The Witcher: Start with the Lord Marrying a Wife.

Chapter 432 The Staircase Trial
After months of effort, the trial system simulating the "Stairway of Chaos" has finally been completed.

David decided to test the trial on himself and a few trusted people, including Arya, first to ensure its safety and effectiveness.

On the day of the trial, David, Arya, and the others stood in front of the trial entrance, feeling both nervous and expectant.

As peace in the dark world becomes increasingly secure, Liana, a young female warrior with a heart of light, begins to feel an unprecedented calling.

In her dreams, she repeatedly saw a radiant staircase, each step radiating a warm and powerful light, guiding her to climb to unknown heights.

Upon waking, Liana knew that this was no ordinary dream, but rather the guidance of some mysterious force.

The Trial of the Path of Light is a trial said to awaken the purest power within a warrior and even sever all energy links in the world.

Before embarking on her journey up the Path of Light, Liana faced an unprecedented challenge—her inner fears and anxieties began to materialize, forming powerful inner demons.

These inner demons stem from her past battle experiences. Every defeat and every loss of her comrades has become part of these inner demons, trying to stop her from moving forward.

Liana knew that if she didn't overcome these inner demons, she would never be able to truly ascend the Stairway to Light, let alone complete the trial.

Thus began a difficult inner journey for Liana.

She delved into her memories, confronted each inner demon, and used courage, love, and perseverance to resolve them.

In this process, she learned to forgive her past mistakes and to cherish the precious memories lost in battle.

Gradually, the power of the inner demons began to weaken, and Liana's heart became stronger and brighter.

When Liana finally overcame all her inner demons and prepared to step onto the stairway to light, she discovered that the stairway was not as easy to climb as she had in her dream.

Each stage is filled with tests and trials, from simple magic circle puzzles to complex combat challenges, and even profound philosophical reflections. Each stage requires her to demonstrate different abilities and wisdom.

Liana did not back down; with unwavering faith and indomitable will, she climbed upwards step by step.

In this process, she gradually felt the powerful force contained in the Path of Light. This force came not only from the light in the outside world, but also from the purity and resilience in her heart.

When Liana climbed to the middle of the Stairway of Light, she encountered a holy sword slumbering in the light.

The sword radiated a dazzling light, as if it could sever all darkness and evil in the world.

Liana felt a mysterious connection between herself and the sword, and she reached out and gently touched the blade.

At that very moment, the holy sword seemed to be awakened, radiating an even more dazzling light.

At the same time, a powerful force surged into Liana's body, merging with her original power of light to form a new and unprecedented power.

To Liana’s surprise, she discovered that she could sense the flow and connection of all the energy around her, and even manipulate it with her mind.

With the awakening of the Holy Sword, Liana also awakened her own Holy Light Sword Technique.

This is a sword technique capable of severing all energy links in the world. Whether it is magical energy, physical links, or mental constraints, none can escape the sharpness of the holy sword.

Liana began to experiment with this sword technique, severing the energy links that hindered her progress during the trials.

Each swing of the sword was accompanied by a dazzling light and a surge of energy.

Those seemingly indestructible magic circles, complex mechanisms, and inner fears and anxieties all crumbled under the sharp edge of the holy sword.

Liana felt an unprecedented sense of freedom and power, and she knew she had taken an important step toward becoming a true warrior.

After several days of arduous climbing and challenging trials, Liana finally reached the pinnacle of the Path of Light.

This is a place full of light and hope, and the source of the power of light.

Here, Liana must confront the deepest fears and anxieties within her—the inner demon king who had caused her to stumble countless times.

Facing this powerful enemy, Liana showed no fear or hesitation.

She gripped the holy sword tightly, gathering all the light power in her body, and launched a final assault on the King of Inner Demons.

After a fierce battle and an inner struggle, Liana finally severed the energy link between herself and the Demon King with the Holy Sword, completely defeating him.

As the Demon King was defeated, Liana felt an unprecedented surge of light power flowing into her body.

This power not only greatly enhanced her strength, but also made her heart purer and more resilient.

She realized that she had truly awakened her heart of light and become the true inheritor of the power of light.

At the same time, Liana also understood the true meaning of the Trial of the Path of Light—it is not only a test and challenge of the warrior's abilities, but also a call and awakening of the light and hope within.

Only those warriors with unwavering faith and indomitable will can pass the trials and become true guardians of light.

As Liana becomes the guardian of light in the dark world, another warrior, Nova, also receives a summons from an ancient prophecy—the trial of the Balance Ranks.

Unlike the Stairway of Light, the Stairway of Balance symbolizes the perfect fusion of light and darkness, good and evil, life and death. It requires the trial participants not only to have extraordinary power, but also the wisdom to see the essence of the world and master the way of balance.

Nova, a warrior skilled in both physical combat and shadow magic, has walked the line between light and darkness since childhood.

She knew that true power lay not in conquest and destruction, but in understanding and reconciliation.

Therefore, when the trials of the Balance Steps arrived, Nova did not hesitate to embark on this path full of unknowns and challenges.

During the trials of the Balance Steps, Nova encountered unprecedented challenges.

Each level tests her mastery and application of physical skills and shadow magic, requiring her to find the perfect balance between speed and strength, attack and defense.

Nova knew that she couldn’t handle these trials with just a single skill, so she began to try to combine physical skills with shadow magic to create new combat techniques.

After countless attempts and failures, Nova finally found a way to perfectly combine the speed and agility of physical combat with the stealth and surprise of shadow magic.

She can unleash astonishing power in an instant, while using the cover of shadows to move and attack quickly, making her unpredictable and difficult for enemies to defend against.

Nova's potential was fully unleashed during a fierce battle with a trial illusion.

With her profound understanding of physical skills and shadow magic, she created a set of incredibly powerful combos – "Instant Shadow Killing Array".

This combo combines the speed of physical attacks with the unpredictability of shadows, allowing for a burst of continuous attacks in an instant, creating a death trap where enemies have nowhere to escape.

When Nova successfully unleashed the "Instant Shadow Killing Array" for the first time, the entire trial space was shocked.

Those seemingly indestructible illusions of the trials crumbled and vanished under her combined attacks. Nova realized that she had grasped the core of the Trial of Balance—finding the perfect balance between light and darkness, life and death, and unleashing her power to its fullest potential.

As the trials deepened, Nova not only made breakthroughs in combat skills, but also gained profound insights on a spiritual level.

She began to understand that the way of balance is not simply an equal exchange of power or a fusion of skills, but a profound and comprehensive understanding and acceptance of the world, life, and oneself.

Nova learned to find shadows in the light and to capture light in the shadows;

Feel vulnerability within strength, and discover strength within vulnerability.

She understands that true balance is not about eliminating differences and conflicts, but about finding the possibility of coexistence and harmony within those differences and conflicts.

This realization made Nova's heart more peaceful and strong, and also pointed her in the right direction for the future.

David, on the other hand, directly confronted the fragments of consciousness left behind by the God of Darkness.

The ruins are filled with complex mechanisms and traps, making every step a challenge.

With his extraordinary courage and wisdom, David deciphered the mechanisms one by one and gradually penetrated into the core area of ​​the ruins.

Here, he discovered the location of the fragments of the God of Darkness's consciousness—a mysterious altar emitting a dim light.

Just as David was preparing to explore further, a powerful dark force suddenly struck, pulling him into a strange space.

In this space, he saw the enormous and twisted consciousness of the God of Darkness, as well as the fragments of consciousness scattered throughout the world.

David realized that he was having a conversation with the God of Darkness that transcended time and space.

"You insignificant human, how dare you trespass into my territory!"

The voice of the God of Darkness echoed in David's mind, filled with majesty and rage.

David responded without fear: "I am the guardian of this world, and it is my responsibility to stop your power from being abused!"

The God of Darkness sneered, "Guardian? You're nothing but an ant. Do you think you can stop me?"

David said firmly, "I will not give up. No matter how difficult it is, I will find a way to stop you."

The God of Darkness seemed moved by David's determination. He remained silent for a moment, then said, "Alright, since you are so persistent, I will give you a chance."

If you can withstand my test and find a way to reverse the process of devouring fragments of my consciousness, I will bestow upon you a portion of divine power, making you a true guardian.

David accepted the test of the God of Darkness and began exploring this strange space in search of a way to reverse the process of devouring fragments of consciousness.

During this process, he unexpectedly discovered that there was a mysterious mark inside his body—a mark he had obtained during a previous adventure, at which time he had not paid attention to its origin or significance.

However, at this crucial moment, the mark suddenly emitted a dazzling light, guiding David to a hidden ancient rune.

This rune contains the secret to devouring dark power. If David can activate it and connect it with the mark within his body, he may be able to achieve the goal of devouring fragments of consciousness.

David began trying to activate the runes and connect them to the mark.

However, the process proved to be far more difficult than he had imagined.

He needs to fully integrate his spiritual power with the runes while remaining vigilant and resistant to the dark forces.

If he is not careful, he could be swallowed up by the dark forces and lost forever in this strange space.

After countless attempts and failures, David's mental strength was almost exhausted.

But he did not give up. With his indomitable will and desire for victory, he continued to persevere.

Finally, by chance, he found the key to activating the runes—that is, to completely empty his mind and let the power of the runes flow naturally into his body and connect with the mark.

When the power of the rune successfully connected with the mark, an unprecedented power erupted within David.

He felt his mental and physical strength rapidly increasing, and his resistance to dark forces was also greatly enhanced.

More importantly, he began to be able to perceive the location and state of the fragments of the Dark God's consciousness scattered around the world.

David knew that he had found a way to reverse the process of devouring fragments of consciousness.

He began to concentrate, guiding this newfound power toward those fragments of consciousness.

With his guidance, the fragments began to gradually dissipate, returning some of their divine power to David.

He felt his soul merging with these divine powers, becoming a more complete and powerful being.

As the reverse absorption proceeded, the divine power within David grew stronger and stronger.

He gradually began to master some of the powers and skills of the Dark God, such as shadow manipulation and telepathy.

These powers made him even more incredible and gave him greater ease in dealing with evil forces.

However, David did not become arrogant or complacent because of this.

He knew that these powers were merely tools; what truly mattered was his inner beliefs and sense of responsibility.

He decided to use these powers to better protect the world and safeguard innocent lives from the forces of darkness.

As David's strength increased, he also began to face more difficult challenges.

The evil forces that once feared the power of the god of darkness began to stir, attempting to use new methods to fight against him.

Meanwhile, some powerful figures who coveted divine power also began to turn their attention to David, attempting to seize that powerful force from him.

David did not back down in the face of these new challenges.

He used his wisdom and courage to thwart the plots of evil forces time and time again.

At the same time, he also began to seek more allies and partners to fight together against the dark forces that threaten the world.

His dark clone grew little by little in the dark world.

In order to completely eliminate the threat of the fragments of the God of Darkness's consciousness, David decided to delve into the darkest and most dangerous places to find and devour the most powerful fragments of consciousness.

(End of this chapter)