"We call it the Crucible," Caelira had said."Not because it burns — but because it leaves nothing behind that isn't true."
Rei stood barefoot on a platform of silver glass, suspended above a sky that refused to reflect him.
Around him, the Council of Threadbearers chanted softly — drawing glyphs in the air.Aira stood just outside the circle, fists clenched.Caelira was silent. Focused.
"The moment we begin," she warned, "your soul will fragment. The Trial won't be shaped by logic or memory — only emotion.And the Shadow inside you will be watching."
"Let it win… and you'll vanish.""Resist… and you might return whole."
Rei gave a half-nod. "Might's good enough."
The circle lit.
✦ Descent
Everything broke.
No pain. No heat. Just… removal.
The world peeled away like wet paper.
Then—
Stone. Blood. A hallway.
Rei stood in the corridor of his childhood home. But the walls were too tall. The doors too narrow. Everything was off — distorted by memory.
The ceiling smiled.
"So this is your Truth," a voice whispered behind him.
He turned — slowly.
The Smiling Shadow was already there.
But it didn't take the form of a monster.Not yet.
It looked like Rei.But older. Taller. Dressed in white. With a grin that split too wide.
"You've made it pretty far," it said, walking in circles around him. "Most Vessels crack before the Crucible even forms. But not you."
"You keep lying to yourself, and that gives you shape."
Rei glared. "I'm not here to talk."
"No. You're here to balance.""To see whether the Shadow wears you…""Or you wear the Shadow."
✦ The First Memory — The Broken Daylight
A door appeared.
Rei stepped through… into his childhood classroom.He was small again. Eight.And his sister Yuri sat beside him, drawing suns with crayon.
He smiled. For a moment, he forgot everything.
Then the crayon cracked.Yuri looked up.And her face was blank porcelain.
"You promised you'd remember me," she said.
"But you're already forgetting."
The room folded in.
The desks melted.The crayons turned to black teeth.And the Shadow whispered:
"You're not afraid of me, Rei. You're afraid of being left with me."
Rei screamed. Pushed back. Forced the door to appear again.
✦ The Second Memory — The Mirrorfather
This time, he stood in front of a hospital bed.His father's — cold, unmoving.
But this time, the corpse opened its eyes.
"What did you do with your hands, Rei?" it whispered."What did you let in?"
The bed became a throne.
The corpse grinned.
"I died to give you peace.And you invited a thing that devours joy."
The room collapsed.
Rei dropped to his knees.
"It's not my fault," he gasped."I didn't choose this—"
"And that's your last lie," the Shadow said, stepping close now.
"You did. In the dark. When no one looked. You whispered:'If someone could just make the pain stop... I'd do anything.'"
"And I came."
✦ The Alignment
The world around him shattered.
There was no more classroom. No hospital.
Just Rei and the Shadow standing over a mirror made of starlight.
"One step forward," the Shadow said, "and we become whole.You'll never cry again. Never break. Never fear."
"One step back, and I sleep — but I do not leave. I'll wait."
Rei trembled. His hands shook.But he remembered Aira's voice.He remembered the slap.He remembered the warmth in Caelira's stare — not fear, but hope.
"I'm not ready," he whispered.
"But I'm not yours."
He stepped back.
The mirror shattered in reverse.
✦ Return
Rei opened his eyes.
The Council stood around him.Sweating. Pale.Caelira looked stunned.
Aira rushed forward, grabbing his hand.
"You're back," she said.
He nodded.
"Yeah. And it… didn't win."
Caelira's voice was quiet.
"That wasn't the Trial I expected."
"No," Rei said, voice calm."It was worse."