Chapter 185: An unexpected trial

Stepping through the gateway, he was greeted with a slightly different experience than the last time he used a similar means of transportation. This one wasn't instantaneous travel, but instead, Aiden found himself in a strange cylindrical-shaped tunnel with a flat surface made out of transparent energy. All around, he could only see the swirling mass of the dark void with the occasional speck of light mixed in, creating a fuzzy, hazy experience.

The void-tunnel as Aiden nicked it in his mind wasn't long, nor did it spiral at all. It was a short, straight hallway, he could see a similar black door-shaped tear in the space marking his potential exit from this sub-dimension.

Instinctually, Aiden sent out a few pulses of energy, but there were no responses, his system map couldn't map and record anything. Since he couldn't find any traces of a trap, or danger at all, Aiden could only go forward, and embrace himself for the strange trip ahead.

Just with other experiences, the first step changed everything. Suddenly the short tunnel stretched out, just a little bit, pushing the boundaries and the exit just a step further, matching the distance he traversed.

Raising his eyebrows in curiosity, Aiden raised his left leg that hasn't made a movement as of yet, and slowly raised it from the transparent floor. Keeping a close watch on the exit, he slowly moved his leg, ahead of his right, whilst also shifting his center of gravity forward. 

At the moment his left leg touched the 'ground', space buzzed once more, and the exit was pushed back just a bit, once again matching the distance his leg covered.

"What the…" He exclaimed, not understanding the logic behind the strange phenomena at all.

"Is this the trap?" He asked himself, but then remembering Sarah's words and expressions, he shook his head. "No, it's probably not meant to be one. Hmm… Maybe a test? Does the exit move every time my feet touch the ground?"

To test his theory, he once again lifted his right foot off the ground and moved it ahead of his left, this time covering a bit more distance than what he usually does with an average step. Just like before, once his foot touched the hard surface made out of the unknown energy, the exit seemed to blur from existence and moved further away, matching the distance covered by his movement.

"I see…" His theory confirmed, Aiden began to dive into his thoughts, thinking of possible solutions to this puzzle. 

"I can't walk that's for sure. What if I run?" 

Continuing with his theories, Aiden lifted his left leg and placed it in front of the right. As the door began to shift to match the distance he covered, Aiden suddenly began to slowly jog forward. The door, however, seemed to be able to match his pace, it did not stop but kept matching the distance his feet covered with each step. 

Expecting this result, Aiden only smirked, and slowly began to increase his speed whilst keeping a close eye on the exit portal's position. 

His speed gradually increased, but to a normal degree only, which was always matched by the portal.

Seeing that his attempt was met with a failure once again, Aiden wasn't annoyed by the slightest, in fact, he was already expecting such a result. Closing his eyes, he pooled into his Soul Power reserves, and also activated his Mystic Martial Arts. Focusing on the flow, this time he guided the energy towards his legs. As the energy sept into his muscles, his dashing figure suddenly blurred as his speed crossed the limits of what naturally would be capable.

His figure gradually turning into a streak of a black bolt of lightning he zapped towards the exit with rapid speeds. This speed was still met with a failure, however, as the gateway managed to keep with his pace and zoomed back just enough to be a step away from Aiden's reach.

Still, it wasn't a complete defeat as the sudden increase in power seemed to cause an issue to the door frame to shift and match his speed, and the original distance almost halved.

Inspired by this realization, Aiden gritted his teeth, he activated his second innate, the [Dragon's Wrath]. His eyes suddenly lit up, they began to emit their majestic golden luster, basking the black streak of lightning with a golden afterglow. Controlling the change, Aiden focused on the transformation and the power on his wings and his legs. 

The muscle mass in his legs suddenly contorted, and pulsed, increasing in density. His previously tanned skin began to alter slightly in color, donning a golden saturation as thick scales emerged from seemingly nowhere. At the same time, large bones grew out with a thin membrane made out of golden silk-like skin sprawled across. Although Aiden had no idea how to use his new appendage, he still decided to grow it out, hoping that it would assist him. If nothing else, maybe some hidden instinct or just a feel of his back muscles could maybe help him get a better feel and maybe control over it.

Still, with the transformation of his legs, his speed once again surged, as he continued dashing forth, charging against the pesky exit that kept escaping his grasp. He managed to halve the distance between them again, but after that, the gateway managed to match his new speed a few moments later. 

The exit was only a slight distance away now, but Aiden had no other options to use, he was already using both of his power-ups. The only thing left was the appendage he decided to grow out on a whim, but the problem was, he had no idea how to utilize it, or if it would even be capable of lifting him off the ground at all.

"Well, I see no other options left…" Aiden gritted it through his teeth, closing his eyes once more whilst keeping his speed and both skills activated, rapidly draining his reserves. 

He began to focus on his back muscles, focusing on the feeling around the bones that grew out from the edges of his scapula. To his surprise, he could feel the nerves connecting to the new appendage, and after a minimal effort, he could feel that he could move the new muscles in a similar fashion as he would his arms or legs.

Keeping his speed, he slowly stretched his new 'limbs' and began to slowly move and flap them, increasing the power and speed over time as his body got used to the action. 

As the seconds continued to pass he could feel his body becoming lighter as he was slowly lifted from the ground. On the other hand, his speed began to slow down, but on a good note, so did the gateway.

Finally, the gateway stopped in its tracks, with Aiden's feet no longer touching the ground, but being kept above it as long as his wings could keep him above it, the door did not react to him at all.

Deactivating his [Mystic Martial Arts], he flapped towards the exit gateway, letting out triumphant boisterous laughter just as he crossed over its surface. Just as he crossed over, he quickly deactivated his [Dragon's Wrath] innate, removing his new appendages and his returning his legs to normal whilst the glow in his eyes faded.

Before long, the dark void was replaced by a colorless light from all sides, slowly forming the walls of a lavishly decorated, exquisite room of a mansion. The fog created by energy slowly formed hard surfaces, creating the decorations and furniture. The large frame of the window formed at the far side of the newly created wall of the study room. In front of it, a woman dressed in a dark laced night dress appeared, his ebony, cascading hair reaching midway down her back. 

As Aiden's silhouette materialized from the subspace, the lady created, she slowly turned around facing the youth in front of her.

As the traversal finalized, Aiden took a moment to look around and take in the space he has now found himself in. His eyes then landed on the mature figure of the woman who was also looking at him. Her entire face was hidden behind a silver, demon-faced mask, her eyes were dark that provided absolutely no insight through the small holes. 

They kept staring at each other for more than a minute before finally, the lady gave a slight, courteous bow to the newcomer.

"Let me be the first to welcome you to my humble abode, Aiden." She then looked at him, and while her expressions were hidden behind the mask, Aiden could still feel a smile through her tone as she asked her first question. "I hope you didn't mind my small test so much. I wanted to make sure you are just as capable as my daughter has explained to me."

Straightening her back, she walked away from the window, reaching the desk where a few papers were already prepared. 

"I have to say…" She began, her voice carrying recognition of Aiden's feat. "I did not expect for you to simply power-through the challenge instead of using other means. It really surprised me. However, this raises another question…." 

Her eyes jolted wide, her black irises began to emit a faint purple, familiar glow. Her voice suddenly carried some eerie underdone.

"...Just what are you, Aiden?"