Morning light flooded the plaza in variegated shards as Emberpetals drifted from the Memory Ward's vessel, settling on frost-lilies and flagstones alike. The Academy had awakened from the Trial of Sacrifice stronger, its corridors humming with renewed purpose. Yet beneath that hopeful veneer, I felt an undercurrent of tension: the bonds we'd forged faced a new test. Today we would confront the Trial of Unity Convergence—a challenge not of body or memory, but of collective will.
Seraphina met me at the base of the Memory Ward's pedestal, her frost-staff glowing faintly with anticipation. Beside her, Yuria's gauntlets pulsed in early-morning light, Valmira's Codex was clasped tightly, Astraea's Eclipse shimmered with ice-forged anticipation, and Zephira's blade rested ready at her side. Nilthria hovered above the brazier, eyes molten with gravity.
