The rain hadn't stopped, it drummed against the rooftop.
Inside the quiet store, Ryojin sat on a wooden bench, across from him, Kina leaned against the counter, arms crossed, her brow furrowed.
"So," she said, "how do Spirit Wielders actually move from one level to another?"
Ryojin paused. The cloth in his hand stilled. He glanced at the rain, then at her.
"It's not about strength," he said. "Not the way most people think."
Kina blinked. "Then what is it about?"
He set the the cloth down. "Let me tell you about the Eight trials of Spiritus. That's the real path. The true one."
Kina straightened a bit, her eyes sharpening. Ryojin leaned back on the bench, arms resting over the tomato boxes.
"First trial," he began, "is Awakening. That's when you first summon a spirit and form a pact. Most people stop there. They think that's enough but this is only the initiate level."
Kina nodded in response, anticipation laced on her face.
He chuckled. "Yeah. But that's just opening the door. The second trial is Resonance. That's when your emotions start to sync with your spirit's. You talk to your spirit, meditate with it- so that you get to know it."
"So you have to become friends with it?"
"Something like that."
Kina's fingers drummed against the counter. "And if you pass?"
"Then comes the Third Trial: Synergy. In this trial you relive a painful memory during your meditation."
" Why must one go through that?" Kina asked.
" The spirit wants to test your resolve, if you lose your sense of self after the trial then you've failed." He smirked. "If you pass this trial then you've become an Adept ."
She looked up.
"Fourth Trial: Reflection," Ryojin said, voice quieter now. "You face a version of your spirit twisted by your own fears and flaws."
"That's terrifying."
"It is. If you lose, your spirit might vanish. Some wielders never recover- so many don't attempt this trial."
Silence. The rain filled the gaps between his words.
He stood, walked to a dusty shelf, and ran his hand across the top. "The Fifth Trial is Echo. In this trial ... you have to enter the Spirit Realm, with the help of your spirit, and come back with your soul still whole."
She raised an eyebrow. "What happens if you don't?"
"You fall into a coma," he said simply. "If you pass this trial then you become a Manifestor."
Kina swallowed.
"Then what?" she asked.
"Sixth Trial is Rebirth. You enter a death-like state. Your spirit decides if you're worth reviving. If you pass this trial then you've become a Spirit Lord."
Kina narrowed her eyes. "It chooses? Not you?"
"Exactly," Ryojin said. "At that point, it knows you better than you know yourself."
He moved back to his seat. His eyes looked distant now, like he wasn't fully there
"The Seventh Trial is Transcendence. Here …the price is seeing your future. And being forced to either accept it—or fight it."
"That's... unbelievable," she whispered.
" Yeah it is."
Kina was quiet for a long time after Ryojin mentioned the Seventh Trial.
Then, finally, she asked, "And the Eighth? What's its trial?"
Ryojin didn't look at her right away. He just stared at the boxes before him.
"The Eighth trial," he said softly, "is called Unity. But the trial... it's not like the others, You face something worse."
She leaned in slightly, listening.
"It's called the Eternal Labyrinth."
Kina frowned. "What is it?"
Ryojin's eyes were distant now.
"It's not a place you walk into," he said. "It's inside you. Deep in your soul. When the time comes, the trial drags you into it, whether you're ready or not."
He exhaled slowly.
"Your mind breaks. Splinters into a thousand versions of yourself. Every lie you told. Every version you pretended to be. Every mistake. Every fear. They all take form. And they don't just sit there. They talk. They accuse. They tempt. Some try to guide you. Some try to kill you."
Kina's voice dropped. "You have to fight them?"
"No," he said. "That's the worst part. You have to understand them. Accept them. Every version of yourself you've hated, buried, or denied—if you reject even one, the Labyrinth resets. You start again. And again. Until you lose track of what the real 'you' even was."
She looked shaken, but didn't interrupt.
"And it's not just you," Ryojin added. "Your spirit... it's there too. Lost in its own maze. You have to find it. And when you do, there's one final choice."
He met her eyes for the first time since he started talking.
"You and your spirit can merge. Completely. No more two voices. No more barriers. You become one being. Something more than human. More than spirit."
She whispered, "And if you choose not to?"
Ryojin looked down.
"Then you're trapped. Maybe forever."
Kina's fingers curled into fists.
"Has anyone ever passed it?"
He didn't answer right away.
Then, after a long pause, he murmured, "Maybe. There's a name I heard once or rather a title, long ago. But I cannot seem to remember it ,it's Like the world wasn't ready to remember someone who became more than both worlds."
The rain hit harder against the roof.
Kina stared at him, her voice barely a whisper.
" who taught you all of this?"
Ryojin gave a tired smile.
" My friend, Darius."