radicalducati Chapter 4 Trial
Chapter 4 Trial
Scáthach stepped down from the platform.
With each step she took, the temperature in the hall dropped a degree.
Barefoot footsteps on the black stone slabs made a soft sound that echoed in the empty hall, like some ancient rhythm.
When she walked up to Arthur, the two were less than three steps apart.
She was shorter than Arthur, but the sense of oppression made him feel as if he were looking up at a towering mountain.
That wasn't pressure based on strength, but on time.
Standing before her, Arthur truly understood for the first time what it meant to have "lived for a thousand years."
That means she has seen more heroes than he could ever imagine.
This means that she sent away more disciples than he could name his friends.
It means that she stands on the border between life and death, having witnessed all the joys and sorrows of human life, yet she can never leave.
"'Change your destiny'?" Scáthach sneered, a sharp glint flashing in her wine-red eyes.
"Fate is predetermined and cannot be changed; this is the conclusion I have drawn after living for a thousand years."
I don't believe it.
"Don't believe me?" Scáthach's gaze sharpened, as if trying to pierce his soul. "Who do you think you are?"
Arthur did not back down.
He looked directly into her eyes, those wine-red pupils that seemed to hold the weight of a thousand years.
He was not intimidated by her imposing manner, because he saw what lay beneath the surface.
lonely.
This is not ordinary loneliness.
It's that kind of eternal and unsolvable loneliness where "everyone will eventually leave, and only I will be left behind."
She watched her disciples grow up, fight, become famous, grow old, and die.
Cú Chulainn, Diarmuid, and countless heroes she personally mentored all eventually left her, embarking on their own paths to the end, and ascending to the Throne of Heroes, a place she could never enter.
She could only remain in the Land of Shadows, continuing to wait, continue to teach, and continue to say goodbye.
"I am the king chosen by the stars," Arthur said, his voice calm yet firm.
"The sword in the stone showed me 'possibility'."
Among those possibilities, there is tragedy, but also hope.
I came to find you because... I want to turn those 'possibilities' into 'reality'.
Scáthach remained silent for a moment.
She didn't speak, she just looked at him.
The sharp light in those wine-red eyes gradually faded, replaced by something... indescribable.
She wasn't surprised; having lived for a thousand years, nothing could surprise her anymore.
It wasn't out of感动 (being moved); she had seen too many teenagers who "wanted to change their fate," and most of them died on the way.
What is that?
Perhaps it's "interest".
A very faint interest: "This child may be different from the previous ones."
She turned her back to Arthur and walked towards the platform.
"Do you know why I take on disciples?" she asked, her voice no longer cold, but carrying a faint, almost self-talking quality.
Arthur thought for a moment: "Because you want to find someone who can kill you?"
Scáthach stopped in her tracks.
She turned her head to the side, her long, dark purple hair cascading over her shoulder, revealing a delicate yet expressionless profile.
"It seems you're not entirely unaware," she said.
"Then you should also know that everyone who comes to me to become my apprentice thinks they will be 'that person,' but they are all wrong."
Why?
"Because they wanted to 'kill me' so badly." Scáthach turned back and continued walking towards the platform.
"They treated me as a 'target,' and considered 'killing me' as an 'achievement.' People like that have no right to do so from the start."
She sat back down on the black stone chair, the scarlet spear resting horizontally on her lap.
His wine-red eyes looked down at the blond boy in the center of the hall, as if he were looking at a young beast that did not yet know fear.
"And you?" Scáthach asked, "What do you want from me?"
Arthur didn't answer immediately. He thought for a moment and then said something that made Scáthach pause slightly.
"I want to learn 'how to protect the people I want to protect'."
"..."
"You just said, 'Everyone who comes to you seeking to become your apprentice wants to kill you,'" Arthur continued.
"But I don't want to. I'm not here to kill you, nor am I here to 'end your loneliness'."
I came to find you because... Meryl said you are the strongest warrior.
I want to become stronger, strong enough to protect my country, my knights, and my family.
He paused for a moment, Scáthach's reflection appearing in his emerald green eyes.
"As for your loneliness... that's your business, and I have no right to interfere."
Scáthach stared at him for a long time.
Then she smiled.
It wasn't a sneer, a mockery, or the kind of contempt that comes from "adults looking down on children who are talking big."
Rather, it was a smile that was warm, almost "gentle".
The smile was faint, so faint that it was almost invisible unless you looked closely, but it was definitely there.
"Interesting," Scáthach said, lifting her crimson spear from her lap and pointing the tip at Arthur. "Do you know why that woman Meryl sent you to me?"
"have no idea."
"Because she knows I have a good eye for people." Scáthach stood up from the stone chair and stepped down from the platform again.
"And she knows that I have a problem... when I see a promising junior, I want to teach them."
She walked up to Arthur, this time even closer, only a step away.
"I can take you as my apprentice," Scáthach said, her voice as calm as if she were commenting on the weather.
"But I have three conditions."
"Please speak."
"First, I will not go easy on you. If you get injured, disabled, or even die during training, that's your own problem."
Arthur nodded: "I accept."
"Secondly, I cannot guarantee that you will leave the Land of Shadows alive. This is not a playground for children; it is the border between life and death. Monsters may appear at any time, and you may lose your life at any moment."
Arthur nodded again: "I understand."
"Third..." Scáthach paused, a complex light flashing in her wine-red eyes: "Don't fall in love with me."
Arthur paused for a moment.
"I'm not joking." Scáthach's voice turned serious. "I've lived for a thousand years and have seen too many disciples ruin themselves because of this kind of foolish emotion."
If you bring "emotions" into the training, you will not only ruin yourself, but you will also ruin my patience.
Arthur paused for a moment, then said, "I can't guarantee that."
Scáthach's brow furrowed slightly.
"Because I'm not sure what 'love' is," Arthur said.
"I'm fifteen years old, and I can't even 'protect everyone,' so how can I talk about 'love'?"
So I can't guarantee I won't fall in love with you... because I have no idea what it feels like to fall in love with someone.
"But," he said, looking directly into Scáthach's eyes, "Is that possible?"
"I can guarantee one thing: I came here to become stronger, not for personal feelings."
Scáthach stared at him for a few seconds, then gave a soft hum.
"Smooth-talking." She turned and walked deeper into the hall.
"Come on."
Arthur followed behind her, passing through one stone gate after another.
The runes on both sides of the corridor became increasingly dense, and the aura of "death" in the air grew stronger.
"Where are you taking me?" Arthur asked.
"The Trial Grounds," Scáthach said without turning her head.
"I need to see what you're capable of. If you can't even pass the trial, you're not even qualified to be my disciple."
They eventually arrived at a huge circular arena.
The arena was surrounded by black stone walls, covered with densely packed runes, each emitting a dark red glow.
The ground is a flat black stone slab, with a circular area about ten meters in diameter in the very center.
A complex magic circle is engraved on the stone slab in the area.
The patterns on that magic circle were so complex that just looking at it made one feel dizzy.
"This is the training ground of the Land of Shadows." Scáthach stood at the edge of the arena, arms crossed.
"It will conjure up your most feared things."
It's not what you think you're afraid of, but what you truly fear deep down.
She glanced at Arthur, her wine-red eyes holding a hint of scrutiny.
"Most people break down in the first round of trials, not because the illusion is too terrible, but because they cannot face their 'true selves'."
Arthur walked to the center of the magic circle and turned to face Scáthach.
"What if I can pull through?"
Scáthach's lips curled up slightly, revealing an almost imperceptible smile.
"Then I'll teach you."
She raised her hand, and a dark red light appeared at her fingertips.
The light shone on the magic circle, and the magic circle was instantly activated.
A dark red light rose from the ground, enveloping Arthur.
The runes around the arena began to flash intensely, as if the entire arena had come to life.
"The trial begins." Scáthach's voice came from afar, carrying a cold authority: "Let me see if you are worthy to be my disciple."
The light engulfed Arthur's vision.
Scáthach stood outside the arena, arms crossed, watching the scene within the magic circle.
She saw the blond boy close his eyes in the light, then open them again. His expression changed from initial tension to surprise, and then to... calmness.
It's not a "forced calm," but a genuine, heartfelt calm.
"Interesting," Scáthach said softly.
Her gaze never left Arthur.
Within that magic circle, the illusion will unearth his deepest fears.
It could be losing loved ones, the fall of a nation, or becoming the very thing you hate most.
Most people would scream, struggle, and break down.
But this boy... he just stood there, gripping his sword tightly.
Scáthach remembered a long, long time ago, another blue-haired boy.
That boy once stood in this training ground, and he once gritted his teeth and endured the trials.
The boy's name was Cú Chulainn, one of her most prized students, and also one of her most heartbroken students.
"Cú Chulainn..." Scáthach murmured the name, a hint of nostalgia flashing in her wine-red eyes:
"If you were still alive, you would probably like this child."
She shook her head, trying to shake off those thoughts.
Then, she leaned against the stone wall and continued to watch Arthur within the magic circle.
The trial has only just begun.
She has plenty of time to wait.