Aloe drifted through the newly materialized door at Cream's quiet urging.
As it spiraled shut behind Aloe, the waiting Entities immediately converged on Cream, their glows pulsing in rapid, eager question-marks of light.
"How did it go?"
"What was it like facing Lord Cubix?!"
"Did you manage to impress him?!"
The Entities could afford to ask thier questions as loud as they did because they knew that the sounds they make wouldn't be heard on the other side of the door.
They figured that to be the case, since they also couldn't hear what was happening on the other side of the door. More than that, they all instinctively felt as though that was the case.
This is the reason why they waiting for Aloe to enter through the oval door, as well as kept quiet until it sealed completely, before they could speak their minds.
Cream's creamy radiance steadied with warm and composed pulses.
"I survived," she replied simply. "And I learned. That's enough for now."
Cream chose not to tell them how the test went, but reply with vague, and seemingly irrelevant words instead.
Sure, she could tell them that Cubix was impressed with her performance.
Sure, she could even tell them exactly how her test was conducted.
Who Knows, her telling them could even motivate them. Or at least, give them a chance to prepare themselves even more, now that they know a little of what to expect.
That said, it could also have the opposite effect as well.
If she told them how her evaluation was conducted, and then they prepare themselves using her test as a guide, only for Cubix to use an entirely different method for each of them, then there is a high probability of them failing their tests.
As such, Cream chose to keep quiet for now, trusting in her comrades to be more than motivated for the task ahead of them, without them needing anymore motivating words.
We all heard and received the boss's encouragement, that alone is enough motivation to help us overcome the trials. Cream thought, ignoring the voices that were clearly expressing their dissatisfaction with her vague answer.
Inside the evaluation chamber, the vast white emptiness welcomed Aloe without fanfare. No greetings were necessary, as formalities had already been exchanged in the antechamber.
Cubix floated at the precise center, his cubic facets reflecting the soft, sourceless illumination.
"Now then," he said, voice calm and measured, "tell me about yourself. Your object. Your abilities. How they came to be. Speak as comfortably as you wish, the truth flows more clearly when tension is absent."
"I understand, Your Eminence." Aloe replied, with even glow neither dimming nor flaring.
"When the time came to create my object, fear guided my first impulse. I made it as small as possible, barely larger than a mote, so that if I failed, the evidence of my inadequacy would be easy to overlook. Easy to dismiss. However, the act itself felt strangely effortless."
Aloe paused, letting the memory settle.
I started by channeling the surrounding energy exactly as we had been taught.
Back then, I didn't know that some Entities found it far easier to manipulate energy than others, which left me stunned at how effortlessly it flowed into me.
However, as I absorbed the energy within myself, something shifted. Even now, I still can't fully explain it was or why it happened to me.
The more energy I drew in, the stronger the change inside me became. And by the time I realized what was happening, it was already too late to stop it.
My conscious mind stepped back, and something deeper took over, shaping the object while I simply watched.
I could see, feel, as well as sense everything unfolding right before me, and all around me as well. Yet I couldn't intervene. I was powerless to control my own actions.
Strangely, this unknown force that had taken hold didn't feel frightening to me at all.
Despite losing nearly all control of myself, I felt perfectly calm, as though everything was exactly as it should be. More than that, it felt like I was truly awake for the first time.
Even as a mere spectator, observing my body move and create the object without my direction, I understood every part of the process.
I understood the energy around me, how my body absorbed and directed it, and even that I no longer needed to consciously pull it in, in order to use it.
It was as if my mind had unlocked knowledge that had always been there, dormant and waiting to be released.
Because of that, I chose not to resist this force but to ride with it instead. I observed closely, absorbed every detail, and by the time it released me, I knew precisely what it had created and exactly how.
The mysterious force let go once the work was finished, and I never felt it again. Still, there were questions that lingered that I couldn't answer.
What was this force?
Why had it taken control of me?
And how had it been able to do so?
I focused instead on the small object before me and set those thoughts aside. After all, I wouldn't find the answers. At least, not BG myself.
The moment I named it [Negate], the ability arrived fully formed
[Negate] allows me to detect energy in any form, absorb immense quantities of said energy, store it within myself without any loss, and release it again later on.
Upon releasing the stored energy, I can also convert it into whatever other type of energy that I require.
When the released energy collides with ambient or directed energy, the two cancel out completely, provided that the quantities and frequencies align within certain tolerances.
Essentially, they will cancel each other out if they have the same magnitude, and if those magnitudes are opposites of one another.
All that said, as poweful as it seems, it does have its own flaws as well. Mismatch the conditions, and the result is…
"Unpredictable." Aloe finished.
Cubix regarded Aloe for a moment, then spoke. "Would you mind demonstrating." It wasn't a question, but a command instead.
"Not at all, Your Eminence." Aloe complied.
Throughout Aloe's explanation, Cubix had been steadily saturating the chamber with dense, layered pressure.
The field pressed against Aloe like an invisible tide that was overwhelming, yet not quite suffocating. Being able to move was still possible, but every shift required deliberate effort from Aloe.
I can barely withstand this, Aloe thought. However, I can still move. All I need to do is absorb the energy, and use it to counter this pressure.
Aloe drew the surrounding energy inward in a single, smooth pull. The pressure eased perceptibly as the field funneled into Aloe's core.
This much should be enough.
The absorbed energy shifted states in pure, colorless potential, and Aloe directed it outward in a controlled wavefront.
The two opposing energies met in perfect opposition to one another.
A silent flash, then nothing. The pressure had vanished entirely.
Very intriguing. Cubix thought. Aloud he said, "Quite an interesting application of your technique."
"You honor me, Your Eminence."
By nullifying the ambient field, Aloe had instantly relieved the crushing weight that Cubix had exerted. The chamber felt suddenly lighter, freer even.
"I would like to see more." Cubix said. A subtle shift colored his tone, sharper and almost eager.
Just now… it felt as though he were... excited. Then again, I could have just imagined it.
The observation lingered in Aloe's mind, unconfirmed but impossible to ignore.
"Understood." Aloe complied.
"Photon Burst."
The warning came too late to analyze.
A sphere of raw, crackling light coalesced directly in front of Aloe, unstable and hungry. It detonated almost instantly.
Aloe reacted on instinct, flooding the space before it with a counter-wave of converted energy. The two blasts collided in a violent handshake of annihilation.
The excess force from Aloe's overcompensating release birthed a secondary explosion. It much larger, brighter, and fiercer than Cubix's original attack.
The recoil hurled Aloe backward several meters, but the chamber's emptiness absorbed the shock with little to no echo at all.
When the glare faded, Aloe floated serenely, position shifted but glow still undimmed.
"You did a decent job dealing with that attack." Cubix said, approval clear in his voice.
"Thank you, Your Eminence." Aloe replied, feeling a bit disappointed.
Aloe had intended to nullify the burst cleanly however, panic had slowed the calculation, and too much energy had been committed too late.
The result was mutual destruction, and Aloe had drawn on the dissipating remnants of energy to instantly repair micro-fractures on Aloe's surface.
Cubix regarded Aloe for a short moment. That reaction speed was decent, but it could be better. Perhaps it is due to a lack of experience brought on by a passive nature? If so, then a necessary push is needed. "It would seem subtlety is no longer required. From this point forward, I will use my full power."
"I am truly honored by Your Eminence's gesture." Aloe replied evenly. "In that case, I too, will use my full power."
Even with the restriction he had placed on himself to match Prism's subordinates, Cubix found genuine entertainment in pushing toward his limit. In fact, it was precisely because of those restrictions, that he found it amusing to push himself to his limits.
Though for Aloe, the stakes felt different.
Survival, proof, perhaps even the faint hope of leaving an impression on the cube who served Milady directly, as well as the master of her boss.
For Aloe, this was no mere entertainment, but a judgment of Aloe's very being.
—In the observation room—
"Lord Cubix seems to be enjoying himself quite thoroughly." Prism observed, a note of quiet surprise in her tone.
It was rare, exceptionally rare, for her master to let excitement show so plainly.
"Indeed. I'm happy for him." Milady answered, her multicolored surface shimmering with quiet pleasure. I'm glad you're having fun, Cubix.
She had imposed the power cap on Cubix deliberately. Yes, it allowed for a fair evaluation of Prism's followers but more importantly, it gave Cubix something he rarely permitted himself, play.
Indeed, Cubix had never even thought of trying to entertain himself, much less actually do it.
For him, work had always come first, while joy was something that had always been rationed.
Milady noticed this and wanted to change that fact.
Such was one of the many purposes of the Trial of Judgment. To not only entertain Milady one last time, but allow Cubix to have some entertainment of his own, while he still could.
—Back in the evaluation chamber—
The tempo escalated at once.
Cubix had already noted Aloe's pattern.
Aloe had an immense energy expenditure every time Aloe used an ability, far beyond the average Entity.
Unlike Cream's efficient usage, Aloe burned hot and fast. Such was the price Aloe had to pay for using an overpowered object.
Of course, that price was paid for by Aloe's incredible amount of energy capacity, which was the most out of all of Prism's subordinates.
One would be right in saying that endurance wasn't Aloe's strength. In fact, it would be quite the opposite instead, as raw output and clever timing would be Aloe's strength.
"Let us end this." Cubix said.
"Agreed." Aloe responded.
The clash resumed with ferocious intensity.
Cubix pressed forward, he shot relentless barrages of photon constructs the likes of which were bullets, beams, or cascading bursts.
He either fired them one after the other, or did so simultaneously.
Aloe answered with perfect cancellation whenever possible, turning incoming force against itself or simply redirecting it back in amplified return volleys.
When nullification was impossible, Aloe simply absorbed, converted, and fired the attack back. Aloe fired back mirror images of the original attack, or sometimes fired entirely new forms of the attacks.
Light and energy rippled across the void in blinding waves.
Attacks met, annihilated one another, or fused into brief, unstable phenomena. It looked like two stars orbiting at ruinous proximity while flaring, dimming, and flaring again, each giving the other space to strike, then retaliating in kind.
A strange, almost courteous rhythm emerged.
It was one in which the first one attacks, then the other defends by blocking the attack, repairing themselves if they got injured, and then shooting an attack of their own back to the other party.
After that, the two would reverse roles, and the same thing happened again.
It was sort of like a turn-based fighting tactic that they were using, yet it was one that occurred blisteringly fast.
At least, that was the case.
And then...
"Photon Ray."
Cubix began to channel the beam.
Nothing emerged.
The forming energy dissipated microseconds before release, silently and cleanly negated by Aloe.
Interesting. Cubix thought. I anticipated the attempt but, I simply did not predict the precise instant it would occur. "Then how about this." he said, unruffled.
As expected, Aloe thought. Your Eminence is not even surprised by my negation in the slightest. This means that he has likely already deduced the mechanism I used, or anticipated that I would try it eventually. I need to conclude this fight before he devises a counter.
A brief internal tremor passed through Aloe, then resolve hardened.
"Photon Cannon." Cubix started.
As for Aloe...
Aloe needed no spoken name for [Negate]'s abilities. The ability would simply answer Aloe's intent, and manifest as if Aloe had commanded it to do so. [1]
A colossal beam of pure, searing light erupted toward Aloe. Simultaneously, Aloe fired an identical construct in return.
The two rays collided head-on.
One was coated in pure prismatic light, while the other was coated in a dark color that had a hint of green swirling within it.
Neither wavered.
Neither yielded.
The moment one did, then their defeat would be imminent. And they both knew this to be true.
For one, it was merely a testament of their opponent's abilities. In which case, they would've simply proved their worth, nothing more, nothing less.
But for the other, it would seal their fate, one that could be considered far worse than ceasing to exist. In short, they couldn't lose, not here, not now.
Energy poured from both participants in an all-or-nothing torrent. So much so, that the point of impact began to warp.
Light bent.
Space itself seemed to fold inward.
The clashing streams twisted into a dark, spherical core ringed by a violently glowing accretion disk–jets of superheated plasma stabbing outward in opposite directions.
It was a singularity, the first ever born within all of the Void.
"Magnificent." Aloe whispered, awestruck.
"Indeed, it is truly impressive." Cubix said aloud, also in awe.
Both stared in shared awe at the impossible child of their clash.
Are you seeing this, Milady? Cubix thought.
—In the observation room—
"Wow." Prism expressed, breath-taken by the scene display in the projection screen.
"Very interesting." Milady murmured with a flicker of interest. [Cubix…]
[I am on it, Milady.]
That was all Cubix needed to hear in order to figure out what his master wanted from him.
After all, he could discern his master's intentions before Milady could even voice them aloud. Such was the extent of Cubix's servitude.
—Back in the evaluation chamber—
"Let us conclude here." Cubix commanded.
"…Yes, Your Eminence."
Aloe responded after a heartbeat's hesitation, still captivated by the dark heart spinning before them.
"Very impressive." Cubix said quickly. "You possess an extraordinary ability. You may leave now. Call the next one in."
"Thank you, Your Eminence."
The door spiraled open, and Aloe drifted through it. The instant it sealed, Cubix spoke a single word.
"Store."
The singularity collapsed inward and vanished without trace, as though it had never even existed.
In the observation room, Prism froze. "…?"
"Don't worry about it." Milady said gently, easing her triangular companion's stunned silence.
"I see. Alright then." she complied after a moment's contemplation.
Prism deduced that Milady probably had something to do with the singularity vanishing, in some way or another.
If that is indeed the case, then there's no need for me to be worried.
—Back in the evaluation chamber—
I shall present this to Milady later, Cubix thought, gazing into the restored emptiness. It will serve as a small gift. A memory of something neither of us has seen before, at least me.
[1] Think of it like silent casting done by a mage in an isekai.