Dune's eyes snapped open. The world that greeted him made no sense.
He stood on a thin, see-through platform suspended in the sky, so narrow that lying down wasn't even an option.
There was just enough space to stand, and barely that. Windless silence surrounded him, yet everything above churned with slow, dreadful motion.
His gaze drifted upward, and his breath caught.
An ocean, massive, endless, flowing above him.
No horizon, no beginning, no end. A liquid sky that defied all logic, its waters glinting with sunlight piercing through the clouds in between the ocean's edge and the empty sky below.
But it wasn't only the ocean that made his heart hammer. It was what swam within.
Calamities.
Colossal beings, larger than the cities of Earth, moved through the sea like gods in slumber.
Their eyes alone were massive, glowing like suns, locked on him with awareness that felt ancient and cruel. As they passed, their gazes didn't break. Dune could feel their attention, heavy like the weight of the ocean itself.
What the hell is this place?
He looked down. There was nothing. Just a sea of clouds below, no ground, no world, only sky stretching into a shapeless abyss.
The sun? Or the sources of light filtered in from between the clouds and the hanging ocean, casting him in a soft, golden light.
"…I'm naked?"
He flinched and instinctively looked around.
Clothing responded to his will, rippling out from his skin like ink in water, forming his familiar attire, the Bloodrose Academy uniform.
A long black jacket coiled with red lines, sharp pants, thick gloves, belts, and a high-neck shirt. The fabric hugged his frame, and the moment it settled, he found himself exhaling in quiet relief.
"Can't lie… it does look kinda cool."
But the comfort was short-lived.
Neither his blade nor the Ring of Deleyna had followed him here. He was unarmed. He remembered leaving them behind in Rendely.
Suddenly, glowing runes formed in front of him in the air, words etched in light, as if reality itself wanted to speak:
[ Welcome to the Trial of Truth ]
[ Survive destruction and reach Memories Of The Future ]
[ Defeat the Dragonslayer ]
[ You can only leave the trial after you complete your missions ]
[ Restriction: Neba can't be used outside of your own body. No power is able to leave you. If they do, they will disintegrate and be absorbed by the trial instantly. ]
[ Gather fragments for survival. ]
[ Fragments can be found in any type of beast.
Fragments will be used to form a protective barrier. ]
He read it all.
"…What or who the hell is a Dragonslayer?" he muttered. "Fragments? Memories Of The Future? What does any of this even mean…?"
Dune glanced around at the nothingness. He was stuck on a floating sliver of glass in the middle of the sky. How was he supposed to survive destruction when he couldn't even take a step in any direction?
And then, the worst part.
"No Neba…?" he muttered, narrowing his eyes at the restriction.
Just to test it, he prepared Nebastep, the signature move he'd used more times than he could count. Neba swirled around his legs, but the moment it tried to extend, it shimmered, then instantly evaporated, like it had been swallowed by the air.
"Shit!" he hissed. "I can't even use Nebastep?"
He clenched his fists. "So… what am I supposed to do then? Just wait here to die?"
No Neba projection. No ranged techniques. He couldn't summon anything, couldn't release Nebawave outside his body. Even his Zeten remained locked, contained within him like a caged beast. But it's not like he could use Zeten properly anyway.
Calm down.
Dune took a slow breath. He closed his eyes and tried again, this time, focusing inward. He reinforced his body with Neba, letting the power surge into his muscles and skin without leaving the surface.
It worked. He could feel the density, the warmth. The subtle hum of controlled strength.
"…I see," he whispered. "At least I can still shield my body with Neba."
It wasn't great, but it was something.
"Not so bad."
But he had no time to waste. The Trial had begun. And if there was one thing Dune knew, it was that standing still in a place like this would only get him killed.
Hours passed. Or maybe even a day. Time didn't make much sense here.
Dune sat cross-legged on the tiny platform, his arms wrapped around his knees, his face blank with the kind of hollow boredom that only absolute helplessness could bring.
"So this is it, huh?" he muttered to himself, squinting up at the upside-down ocean. "Trial of Truth, my ass…"
The monstrous sea creatures still drifted above, enormous and horrifying, but at this point, they were more like background noise.
He'd spent the first hour panicking, the second hour whispering plans to himself, the third lying completely still trying not to think about how badly he needed to eat, only to remember there was literally nowhere to go.
Now?
Now he was just tired.
"How am I supposed to reach complete any of my missions if I can't even walk in any direction?"
He rested his chin on his knee.
He sighed deeply. "I'm going to go insane."
Suddenly, a flap of wings caught his attention.
He blinked and turned his head.
A bird fluttered down from nowhere and landed casually beside him.
Dune stared at it. The bird was small, round, and awkward-looking, covered in grayish feathers, its head a bit too big for its body. Its eyes wobbled unnaturally, like two glossy marbles glued on crooked, its most unique feature was its huge mouth, sharp like a blade and bigger than its body.
"…What the hell are you supposed to be?"
The bird blinked up at him with absolute vacancy.
Dune's mouth twitched, then he let out a short laugh. "You're… actually ugly. Like, impressively ugly. It's kinda amazing."
The bird didn't react. It waddled once in a circle, then hopped into his lap, spun once like a dog trying to get comfy, and just collapsed there. A second later, it was asleep, its body rising and falling with tiny snores.
Dune stared at it.
He tilted his head.
"…Should I eat it?"
He wasn't even sure if he was joking. His stomach wasn't exactly growling yet, but the thought had definitely crossed the line into the maybe zone.
He leaned in slightly, watching the bird twitch in its sleep. "You'd probably taste like burnt rubber."
The bird snored louder.
Dune sighed. "Yeah, forget it. I'm not that hungry."
He leaned back and looked up again at the massive creatures swimming in the ocean above. The scene hadn't changed, but somehow, having a ridiculous, half-broken bird asleep in his lap made it feel a little less hopeless.
More hours passed. Dune's eyes were half shut, head drooping, body swaying with exhaustion. It was cold. Quiet. Too quiet.
"Just… a few seconds…" he mumbled to himself.
"CHIRP!"
"AGH—!" Dune yelped as something bit his nose. He flailed back, nearly tipping over the edge of the platform and into the endless void.
His fingers scrambled, gripping the surface by the edge just in time.
"YOU—! Bastard!" he shouted, teeth clenched as the tiny bird, the same googly-eyed, idiotic looking creature, started biting his fingers.
"Stop it! Fshh! Go away! I saved you!"
He tried to climb back up, but the bird jumped on his face, wings flapping wildly as it kicked him with all its two grams of fury.
"You're actually insane!"
But then, something changed.
A deep, trembling rumble echoed through the air.
Both Dune and the bird froze.
The bird immediately bolted into his jacket like a cowardly squirrel, burrowing under his clothes and shivering violently.
"What the hell was that?" Dune muttered, eyes darting. He scrambled upright, scanning the sky, or what he thought was the sky.
The entire world shook, no, it spun. The once still ocean above twisted and spiraled, and then, it fell.
The sea above shattered into falling waves, dragging titanic creatures down like celestial bullets.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me."
Dune's mouth hung open as the ocean, once impossibly suspended above the clouds, came crashing down in a torrential, nightmarish descent.
Massive creatures, Leviathans, horrors larger than cities, plummeted with it, their glowing eyes locked on him, their mouths wide with gnashing teeth.
"No, no, no, no, no…"
He had no idea what to do. There was nowhere to run.
Instinct kicked in. Dune swung down, gripping the bottom of the platform with both hands and hanging beneath it, trying to shield himself from the cataclysm.
"I really hope this thing can handle impact," he muttered, his voice barely audible over the screaming sound of the descending ocean.
The creatures roared, their cries so loud his ears started to bleed. Dune gritted his teeth and shielded his body with everything he had, Neba and Zeten, compacted tightly around his skin, focused especially on his arms as he gripped the platform with all his might.
Then it hit.
The crash wasn't just loud, it was devastating. Dune's arms shredded instantly, skin peeling away to muscle and bone. He screamed silently, vision flashing white, then red.
He forced his Neba to heal, but the water closed in before he could catch a breath.
"Hold tight, buddy!" he yelled to the bird still curled in his jacket. The water roared around him, then something lunged.
A massive mouth snapped past his face.
Dune jerked himself closer to the platform, barely dodging it. Another creature, pulsing with red Neba, swam by, circling like a shark.
"Red?!" Dune panicked. "I'm still green! What the hell do you want me to do with red?!"
More monsters lunged, teeth flashing, but they missed, crashing downward into the abyss. Still, the water didn't stop.
His breath was running out. His strength was fading.
He held on. As long as he could.
Then something grabbed his leg.
A serpent. No, a hydra, yellow-glowing and grotesque, its tail coiled tightly around his ankle. Five heads hissed and snarled as it pulled him into the watery chaos.
"Shit!"
But before it could drag him into the depths, the world spun again.
Suddenly, he was no longer falling down, he was falling up. The pull shifted. Dune was now rising. So was the monster.
The snake-like beast followed him, still wrapped around his leg, and both of them slammed into the platform like ragdolls.
Dune rolled, barely avoiding sliding off the edge. The serpent landed over him, a tangled heap of writhing heads and fury.
He managed to slip and climbed on top of it, teeth bared, and punched it with everything he had.
"DIE! DIE, DAMN IT!!"
But his attacks did nothing. His Neba wasn't strong enough. The creature wrapped around him, squeezing the breath from his lungs. One head bit into his shoulder. Another snapped at his hand.
"What do I do?! Think, Dune, think—… i … i need a Sword damn it!"
Then, from inside his jacket, he heard it. A terrified little chirp.
His eyes widened.
The bird.
"Agh whatever," he muttered.
He reached into his jacket, grabbed the trembling creature by the body, and looked at its stupid, sword-shaped beak.
"…Sorry in advance."
He pointed the bird at the hydra's head and stabbed.
Suddenly, the bird glowed, bright orange Neba ignited across its body.
"WHAT?! ORANGE?! You had orange Neba this whole time?"
The beak sliced through the hydra's head like it was butter. Dune didn't stop. He jumped on the writhing body, swinging the bird like a dagger, stabbing again and again, slicing through the remaining heads until the beast finally went limp.
He dropped to his knees, panting, drenched in blood and seawater.
The serpent's body slid off the platform and plummeted…down… into the clouds.
[ Fragments +5 ]
[ Would you like to trade fragments for barrier? ]
Dune squinted at the floating runes. "Barrier? What does it protect me from?"
He glanced down at the bird in his hand and placed it gently onto the platform.
"You shitty bird," he said between gasps, "didn't know you were this strong… but you saved us both."
The bird waddled over to the glowing yellow core in Dune's other hand and stared at it hungrily.
"You want this?" Dune asked, blinking. "Fine. I can't use it anyway."
He handed it over. The bird's chest glowed orange, as it absorbed the liquid Neba. Its wounds healed. Even the dirt vanished. Feathers gleamed pure white, its body now larger, sleeker, almost majestic.
Dune's jaw dropped.
"…Cool."
The bird hopped onto his shoulder, preening itself like it knew it was a badass now.
Dune looked down, where once there had been clouds, now there was a vast, gray landscape, stretching endlessly.
"So that's where the ocean was…" he muttered.
And above him, the ocean had returned to its original place.
He frowned, the question gnawing at him.
"…Will it fall again?"