Kai felt something shift inside him, a sense of belonging. For the first time, he truly felt rooted in this world. He now shared a bloodline with one of Sacra’s draconic races. He didn’t yet know how this would shape his journey, but he was ready to move forward.

  Holy Tusk welcomed them back, and together they informed the remaining four generals that they would soon be leaving. The generals understood. It was time for everyone to return to their own territories. But before parting, they would witness Kai face the final trial of the jungle.

  Kai and Umbra flew back to the Arcanum. It was time to leave the place they had called home.

  Scry emerged from Kai’s inner world. Now that Kai’s soul space had expanded, Scry could enter and observe the outside world from within freely.

  He placed a small paw on the Arcanum’s wall and spoke a few archaic words. The structure shimmered, then shrank into a cylindrical orb the size of a core. Scry absorbed it into his spiritual body.

  A crater remained where the Arcanum once stood.

  Kai stared at it for a moment, then turned and walked toward the mana lake.

  Standing at the shore, his eyes grew moist. He remembered how he had nearly died here. It was the place where everything changed, where he crossed the threshold between life and death and emerged reborn. It was here he took someone’s life for the first time and began walking the path that had led him to this moment.

  “Hey, Umbra,” Kai said, his voice quiet. “I never asked you… Why did you insist I absorb that core back then?”

  Scry chimed in, curious. “Yes, I’ve wondered that too. How did you know he wouldn’t die?” His eyes sparkled with excitement.

  Umbra flicked her tail thoughtfully. “Back then, Kai was weak. He had no mana in his body, but I sensed a strong desire to live. He had just fought a spirit beast as a mortal. His body was radiating rich mana, probably from the lake. I could feel that the serpent’s core was pure and newly formed. There was no danger in it. So, I urged him to absorb it while it was still fresh.”

  She paused. “But honestly… when I think back, it felt like something deeper was guiding me. I’m not sure what.”

  Scry tilted his head, lost in thought. “Maybe your soulbond let you feel his compatibility with the core. It’s still strange that he has no natural mana affinity, yet he inherited everything from the serpent. His body is fascinating. The more I think about it, the more confused I get. But that’s why he’s such a good test subject.”

  Kai slapped Scry on the back, sending him flying into the lake. “Test subject, my ass,” he laughed.

  Scry surfaced, his feline head soaked and furious. He shot a fireball straight into Kai’s face, charring it completely.

  Umbra burst out laughing.

  “Fine, we’re even now,” Kai said, chuckling as he bent over to wash his face.

  Umbra nudged him with her tail, and he fell in.

  Scry laughed uncontrollably.

  Kai gulped some healing water and climbed out. He caught Umbra before she could escape and tossed her into the lake. She roared and bolted out, hating every second of it.

  She shook her fur violently, sending droplets everywhere.

  Kai laughed, truly happy to be with the two of them.

  He pulled out several barrels from his bracelet, containers he had prepared in advance. He would take as much healing water as he could. This magical liquid had saved them more times than he could count.

  Once they were ready, Umbra spread her wings, and together they flew toward the earthen castle of the mammoth.

  ***

  Once they landed, the mammoth and the four generals were already waiting.

  Holy Tusk led the way, and after an hour of travel, they arrived at a mystical pyramid structure hidden deep within the jungle. At its heart lay a massive teleportation magic circle, an ancient construct that would only activate for Divine-level beasts or those who had passed the jungle’s final trial.

  Tusk stepped forward and activated a row of glyphs. A triangular artifact descended slowly from the pyramid’s peak, glowing with layered mana. As it touched the ground, it expanded, growing until it was the size of a battle arena.

  “Jump on when you’re ready,” Tusk said. “The artifact will summon a clone, a replica of you. It will mimic your fighting style and tactics, but its mana will be limited. If you can’t defeat it, you must endure long enough to outlast it.”

  Kai nodded. He was ready. He wanted to test himself.

  As he stepped onto the arena, magical lights flared around him. A scan passed through his body, and in an instant, another Kai appeared on the opposite side.

  They looked identical, same armor, the same Arg-metal sword, same stance.

  Both enhanced their bodies with Blood Moon. Their skin glowed deep red as they cast Flowing Current and clashed. Swords met with explosive force, their movements nearly indistinguishable. Kai felt his body was stronger, but the clone’s mana was sharper, more refined.

  They exchanged dozens of blows, neither yielding. Kai activated thunder mana; his hair and clothes lifted in the storm as lightning surged through his blade. He teleported above the clone and slashed downward.

  The clone responded instantly, activating aura and deflecting the strike, sending Kai flying backward. Before Kai could recover, the clone mirrored his move, teleporting above and striking down.

  Kai forced his tattoo and lightning to their limits, barely deflecting the blow. A thin slash opened on his cheek, blood dripping slowly.

  The clone was using Kai’s own skills better than he could.

  Kai cast Haste and Strengthen on both legs. His muscles bulged as he activated the coiling technique and surged forward with lightning speed, faster than ever before. The clone couldn’t react in time. Kai appeared in front of him and stabbed with his aura-enhanced sword.

  The clone cast Water Barrier, and his moon tattoo exploded with moonlight mana. Kai sensed danger and retreated, but the strike had damaged the clone already; his left arm hung limp, a hole torn through his shoulder.

  The clone roared and cast Haste and Strengthen on his remaining arm. Then something new happened.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  Two magic circles appeared behind him, one dark and light blue, the other red with silver lightning.

  The clone unleashed a barrage of Water Jet spells, and his sword, now wrapped in Thunderfire, sent slashes of pure destruction toward Kai.

  Kai was stunned. He hadn’t even tried using Thunderfire yet, and the clone wielded it effortlessly.

  Poisonous water tore through the air, followed by crescent sword slashes that distorted space.

  Kai activated all his defensive abilities and moved with precision.

  Moonlit Dance – One Thread.

  A pure white thread vibrated through the air, slicing through spells, even Thunderfire. But the clone had expected that, and before the thread could pierce him, he had evaded smoothly.

  Kai roared from behind.

  “I’ll show you true Thunderfire!”

  A Blood Moon materialized above him. His fire spirit twitched. The wolf tattoo on his arm glowed. The thunder tree within him crackled.

  Thunder and fire surged inside him as the moon descended. Space and air warped.

  The clone froze. This wasn’t in his memory. This was something only the real Kai could summon through his fire spirit connection.

  The clone regained composure and launched Kai’s favorite move. Moonlight shone as a pure white thread stabbed toward the descending moon.

  But Kai appeared behind him, aura blazing, and stabbed through the clone’s chest.

  The clone gasped, then slowly dissipated. He didn’t anticipate that Kai would use such a strong spell as bait.

  Kai stood still, conflicted.

  It felt like he had killed a person. A mana clone of himself, but it felt real. What disturbed him more was how calm he felt. His heartbeat was steady, like nothing unusual had happened.

  Had his body changed his mind? Or had the battles slowly reshaped him?

  He didn’t know. He only knew that taking a life used to be hard.

  Now… it was becoming easy.

  He cleared his thoughts and jumped down from the arena.

  A beam of light shone over him, and a small triangular mark appeared on his palm.

  Proof that he had passed the trial.

  The four generals stared at Kai, awe shimmering in their eyes. To them, he was more dazzling than even their lord, Tusk, more than any Divine Beast. He was undefeatable.

  The mammoth bowed his head, humbled and grateful that Kai stood on their side.

  Scry floated up, grinning. “Good job, Kai! You had me in the first half! I thought you were done for. But that final move? Brilliant. Clearly, my wisdom is rubbing off on you.” The spirit beamed proudly.

  Umbra snorted. “You have nothing to do with Kai’s strength.” She flicked her tail. “Still… you did well, Kai.”

  Kai smiled and sat cross-legged, focusing on stabilizing his mana. The battle had pushed him to his limits.

  Now, it was Umbra’s turn.

  She leapt onto the arena, her darkfire flaring around her. A copy of her materialized from thin air, roaring as it took form, identical in every way.

  Her trial was about to begin.

  Umbra summoned five shadow clones, each one darting to a different corner of the arena, surrounding the clone. In perfect sync, they conjured shadowy tentacles and launched a coordinated assault.

  The clone cloaked itself in darkfire, burning away the incoming attacks. Then it soared into the air, wings of shadow unfurling wide. From above, it unleashed a barrage of darkfire beams, tearing through the clones. As the beams rained down, Umbra slipped into the shadows and vanished.

  The beams obliterated the shadows, but the clone wasn’t done. It summoned storm clouds, and lightning struck across the arena in a chaotic storm.

  Umbra emerged from the shadows, leaping high into the air. A Darkfire Nova spell formed above her, a swirling orb of black flame and lightning. She hurled it downward, striking the clone and slamming it into the ground with a thunderous explosion.

  The clone struggled to rise, but before it could, Umbra dove at full speed. Her beak, cloaked in darkfire, sliced clean through the clone’s neck.

  It was over.

  A swift, decisive victory.

  The triangular mark appeared on her paw as she landed gracefully. She had proven her mastery, her control, her instincts, and her full assimilation of the legacies she had inherited.

  Kai smiled. “That was efficient. You did better than me. you didn’t give your clone a single breath.”

  Scry, of course, had to chime in. “Not bad. You actually used your bird brain. Bravo!” he said mockingly.

  Umbra shot a small darkfire arrow at him, but he dodged with ease. “Hah! In your dreams!” he laughed, hiding behind Kai.

  The five generals chuckled. They had grown used to the pair’s banter.

  Mammoth stepped forward. “Friends, you may now leave this valley whenever you wish. You’ve passed the trials. Once you go, I do not know if we shall meet again. So… how about one last dinner together?”

  Umbra and Scry turned to Kai, eyes gleaming. They were both gluttons when it came to food.

  Kai sighed. “Alright. We leave in the morning.”

  ***

  That night, they held a great feast.

  The generals provided the ingredients, and Kai grilled and roasted the meat himself. Everyone gathered around the fire, enjoying the food, the warmth, and the laughter.

  Kai suggested a few beasts he had met during his days in the jungle that would be good replacements for the lost generals, and Tusk agreed, but he needed time to mourn his lost comrades first.

  As the night grew darker, they shared stories, memories, and quiet moments of peace.

  One by one, they drifted off to sleep beneath the stars.

  It was a rare, idyllic night.

  Kai rose quietly and stepped onto the massive balcony of the earthen castle. He looked out over the jungle valley, bathed in moonlight. Above, the three moons glowed softly, casting their silver light across the world he had come to call home.

  He didn’t know if he would ever return to a place that took him from his world to a place where he had to struggle, where he was reborn into something more. He felt like the old him was a deep, far memory. Something he would never be able to return to.

  Kai sighed as the first page within his soul began to glow. His mind drifted, and in an instant, he found himself once again in the white world of the Grimoire.

  Tenebria floated gracefully in the endless light, her expression soft.

  “Hello, Kai. It’s been a while,” she said gently.

  Kai nodded, his voice cool.

  “Lord Arthraxius said we should say goodbye. I didn’t think it was necessary… yet here I am.”

  “I wanted to congratulate you,” Tenebria replied. “You’ve exceeded my expectations again and again. You even unlocked the first page and received the blood inheritance of my old friend.”

  She paused; her voice tinged with reverence.

  “You must understand… dragons can only pass on their inheritance once. For him to choose you means he has placed immense hope in your future.”

  Kai’s eyes widened.

  “Wait… none of the other Chosen received this?”

  Tenebria’s expression darkened with a hint of sorrow.

  “So you’ve learned some of the truth from Arthraxius,” she said quietly. “Yes, in the beginning, the three of us had high hopes. We trained the Chosen personally. They were our disciples. But none of them ever received our full inheritance. That’s not something we give lightly.”

  Her gaze turned hopeful.

  “But he chose you. That means you cannot fail.”

  Kai clenched his fists. His heart pounded.

  “I know you won’t tell me more,” he said. “So why did you call me here?”

  “I only wanted to see you off,” Tenebria replied. “I know we didn’t start on the right foot, but if you’re ever in danger, focus on the page. It will bring you back here.”

  Kai nodded.

  “I know. Thank you. And… thank you for the page. It saved me back then.

  I’m not as angry as I was.

  I understand you had your reasons. I just need more time.”

  Tenebria smiled faintly.

  “Thank you for being understanding. Once you reach Peak Knight level or three-circle Magus level, you may return to take the next trial or take it anywhere in the world where the Trials of Sacra are accessible. When you reach Master Knight or Grand Magus level, use the page to return to me. Then, you may attempt the test of the second page.”

  She floated back, her voice soft.

  “Now go. Goodbye, and good luck. Let mana bless your path.”

  Kai’s form shimmered and vanished.

  Tenebria remained alone in the white void, her expression conflicted. She sighed.

  ***

  Kai’s soul settled back into his body as he regained his composure. Something about Tenebria always left him uneasy. She concealed too much, and he could never fully relax around her.

  With a sigh, he stepped outside into the yard where the group had been sleeping. After a moment of reflection, Kai smiled faintly and returned to his room to rest.

  He awoke with the first rays of sunlight filtering through his window. Quietly, he donned his Shadow leather armor. Whatever awaited him beyond these walls, he intended to meet it head-on. His new sword remained within his inner world, steadily absorbing his mana, growing stronger with each breath he took. With quiet resolve, Kai stepped outside, ready for whatever lay ahead.

  The trio gathered, exchanged farewells with the general, and thanked the Tusk for his generous hospitality. Then, they departed.

  Kai flew atop Umbra’s back, with Scry darting swiftly behind them. The brisk jungle air whipped past their faces as they soared above the canopy.

  Eventually, the pyramid emerged in the distance, its golden peak gleaming through the thick greenery.

  They landed before it and turned for one final look at the jungle. The land where Umbra was born and raised, where Scry had been bound for millions of years, and where Kai had been reforged into the warrior he was now.

  Scry entered Kai’s inner world, and with a final breath, the man and beast stepped into the teleportation circle. In a flash of light, they vanished from the Beastworld Jungle.