The darkness twisted. Shifted.

  It was no longer just an endless void.

  Shapes began to form—towering spires, jagged cliffs, and a sky of swirling bck mist.

  Batman stood in what felt like an ancient battlefield, made entirely of shadows.

  And across from him—

  the Entity.

  Its burning eyes stared, unreadable.

  > "You defy the Abyss, yet you stand within it."

  > "Very well."

  The air trembled. A challenge had been issued.

  ---

  [Trial of Shadows – Initiated]

  ---

  Batman took a stance. No weapons. No tools. Just his instincts.

  The first attack came without warning.

  A shadow bde materialized mid-air—slicing straight for his throat.

  He ducked. Barely.

  Another attack. A spear of darkness shot from the ground.

  Batman flipped back, dodging by inches.

  No time to breathe. More attacks followed.

  Slicing tendrils.

  Jagged spikes.

  A crushing force from all sides.

  The Abyss did not fight fair.

  Batman didn’t either.

  He moved through the chaos, analyzing—looking for patterns.

  The shadows attacked, but they had rules.

  The entity wasn’t omnipotent. It followed a rhythm.

  A weakness.

  Batman dodged another strike, then—he stepped in.

  Instead of retreating, he rushed forward.

  ---

  [Combat Instincts Activated]

  [Adaptation in Progress]

  ---

  The shadows swarmed, expecting him to dodge.

  He didn’t.

  Instead, he twisted through them.

  A single misstep, and he’d be consumed.

  But Batman didn’t misstep.

  He read the flow.

  A narrow gap—he slid through.

  A momentary pause—he struck.

  His fist connected with something solid.

  The Entity staggered.

  It wasn’t invincible.

  > "Interesting."

  A low hum vibrated through the air.

  Then—the ground cracked.

  The battlefield changed.

  Shadows rose like colossal waves, towering above him.

  This was it.

  The final test.

  Survive, or be erased. ---