9 Trials of Sky.
While the first was a mere matter of battling enemies, the trials became extremely difficult as time progressed.
And the content of the trials was even stranger. There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the order or identity of the trials.
The 3rd trial was a matter of the arts. If one wasn't skilled in at least one of the four arts, it was impossible for them to pass this trial.
Among them, Xinyue was particularly skilled in music. She was professionally taught to play the zither and guqin from a young age, making it simple for her to pass.
Alexandra had a harder time due to her current state, but she wasn't at a major disadvantage in this trial. Due to Alice's continued insistence, she'd picked up painting as a hobby outside of battle long ago. After she was given the means to complete the trial, actually doing so was a breeze.
The 5th trial was a strange one in that it didn't seem to have any particular purpose.
The trial objective was simple: endure.
The challengers were subjected to an unholy level of pain that came from nowhere. Their bodies were broken and healed over and over again with the aim of driving them to insanity.
An endurance trial was understandable. Wanting to test a challenger's perseverance was actually far more normal than it was abnormal.
But it took passing 34 trials to even reach this trial, so wasn't it a bit counterintuitive?
That's what Alexandra thought as she lamented while enduring the trial's pain. However, as time passed, she began to slowly and wholeheartedly accept the pain.
Alexandra was currently a spirit body. As such, the level of pain she experienced during the deconstruction and reconstruction process was far worse than any normal person.
She felt the pain of her soul tearing to shreds countless times only. Xinyue couldn't help her this time, and after several minutes of torturous pain, she truly almost went insane.
But it was at this same moment that she realized the benefits of the trial. Her soul was being strengthened immensely, a benefit she wouldn't have received if she'd come physically.
The soul was a concept unexplored by even extreme peak 4th-class masters. While they were aware of the soul's importance, they couldn't touch upon its mysteries until crossing the final threshold to Divinity.
For Alexandra to receive a soul-strengthening at this juncture was amazing. Regardless of the pain she had to endure, Alexandra forced herself to do so quietly.
With the addition of incentives, it was like she became a completely different person.
The 9th trial was the next oddity after this one. After all, there was no trial at all.
Xinyue and Alexandra merely waited. They stood in place and, as they recuperated and recovered strength after the 8th trial, they suddenly received the message that they passed the 9th trial as well.
There was no mention of a trial task or even a sign that the trial started, only a message that it ended.
And after everything was finally over, the duo stood ready for the final Trial of Sky.
It was quiet, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop several thousand kilometers away with ease.
Heaven and Earth seemed to come to a standstill, the trial grounds becoming a sacrosanct location that none could intrude upon.
However, there were two beings ruining the sanctity of the environment.
The sky rumbled.
It wasn't an exaggeration or a figure of speech.
The sky truly rumbled.
It shook as if it was a physical concept. It quaked as the earth could quake, and almost as if an illusion, debris began falling from the sky in the form of comets and meteors.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
As the meteors fell and exploded on impact with the ground, Xinyue and Alexandra tried to move and leave the blast radius, but at that moment, they found that their movement was completely restricted.
Whoosh!
The winds whipped past their face as the smoldering heat of the explosions enveloped them. Heat surpassing the lava area of the Void Corridor almost melted the duo on the spot.
However, it was clear that this heat wasn't the main trial.
After all, the sky was falling.
The rumbling of the Heavens continued, and the sky came lower and lower to the ground. The clouds became tangible, scraping across the earth as they meandered in their usual manner.
VOOM!
An immense pressure descended on the two challengers, almost instantly crushing them.
Xinyue fell to her knees, and Alexandra's spirit body crackled unstably.
This was their reaction to the mere introduction of this pressure.
OOOOOOOH!
The air seemed to bellow with the force of the wind. The sky came in contact with the ground, and those who interrupted the reunion of two lovers would only meet death.
Xinyue and Alexandra were no different.
'Haaaaah!' Alexandra screamed out as she slammed her arms up at the sky. She felt like she could touch it. She felt like each cloud was a mountain that she had to destroy if she wanted to survive.
Xinyue was clearly the same. Her arms were by no means muscular, but the force she exerted through them was enough to crush stars and sunder worlds.
Xinyue's expression was fierce. It was a massive change compared to her usual stoicism, but sadly, Alexandra couldn't be bothered to notice.
Xinyue felt something within her burn as the sky collapsed atop her. Her eyes felt like they would spew flames at any moment. The bright blue irises that decorated her sclera like gems shined with iridescent light, directly clashing with the sky above and lessening its pressure.
"Haa…haa…hak…!"
She did her best to control her breathing, but it was impossible.
She tried to fight the sky, but it was impossible.
Her strength wasn't enough.
Even with the assistance of her eyes, she could only hold on for a few minutes longer.
RUMBLE!
The sky quaked again, and the clouds changed form. They blackened and became thicker. Lightning snaked through their interiors, sparking between clouds and creating a dangerous lightning field in the air.
"Khh…!"
Xinyue gritted her teeth as the sparks of lightning collided with her body. Despite the pain she was experiencing, she refused to back down.
And she refused to show the emotion that was desired of her.
Her eyes blazed with determination, but her face remained indifferent.
Alexandra lost control first.
Her spirit form sparked and dissipated. She screamed with everything she had, she clashed against the sky, but she couldn't change her fate.
As she faded from existence, her last thoughts were regrets.
She didn't want to die.
She wanted to live longer and build a happy life for her sister.
She was unresigned.
But at least she wouldn't be going alone.
Xinyue fell only moments after her.
In the end, she wasn't able to hold off against the pressure.
But she didn't react the same way as Alexandra.
She stared death in the eye coldly. She faced it with utter indifference.
If she died, then she would die. However, death was only acceptable if it was inevitable.
In this situation where she was suppressed and oppressed, it was impossible for her to fight back more than she already had.
She just couldn't win against the enemy.
She was unworthy of strength, therefore she was dying.
This unfeeling thought was her last.
Her body splattered into blood mist and meat paste a mere instant later.
