Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Final Trial

Are you out of your mind? That was Guo Lang’s last thought, for in the next instant, the vision vanished. In that world, he never saw whether his host was beheaded by the Night Stalker behind him or struck dead by the overlord before him with a mighty blow. Whatever befell that world was now wholly irrelevant to him.

Mission failed! Proceeding to the next host. Believer Guo Lang, prepare yourself!

“Prepare?” Guo Lang’s face was numb, too weary even to curse. Prepare for what? Was there anything he could ready himself for? Wasn’t it just like watching a film? The plot never heeded the audience’s will. The director could shoot it however he pleased—could you possibly stop him?

But how long would this go on? How many times would he be toyed with? Three times? Eight? Or forever? What kind of deity was so bored as to torment him this way?

And so, Guo Lang entered the third possession in a state of numb resignation. This time he was an elven swordsman, of royal blood, slain in a defensive battle. Then came another, and another, the cycle repeating endlessly, with Guo Lang manipulated like a puppet.

On the ninth failure, Guo Lang was suddenly struck by a feeling—this might be the last time. He had never believed in Daoist philosophy nor the saying that nine is the ultimate number, but after the ninth failure, he felt an inexplicable premonition.

Sure enough, the next moment, the electronic voice sounded again, but this time the message was completely different from the previous nine.

Believer Guo Lang, you have failed your ninth mission. The final trial awaits. Do you accept?

Guo Lang was speechless. What was the point of pretending he had a choice? Did he really have an option? He cursed inwardly, but for the first time, his face showed a spark of life. Whatever happened, this ordeal was finally approaching its conclusion!

“I accept the trial!” Guo Lang stood up, his expression solemn.

“Believer Guo Lang accepts the final trial!”

“The trial is this: defeat your own shadow. Warning: this battle will determine your right to exist. Special notice: The Shadow Speaker’s talent is to claim all the traits of their shadow. To become the shadow is to render the Shadow Speaker independent from needing a shadow. The victor shall forever possess the ability to traverse the worlds of reality and shadow; the defeated shall vanish eternally from both.”

At this, Guo Lang stiffened, his expression grave but unsurprised. After all this time, he had long sensed it. From the very moment Maiev had thrust him in, he had felt it deep down: between himself and the self in the mirror, only one could emerge.

“Duel begins in thirty seconds!”

Step... step... Guo Lang realized he could hear footsteps. In this utterly silent world, not only could he hear, but he could also see the source of the sound. For the first time, he saw his adversary clearly in the realm of shadows!

That had never happened before. Though he had always sensed the other lurking in the darkness, watching, he had never been able to see him—only the endless blackness. He had tried searching, but found nothing.

Now at last, he understood the purpose of the first stage: to make him experience the helplessness and fear of being a shadow, but also to grant him the shadow’s abilities. Otherwise, he would never have been able to see his opponent in this world.

“So you can see me from such a distance now? You’ve improved quickly.” The other stopped ten meters away, gazing at Guo Lang with a surprisingly calm look, the boundless malice from before nowhere to be seen.

“You as well. Your mindset is well-adjusted,” Guo Lang replied, feeling complicated emotions. After days of living as a shadow, he could all the more sense the other’s pain. How long had he waited for this chance? Every shadow longed to pull their original master into the mirror and take his place, but the odds were pitifully small, less than one in a billion. Meeting this opportunity—what ecstasy, what madness must it bring?

And yet, in just a few days, he had so quickly calmed himself. Truly remarkable.

“Sometimes I think, perhaps I am not someone lacking in talent, but merely someone lacking in confidence. If I dared to be bolder in many things, perhaps everything would be different,” Guo Lang said quietly.

“I know…” The shadow smiled lightly. “I understand better than anyone. We’re not inferior at all; you simply can’t see it, but I can. That’s why I’m determined to change our fate.”

“You’re very confident,” Guo Lang’s face grew serious. “Have you always been like this?”

“Yes, always.” The other smiled. “I see you’re calm too. Why? Do you think you can win?”

“I have that thought.”

“Oh? Why?”

“A sense of superiority,” Guo Lang laughed. “I spent sixty days as a shadow. My experience may not be as rich as yours, but at least I have some understanding. Unfortunately, you and I are different—you’ve never been human, not even for a minute.”

The shadow’s smile froze, his expression turning icy. In a flash, the atmosphere between them became tense as steel. For both, this was a battle that could not be lost.

---------------------------------------

Outside the Hall of Shadows, Maiev stood silently, cloaked in shadowy gauze, motionless as a statue. She had been standing thus for over sixty days. For someone of her stature, it was difficult to imagine her caring so much about a being as insignificant as an ant.

“I never thought this inheritance trial would draw your personal attention, my lady,” came a familiar, ancient voice. If Guo Lang were present, he would recognize it as the voice of the ancient tree in the Hall of Professions.

“There are fewer and fewer inheritors of this line. It’s rare for someone to step in. I can’t help but come to see. After all, I have little else to occupy me—too long a life is no blessing.”

“You jest, my lady. How many envy your kind? Is not immortality the ultimate pursuit of all beings?”

“Immortality…” Maiev murmured, a trace of wistfulness flickering in her eyes.

“My lady, do you think this time the one who emerges will be light or dark?”

Shadow Speakers are unique. Many professions in the world have dual aspects, but the Shadow Speaker, by their nature, is extreme: if upright, they command all that is light; if not, they master the uncanny and all forbidden arts.

“Who can say?” Maiev smiled faintly. For once, her usually impassive face lit up, as though illuminating the whole realm of shadow. She turned to the entrance. “In such a closely-matched battle, the suspense is greatest. Until the very end, the outcome is impossible to predict.”

He’s coming out!

Suddenly, the mirrored hall’s surface fractured, a crack appearing in one corner—a sign that the law of eternal balance with the world had been broken. Maiev looked up.

Guo Lang’s figure slowly stepped through the fissure in the mirror.

“Greetings, elder!” Guo Lang bowed deeply.

Maiev’s composed face suddenly showed a flicker of shock. For the first time, her eyes widened. She saw the dagger at Guo Lang’s waist, its blade pitch-black, exuding a sense that it could absorb everything around it.

She stared for several seconds before fixing her gaze on Guo Lang. At last, she smiled. “Congratulations on joining our ranks, Shadow Speaker.”

Guo Lang bowed again. “Thank you for your blessing, elder.”

After the formalities, just as Guo Lang was about to leave, he suddenly looked up and asked, “Elder, may I ask you a question?”

“Speak…”

“I’m curious. When you undertook the trial, was it still you who emerged from within?”

His words plunged the surroundings into a deathly silence.

“You go too far!” After a long pause, the first to speak was the ancient tree, its hoarse voice brimming with discontent.

Maiev raised a hand, silencing the tree. She gazed at Guo Lang with a warmth like a true elder. “Though our Shadow Speaker line is few in number, our heritage is ancient—at least ten cosmic epochs, by my account. Yet, as far as I know, in all the ages of history, besides myself, there has never been another who has emerged as a double-faced one.” She paused, looking at Guo Lang with great seriousness. “You are truly remarkable.”

“The elder as well?” Guo Lang’s eyes lit up.

“You haven’t chosen a name yet, have you?” She changed the subject, asking for his elven name. Now that he had inherited the legacy, he was a true child of the night and needed an elven name, traditionally bestowed by an elder.

“Please grant me a name, elder,” Guo Lang replied respectfully.

“July…”

“Huh?”

“Let your name be July.”

“The elder chooses names rather casually…”