The cavern quaked with the Elder's final words, dust sifting from the jagged ceiling. Rhea's skin burned where the staff's unseen power had brushed her, as if invisible fire licked at her veins.
"What do you mean?" she demanded, voice shaking but sharp. "What cost?"
The masked figures gave no answer. Instead, they moved in unison, forming a half-circle around her and Kael. Their staffs struck the ground in rhythm, the sound echoing like a heartbeat, like war drums.
Kael shifted, stepping closer to Rhea, his blade sliding free with a hiss. "They mean to test us."
The Elder at the center tilted his head. "Not test," came the rasping reply. "We mean to weigh you."
Before Rhea could ask what that meant, the ground split beneath her feet. She stumbled back as molten light surged up through the cracks, forming a ring of fire around them. The heat was suffocating, searing, yet it didn't consume the stone.
Kael snarled, golden light flickering in his eyes. "If this is judgment—"
"It is balance," the Elder cut in. "Flesh and flame. Bond and burden. To walk forward, you must prove the hunger will not claim you both."
The fire roared higher, twisting into shapes, wolves of molten flame, their eyes glowing embers. They prowled the circle, heat warping the air with every step.
Rhea's pulse hammered. Her power surged in answer, shadows straining to burst free of her skin, but she fought to keep them tethered. "Kael—"
"I see them." His stance was low, steady, sword glinting with reflected firelight. Yet Rhea could feel the tremor beneath his composure. This wasn't just a fight. It was a reckoning.
The first wolf lunged. Kael moved like lightning, steel meeting flame in a clash that sent sparks spraying. The beast hissed, recoiling, but reformed almost instantly, its body flowing like liquid fire.
"They're not real," Rhea gasped, shadows writhing at her feet. "They're made of—"
"—trial," Kael finished, gritting his teeth as he parried another strike. "Then fight it like truth."
Rhea let go. Shadows burst from her palms, coiling into the air like serpents. They struck the nearest wolf, wrapping around its burning body. For a heartbeat, the flame guttered, but then it flared brighter, devouring the darkness as though it were fuel.
The recoil staggered her, pain shooting up her arms. "They're feeding on me!"
Kael was beside her instantly, blade sweeping wide to force the pack back. "Then we change the rules."
Rhea's breath came ragged. The Queen's whispers stirred at the edges of her mind, sleek and hungry. Let me through, little one. Let me show you how fire dies.
"No," Rhea hissed aloud, pressing her palms to the ground. Shadows rippled out, not to bind, but to shield,to weave a barrier of darkness that pushed the wolves back for a precious moment.
Kael's hand caught her shoulder, grounding her. His voice was steady, commanding, yet urgent. "It's not just about killing them. It's about proving control. You hear her, don't you?"
Her throat closed. She nodded.
"Then hold her. Not with fear—" His eyes burned gold, wild and unyielding. "—with will."
The wolves roared and lunged together, breaking against the shield. Heat tore through the darkness, searing flesh and bone. Rhea cried out, shadows buckling under the force.
Kael stepped forward, blade flashing in a brutal arc that severed a wolf's head from its body. Flame sputtered and this time, it didn't reform. It died, scattering into sparks.
Rhea's eyes widened. "Kael… you killed it."
"Not me." His gaze held hers, fierce. "Us."
The realization struck like lightning. Her shadows weren't meant to strangle or devour. They were meant to bind.
Rhea surged to her feet, throwing her arms wide. The shadows obeyed, lashing outward,not to crush, but to tether. They wound around the flaming wolves, slowing their movements, holding them still. Kael didn't hesitate. His blade became an extension of her will, cleaving through fire with precision and finality.
One by one, the wolves fell. Shadows anchored, steel ended.
When the last beast dissolved, the fire circle sank into the ground, leaving only smoke curling into the cavern air.
Silence followed, heavy and absolute.
The Elders did not clap, nor praise. But the lead figure lowered his staff, the faintest incline of his head betraying acknowledgment.
"You have bound hunger with flame," the voice rasped. "But beware,the fire within you both grows. Left unchecked, it will burn not the Queen, but each other."
Rhea swayed on her feet, Kael's hand steadying her once more. Her chest heaved, every muscle trembling.
"We passed," she whispered, half-hope, half-plea.
"You endured," the Elder corrected. "Passing is not yet yours. The Circle has only begun to stir."
And with those words, the cavern shuddered again, this time, not from fire. From something deeper. Older. Rising from below.