“Can I ask you what we're doing?” Alhen asked, but Edith didn’t respond.

  ‘Why am I not surprised?’ he thought sarcastically.

  They left the wiht behind and walked through the shining forest once again. It felt like an eternity since he had been here, but he knew it was all a product of his imagination.

  As they walked in silence, his mind couldn’t help but wander to his earlier experience. How he had passed the test was starting to bother him.

  ‘I didn’t want to think about it, but I can’t run from it forever; it’s better to tackle it now than never.'

  'If I was my essence at that moment, and all my memories were sealed, then that means that what I said at the end is what I truly think.’

  He frowned; he didn’t like where this was going at all.

  ‘So I really would have given my life at that moment... just thinking about it makes me sick.'

  'I promise I will never be like that; I will preserve my life to achieve my purpose, no matter what I have to sacrifice,’ he thought.

  The sad thing was that he hadn't changed at all.

  Alhen remembered the moment he decided to sacrifice himself for Henry when the father ordered them to kill each other, and realized that he was still stuck there.

  The Alhen, since then, still hadn’t changed, and it kind of made sense since not a whole lot of time had passed, but many things did happen.

  He thought that they had changed and shaped him, but he was starting to realize that it was just an illusion.

  He sighed heavily, and even Edith seemed to be curious about what was circulating through his mind, but she chose not to question him and kept walking forward.

  In no time, those rabbits and squirrels showed up again, but this time they weren’t the only ones.

  There were many types of animals, and he even saw what seemed to be a small glowing monkey swinging from tree to tree.

  It reminded him of the creature inside his dreams, or whatever that thing was; he still wasn’t very sure.

  Thankfully, the baby wiht didn’t seem to be present, although calling it a baby was maybe not the correct term for that haunting creature.

  The animals started to get close again, so he closed the distance between him and Edith even more, and they didn’t dare get close enough to be a real threat.

  Reminding himself of the warning she gave him, he didn’t pay the creatures any attention whatsoever.

  With this, he managed to keep himself from fidgeting or being nervous, which was an improvement from before.

  “We should be arriving in a few minutes; start getting prepared now, as I will be testing your mind again,” Edith warned.

  “Wait, am I going to sleep again? Another thing that has to do with dreams?” he asked, but Edith shook her head.

  “You will see once we get there, this test, in comparison to what you had to go through, should be very easy because all you have to do is one thing."

  "Failing at it shouldn’t be a possibility if you have a strong mind,” she commented.

  ‘A strong mind, huh,” he thought.

  Alhen could smell that it wasn’t going to be as easy as she said.

  He started pondering the possible things he would have to do and could come up with certain things, but he wasn’t too sure.

  ‘All I can do is wait and hope that it’s a walk in the park.’

  They walked for a few minutes, and just as Edith had said, they arrived.

  They were in the middle of the forest, standing in front of a massive tree with the widest trunk out of the trees that surrounded it.

  Other than the size, the difference between this tree and the other ones was that this one had many small spikes coming out of it.

  The spikes were glowing and looked poisonous at a glance.

  “Here we are,” Edith began. “As you can probably imagine, the test will have something to do with the tree that is in front of you.”

  “As I have said before, the test is going to be easy if you have a strong mind, so remember that for when you start.”

  Alhen nodded and waited to be told what to do. Edith walked to the tree and gestured for him to get closer.

  She pointed upwards, and he saw a branch poking out from it, being small and low enough for him to jump and catch it if he wanted to.

  He looked at Edith, who seemed to be waiting for him to do something, and wondered what she could want from him.

  It was then that he realized what she wanted him to do, and he couldn’t help but sigh.

  Having already gone through tough and mentally draining torture, he could recognize one at a glance.

  Without a second thought, he jumped and held himself with his only arm from the branch that had those glowing spikes on it.

  If Edith had told him to get on, he hoped that the poison wouldn’t be strong enough to kill him, but since he didn't know her enough, he couldn’t ignore the possibility.

  Edith gave a nod of approval, as he had not hesitated or asked any questions before beginning.

  It was only when he felt the pain in his hand and the weakening of his muscles that he began talking.

  “How long will I have to spend hanging to pass the test?” He asked, already feeling weak and wanting to quit.

  It was one thing to be tortured, and it was another thing to choose torture.

  On one hand, when he was tortured, he had no chance to refuse or do anything about it, but now he would have to hold on by himself with all his willpower.

  Edith smiled at him and didn’t say anything at first.

  She went over to the side and sat on the grass, taking out food from her pockets and starting to eat right in front of him.

  Alhen didn’t speak in case she would get mad and disqualify him, as he still had almost no idea what she wanted him to do or if any hidden conditions would mark the end of the test.

  Thankfully, Edith decided to speak once she had finished her snack.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  “You will keep holding onto that branch for dear life until I tell you to stop. If you rest for even a second or take your hand off the branch or touch the floor, then you will immediately fail.”

  Alhen gritted his teeth, feeling the blood from his palm traveling down his forearm and even down his chest.

  ‘Damn it, holding myself with one arm is already hard enough, and I have to hold myself until she says so? There must be some sort of secret requirement to pass this test, but I can’t break the rules.’

  He held on to the branch for dear life.

  Although the spikes bothered him, they prevented him from slipping or losing his grip easily, which he appreciated despite the pain he was in.

  He continued thinking of a solution in his mind and thought about the requirements to pass the test again.

  All he had to do was hold on until Edith said stop. If he truly wanted to succeed, he would have to focus right now.

  That’s what he did; he didn’t allow any thoughts to pass through his mind and focused on the present.

  ‘As long as I don’t let go of this branch, no matter how hard it hurts or how much I want to quit, I will pass. And if that’s what it takes to gain the strength to kill Father Vincent, then that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to take,’ he thought.

  Edith watched with mild amusement at Alhen’s face of determination.

  'I wonder how long he will last. This test is impossible since I will never say stop.’ Edith began.

  ‘You can try all you want, but I refuse to train you without you showing that there is something special about you. So, what will you do, I wonder?’

  The branch was positioned in such a way that he would have to move his head sideways to look at Edith, but he fought with everything he had to look at her.

  If she saw the desperation on his face, or if she sensed weakness, it could spell out disaster for him.

  Because her decision to let him go for now was based on an unknown factor, he would have to be careful.

  Alhen had never practiced hanging, so his resistance was bad, but he refused to let go.

  His body started shaking, and he couldn’t help but notice that his mind was begging him to stop and let go of that branch.

  He shook those thoughts aside and looked forward with gritted teeth. His eyes hardened, and he felt that his grip would give out any second now.

  ‘Keep holding yourself, keep holding yourself, keep holding yourself,’ he repeated, almost as a mantra to remind himself to hold on strong.

  He closed his eyes and felt the pain in his arm intensify, but that wasn’t the worst part; it was the fatigue.

  It felt as if he was at his limit, but deep down, he knew that he still had more fight in him.

  Opening his eyes back up again, he noticed something concerning.

  His arm was glowing a bright yellow color, lighting up his insides and showing the blood vessels, and even the bones inside his body.

  There was some sort of liquid injected into his skin from the tip of those tiny spikes, which made him feel tired.

  He tried activating his Luna Signum but couldn't.

  'As if things were going to be that easy,' he thought.

  His eyes closed involuntarily, and after a few seconds, he felt almost on the verge of passing out due to exhaustion.

  He jumped awake when he felt his hand loosening and slipping out of the branch, so he regripped it with more strength, allowing for more spikes to enter his skin for more grip.

  The only thing that existed at that moment was himself and the test laid out in front of him.

  The concentration was such that he didn’t hear the words Edith had told him until she repeated them a few times.

  “Alhen! You can give up, you know,” Edith urged him, messing with his thoughts.

  Despite his best attempts at stopping it, there were some thoughts that infiltrated the mind that told him to give up, that nothing he did would have any effect, and that he would fail anyway.

  ‘You are weak. She is probably lying and only wants to see you suffer for daring to ask her to be his mentor.'

  'What if she never tells you to let go? Just do it now so you don’t have to experience the humiliation that will follow.’

  Alhen couldn’t handle it anymore.

  He shook his head and squeezed even harder, digging the spike deeper into his skin and injecting even more poisonous liquid into his bloodstream.

  Edith whistled, clearly enjoying the show, but simply closed her eyes and lay back to relax a second after.

  Alhen didn’t pay her attention, and the voices came back again, this time with greater vigor.

  ‘She is not looking; if I’m careful enough, I will be able to rest a little before going back up again, and it will be like nothing ever happened. All I have to do is let go.'

  This was it; he truly felt like he had reached his limit. His arm wasn’t the only thing that was glowing, but also his torso and legs as well.

  He could see the glow through his jacket and pants; they did almost nothing to hide it.

  His whole body was trembling, and he had lost just enough blood that he was starting to grow tired.

  The sensation in his hand was almost gone, and he knew that it was destroyed to no end. It would be difficult to use them again if he didn’t receive treatment after this.

  Edith didn’t seem to care, however.

  Even if he passed, his arm would be rendered useless, and then it would be impossible to receive her classes effectively.

  He realized that this line of thinking wasn’t helping him in any way in this situation and dropped it, but that didn’t change the fact that his body was reaching its limit.

  There was a limit to the mind after all; even if it could hold up, his body couldn’t.

  Edith opened her eyes seemingly out of nowhere and looked at Alhen with a serious expression.

  Alhen, who was focused on the task in front of him, didn’t notice her sudden shift of mood.

  ‘This is it. Will he give up?’ she wondered.

  Alhen decided to hold himself for one second longer, then another one, then another one, but it was useless.

  Against his will, his hand began losing strength, and his muscles began failing him.

  He looked down at the floor underneath him and wished to let go, to end this suffering and discomfort, but he also wished to hold on and pass the test.

  His palm slipped, and the spikes dragged themselves across the skin, tearing it even further. The amount of blood loss at this point was concerningly high.

  He almost lost his grip and landed on the ground, but held himself at the last second with his fingers.

  Alhen knew that he wouldn’t hold on for much longer with only his fingers and wondered what to do.

  His mind was racing, but there truly seemed to be nothing to do in that situation.

  Every two seconds, one finger slipped, adding one less finger to the equation. Edith was watching from the side with interest and a smile on her face, knowing that the end was near.

  ‘It seems like he will not make it after all. It was to be expected,’ she thought.

  But Alhen wasn’t about to surrender just yet. Edith opened her eyes widely and almost couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

  ‘This is just ridiculous!’ she exclaimed in her mind.

  In front of her, something that she thought impossible was happening, and her smile widened even further, stretching her cheeks to the point of hurting, but she didn’t seem to mind.

  ‘So beautiful,’ she thought.

  Alhen was holding himself with one finger, but that wasn't what shocked her.

  As a desperate attempt not to give up, he pulled himself up with one finger with all his strength and bit on the branch.

  The spikes dug deep into his tongue and even out his cheeks, drawing lots of blood from him.

  He held on with all his strength, using the force of his jaw and finger to keep himself from dropping. Because his hand was still technically holding onto the branch, he hoped that he would not be disqualified.

  His mind started turning even foggier each second, but the force generated by his bite remained.

  Ultimately, his head started glowing, and Edith could see Alhen’s brain and eyes under the light.

  His eyes dropped until he ultimately lost consciousness, letting go, and the spikes ripped his mouth open and let blood flow everywhere, landing on the floor and making a mess.

  If Edith didn’t act now, Alhen would die.

  She rushed to his side and placed her palm on his face, trying to stop some of the blood loss as she took out a vial from her cloak and gave it to Alhen.

  She supported his head on her lap and made him down the vial in seconds. His injuries stabilized after a few seconds, but his face was still full of cuts and blood.

  All she could do now was bandage his face with some cloth she ripped from Alhen’s shirt and bring him to the cabin, letting him rest until he got better.

  “I have to say, you surprised me this cycle. Not in a million years would I think that this creature would be so persistent, considering that he is not much different from a human."

  "Maybe there is something worth teaching it,” Edith commented out loud.

  She stood and carried Alhen in a princess carry. His limp body felt weightless in her hands, and she took him through the fog until arriving home.

  When she arrived, Catherine expected them and greeted them with a smiling face, but when she saw Alhen’s condition, her smile dropped.

  She looked at Edith, asking for an explanation with her worried expression.

  “Do not worry, Catherine. He will not die,” Edith said.

  Catherine let out a sigh of relief before following her inside the room where Alhen stayed.

  “Mother, how did he do?” she asked, full of curiosity.

  Edith stopped just before laying Alhen on the bed and looked at her daughter with a pensive expression.

  “If I had to describe his results in the tests, I would have to say that they were unexpected.”

  “But did he pass?” she quickly followed up.

  “Yes, he did. I was about to fail him when he surprised me in one of the most beautiful ways,” Edith said, looking at her daughter with tender eyes.

  “Then I am glad,” Catherine responded before retreating from the room.

  Edith looked at Alhen again and placed him on the bed. She noticed how much he stank, but that would be a problem when he woke up.

  She got out of the room and noticed that Catherine had headed upstairs, probably to play with her toys again.

  She eyed the door of the cabin and headed out once more. She might have finished giving out the tests, but she still had many things to do.

  Her eyes turned serious as she left the cabin to do her daily activity, but now, she had to be prepared.

  Looking behind her, she couldn’t help but sigh. “I am a woman of my word; I will train that boy and make him feared as the student under my title, Cannibal Witch.”

  Patreon. The new chapter there will be released in a few hours.