Inside the luxurious two-story house, the atmosphere was oppressively dark, heavy, and suffocating. The horrific sounds of screams and blind, violent rage could be heard echoing all the way to the outside streets of the grand estate.

In the grand hallway, a tall man stood dressed in a luxurious, tailored suit. He had pitch-black hair and cold black eyes. He stared down at a kneeling young boy, who was desperately clutching a broken portrait against his chest as if it were the only anchor left in his miserable life.

The young boy also shared the exact same pitch-black hair and black eyes. His eyes were bloodshot and red, and his cheeks were smudged with dried, messy tears. There were several harsh slap marks visible on his cheeks and across his trembling hands. The collar of his shirt had shifted, revealing the corner of his neck covered in dark welts and raised ridges, which were clearly the brutal marks of physical assault caused by a heavy whip or a leather belt.

The boy sat slumped on the cold floor. His eyes looked incredibly blank and hollow for someone so young in age.

His hands were bleeding profusely because of the deep scratches caused by the shattered glass of the broken photo frame he was holding.

The man slowly took a cigarette from his suit pocket. He picked up a lighter from the nearby table, brought the flame closer, and calmly lit the cigarette. As he puffed out a thick cloud of smoke, he looked down at the boy with an entirely casual gaze. He acted as if this horrific abuse was nothing special or unique, treating it as if it were simply a daily, mundane occurrence.

He stared at the broken boy for a few long seconds. Suddenly, his expression twisted into utter, vile disgust.

He kicked the boy directly in the stomach. The heavy blow hit the boy perfectly, lifting him off the ground and throwing him backward like a discarded rag doll.

"Ahh!!"

The boy hit the far wall and slumped downward. He sat up slowly, bringing his trembling knees tight against his chest. His youthful expression was filled entirely with absolute fear and dread.

"Hehe... I really like those fearful eyes of yours... They look absolutely perfect," the man chuckled darkly.

He stepped forward, casting his tall, looming shadow directly over the boy’s small figure. He looked down at him coldly, a cruel, twisted smile forming on his face.

He leaned down, bringing his face right up to the boy’s level so he could look at his terrified expression much more clearly.

A sickening smirk tugged on his lips as he whispered,

"You know what? You are the exact reason your parents died."

The boy flinched violently at his harsh words. His eyes instantly turned moist. This was the exact same cruel sentence his uncle had been telling him every single day for the last month, ever since his parents and his brother had tragically died in an accident.

"If you had just gone with them, then there would be absolutely nothing for me to be worried about..." the uncle hissed.

"You should have died in that crash right alongside them..."

The man’s eyes turned freezing cold as he continued to repeat the same agonizing words.

"Tell me, who is the reason behind your parents’ death?"

"I—I’m no—!"

*SLAP!*

The boy’s face whipped to the side as another heavy, red slap mark was violently printed onto his cheek. He didn’t cry out loud, even though the moisture filled his eyes. He already knew from harsh experience that if he cried now, the man standing in front of him would only have more fun and would hit him even harder.

"You little shit! Did you not hear what I just said?!"

"Tell me again! Who is the reason behind your parents’ death?!"

Alen flinched hard at the man’s freezing voice. He tightened his desperate grip on his legs, trying in vain to hide his bruised face against his knees.

"I—I... am...."

*SLAP!*

"Who is?!"

The man asked again, deliberately stretching out the torture.

"I... I am the reason...."

*SLAP!*

The boy’s face puffed up with angry red marks. He was unable to hold back his tears anymore as they welled up fully and spilled from his eyes.

*SLAP!*

"Did I give you permission to cry?! Did you forget your discipline that quickly?!"

The man stood back up as his dark shadow fell heavily over the boy’s bruised body. His expression looked amused as he stared down at the child’s crying face.

"It seems I am going to have to teach you your place all over again..."

The man walked slowly toward the heavy oak desk. He pulled open the top drawer and pulled out a thick, heavy leather belt. He smiled wickedly as he ran his fingers over the tough material.

The boy sitting on the floor felt his heart drop in sheer, primal terror as he saw the thick belt. He clutched his small body protectively, already remembering the painful, endless assaults that had started last month and had continued all the way until yesterday.

The man stepped closer. He casually let one end of the belt slide along the floor. The scraping sound echoed loudly through the otherwise quiet room.

He raised the belt high and snapped it loudly through the air once, making the boy feel even more terrified with every passing second.

He then glared down at the boy.

"Now tell me. Who is the reason your parents died?"

The boy stared up at the raised belt. He instantly opened his mouth, completely paralyzed by the fear of getting beaten again.

"I am.... I am the reason my parents died!"

The man’s smirk widened victoriously.

"Smart kid... It seems you learn quite fast. But it also seems you tend to forget things far too early... Then let me remind you of this crucial fact for a much longer time."

The man raised his heavy belt high into the air and brought it lashing down toward the boy’s fragile body.

*Snap!*

"Ahhh—!! No, stop!! Uncl—!"

*Snap!* *Snap!* *Snap!* *Snap!*

As the man continued to ruthlessly beat the boy, Alen lay sprawled helplessly on the floor. He was unable to defend himself from the vicious assault. The hot tears welling up from his eyes only amused the cruel man even more as he relentlessly continued to beat him.

The luxurious room fell into a horrifying, constant rhythm of agonizing screams and the sickening crack of the leather belt.

The brutal onslaught continued without pause for over half an hour.

The boy lay completely broken and bleeding on the floor. Miraculously, he was still just barely conscious enough to open one of his swollen eyes. Severe bruises filled nearly every single inch of his battered body.

The man roughly grabbed a handful of Alen’s hair and yanked his head up, bringing the boy closer to his eye level.

"You are just a pathetic, useless boy who never should have existed in this world... You are not even worth the effort of killing," the uncle spat with pure venom.

"Now, tell me once again... What exactly did you learn in today’s lesson? If you don’t answer me properly, I will gladly teach you all over again..."

The boy looked up at him with one bruised eye. He slowly and painfully parted his cracked lips.

"I... I am the worst..."

The man looked down at him and laughed loudly and victoriously.

"Hahahaha... You definitely are! Hahaha..."

The boy looked blankly at the man he had once deeply trusted and lovingly called his uncle. The man had not just completely betrayed him; he had thoroughly destroyed his entire life.

As the immense pain finally took over, his consciousness slowly slipped away. His broken body fell completely limp and unconscious on the floor, as the man simply ignored him and casually walked back inside his own room.

...

Present Time:

Deep within the Void, where no hint of light or physical objects was visible. Everything was entirely engulfed in utter, endless darkness.

A silver-haired boy was floating silently in the heavy emptiness. He had remained unconscious for a very long time. A faint, glowing Crimson Essence was thoroughly coated around his entire body, safely protecting him from the crushing pressure and emptiness of outer space.

Suddenly, the boy’s closed eyes fluttered open. Tears suddenly started to fall from his face continuously, streaming down his cheeks without stopping.

He quickly wiped his wet face as he looked around in confusion.

[Are you okay, boy? You seem to be depressed about something...]

Alen heard the soft voice of Ravena echoing in his mind.

He shook his head quickly and offered a small, strained smile to the empty darkness.

"It’s completely alright. I just saw a very bad nightmare, nothing else..."

[...If you say so...]

"So, where exactly are we?" Alen asked, changing the subject.

"It looks similar to the dark place I was in when I entered the Crimson Sky Realm for the very first time..."

[Well... We are currently floating in outer space. I coated your entire body with my Crimson Essence so that the crushing pressure of the Void could not instantly swallow you whole...] 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"Hmph... So, where do we actually have to go now? Everywhere around us is darkness. It is impossible to see any exact locations. And the biggest problem is, how do I even move around in the first place? My body is practically floating in zero gravity, and I can’t even physically move my limbs to swim through this..."

[Hehehe... Look at this. I genuinely thought you would have been half dead or would have completely lost your sanity by now, but it seems you are much stronger than I expected... Oh, I mean just mentally, of course. Physically, you are still just a weakling...]

[But don’t worry... Even if your pathetic physical existence can’t do anything here, I have your back. The absolute greatest weapon in the entire universe is sitting right at your... head!]

The dense, glowing Crimson Essence that coated Alen’s whole body flared to life. Alen’s body suddenly started to float freely forward, moving precisely according to his own will.

"Wait! This crimson power can actually do that in a vacuum? That’s awesome..."

[Hehe... So now... Let’s get going. I will personally direct you to the exact location of the dimensional gate.]

As Alen started to float forward through the pitch-black Void, wrapped safely within the glowing Crimson Essence, he braced his mind.

The next Trial was soon going to start, and it was undoubtedly going to bring even more unpredictable trouble into his already troublesome life.