Chapter 1540: Fresh Water
The expression on the Dragon’s face revealed something that surprised Erend. It was a mixture of sorrow and hardness. He seemed determined to maintain the image of someone cold and unaffected by the past. Yet his true feelings continued to rise to the surface despite his efforts to suppress them. The sadness in his eyes betrayed him.
Erend, Eccar, Aesa, and Sylven watched him for several moments.
The already empty and cold room suddenly felt even lonelier because none of them spoke. The silence seemed to stretch endlessly through the metal chamber.
Eventually, Aesa broke it. She had always been the quickest among them to return to a stable emotional state, and she finally spoke in a calm voice.
"I don’t understand what you’re talking about. Explain it to us."
The man looked toward Aesa. His eyes twitched slightly and his jaw clenched. "I guess you really don’t know anything."
"Like we said before, we only knew the rumors and the clues that led us here," Aesa replied.
The man remained silent for a moment before nodding. "I’ll explain it to you. Which part do you want to hear first?"
Aesa opened her mouth. She was about to say that she wanted to know about the Trial.
But before she could speak, Erend interrupted. "Tell me why you can’t use your power freely as the guardian of the Trial."
Aesa glanced toward Erend. Erend looked back at her with a firm gaze but said nothing else.
Aesa understood what he meant. After a moment, she simply sighed and allowed him to continue the questioning.
"As the guardian of the Trial, my power is bound to it," the man explained. "I cannot use my Dragon power however I want. Maintaining the Trial and keeping it from falling apart requires a large portion of my power."
He paused briefly, and continued, "My strength is enough to defend myself and use small amounts of Magic. But if I tried to fight with big force, I would risk destabilizing the Trial. If I used too much of my power, the gate leading to the Trial could collapse."
The four Dragonborn remained silent. They allowed his explanation to sink into their minds.
They still did not understand what the Trial actually was, yet they had already learned that maintaining its entrance required an enormous amount of Magic power. The restriction was so severe that it prevented this Dragonborn from using his own strength freely.
It almost felt like a chain had been wrapped around his neck.
Erend still had more questions about the Dragonborn and his past, but his curiosity had now shifted toward the Trial itself.
He could also sense the same curiosity coming from Eccar, Aesa, and Sylven. After hearing that the Trial was connected to the Dragonborn’s power, all three seemed far more interested in understanding it.
"Now, please tell us about the Trial," Erend said. "But... I still want to hear your story later."
The man looked at Erend for several seconds. His gaze was difficult to interpret. It was no longer cold or sharp. For the briefest moment Erend wondered whether there was relief hidden within it. Perhaps after living alone for so long, the Dragonborn was relieved that someone had finally shown an interest in hearing his story.
The man eventually nodded and cleared his throat.
"The Trial itself is a special dimension. As the name suggests, it was created specifically as a Trial for Dragonborns. All of you can enter it together, but what you experience inside will not necessarily be the same."
"What kind of Trial will we actually experience?" Eccar asked. "Will there be fighting?"
"Fights. Puzzles. Or you might simply be thrown into a particular scene and look for the answers yourself," the man answered. "It will be different for every Dragonborn who enters."
"What about the Black Rage?" Sylven had remained silent throughout most of the conversation. Now he finally spoke. There was clear eagerness in his voice.
The man’s body immediately stiffened. "So you’ve already experienced it?"
The four Dragonborn nodded together.
The man released another heavy sigh. "I guess we’ll eventually experience it."
His expression turned sour.
There was something behind his reaction that suggested he had his own history with the Black Rage. Considering how long he had lived and everything he had experienced throughout those years, it was only natural that he had encountered the Rage himself.
"I managed to overcome it," the man finally said.
Erend, Eccar, Aesa, and Sylven immediately perked up. A glimmer of hope appeared in all four of their eyes.
"You overcame the Black Rage?" Sylven asked.
The man nodded. "It was because of the Trial."
The four Dragonborn immediately looked at one another. The hope in their eyes grew stronger, almost as though they had suddenly found a fresh spring after suffering from thirst for far too long.
The Black Rage had been one of the most dangerous and disturbing problems they had ever faced. It was the manifestation of their deepest fears, pain, and rage that emerged when they fought beyond their limits. Once it took control they could no longer properly distinguish between friend and enemy. It could turn them into monsters and make them kill the very people they had sworn to protect.
And now they had just learned that a Dragonborn had actually managed to overcome it. That was incredible news.
The Dragon could see the change in their expressions. The hope shining in their eyes made their feelings obvious to him. He understood exactly why the four of them reacted that way.
"You can overcome it if you complete the Trial," he said. "I suggest that you begin as soon as possible."
He paused and seemed to consider something before continuing. "My name is Askar."
The four Dragonborn looked at him.
Erend smiled warmly.
"Thank you, Askar. I think overcoming the Black Rage should be our first objective. As long as we still have to fear it, I don’t think we’ll ever be able to escape danger completely. Do you... have any suggestions about what we should pay attention to during the Trial?"
"I have a few suggestions," Askar said.
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