The wind smelled like paint and starlight.
Endovias was not a place found on any map — it was a realm born from imagination, tucked between time and dream, stitched together by colors too vivid for the waking world. Floating islands drifted like lanterns across a sky of molten violet. Trees grew upside-down, and the rivers hummed lullabies in forgotten languages.
Only those born of divine blood and destined for change could walk its silver-lit bridges.
And tonight… seven did.
Ayshia arrived first.
One moment, she had been crossing the broken mountains of Starlonia. The next, a shimmer of light swallowed her whole — and she found herself standing in a golden field of wind-swept mirrors.
Her reflection flickered as if unsure who she was.
She stepped forward, barefoot, horns glowing faintly.
"Endovias," she whispered, as if the name had always been in her heart.
Then came the others — pulled one by one across time and realm.
🌸 Bloom appeared in a gust of petals and heat, her phoenix fire trailing behind her like a burning scarf. She clutched a charred piece of parchment in one hand, a map that had led her here. 🐾 Flora blinked into existence surrounded by floating blossoms. She sniffed the air, her nine fennec tails twitching behind her. "This place smells like magic... and cookies." 🌊 Erza arrived through a column of rising water, her seapup form dripping stardrops that shimmered mid-air. "This isn't the ocean… but it feels like a dream I once had." 🦁 Techna burst in on a rumble of golden dust, claws digging into the ground. "What kind of glitchy illusion is this?" ❄️ Stella appeared in a gentle frostburst, pale and poised, the wind kissing her cheeks. "I've read of Endovias… I thought it was just lore." 🐱 Lucy, last to arrive, stepped gracefully from a floating gear-shaped mirror. Her golden Siamese eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Alright. Who dragged us into the fever dream of a god?"
For a breathless moment, none of them spoke.
Then Bloom tilted her head. "You're all… princesses, too. Aren't you?"
Erza blinked. "How did you know?"
Ayshia stepped forward. "Because I felt you — every one of you. In my dreams. In the ruby's call."
She raised her hand. The center of Endovias shimmered — a floating temple of fractured gemstones, suspended above an ever-shifting staircase of light.
Etched into its steps were seven runes: 𓂀 𓇼 𓃬 𓍯 𓆙 𓃲 𓅮One for each girl. One for each realm.
A voice echoed — soft and infinite.
"The Ruby Trinity must be restored… step forward, daughters of balance."
Each girl's chest began to glow.
The rubies… were near.
As they ascended the floating staircase, mirrors opened around them, showing flashes of their pasts — some painful, some beautiful.
Stella saw her mother's final snowstorm blessing.Flora saw the day her tails first split into nine.Lucy saw the night she ran from her golden crown, chased by those who feared her fire.
Erza, Bloom, Techna, and Ayshia each paused as their memories whispered: You are not alone.
And then…
At the temple's heart stood seven pedestals, each with a dim ruby floating just above.
One by one, the girls reached for the gems — and one by one, the rubies rejected them.
A pulse of force threw them back.
Ayshia fell hard, breath stolen. Bloom landed in a spin of feathers. Flora hissed. Erza growled.
"Why?" Lucy demanded, standing. "We're their rightful heirs!"
"Because we are not ready," Stella said quietly, looking at the reflections behind them.
A figure had appeared — radiant and calm, wrapped in color and stardust.
It was God Tyrin, the Dreammaker.
He bowed his head.
"You are the chosen. The rightful protectors. But before you reclaim your rubies… you must reclaim yourselves."
He raised a hand.
"Each of you must face your Mirror Trial — one truth, one fear, one sacrifice. Only then will the Ruby of Honor accept you."
The temple shifted. Seven doors appeared behind each pedestal, glowing with their elemental essence.
Ayshia's door shimmered with starlight and grief.
Bloom's burned with fire and shame.
Erza's surged with tidal sorrow.
Flora's swirled with tangled roots and lost promises.
Lucy's purred with gold and secrets.
Techna's whirred with sand and regret.
Stella's gleamed with frost and abandonment.
God Tyrin's voice echoed one last time:
"Choose courage over comfort. Love over legacy. And remember… the rubies do not just test your power. They test your soul."
END OF CHAPTER