Reborn with the Devil's system
Chapter 28: Infernal Trial:the shattered Flame

Chapter 28: Infernal Trial:the shattered Flame

[System Notification]New Quest Activated: "Infernal Trial – First Gate"

Objective: Survive the summoning of your inner Infernal Warden.

Time Limit: 5 Minutes

Rewards:

– Bloodline Trait: "Hellbrand Core" (Awakened)

– Skill: "Devil’s Grasp – Rank I"

– +100 Soul XP

– ??? (Unknown Evolution Trigger)

The moment Elias touched the Seraph’s shard, his body convulsed—like lightning tearing through his veins.

The world fractured.

He wasn’t on the rooftop anymore.

Instead, he stood on a crimson plane—cracked earth, skies burning with black fire. All around him were the ruins of old gates, their symbols melted from centuries of decay.

And in the distance... a figure.

Chained. Horned. Crawling with embers.

> "So you dare awaken me..."

The Warden inside Elias’s blood—the core of the Devil’s System itself.

> [System Warning]

*You are now inside your Soul Sanctum.

Failure to survive the Infernal Trial will result in death.

Do not disappoint the throne you stole...

---

BATTLE MODE ENGAGED

> [Elias Black – Current Stats]

– Level: 5

– Soul XP: 240 / 500

– HP: 680 / 680

– Infernal Affinity: 78%

– Active Skill: "Bloodlash (Rank I)"

– Passive Skill: "Demonic Resilience"

– Inventory:

• Hellfire Crystal x1

• Heavenlight Shard (Dormant)

• Tattered Soul Map (Incomplete)

---

The Infernal Warden roared, chains flying loose. His body was wreathed in molten fire, two swords fused to his arms.

Elias clenched his fists. No weapons. No backup. Just his will.

> "Let’s see what I’m made of."

The Warden rushed him.

BOOM!

Each clash rocked the soul realm. Sparks flew from Elias’s fists, his knuckles catching fire as he blocked with sheer will. His feet burned across the ash, sliding into counterstrikes.

But every time he hit the Warden, the creature laughed.

> "You fight like a human."

Then it grabbed Elias by the throat—lifted him into the air—and whispered:

> "But you’re not one anymore."

> [System Alert]

Soul Threshold Breached. Unlocking Bloodline Core...

Suddenly, a surge of red light exploded from Elias’s chest.

His eyes turned black.

His voice changed.

> "I am what you fear."

> Skill Acquired: "Devil’s Grasp – Rank I"

Description: A spectral arm bursts from your shadow to immobilize or tear your enemy. Scales with Infernal Affinity.

Cooldown: 25 seconds.

With a guttural roar, Elias cast Devil’s Grasp.

A claw erupted from his shadow, wrapping around the Warden’s leg and yanking it backwards—hard. The beast crashed into one of the gates, splitting it in half.

Elias moved with inhuman speed now.

Strike. Dodge. Grab. Flame.

His knuckles left searing marks. His grin was savage. For the first time, he felt like the predator.

> [System Update]

Quest "Infernal Trial – First Gate" Complete.

+100 Soul XP

Trait Unlocked: "Hellbrand Core"

Your Hellfire is now anchored to your bloodstream. All fire-based attacks gain 15% bonus damage.

> Unknown Evolution Trigger Met... Scanning...

But just before Elias could breathe—

> "You are not alone in this soul."

A second voice.

Colder. Older. Beyond even the Warden.

The air thickened.

From behind the fallen gate, a silhouette of horns and wings stepped out—its form wrapped in shadowed chains.

Even the Warden recoiled.

> [System Interruption – ??? Protocol Engaged]

A Forgotten Entity has noticed your trial.

It has marked your soul.

Beware the cost of too many awakenings...

---

🗝️ Inventory Update

– New Item Gained: "Black Sigil of Thal’Zar"

> Bound Item: Cannot be removed.

Effect: Reduces cooldown of all Infernal Skills by 10%, but increases passive corruption.

Soul Compatibility: 53%

---

The world snapped back.

Elias gasped awake on the chapel rooftop.

Sweat poured down his face. His shirt was half-burnt, and a sigil had been seared into his shoulder—a mark like an ancient eye surrounded by clawed wings.

> "Hellbrand..." he whispered. "And something else..."

The shard Seraphiel gave him now glowed faintly, like a warning.

---

Back underground — Steve stirs.

He felt the change.

Elias was growing faster than predicted.

"Sooner than I expected," Steve murmured, running a blade across his own palm.

Blood hissed as it hit a bone totem.

> "Time to awaken mine."

He turned to his prisoner—another System user, gagged and twitching, half-eaten by shadows.

> "The first heir to my Blood System will rise tonight."

[System Notification]

New Quest Activated: "Purge Mission – Sector C"

Objective: Eliminate hostile Specters detected near the Whitmoor ruins.

Reward:

– +150 Soul XP

– Infernal Shard x1

– Weapon Drop: Random

– Chance to unlock Memory Seal (Tier 1)

The System’s voice echoed in Elias’s head, clear as ever—but colder. More clinical. Ever since his trial, it felt... aware of him now, like it was watching more than guiding.

The streets of Whitmoor’s industrial sector were silent. The wind carried smoke and dust through shattered alleys and iron wreckage.

Elias moved like a shadow.

A hoodie covered the sigil burned into his shoulder, but he could feel its heat pulsing against his skin. Every time his heart beat, the Hellbrand Core inside him whispered possibilities—flashes of fire, of power barely restrained.

He wasn’t just stronger now.

He was becoming something else.

And whatever Steve had planned, Elias could feel the dark pull of fate aligning them both.

---

> [Active Buffs]

– Hellbrand Core (+15% Fire Damage)

– Devil’s Grasp (Cooldown: Ready)

– Corruption Level: 9%

Elias crouched at the edge of a collapsed roof, eyes locked on the warehouse below.

The System had pinged the area—multiple Specters inside. Remnants of old soul-bound experiments, entities without anchors.

He slid down silently, boots hitting gravel.

> "Let’s do this."

---

Inside, the air was thick—like breathing through mold and oil. Broken vats and cracked floors told stories of failed alchemy, dead tests, discarded bodies.

A low hiss echoed.

Then came the growl.

A Specter Hound—half-corpse, half-shadow—lurched from behind a vat, its mouth stretching far too wide, teeth like blackened iron.

Elias didn’t flinch.

> [Skill Activated: Bloodlash]

[Skill Activated: Devil’s Grasp]

The whip of blood carved through the air, slicing across the creature’s front leg, while a shadow claw erupted and slammed the Hound against the wall.

Before it could scream, Elias burned it alive.

> [Passive Triggered: Infernal Burn – 5% HP Drain over Time]

One down.

Three more followed.

They came screeching through the dark—Specter Knights, armor fused to their flesh, dragging rusted blades through metal.

Elias smiled.

The fight was on.

---

Ten minutes later...

> [System Update]

Quest Complete – "Purge Mission – Sector C"

+150 Soul XP

Infernal Shard x1 added to Inventory

Weapon Drop: "Ash Dagger (Tier I)"

Memory Seal (Tier 1) – UNLOCKED.

> Soul XP: 390 / 500

Level Up Available After Final Trial

> Memory Seal Fragment Triggered – Playback Initiated...

Suddenly, the room froze.

His body locked. His eyes turned glassy.

> A vision slammed into him.

Snow. Steel. Screams. A lab on fire. A boy—a bit younger—strapped to a chair. Needles. Electrodes. A doctor’s voice. No, not a doctor.

A commander.

"Elias Black. Subject 21A. Compatible."

Then a face.

Ash-grey eyes. Blonde stubble. Familiar.

Elias gasped—his breath stolen.

He knew that man.

The playback ended.

> [Memory Seal Tier 1 Unlocked: Recollection of Subject Origin]

Partial identity of former controller revealed: Dr. Mathias Vex

Status: HUNTER UNIT – RANK SIGMA

Last Seen Location: Sector H – Crimson Gate

Elias stumbled backward, rage and confusion mixing.

> "Vex... You bastard."

The man who once ran Elias’s torture now served the Hunter Units—government-sanctioned exterminators of rogue System users.

And he was close.

---

Elsewhere...

Vex closed the case on his desk. He’d been watching Elias too, through the fractured networks of the Hunter Intelligence Core.

"Subject 21A has awakened fully. The Hellbrand lives again."

He looked up at the crimson screen.

"Send in Alpha-Squad. We bring him in alive. Or we erase him."

---

Back in Whitmoor, Elias stood still.

The fire had dimmed for now. But inside, something darker burned.

> "They made me into this... Now they’ll see what I’ve become."

> [Quest Alert – Optional]

"Face the Past" Available

Meet the Hunter Commander, Dr. Vex, within 72 hours. Survive, kill, or escape.

Rewards vary by choice.

---

📦 Inventory Update:

Infernal Shard x1

Ash Dagger (Tier I) – +5 Bleed Chance on physical strikes

Black Sigil of Thal’Zar – Active

Heavenlight Shard (Dormant) – ???

Tattered Soul Map – Fragment (1/4)

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