Chapter 88: The Test of the Soul

Benjamin stood at the edge of the black lake, the cool uphill wind tugging at his clothes and carrying the muffled, sweet scent of cherry blossoms even though no blossoms drifted on the water.

Behind him the slope rose gently toward the forested ridges; but ahead stretched the glassy, ink-dark surface that reflected nothing on it.

The sky, or the clouds, or the surrounding trees—none of their reflection hit the water. Only perfect, lightless stillness.

“Huh?” He closed his eyes and opened them. Then turned towards the girls, “Another lake…”

“You sound disappointed.” Gin, standing just to his left, crossed her arms and pouted dramatically, fox ears twitching with slight annoyance. “This one is also special, you see.”

Sakura stepped forward before Benjamin could reply to Gin.

Her long pink hair caught the pale moonlight, and the quiet confidence in her posture made the air around her feel heavier and deliberate.

She stopped beside him and gestured toward the lake with an open palm.

“This is the place where we test and authenticate our best warriors,” she said in her soft voice, but it carried the weight of tradition in it. “This is the Test of the Soul.”

Benjamin followed her gaze.

Floating on the black water were wide, flat leaves, each one the size of a large dinner plate; pale green and impossibly thin, nearly translucent.

They drifted in no particular pattern, scattered across the surface like stepping stones dropped by a careless child.

Impossibly far and beyond them lay a miniature island: a single patch of dark earth no larger than a small garden, crowned by one enormous cherry tree whose branches spread wide and heavy with unopened buds.

Sixty meters… or sixty miles? Maybe more, maybe less.

The distance seemed to play tricks on the eye, but the scale felt wrong in a way that made the back of Benjamin’s neck prickle.

“But…” He turned to Sakura, with his expression hardening as the gravity of the trial finally sank in. “…won’t I fall into the lake if I stand on those incredibly thin leaves?”

Sakura’s lips curved into a small, fond smile. Then she reached out and lightly tapped the center of his chest with her fingers.

“You’re always so silly, Benjamin…” The giggle that followed was gentle and very musical. “Indeed, you shall fall. The leaves are almost as thin as air. They will support nothing that carries weight.”

She let the words hang for a heartbeat before continuing.

“However, the point is to use them as stepping stones without falling, despite it all. Traverse the lake and reach the cherry tree in the center, then return. All of it will be done blindfolded, of course.”

“Ah, blindfolded, huh… Wait, blindfolded?!”

Benjamin’s mouth fell open, with cold sweat dripping down his face.

Though, Sakura met his wide-eyed stare with her steady amber gaze. And the teasing warmth in her expression softened into something quieter and more serious.

“We do not expect you to succeed on your first attempt,” she said. “But… if it is you, Benjamin, I believe you will pass. Eventually.”

She turned back toward the lake and spoke again, this time more slowly, as though the words themselves were part of the ritual.

“Listen to me, Benjamin; To cross at all, one must empty themselves.”

Benjamin raised a suspicious brow. “Huh? As in… entrails?”

“Nothing so gruesome, my love.” Sakura shook her head, a soft laugh escaping her. “You see, to some extent, everyone carries weight: some grief, some guilt, layers of pride, deep longing, anxious fear… these are heavy things. And to pass this lake, you must confront those burdens and let them go, of course, only for a little while. After all, a warrior who remains calm and weightless moves differently, and survives almost any battle.”

Benjamin stared at the drifting leaves, then at the impossible distance to the cherry tree.

’Empty myself…’ he thought. ’But I don’t think I have anything so heavy in my heart… What do you think, Sys?’

The System’s reply came instantly, emotionless and matter-of-factly.

{…Master, as far as I am concerned, you hold quite a weighty heart. I believe you will definitely fall into the lake if you attempt to cross.}

[Ah, even Sys doesn’t trust me anymore!]

He later took a deep breath, then exhaled, squaring his shoulders.

’Well… I guess I’m doing this trial after all. And since all the girls are here, I’d better not bring shame upon myself.’

He turned slowly, taking the beastkins all in, one last time.

Gin stood closest, with her arms still crossed, and her tail swaying with barely contained excitement.

Aoi watched with gentle intensity, as her fox ears pricked forward.

Midori’s tender smile never wavered; Sumire’s eyes sparkled with something close to pride in him.

Kuro leaned casually against a nearby tree, but her gaze was sharp and attentively on him.

Yukari, Akane, Ayaka; each of them radiated silent encouragement.

And even Silverøse too…

Including Usagi-sama, who was usually so quick with teasing remarks, simply watched him with a steady and solemn expressions.

And there, a little apart from the others, stood Princess Lily and Sakura once more; both of them smiling at him fondly, as though he were someone extraordinary.

As though he had already done something so monumental simply by standing here.

Benjamin thought; ’They look at me as if I’m relevant or I matter…’

Soon, a tengu stepped forward, his tall, feathered wings folded neatly behind his back; then he wrapped a length of dark silk around Benjamin’s eyes.

Benjamin thenceforth faced the lake.

The blindfold pressed snug against his eyelids, sealing away the world in perfect black. No moonlight seeped in, and no faint glow from the lanterns the shrine maidens carried entered his vision… nothing reached his visage the moment he was blindfolded.

But despite this, the memory of the lake remained sharp in his mind:

the wide, pale-green leaves scattered across the ink-black surface, the distant miniature island crowned by the cherry tree, the weird distance of about sixty meters that now felt both endless but somewhat intimate.

He extended his senses outward.

***

The magic in the air was thick, and practically tactile.

It outlined every floating leaf in soft, shimmering threads of power; delicate, luminous veins that vibrated like tiny heartbeats.

The footholds were there, visible to anyone who could see it with eyes. But Benjamin could still make out its shape.

So the blindfold, Benjamin decided, was never truly about depriving him of sight. It was about stripping away distractions: the sight of the fragile leaves, the vertigo of the drop beneath them, the sheer scale of the task. It forced an inward focus.

In truth, it was not anything so profound: Benjamin was, in fact, the only one ever blindfolded for this trial.

No one else had ever needed such a crutch. After all, a warrior of sufficient mastery could simply attune to the ambient magic and trace the paths ahead, even if they were blinded.

But Sakura and the others had something more in store for Benjamin Mark; something deeper than a mere physical test.

Or maybe something just mischievous?

For now, though, Benjamin was utterly serious. There were no jokes or hesitation.

He thought deeply and deeply to himself.

’Empty myself… Empty myself…’

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