Shang sat alone in front of a brightly shining stone in an impossibly dark cave.
Even though the stone was shining brightly, the light seemingly vanished after just a couple of meters, leaving deep darkness behind.
This was the Twilight Cave, and it was the best place for the Clouds to comprehend the Concept of Twilight.
Sadly, this place saw visitors only very rarely since everyone with a Twilight Affinity would prefer to enter the Twilight Dusk Family. Naturally, the Lightning Manor couldn't compare to the Twilight Dusk Family when it came to raising people with a Twilight Affinity.
The Twilight Cave was made of metal that gave off Darkness Mana, and the stone in the middle of the cave was made of metal that gave off Light Mana.
The Light Mana and Darkness Mana would clash and cancel each other out.
Naturally, to keep the Light Mana from being completely used up, the Lightning Manor needed to use up a lot of Light Mana Crystals, but they were willing to pay a lot for their Clouds.
At that moment, Shang's white hair hung from his head like straw.
In the last couple of decades, Shang's appearance had undertaken a drastic change.
His black hair had completely vanished, replaced by the typical white hair of a very old man.
Many wrinkles were on Shang's face, and some skin hung from his chin.
Shang was becoming old.
He had been in this cave for over 50 years now, but he still hadn't comprehended the Concept of Twilight.
Due to the order in which Shang had comprehended his Concepts, the Concept of Twilight had transformed to be as difficult to comprehend as a level three Concept.
Just like the God had said after the last trial, there was no inherent level to Concepts. It only depended on in which order one comprehended Concepts of a certain group.
Shang had told everyone that he had saved the Concept of Twilight for when he needed to comprehend a quick Concept, and this was the best time for it.
The Custodian and Queen Primordium didn't question Shang's decision. At the moment, the Child of Calamity and Shang didn't even connect in any way in their mind, and even if they did, the Lightning Emperor had already taken a look at Shang, right?
So, if the Lightning Emperor didn't identify Shang as the Child of Calamity, what made them think that they could?
Usually, the Concept of Twilight was either viewed as a level one or level two Concept, but it also didn't seem impossible that it could be a level three Concept.
In the end, they gave Shang free reign on whatever he wanted to comprehend and wherever.
Naturally, he would need to pay for whatever he used if he managed to survive.
For 50 years, Shang had been sitting in front of this stone, trying to comprehend Twilight.
Yet, it just wasn't that easy.
It was a level three Concept, and Shang's mind hadn't even reached the peak of the Fifth Realm.
Shang was absorbing all the Light and Darkness Mana into his inner world and kept fighting several powerful enemies to comprehend the Concept of Twilight.
But it was just so difficult.
It was so insanely complex!
Yet, Shang couldn't stop.
This was his only shot.
The Custodian had told Shang about the second level three Concept he could try to comprehend.
The level three Concept of Death, Purgatory.
Based on what he had said, the best way to comprehend Purgatory was to be as close to death as possible for an extended period of time.
Apparently, the Death Empress had once put herself into an intense and dangerous coma for a very long time via a Spell.
She would only wake up when she comprehended the Concept of Purgatory.
Otherwise, she would die.
Naturally, she had succeeded, but this had still been one of the most dangerous moments of her life.
Shang needed to comprehend two level three Concepts in just a hundred years, which would be almost impossible.
But that was exactly where the Concept of Purgatory came in.
Just like with the first two Concepts of Death Shang had comprehended, the level three Concept of Death could also be comprehended within a day.
However, it was extremely dangerous, and if Shang failed, he would die.
Just like the Death Empress back then.
But first, Shang needed to comprehend the Concept of Twilight.
Without it, the Concept of Purgatory would be useless.
So, Shang continued focusing on the Concept of Twilight.
Another decade passed, and Shang was now 960 years old.
Shang's Aura had become far weaker than before. It was almost like it was the weak flame of a dying candle.
Due to the weakening of Shang's Aura, his clothing also started to get exposed to the natural forces, tearing in several places and getting dirty.
The bandages around Shang's eye sockets had lost their firmness and began to droop a bit.
Shang's body had shrunk by quite a bit, but his back was still as straight as it had been 60 years ago.
He was still trying to comprehend the Concept of Twilight.
Another ten years passed.
Shang was now 970 years old.
The bandages around his head nearly fell off, and Shang's robes had become too big for his withered body, halfway sliding down his torso.
Shang's skin was no longer pure white, and several brown spots could now be seen all over his body.
Another ten years passed.
The bandages had fallen down from Shang's face, revealing his wrinkly and empty eye sockets.
Shang's teeth had already all fallen out, and his gums had receded.
Ten more years passed.
Shang was now 990 years old.
Shang's robes had turned into just a couple of stray pieces of cloth, basically covering nothing of his body anymore. He might as well have been naked.
Shang's Aura had become dangerously weak, and the surroundings in his Spirit Sense had started to distort.
It was almost like Shang was in a dream.
Everything seemed to flow into everything else, and many things stopped making sense.
And then, Shang fell backward, nearly breaking his bones in the process.
Shang now lay on the ground, just facing the top of the Twilight Cave. He was breathing heavily since his body was no longer absorbing enough Mana on its own, forcing him to inhale Mana by breathing.
However, right now, there was only one thing on Shang's mind.
The Concept of Purgatory.
He needed to comprehend the Concept of Purgatory now.
A couple of seconds ago, Shang had finally managed to comprehend the Concept of Twilight, which had taken him over 90 years to comprehend.
Even more, he might not even have succeeded at all if it hadn't been for his extremely warped perception due to old age.
In a certain way, Shang's old age had worked similarly to a Mind Flow Pellet, making his mind move to very different things.
He had finally comprehended the Concept of Twilight, and now, he was only missing the last Concept.
The Concept of Purgatory.
The only sound in the cave was the sound of Shang's labored breathing as he lay in front of the shining stone.
And then, more time passed…
