The moment Rudrean and Aelira stepped into the gate, they were separated.

Both of them appeared on top of a mountain peak with fresh air and a small pond, but separately.

[Exceed Evolution Commencing...]

[Step 1: What do you want to do in your life?]

Rudrean blinked. "Am I supposed to answer? I don’t know what to do specifically."

"But I want to liv-"

But then he was interrupted.

[Step 2: Based on step one, you have acquired the following options to choose the foundation of your Astral Path.]

’What?’ Rudrean’s eyes widened. ’That wasn’t my answer!’

———— 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

1. Voidante — 10-star (Nightmare) (Recommended)

2. Arkvoid — 5-star

3. Abysswince — 4-star

————

Rudrean gulped. ’What the fuck?’

’10-star must be good, right? But why does it say Nightmare?’

Rudrean made his choice.

’Guess I’ll find out myself.’

[Step 3: What is most important to you in life?]

Rudrean blinked and thought. ’Well... that would be my wives.’

[Step 4: Based on step three, you have acquired the following options to choose from.]

————

1. Eternal Love

2. Fiery Worship

3. Passion Peak

————

’Eternal Love, of course.’

[Step 5: Select the test that will determine your Arcane Path]

————

Abyss of Everlasting Ardency | 100-star (Nightmare) (Recommended) #%@& | 30-star @&#% | 24-star

————

’Huh? What’s with those two options?’ Rudrean frowned. ’Does that mean I don’t have an option at all?’

However, he wasn’t going to test that.

Even if the other options were visible, he would have likely chosen the first one, given that it had Nightmare and Recommended, and that it had 100 stars while the other two had fewer.

’But what do the stars represent? This Exceed Shrine isn’t giving much information.’

Rudrean made his choice.

[Test Begins. All the best.]

"Hey, Rudy. Come here."

Rudrean suddenly heard Aelira’s voice and was surprised.

He turned around and saw her sitting at the pond’s edge with her legs in the water.

"So we are taking this test together?" Rudrean arrived beside her with a smile and sat down.

"Yep." Aelira smiled.

Rudrean felt something was amiss as he looked at her.

In the next moment, Rudrean saw the world turn upside down... literally... because his head flew up and spun with a wave of Aelira’s hand that had a fiery blade extending.

’W-What?’

Right as Rudrean’s head hit the ground, the scenery of the mountaintop changed, and he found himself in a cavern, in front of a campfire.

"Here, it’s time to eat, darling."

Next to him, Isalyn handed him a bowl of hotpot containing many ingredients and meatballs.

Rudrean turned to her and saw her smiling.

"You are not real." Rudrean stood up. "Isalyn, can you see this?"

"Isalyn." Rudrean tried to talk to Isalyn, who was in the pocket dimension, but didn’t get any response.

"What are you saying, darling?" Isalyn wryly smiled. "I am here."

Rudrean frowned.

He checked the artifact within his Life Nexus, but somehow, he couldn’t activate it.

’It seems artifacts and other stuff don’t work inside the Exceed Shrine.’

"The food will get cold. Eat it fast." Isalyn handed the bowl.

Rudrean looked around, his brows furrowing harder. ’What the hell?’

This cavern was completely blocked from all sides!

"Darling..." Isalyn stood up and grabbed his head, forcing him to look at her.

"I told you to eat! Why aren’t you listening to me?!"

"You will be punished."

Suddenly, Rudrean was bound tightly by some kind of magic, and then he floated over the campfire while slowly spinning.

"Since you don’t want to eat, I’ll eat you."

Rudrean’s eyes widened as his body began heating up, and then started burning as the pain intensified.

"W-What are you doing!?"

Isalyn smiled, her eyes narrowed. Licking her lips, she answered, "I am going to eat you and make you mine forever."

Rudrean struggled hard, but couldn’t break free no matter what he did.

None of his powers was working.

’I can’t escape...’

His clothes were fully burned, and so was his skin.

That was when Isalyn took away his burning clothes and set his body on fire.

Rudrean clenched his mouth shut despite the pain, his eyes trembling.

’Why?! What the fuck is this test?’

"Darling. Don’t mind if I add a bit of seasoning, okay? I want to eat all of you, so I need to make you tasty."

Dead.

...

"Ruuudy~ Come on, darling. It’s a fight to the death. Either you kill me, or I kill you."

"Stop it!"

Dead.

...

"I have a present for you, honey~ Here, open it."

BOOM!

Dead.

...

Rudrean didn’t know how long had passed.

He had stopped counting after he died a thousand times.

Or was it ten thousand times?

It felt like he had been here forever.

He had figured out what the test was about. At least, he thought he did, so he was going to test it.

As death claimed him again, Rudrean’s thoughts had changed.

’I am getting killed by Aelira and Isalyn... so that I stop loving them and start hating and fearing them.’

Rudrean’s soul ignited in a blazing flame.

’That will never happen.’

...

HONK! HONK!

Rudrean found himself in a car, kissing Aelira passionately while new memories flooded his mind as usual about the new situation.

They were at a port, surrounded by hundreds of people.

This was a new situation.

’This time we are not killing each other... so I was right.’

"Darling... you know what we are going to do, right?" Aelira smiled seductively, her eyes dangerously lustful and cheeks flushed red.

Rudrean smiled and kissed her. "Of course, darling. My love for you is eternal."

"And anyone who tries to take it away will suffer at my hands."

"If you two are done, then should we start?"

Outside, a man holding a long katana spoke, his eyes sharp and filled with bloodlust.

Rudrean turned to him, kicked the car door as it shot toward the man like a bullet, flinging him away into a container hanging in the air.

In this scenario, Aelira was the daughter of a powerful mafia family, but she fell in love with Rudrean, a bakery boy who worked next to the mafia family’s front office building.

Now, all gang members were after him and her.

The only way out was a bloodbath, and Aelira had decided to kill everyone who stood in their way of being together.

"Bastards, get ready to die!" Aelira got out of the car, grabbed the window frame, and threw it before pointing her finger at it, releasing a fire bomb.

BOOM!

And so, Rudrean killed a bunch of people with Aelira with utter impunity.

’I don’t care who it is.’

’Anyone who tries to take her away from me or harm her will face my full wrath.’ Rudrean’s eyes blazed.

’I want to live forever with my wives peacefully and love them for eternity.’

’I want nothing else.’

...

Rudrean found himself in a space of utter whiteness.

[Test complete. You have successfully passed and thus will acquire a complete Arcane Path.]

[The void within you has been consumed by love, forging a new destiny. And this destiny has birthed a force so overwhelming it erases all that opposes it.]

[Congratulations. You have acquired a Legendary-rank Arcane Path, Voidante of Undying Devotion.]

’Legendary-rank Arcane Path...’ Rudrean’s eyes shone. ’Voidante of Undying Devotion.’

’It sounds awesome.’

A moment later, his Arcane Path’s status window opened up.