he was about a hundred meters below the platform.

The massive room had some simple furniture, but it was mostly a space for him to cultivate and practice martial skills. Three steps into the room, he stopped moving because he felt a growing pain inside him. Black fire erupted from his body, and he fell to the ground writhing in pain.