Navigating through my menu, I scrolled to my inventory and selected the box.

  WOULD YOU LIKE TO OPEN THE BOX NOW?

  Opening now means the item will be set for your current level. It can only be advanced by a master or grand master, and only if YOU are the crafter.

  SELECT – YES OR NO

  I tapped "Yes."

  A box materialized at my feet. Everyone turned to look at it, their expressions a mix of curiosity and confusion. I hesitated, unsure of what to expect, before reaching down…

  A hand shot out.

  It slapped something into my palm, stinging enough to make me flinch. Before I could react, the same hand curled into a thumbs-up, and from its extended digit, a golden flag popped out, fluttering proudly with the word "LEGENDARY" emblazoned across it.

  Then, just as abruptly as it had appeared, the box, and the disembodied hand, vanished.

  “What the actual…” I started, but laughter overtook me. The sheer ridiculousness of it was too much. The others, equally baffled, joined in as they began opening their own boxes.

  Still chuckling, I looked down at the item now resting in my grip.

  STARLIT ECLIPSER

  A legendary celestial blade of unmatched power.

  The handle, forged from the ultra-rare and unbreakable [Singularity Stone], gleamed with intricate golden veins that shimmered like constellations. Embedded at its core, the [Galactic Heartstone] encased a swirling galaxy, a breathtaking cosmic spectacle of stars and nebulae locked in eternal motion. The blade itself remained unseen; its form shrouded in mystery, dormant until the wielder channeled their celestial essence to awaken it.

  Only those attuned to the celestial forces could wield this weapon, drawing upon the profound energies of the cosmos.

  ATTUNEMENT REQUIRED

  To wield the [Starlit Eclipser], the chosen must undergo the [Celestial Convergence]. Upon activation, the wielder is absorbed into the [Galactic Heartstone], transported to an astral plane beyond mortal understanding. Three trials await, their nature obscured by the shifting constellations. Only by overcoming them can the wielder’s essence merge with the Heartstone, unlocking the blade’s true form.

  Can you guess what happens next?

  Yeah. That happened.

  One second, I was standing with the others, reading the description. The next.

  A crushing pull. A sensation like being yanked through the very fabric of space itself.

  When I came to, I was standing on an endless flat expanse, floating amidst a breathtaking sea of swirling stars and drifting nebulae. The vast emptiness stretched in all directions, silent and unbroken, except for the single thing in front of me.

  A portal.

  It stood thirty feet ahead, colorless and gaping, its surface a shifting void that seemed to consume light rather than reflect it. Looking at it made my stomach churn, some primal part of me recoiling in instinctive dread.

  Then, a voice.

  It resonated from nowhere and everywhere at once, deep and omnipresent, vibrating through my very bones.

  “You have entered the [Celestial Convergence]. Three trials await you. Only by overcoming these challenges will you be deemed worthy to wield my handle.”

  I swallowed, forcing myself to breathe evenly as my eyes darted around the platform, searching for anything, anything that might hint at what was coming next.

  Before I could act, the voice returned.

  “Within these trials, you will face challenges of great significance.”

  A pause.

  Then, something wrong happened.

  -ERROR: These trials have been corrupted. Run now…-

  The voice distorted, glitching, warping as if something had twisted its very existence.

  And just like that, every muscle in my body screamed at me to move.

  What the hell was that? The corrupted message still echoed in my head, making my skin crawl.

  Before I could process it further, the voice, now steady and composed, as if nothing had gone wrong, spoke again.

  “To unlock the portal and summon your first challenge, you must solve the Puzzle of Shadows.”

  As the final word faded, the portal’s colorless void began to ripple, its surface shimmering like disturbed water. A shape emerged from the nothingness, a massive panel adorned with an intricate network of rotating dials and shifting sections, each etched with unfamiliar runes and cryptic symbols.

  A soft chime sounded in my ears as a notification appeared in my interface.

  Identify the Symbols of Emotion – Four symbols pulse dimly on the panel, each representing a core emotion: Anger, Fear, Sadness, and Joy.

  Arrange the Symbols – The symbols can be rotated and repositioned. Your task: arrange them in a sequence that reveals the true nature of Hate.

  Symbol Alignment – Etched into the panel is a cryptic passage hinting at how emotions intertwine to give rise to Hate. You must align the symbols in the correct progression, uncovering the hidden connections between these emotions and their descent into hatred.

  Activation – If the sequence is correct, the portal will react. If not… well, let’s hope there’s no penalty for failure.

  Hate? Interesting challenge. Was this meant to purge any lingering hatred from me? Did I need to be purified of it to wield a celestial weapon?

  I ran my fingers along the panel, studying the strange markings. Before I could analyze further, the symbols shifted on their own, the mechanism clicking as they scrambled into a new, random order.

  The voice echoed once more, calm yet absolute:

  "Hate is born from the extremes of all emotions. Find the balance and unlock the path."

  I frowned. The symbols were arranged in a flowing wave-like formation, perhaps representing the natural rise and fall of emotions? That made sense. Now, I just needed to decipher what each rune meant.

  I squinted at them. No clear markings, no easy translations. Would it have killed them to use emojis? I groaned aloud. If I was being honest, I just wanted to sleep. But noooo, apparently, I had to do stupid celestial puzzles instead.

  I examined the symbols more closely.

  The first rune a downward-pointing triangle with a wavy line beneath it. Something about it unsettled me. Fear?

  The second rune a diamond with radiating lines. That felt… uplifting? Joy.

  The third rune an upside-down arch with a single line extending downward. It kind of resembled a frown. Sadness.

  and finally, the fourth rune a jagged, lightning-bolt-like shape, chaotic and sharp. Definitely Anger.

  Satisfied with my reasoning, I pointed to each one in turn, saying their names aloud.

  The stars pulsed in silent agreement.

  Now, I just had to organize them properly.

  Joy was a high, it lifted you, made you feel like you were floating. That had to go in the upper left corner.

  Anger was also a high, but the opposite kind, wild, burning, ready to explode if unchecked. That went in the upper right corner.

  As I placed them, the runes flashed solid, Joy glowing a warm gold, Anger a deep, blood red. The stars surrounding me pulsed in silent approval.

  That left Sadness and Fear.

  I placed Fear in the lower left corner, but the stars dimmed in dissatisfaction. Wrong. Frowning, I swapped it with Sadness, putting Fear in the lower right instead.

  The stars flared with glee.

  Before I could react, a sudden blast of abyssal energy streaked down from above, colliding with the portal.

  Something shot out.

  A monstrous fist, twisted, gnarled, inhuman, erupted from the swirling void and slammed into my chest before I could even flinch. The impact sent me spiraling across the platform, my body colliding against an invisible wall. A wet cough escaped my lips as blood splattered onto the stardust-covered floor.

  I gasped for breath, head spinning, body aching.

  Then I saw it.

  A figure lumbered from the portal, grotesque, broken… familiar.

  The face, an exact replica of my mother’s ex-boyfriend.

  My chest tightened.

  His body was a nightmare, bones protruding, skin stretched taut over too-thick muscle, a grotesque overcooked look as if it had been seared in hell itself.

  Then he spoke.

  His voice scraped against my ears, deep, rumbling, laced with the slurred edge of drunkenness.

  "Boy, I said your mother is trash, and so are you, you little fucking idiot! Hey! Did you hear me?"

  The demon staggered toward me, swaying, shaking like he could barely stand upright.

  Just like I remembered.

  I clenched my fists, rage and old wounds colliding inside me like a storm.

  "You have got to be kidding me," I muttered, shaking my head in disbelief. Not only was it that piece of crap, but it was even playing drunk, too? A sick joke. A cruel, twisted joke.

  Rage boiled inside me, rising like a flood I couldn’t hold back. I would never forget what this bastard put me through. I had spent my entire life wanting to find him, to make him suffer for what he did to me, to my mother. And now, here he was, standing right in front of me.

  Tears burned in my eyes, blurring my vision, but I didn’t care. My fists clenched so tight my nails dug into my palms. Then I moved.

  I sprinted forward, driving my fist into his jaw with everything I had. His head snapped back, blood spitting from his lips, but he didn’t fall. He didn’t even flinch. I swung again. And again. Lefts, rights, uppercuts, jabs, knees. I hit him with everything in me, raw fury behind every strike. My rage fueled me, but the demon just stood there, unmoving, laughing.

  A horrible, guttural laugh.

  "Remember when I ripped your mom’s leg out of the car window and slammed it against the frame? So much fun, wasn’t it?"

  The words stabbed through me like a serrated knife. My vision went white with fury. I roared, tackling him to the ground, my fists crashing into his face over and over. My body trembled with the force of every blow. I needed to make him feel even a fraction of the pain he had caused. I wanted him to suffer.

  But no matter how many times I hit him, no matter how much blood I saw coating my hands, his expression never changed. He never reacted.

  He never fought back.

  The realization slithered through my mind like a cold whisper. I stumbled away, panting, chest rising and falling in sharp, ragged breaths. My arms felt heavy, my body weak from the sheer exhaustion of my hatred. Blood was everywhere, on the ground, on my knuckles, dripping from my fingers.

  Yet, when I looked up, there wasn’t a single mark on him.

  Not a scratch.

  Slowly, he stood, shaking off the blood like it was nothing, still grinning. Still laughing.

  I staggered back, heart pounding. I had given everything, but it hadn’t mattered. None of it had mattered. My heel caught on the edge of the platform, and I dropped onto my back, staring up at the demon as he loomed over me.

  That face. That miserable, wretched face. It had haunted me for years, carved itself into the worst moments of my past, the darkest parts of me I had tried to bury.

  I could never.

  No.

  Wait.

  Is that what I have to do?

  My breath hitched, my fingers curling into the platform beneath me. No. No, no, no. The truth settled in my chest like a weight.

  "Dammit all! How can you expect me to do that?!" My voice cracked, hoarse, raw with so much pain, so much fury that it hurt just to speak. Tears blurred my vision, my body shaking. I didn’t even know if it was from rage or grief anymore.

  I felt weak.

  For the first time, I felt afraid that I might actually die here.

  He was still coming, still staggering forward, slow, deliberate, savoring every second. He was halfway across the platform now, and I knew what I had to do.

  I just didn’t know how.

  Swallowing the lump in my throat, I forced myself to look up. He was only a few feet away now, his face twisted with joy and hatred. I took a shaky breath.

  And whispered, "I forgive you."

  Nothing happened.

  The demon kept moving.

  I clenched my fists, shaking harder now. Say it again.

  "I forgive you, Jerry," I said, louder this time. "For all of it."

  The weight in my chest shifted. The chains that had bound me for so long loosened.

  I exhaled, voice steadier now. "I don’t like you. I don’t think I ever will. But I do forgive you."

  The demon’s face began to shift, warping and twisting like melting wax until it solidified into someone new.

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake!” I groaned, barely dodging a fist swinging straight for my face. I stumbled back, eyes widening as I recognized him.

  One of my old high school best friends.

  "Come on, really? I was just a kid! I didn’t know any better!" I shouted, frustration boiling over. My words weren’t just directed at him but at whatever force had decided this would be my next trial.

  I already knew what this was about, but that didn’t mean I had any idea how to win.

  "I can't believe you would do that, bro." His voice was sharp and accusatory, still his but laced with something darker, something cold. There was no time to argue. He was already sprinting at me, throwing a relentless barrage of punches and kicks.

  I barely managed to dodge, my body reacting on instinct as I weaved around his attacks. My mind raced, searching for a way out of this fight. "Look, man, I was a kid! I didn’t understand what I was doing! It was just twenty dollars!"

  The words left my mouth, but they only seemed to enrage him further.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  "It’s the fucking principle! You stole from my mom! Fuck you, man!"

  His fist jerked left in a feint, and before I could adjust, a brutal knee slammed into my gut. My breath left me in a sharp gasp, my body folding as pain exploded in my ribs. Before I could recover, hands gripped my shoulders, and suddenly I was airborne.

  I crashed onto the far side of the platform, rolling once before coming to a stop, groaning as my body protested. My health bar flickered at 30%. Panic set in. This wasn’t a fight I could win with brute force.

  Heart pounding, I pulled up my inventory, fingers scrambling to grab everything I had. Without thinking, I dumped all of my gold onto the platform in front of me, the coins clattering as they scattered across the floor.

  He didn’t even look at it.

  Storming forward, his fists clenched, he swung again, and I barely managed to sidestep, my mind racing for a solution. This wasn’t about gold. It wasn’t about money. It was about betrayal.

  Desperate, I threw my hands up. "I’ll give you whatever you want, man! I’m sorry, okay?! I stole from your mom; I was an asshole!"

  His entire body tensed. His expression flickered, shifting from fury to hesitation, as if something in my words had clicked. Then he tilted his head slightly, his anger faltering for the first time.

  A notification appeared in my peripheral vision.

  A notification flickered in my vision.

  GIVE UP A RANDOM ABILITY?

  SELECT – YES OR NO

  “Son of a…” I muttered, already knowing I had no real choice. With a sharp exhale, I selected "yes."

  The demon’s face began to distort again. This time, I didn’t wait for the surprise. I took several steps back, bracing myself for whatever fresh nightmare was coming next.

  And then I saw it.

  My own face.

  Twisted. Smug. Disgusting.

  The thing wore my worst traits like a mask, arrogance, apathy, the kind of cocky self-assurance I thought I had outgrown. It walked with too much purpose, each step exaggerated, like someone trying too hard to look cool. The effect was unsettling, bordering on hilarious in the worst way.

  Then its head twisted unnaturally to the side, and my stomach dropped.

  My wife’s face was there.

  Tears streamed down her cheeks, her expression raw with heartache and desperation.

  "Babe, I promise I’m just trying to help you. I don’t want to see you drown in this; I love you."

  Her voice, her real voice, hit me like a hammer. My breath caught, my head jerking back as the weight of recognition settled in. My chest tightened, and my vision blurred as I instinctively backed away, shaking my head.

  No. No, no, no.

  I didn’t want to see this.

  I didn’t want to hear this again.

  I had spent years trying to forget the man I used to be, the mistakes I had made, the pain I had caused. But the truth was, I had almost lost her.

  I had not always been a good husband. Like any relationship, ours had taken work, but I refused to listen to her. I had ignored her advice, dismissed her emotions, convinced myself I was fine when I was anything but.

  I had been scared of change.

  And because of that, I had pushed her away.

  "Shut up!" the demon roared, its voice overlapping with mine.

  "Babe, please…" she whispered, the pain in her voice too real. "I can’t do this anymore."

  The words made my stomach churn.

  The demon smirked, a horrible, vile twist of my own mouth. "Please don’t leave, I’ll change…" it crooned, but its voice dripped with mockery, as if it knew better.

  That’s not what I said.

  Something inside me snapped.

  "I did change! Fuck you! That is not what I said!" My voice rang out, thick with rage and something deeper, shame.

  The demon laughed, the sound grating, like metal scraping against bone.

  "I was wrong for the way I treated her," I continued, my hands trembling at my sides. "And I never truly apologized. But you, you don’t get to talk to her like that. She’s the best damn woman you will ever know. That I… will ever know."

  The words came out as a whisper, but they held more truth than anything I had spoken before.

  The ground beneath me shuddered.

  A violent rumble rippled through the platform, the very air crackling with energy. I wiped the tears from my face with the sleeve of my shirt, lifting my gaze as the demon’s form twisted, convulsed, and changed.

  Its face warped into something inhuman, grotesque, nightmarish.

  Its lips were gone, exposing sharpened, yellow-brown teeth, jagged and uneven. Its eye sockets hollowed, but deep in the darkness, tiny flames flickered, buried in the shadows. Strands of thin, brittle hair jutted from patches of dry, stretched skin, its entire form barely holding itself together.

  A notification flashed above its head.

  [Core Demon – Level N/A]

  I exhaled slowly, steadying myself as I stared into those soulless, burning eyes.

  You worthless worm.

  The voice slithered through my mind like poison, its words laced with seething malice.

  I’ll consume your regrets, memory by memory. And when I take control of your body, I will force you to feed on your own flesh, awake, aware, unable to stop yourself from feeling every agonizing bite.

  Pain ripped through my skull.

  A firestorm of suffering unlike anything I had ever known. My hands flew to the sides of my head, fingers digging into my scalp as I screamed, the voice hammering against my mind with relentless, suffocating force.

  But before that, I will ensure your friends suffer, drowning in the horror of what you’ve become. They will never forget you. Never forgive you.

  My breath hitched, my body convulsing against the overwhelming agony. It was inside me, clawing at the edges of my soul, threatening to rip me apart piece by piece.

  I refused.

  Through gritted teeth, I forced out a ragged, desperate roar.

  "Get out of my head, you piece of…"

  My voice cut off.

  Something was changing.

  Through the haze of pain, I saw it, the demon’s form twisting. Contorting. Weakening.

  The suffocating weight on my mind began to lift.

  I gasped for air, my hands falling away from my head as the burning pain subsided. For the first time since this nightmare began, I saw something in the demon’s hollow, flickering eyes that hadn’t been there before. Fear.

  Its body flickered, its grotesque form wavering like a dying flame. The smoldering embers in its empty sockets dimmed, their once-consuming fire flickering weakly.

  It was losing.

  And it knew it.

  A slow exhale left my lips, I straightened, stepping forward.

  Every footfall echoed, reverberating through the platform as if the very fabric of the [Galactic Heartstone] trembled beneath my resolve.

  The demon shrank back, its monstrous body trembling, its presence no longer overwhelming. The thing that had once tried to break me now struggled to stand before me.

  I kept walking.

  The demon’s voice trembled, its once-commanding tone cracking as it struggled to hold onto its menace.

  You can’t escape your past. I am your darkness, your fears, your regrets.

  But I wasn’t afraid anymore.

  I stopped just a few feet away, standing tall, the oppressive aura that had once suffocated me, now nothing more than a faint whisper of what it had been. The fear, the weight, the pain no longer controlled me.

  Calm, steady, unshaken, I met its hollow gaze.

  "You will not haunt me any longer, demon. You have grown weak. I have waited a long time to face you down."

  As the words left my lips, the demon shrank. The once-massive force of darkness faltered, its shadowy form twisting in on itself. The dark energy surrounding it crackled and distorted, unraveling thread by thread.

  "No!" the core demon wailed, its voice barely more than a desperate whisper. "I am part of you! You can’t defeat me!"

  I took another step forward, voice unwavering.

  "You are nothing but a reflection of my past."

  The moment I spoke the words, the demon’s form fractured.

  Like shattered glass, it broke into countless fragments of darkness, each piece disintegrating into nothingness. The oppressive weight vanished, replaced by a profound lightness, not just in the air, but in me.

  For the first time in a long time, I felt free.

  A voice, deep and resounding, echoed through the void.

  “Congratulations, new friend. I am sure many great adventures await us!”

  The stars surrounding the platform exploded with radiance, their brilliance so overwhelming that I had to shield my face with both arms, squeezing my eyes shut against the blinding light.

  Then… darkness.

  The silence was almost deafening.

  When I opened my eyes, I was back.

  The others were still in their exact positions, still opening their boxes, as if no time had passed at all. The surreal intensity of what I had just endured clashed so harshly with the mundane reality before me that for a moment, I just sat there, struggling to process it.

  A notification blinked at the edge of my vision, but I ignored it. Not yet.

  “Babe, are… are you okay?”

  I turned to see Trish kneeling next to me, her golden-brown eyes filled with concern.

  I forced a small smile, knowing full well she could see right through it. "Yeah, yeah, I’m okay. Just uh… checking this weapon out, is all, love."

  She didn’t press, but the gentle squeeze she gave my arm told me everything. She knew. She always knew.

  This wasn’t the time or place. We’d talk about it later.

  With a soft nod, she turned back to her box, leaving me to gather myself.

  I exhaled slowly, finally steady enough to refocus.

  The notification was still there, waiting.

  YOU HAVE SUCCESFULLY SPIRIT BONDED WITH [STARLIT ECLIPSER], CONGRATULATIONS!

  [Starlit Eclipser]

  Effects will increase as you grow your spirit bond with the weapon. Bonuses round up to the nearest whole number.

  BONUS STRENGTH – 275% - 5%

  BONUS DEXTERITY – 250% - 5%

  BONUS INTELLIGENCE – 300% - 5%

  BONUS WISDOM – 280% - 5%

  BONUS LUCK – 250% - 5%

  BONUS EFFECT – Eclipse Nova: When activated, the Starlit Eclipser can create an Eclipse Nova, momentarily blotting out the light in a 100-foot radius 25-foot radius and enveloping the area in a starry twilight. During this time, the wielder's attacks gain increased critical hit chance. Allies within the eclipse receive a protective shield that absorbs 100% damage 10% damage, while enemies are blinded and take continuous damage over time. The eclipse lasts for 20 sec. 7 sec.

  -Note: These bonuses may also have their max percentages increased with a proper blacksmith. -

  “Damn.” The word slipped out before I even realized it.

  Not that anyone noticed.

  The others were too preoccupied with their own legendaries, eyes locked onto their newly acquired gear, completely absorbed.

  But I couldn’t stop staring at my own notification. These stats had the potential to be insane.

  “I’m glad you are happy, Master."

  The deep, resounding voice nearly made me jump out of my skin.

  I jolted, eyes darting around. "What the hell?" My gaze fell to the weapon’s handle in my grip.

  A pause.

  Then, the voice responded, dripping with mock offense. "Hey now, I resent that. We got rid of that demon, and I am at full… ish, celestial power now. Thank you very much."

  I blinked. Did my weapon just talk?

  "I… wait. That demon was... possessing you?"

  "Well, how else does a demon get into something it shouldn’t be in?" The blade’s tone turned dry, almost condescending. "Please do not tell me I was saved by an idiot."

  I groaned inwardly. Great. I have a legendary weapon with a shitty attitude.

  "Well, I, never!" it huffed, sounding utterly scandalized.

  I froze. "Wait, you can hear my thoughts too?"

  "Oh, the stars… they have forsaken me!" the blade wailed dramatically.

  I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "Look… light… handle thing? I am new to this world and have a lot to lear… "

  "Light handle?!"

  The voice cut me off instantly, pure indignation radiating from it.

  "How dare you! You. You insolent little brat! I am Starlit Eclipser, or simply Starlit, but you will NOT call me… ‘light handle thing.’ Do you hear me?!"

  I laughed, shaking my head. "Nah, here’s how this is going to work, until you stop calling me insulting names, you will be officially dubbed Light Handle."

  Still grinning, I wiped a tear from my eye. I was laughing way too hard at this.

  By the time I managed to compose myself, I noticed the others had stopped what they were doing.

  They were staring.

  At me.

  Like I had lost my damn mind.

  Meanwhile, Starlit had gone eerily quiet.

  "I was just joking…" it muttered, voice suddenly small, like a kid who just got caught stealing candy from the jar.

  I snorted. "Oh, now you’re shy?"

  Shaking my head, I turned to the group. "Anyone else get a talking weapon with a bad attitude? Or am I just special?"

  Max smirked. "I get a hood that lets me disguise myself in upper cities. Pretty cool. But you? You get a talking weapon?" He scoffed; arms crossed. "Soo not fair."

  "I spent eons. Eons! Searching for a worthy wielder!" Starlit suddenly wailed, voice rising in pure melodramatic despair. "Instead, I get possessed by a demented demon for a century, only to be saved and attuned to this… this blithering idiot! Oh, stars above, what have I done to offend you?!"

  I almost collapsed laughing.

  "Oh, come on now!" I wheezed. "You can dish out the jokes, but you can’t take them?!"

  Silence.

  The handle… er, Starlit, went completely quiet.

  Was it… giving me the silent treatment?

  I grinned. "What, are you giving me the cold, pommel? Guard? No? Not funny? Okay, okay, I’ll move on."

  Still nothing.

  I chuckled, shaking my head. So dramatic.

  "I got a big-ass hammer, but it doesn’t talk," Mel chimed in, feigning disappointment. Her pout lasted all of two seconds before her eyes practically sparkled as she admired her weapon. The way she looked at it reminded me of a teenager getting their first car, a brand-new Corvette, at that.

  "I don’t think I’d want a weapon with a bad attitude," Leo said, chuckling as he adjusted his new gear. "I’ll take the robes I got and be happy with it."

  As the laughter settled, I noticed Tricia.

  She hadn’t said a word yet, but her expression spoke volumes. Her face was glowing. She was practically vibrating with excitement, doing a little happy dance that looked suspiciously like someone jogging in place.

  I smirked. "What did you get, babe?"

  Her eyes snapped to me, wide with exhilaration.

  "Babe, oh my God! This is the best thing ever!" she squealed, practically bouncing. "I got a portable wardrobe! I can keep it in my inventory full of clothes for any occasion!"

  She grabbed my arm, shaking it as she screeched with joy. "Oh my god, oh my god, best day ever!"

  I blinked, caught off guard by just how excited she was.

  That actually sounded… really useful.

  "Wait, can you put armors and clothes in it for everyone?" I asked, my mind already jumping to the tactical advantages of unlimited storage.

  She paused, considering. "I don’t know, actually. It doesn’t say. It just says it’s an endless wardrobe."

  Testing it, I pulled off my shirt and handed it to her. She took it, and suddenly, a wardrobe materialized right in front of her.

  We both stepped back, staring.

  It was stunning.

  The wood looked as though it had been carved straight from the twisted trees surrounding us, its surface holding a deep, reddish-purple hue. Golden inlays spread across it like intricate spiderwebs, shimmering as they caught the ambient light. The trim was made of a dark, almost midnight-blue wood with a pearlescent silver sheen that gleamed when the angle shifted.

  I stepped closer, peering inside.

  Beyond the ornate double doors was an endless corridor, stretching into infinity. Despite its impossible depth, it was never dark. A faint, warm candlelight flickered along the unseen walls, illuminating the space in a way that felt almost… comforting.

  Tricia placed my shirt into the wardrobe. The moment it touched the space inside, it vanished.

  Her eyes lit up. “It works!” she squealed. Then, just as quickly, she burst into laughter.

  I frowned. “What’s so funny?”

  Still giggling, she snapped her fingers, and the wardrobe spat my shirt back out. She handed it to me, grinning.

  “It said, ‘Tell your husband it was rude of him to put that disgusting thing in my space.’”

  I blinked. Then hesitantly sniffed the fabric.

  Whew.

  Yeah… that was not pretty.

  Clearing my throat, I tugged the shirt back on and muttered, "Tell your wardrobe I apologize for the inconvenience."

  Tricia just giggled again.

  Max, who had been watching the whole thing unfold, crossed his arms. “Okay, so we’re not just gonna gloss over the fact that Trish has a talking wardrobe, right?” He was joking. Mostly.

  Tricia shrugged, flipping her hair dramatically. “Well, obviously it has to talk. Otherwise, how would it help me pick what to wear? Not like any of you brutes have a sense of fashion anyway.”

  I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t deny it, this wardrobe was seriously useful.

  "I’m just saying," I added, "this is gonna be ridiculously helpful down the road. We can store clothes for any season and never have to waste bag space on extra gear."

  That got everyone’s attention.

  The others nodded, the realization setting in. This wasn’t just some gimmicky storage space. This was a game-changer.

  A brief silence settled over us before Leo broke it.

  "We need to harvest from that giant snake. I think it finally stopped thrashing. Haven’t heard any noise for a few minutes now."

  Mel’s head snapped toward him. "Holy crap, that took like an hour and a half?!"

  I stretched, rolling my shoulders. "Everyone got their points consolidated?"

  A round of nods.

  "Alright," I grinned. "Let’s go get some loot."

  Once we had gathered our things, we made our way to the massive serpent’s corpse, now finally still. Its sheer size made harvesting from it a daunting task, but we got to work.

  The scales and bones were the most obvious resources, so we started there, prying them free with careful effort. The meat? Yeah, not touching that. No one wanted to risk eating something that had clearly been tainted by abyssal corruption.

  Mel, unfazed as always, plucked out the creature’s eyes without hesitation, storing them away like they were nothing more than oversized marbles. Max, the scavenger, carefully extracted the venom glands for Leo, who was already eyeing them like a craftsman sizing up new materials.

  Mel and I worked together to wrench out the fangs, their sheer size making them more like miniature swords than teeth. Leo collected some blood and sinew for Max, his movements precise, methodical.

  Trish, meanwhile, stood back, arms crossed, nose wrinkled in disgust.

  “I’m not touching anything from that... that thing,” she declared, her voice full of undisguised revulsion.

  I smirked. “Not even a scale?”

  She shot me a withering glare.

  Message received.

  After a few more minutes of harvesting, Max dusted off his hands and turned to me. “So, what exactly does your new weapon look like?”

  I froze.

  Right. I had no idea.

  I had been so caught up in the trials, the attunement, and the talking weapon’s stellar personality that I hadn’t even activated it yet.

  Pulling it from my inventory, I turned it over in my hands, inspecting the handle. No visible blade. No button. No inscription saying, ‘Press Here to Unleash Cosmic Destruction.’

  That’s when a thought hit me.

  Maybe Star was… holding out on me.

  “Hey, uh, Star?” I began, clearing my throat. “Did I…?”

  "Oh, for the love of…"

  The exasperation in the blade’s voice was palpable.

  "Look, Master, if you need to activate the blade, why not try infusing some of your celestial power? You really are dense, aren’t you?"

  I scowled. “Well, excuse me for not knowing how to work an ancient cosmic weapon! I’m new to this realm, you know. I don’t mind occasional insults, but when I ask a genuine question, the constant sarcasm is a bit much.”

  A pause.

  For the first time, Star sounded… genuinely taken aback.

  "I… You’re right. My apologies."

  I blinked. That was unexpected.

  "I suppose I have been alone with that damned demon for far too long. It has… made me a bit irrational."

  I exhaled, tension easing. "Yeah, well… we’ll figure it out."

  The blade hummed softly in response.

  "To wield me properly, you must channel your celestial power, not as an ability, but as an extension of your very being." Star’s voice carried an almost reverent weight. "Our connection may exist now, but it is fragile. To truly bond, you must fuse your essence with mine, solidify our link through focus and meditation. Until then, I am merely a handle in your grip, nothing more."

  I nodded slowly, processing its words. "Ah, I see…"

  Turning to the group, I added, “Star, that’s my weapon’s name, said it’ll take time to fully bond with me.”

  Max snorted. "So, what you’re saying is, right now, it’s just a really fancy stick?"

  I sighed. "Something like that."

  Still, curiosity nagged at me.

  "Hey, Star," I asked, tilting my head, "are you male or female?"

  The voice that answered was both and neither, a perfect blend of harmonized tones, layered in a way that felt both entrancing and perplexing.

  "I am neither, yet I am both. I simply am."

  I raised a brow. "Is that because you’re a weapon, or is it a celestial thing?"

  "We celestial beings are without gender, for we are not born. We have no lineage, no ancestry. We simply come into being."

  There was a pause, as if it was choosing its next words carefully.

  "I was once a traveling star, a comet, if you will. I wandered the realms in search of answers… or perhaps simply for the joy of the journey. But my light began to fade, my existence nearing its end. Then, on the verge of The Darkening, a master smith approached me with an offer, to live on, reborn as a weapon, forged to stand against a future threat to all realms."

  Star fell silent for a moment before continuing, its voice carrying the weight of centuries.

  "Little did I know it would be eons before I found a worthy companion. I drifted endlessly through the realms after my essence was forged into this weapon, waiting… searching. Then, a century ago, that blasted demon found me."

  Its tone darkened, threaded with lingering resentment.

  "It failed to attune to me, obviously. So instead, it chose another path, it possessed me, keeping anyone else from claiming my power, hoping to corrupt my very essence."

  A pause. When Star spoke again, its voice was lower, quieter, almost somber.

  "And it was working."

  I frowned.

  "I was losing. The longer it remained inside me, the stronger it became. I was on the verge of giving up the fight entirely, slipping into The Darkening."

  Another pause. A quiet exhale… or what I presumed might be an exhale if it could breathe, as if recalling a moment of despair so deep it could not be spoken of easily.

  "Then, out of nowhere, a box with a hand snatched me from space… and before I could even understand what was happening, I was slapped into your hand."

  A beat of silence.

  "Do not think me ungrateful." Star’s voice softened, losing some of its usual sarcasm. "You saved me from that fate. I do not know what I would have become had the demon won. Or worse… had you not been accepted into the trials."

  I swallowed, the weight of what it had endured sinking in.

  For a moment, I didn’t know what to say.

  Then, quietly, I spoke.

  “Hey… I may be a bumbling idiot. But I promise you, I will never let you face that darkness alone again.” The words left me before I could second-guess them. And yet, I meant them. Every single one.

  “We’re in this together now,” I added, my voice firmer. “And I won’t let anything, or anyone, corrupt your light.”

  I hesitated, then exhaled.

  "I’m not sure how to be a worthy companion, but I’ll learn. I’ll fight for you, just like you’ve fought to survive all these years. We’ll figure this out. Together. One step at a time.”

  Star said nothing.

  But something in the air shifted.

  I didn’t need words to know it had heard me.

  Moving Forward

  After gathering the last of our supplies, we finally packed up and got moving.

  “I feel like we should head to the castle,” Leo suggested as we walked. "Maybe work on professions."

  He adjusted the vials strapped to his belt. "Not to mention, we all probably need supplies to make use of what we gathered. My starting pack didn’t come with much beyond the basics, and all my vials are full."

  "Same here," Max muttered, tossing a dagger in the air before catching it effortlessly. "We’re gonna need a decent forge if we’re making anything useful out of this stuff."

  I glanced at the others.

  Yeah. The castle was our next move.