The mountain trembled as the Soulforged Titan fully rose from its cradle of stone and soulmetal. Snow and dust cascaded from its shoulders, and twin glyph-cores burned like miniature suns in its chest.
Kael stepped forward as the winds howled.
Elira reached for him. "Kael, wait what if this thing kills you?"
Kael looked back, eyes calm. "If I fail this trial, the Gate opens in five days anyway. We've got no time left to fear tests."
The Titan raised a massive arm and pointed a single claw toward Kael.
"Enter."
A light exploded from its palm, engulfing Kael in pure white.
His body vanished.
---
Kael awoke in darkness.
Not absence but pressure. Memories hung heavy in the air, thick like oil. Whispering.
He stood in a shattered battlefield, beneath a sky of fractured stars.
Hundreds of corpses lay around him Sealbearers in broken armor, their soulflames extinguished. In the center of the ruin stood a tall figure cloaked in black flames.
"Welcome to the Trial of Purpose," the voice echoed.
The figure turned.
Kael stared his own face stared back.
Only older. Hardened. Blood-soaked. Eyes devoid of hope.
"I'm who you could become," the doppelgänger said. "The version of you that survives by sacrificing everyone else."
Kael's grip tightened on Emberfang. "Then this trial is about choice."
The clone smiled coldly. "No. It's about truth."
---
The world shifted.
Kael stood in Devourer Academy, his younger self just twelve, kneeling beside the corpse of his adoptive sister Rynn killed during a failed soulforge enhancement. The headmaster's voice echoed cruelly in the distance.
"Some flames are too weak to carry legacy."
Kael flinched.
"I couldn't stop this," he muttered.
"Because you obeyed," the dark version said, appearing beside him. "You waited for permission. For power to be handed to you."
Kael turned. "And now I take it."
---
The scene warped again.
Now Kael stood over Ashen's sleeping body.
The doppelgänger handed him Emberfang.
"One strike now. No Gate. No war. No risk."
Kael's hands trembled.
The blade felt heavier than ever.
"No," he whispered. "I'm not here to kill the future. I'm here to rewrite it."
Flames erupted around him.
The doppelgänger laughed and transformed into a monstrous version of himself, eyes ablaze, teeth sharp like the Devouring One.
"Then fight me, Kael. Show me your purpose."
---
Trial Initiated:
Memory Manifestation Combat Mode
Restrictions Lifted.
> Emberfang: Soul Limit Unlocked
The arena became fire and steel.
Kael lunged.
Blade met blade.
His opponent moved with his exact skill, matching every strike but without hesitation, without compassion.
Kael bled, but refused to fall.
"You're strong," the doppelgänger said. "But still soft."
Kael gritted his teeth. "Compassion isn't weakness. It's control."
He called on the Gatebind Glyph channeling soul energy through Emberfang in a new form.
The blade split into twin arcs of flame.
"Final Seal Art: Twin Fang Reversal!"
Kael struck in a spinning arc, cutting through the doppelgänger's core.
The shade screamed, fracturing into a thousand flickers.
The battlefield faded.
---
Kael dropped to his knees, breathing hard.
The sky cleared above.
A voice spoke once more.
"You have passed. Your purpose burns true. You are no longer just a bearer… you are a wielder."
---
He opened his eyes back on the cliff, Elira and Ashen rushing to his side.
The Titan kneeled before him now, its massive form radiating respect.
*"I recognize your soul,"* it boomed. *"The Soulforged Legacy is yours."*
A light flowed from its chest into Kael's body.
System Update:
Seal Class Advanced
Title Unlocked: Wielder of the Titan Flame
> New Skill: Soul Engine Pulse
> Soul Tether Stability Increased
Time Remaining: 4 Days, 11 Hours
Kael stood, taller somehow. The mountain wind no longer chilled him.
Ashen blinked. "Did it work?"
Kael nodded. "We've got a weapon now. And a plan."
But far below, in the ash-dunes surrounding the Fifth Gate, the Hollow King felt the shift.
He turned to his generals.
"The boy has claimed the Titan."
Then he smiled.
"Good. Now I know where to find him."