Godslayer's Legacy: THE PATH TO SUPREMACY

Rui chose an isolated cave deep within the forest. Its damp, cool air was a stark contrast to the raging storm brewing within him. Placing the vial and manual before him, he spent hours memorizing every instruction, every warning.

"When the pain feels unbearable," the manual read, "remember: it is the soul being tempered. Pain is the price of power."

Heren picked up the vial and held it between his fingers, his expression serious. "This is your last chance to walk away, boy. Once you take this, you are committed. The pain will be unlike anything you've ever known. And remember this: it's not just your body at risk. Your soul will be tested, stripped, and reshaped. Fail, and you may survive, but you will not be whole."

Rui stepped forward, his voice steady. "I made my choice the moment I called you. Whatever happens, I will endure."

Heren nodded, his respect for the young man evident in his eyes. "Then take it, and let the trial begin."

With trembling hands, Rui accepted the vial, its warmth radiating through the glass. He uncorked it, the sharp scent hitting him like a bolt of lightning. Without hesitation, he drank, the liquid burning as it coursed through him.

The effect was immediate. A fiery surge tore through him, igniting every nerve in his body. He collapsed, clutching his chest as his core roared to life. The first wave of pain came, and Rui fought to maintain the meditative posture. Sweat poured from him as his veins burned like molten fire.

"Focus!" Heren barked from above. "Control your breathing! Let the elixir do its work, or it will destroy you!"

The hours blurred into an endless cycle of agony and struggle. Rui's mind screamed for him to stop, to abandon this self-inflicted torment. But he refused. Through the haze of pain, he saw glimpses of something greater—a vast, star-filled void within him, each light representing a fragment of his soul.

It was a reminder of why he endured.

Hours passed, or perhaps days—time had lost all meaning. Rui's body was drenched in sweat, his muscles trembling with exhaustion. Yet amidst the agony, he felt something shift within him. A crack in the barriers that had held him back, a glimpse of the power that lay beyond.

As the night stretched on, Rui knew one thing with absolute certainty: this was only the beginning.

As the first night gave way to dawn, the pain subsided, leaving Rui's body trembling and weak. He sat slumped against the cave wall, his breathing shallow, the cool air offering little reprieve. For a fleeting moment, he felt relief—until the next surge hit.

It came like a thunderclap, an unrelenting wave of agony that tore through his core. Rui's vision blurred, and his mind screamed in protest, but he forced himself upright, drawing on the techniques he had memorized. His hands clenched into fists as he chanted the mantra, grounding himself against the storm within.

"This... is nothing," Rui growled through gritted teeth. The words weren't just a declaration but a defiance against the limitations of his own body.

Above him, Heren watched in silence, his expression unreadable. The alchemist's sharp eyes flickered with something akin to admiration, but he said nothing. He knew this was Rui's battle alone.

As the hours dragged on, Rui's consciousness wavered. The elixir worked deeper into his being, unearthing buried memories and fears. Faces from his past life on Earth flashed before him, a chaotic collage of regret and longing.

He saw himself standing alone on a crowded street, the weight of his previous life's failures pressing down on him. The image shifted, replaced by a vision of the Kirean Estate—his parents, their faces proud yet distant, and his younger self yearning to prove his worth.

"Why do you fight?" a voice echoed, ethereal and commanding.

Rui gasped, his eyes darting around the cave, but there was no one there. The voice wasn't external—it came from within, a manifestation of the trial. The question repeated, louder this time.

"Why do you fight?"

"For everything," Rui whispered. His voice grew stronger. "For power. For freedom. For those who believed in me, and for those who didn't."

The visions faded, and the pain surged once more, as if testing the sincerity of his resolve.

Time lost all meaning as the days blurred into nights. Rui's body became a battlefield, the elixir's energy clashing with his own essence. The pain was unrelenting, each wave more intense than the last. His muscles ached constantly, his core vibrating with unstable power.

Hunger and thirst were constant specters, though the elixir sustained him. The manual had warned him that the sensations would feel real, a cruel trick of the mind. Rui gritted his teeth and pushed through, repeating the mantra like a lifeline.

By the end of the first month, his body was gaunt, his skin pale, but his core was beginning to stabilize. The chaotic energy within him no longer felt like a foreign force; it was becoming a part of him.

As the second month began, the pain shifted. It became sharper, more targeted, as if the elixir were seeking out weaknesses in his soul. Rui's visions returned, haunting him with memories of his past life and the weight of his failures.

"Why do you fight?" the voice echoed again, more insistent this time.

"For freedom," Rui whispered. His voice grew stronger as he repeated the words, pushing back against the shadows. "For power. For those who doubted me. For myself."

Each breakthrough came with a cost. Rui's mind teetered on the edge of collapse more than once, but he refused to give in. Slowly, the barriers within his core began to crack, revealing the vast potential hidden beneath.

The pain did not diminish, but Rui had grown accustomed to it. His body was no longer the frail, trembling form that had first entered the cave. Muscles that had withered away were now rebuilding, fueled by the elixir's energy.

His meditative sessions became longer, deeper. Each cycle of pain and recovery brought new insights into his core and the nature of his power. The chaotic energy that had once threatened to destroy him now felt like a blade he was learning to wield.

By the final month, Rui had transformed. His body, though lean, was stronger than ever. His core pulsed with a steady, powerful rhythm, the chaotic energy now fully integrated. But the final stage of the elixir's trial was the most dangerous.

Heren's warning echoed in his mind: "The last phase will strip you bare. If you falter here, even survival will be meaningless."

The elixir forced Rui to confront the deepest parts of his soul. Every doubt, every fear, every fragment of weakness was laid bare before him. The pain was indescribable, as though his very essence were being torn apart and reforged.

But Rui did not break.

With each passing day, he chanted the mantra, grounding himself in the belief that this pain was temporary, but the power it forged would be eternal.