Eternal Malediction (RE)

Chapter 117: Just Who Are You?

Kieran walked in alone.

The stone corridors twisted endlessly around him like the insides of some ancient ruin buried beneath the world itself. Torchlight flickered against cracked walls as he moved through the maze with measured steps, his breathing steady and controlled.

The deeper he went, the denser the Prana in the air became. Not enough to interfere with movement, but enough to feel oppressive like the chambers themselves were watching.

Kieran rounded another corner.

There was a dead end, and he then turned to another corner. There was a split; one left and the other went to the right. He paused briefly.

No sound came from either direction.

"Left it is."

His footsteps echoed softly as he turned.

The corridor stretched longer this time before finally opening into another massive stone door embedded into the wall ahead. Unlike the previous doors he had encountered, this one reached all the way to the ceiling, towering over him with an almost suffocating presence.

Ancient engravings spiralled across its surface. It was worn and completely unreadable.

How nice.

Kieran placed a hand against it, and it was cold. He then pushed the door, which groaned loudly as it opened inward.

Dust drifted through the gap, but it was a lot less comparable to the other ones that he had opened. Someone has already opened this set of doors before him.

The room beyond was empty, except that there were four other similar doors leading into this room, but at the centre of the chamber was a great brown oak tree, and sitting in front of it was a brown cube.

Still.

Kieran’s eyes narrowed slightly. "...Another one."

Kieran had fought two of these already, and they were a breeze, but this one felt a little off; the cube wobbled. Once. Then again.

The surface began to shift unnaturally, expanding outward as though something inside was forcing itself free. Wood splintered and twisted, stretching upward into limbs, a torso, a head...

It wanted to become human.

No. It became something less than human.

Kieran’s expression hardened slightly. "...You’ve got to be kidding me."

Nova stood before him.

The wooden imitation tilted its head slightly, dark bark stretching across its body like armour. Its face mirrored Roy’s almost perfectly, though slightly distorted, as if reconstructed from incomplete memory. No one would recognise it due to the mask that was covering its face.

Then it moved. Fast.

The wooden Nova vanished from sight in an explosive burst of speed; however, Kieran reacted instantly.

Steel clashed against wood as he drew his sword in one clean motion, barely intercepting the slash aimed for his neck. The impact sent vibrations sharply through his arm.

Strong and far stronger than the previous wooden creatures.

The imitation pushed forward aggressively, blade grinding against Kieran’s own before suddenly pivoting sideways as Kieran stepped back just as a second strike carved through the air where his ribs had been moments earlier.

The wooden Nova pressed the attack relentlessly with slashes and thrusts while pivoting for a better position when needed.

Each movement flowed unnaturally well, carrying the same economy. Roy used in combat. No wasted effort and no exaggerated swings; it was pure efficiency.

Kieran ducked underneath a horizontal slash and drove forward, his shoulder slamming into the imitation’s chest hard enough to force it backward.

The moment space opened, he attacked.

His blade flashed upward in a sharp diagonal arc aimed directly at the creature’s torso, and the wooden Nova reacted by twisting aside at the last second but not fully.

The sword severed its arm clean off. The limb spun through the air before crashing against the stone floor.

Kieran immediately jumped backward to create distance.

The imitation did the same. For a brief moment, both stood motionless across the chamber. Then, the severed arm twitched.

Wood cracked loudly as vines burst from the exposed stump. Bark spread rapidly, twisting and layering over itself as the arm regenerated before Kieran’s eyes.

Not slowly but instantly, like watching a tree grow in seconds. The fingers flexed once, showing that they were fully restored.

Kieran narrowed his eyes and sighed. "...Regeneration too."

Still. It was somewhat manageable because if he could slash the core of this wooden Nova, it would all end.

He adjusted his grip on the sword slightly.

The wooden Nova sighed. Not mechanically and not stiffly. Like a person, like Roy did. Kieran frowned slightly. Then the imitation looked at him.

Directly into his eyes. And something changed.

Kieran froze and for the briefest moment... Pressure descended. Not from above and not around him but from inside him.

His eyes widened instantly and his knees slammed against the stone floor before he fully understood what happened.

Breathing became difficult.

No... That’s impossible. His chest tightened violently as if the air itself had become too heavy to inhale.

What... Pain exploded through his skull, and his vision started to blur and redden; warm liquid streamed down his face.

It was blood.

Coming from his ears, his eyes, and his mouth. Kieran coughed violently as blood splattered across the stone beneath him.

No Prana. He couldn’t feel any Prana and that was impossible.

The pressure intensified suddenly. Then... There was an impact. His body was launched backward violently into the wall behind him, hard enough to crack the stone on contact.

Dust burst outward around him and pain shot through his spine as he collapsed onto one knee, coughing again.

His vision blurred even more and his thoughts staggered unevenly. What... was that?

Kieran forced himself to look up. The wooden Nova stood motionless at the centre of the room.

Watching him with no expression. Kieran’s breathing grew uneven. I didn’t feel any sort of Prana in that attack.

Nothing. No flow. There was no warning. Which meant... Whatever this thing just did...

He has absolutely no clue what it was. For the first time since entering the Trial Chambers. Kieran felt uncertainty, but it was not fear; instead, it was something colder.

A realisation.

Just how strong are you... Roy Shyam...?

The thought settled heavily in his mind.

Then, a hand landed on his right shoulder, and Kieran’s body tensed instantly as someone stood behind him without him knowing.

A calm voice followed. "...You look terrible."

Kieran’s eyes shifted sideways.