[ESHE – Glyph Rank: D-Rank | Resonance Tier: 1 – Spark]
Light saved her life.
A blast of divine energy burst from her hands just before she hit the canyon wall. She hovered midair, wind thrashing around her, glyphs glowing along her arms.
[GLYPH: Featherfall – Active]
Slows descent with solar glide.
She landed softly on the canyon floor. Dust danced in rays of gold. Her breathing was sharp, eyes wide.
"I really hope Tuma landed safely," she muttered.
Around her, the air was still. Too still.
She looked down at her wrist.
[DIVINE SIGNATURE: RA]
Linked Deity: Sun, Rebirth, Truth.
Glyph Access: Light / Heal / Flight
Resonance Tier: 1 (Stabilizing)
She was glowing.
Like, literally.
Her skin shimmered faintly under her freckles. Her hair floated slightly, as if pulled by a silent current of light.
She whispered a prayer, like her mother used to teach her.
"Ra… if you're really watching… maybe now's a good time to prove it."
Above her… someone was watching.
🏛️
Realm of the Ascended – The Celestial Tribunal
Seven thrones. Seven gods.
Ra sat in radiant silence. His eyes glowed like miniature suns.
Beside him, Ma'at floated—gown woven from constellations, holding her scale.
Set leaned forward, draped in shadows, amused.
Across from them, Anubis, half-present, half-spectral, grinned.
A massive divine arena window floated in the center, showing the trial below.
Amani, Tuma, Rj, Eshe, Sway… they all flickered across the surface.
"The girl shines early," Ma'at noted.
"Too soft," Set replied. "She will break."
"Or burn," Ra murmured. "My blood flows through her veins."
Anubis chuckled. "I like the rage-bomb better."
Ra narrowed his eyes. "Your vessel is unstable."
"Isn't that what makes him fun?"
Above, the gods watched.
Below, the children played with death.
[AMANI – Glyph Rank: C-Rank | Resonance Tier: 2 – Pulse]
The kill had been too easy.
A beast lunged.
She stepped aside, drew, fired.
Dead.
She walked on.
Arrow already nocked.
Eyes scanning.
Her glyph pulsed on her neck — shaped like a falcon's wing over a crescent sun.
[DIVINE SIGNATURE: HORUS]
Glyph Access: Sight / Precision / Combat Reflex
Status: Synced at 41%
Active Glyphs: Hawk Eye, Rapid Draw, Solar Tag
She didn't speak unless needed.
But internally?
Rage.
Sorrow.
Fire.
She wasn't here to make friends.
She was here to win.
Because the last time she hesitated…
They died.
Suddenly—energy pulsed.
Not ahead.
Above.
A giant black wing descended from the clouds, shimmering with energy. It stretched across the sky. Glyphs rotated around its form.
She froze.
"Mentor," she whispered.
From the wing dropped a figure — eyes of steel, armor of obsidian and gold, bow made of collapsed starlight.
She landed in front of Amani and bowed slightly.
"Amani of Horus. I am Nephthys, your overseer and mentor."
Amani blinked.
"You're real."
"More real than you know," Nephthys said. "You are ahead of schedule. Your kills have been… noted."
Amani didn't respond.
Nephthys continued.
"The gods are watching. Keep that in mind… next time you aim to kill without a glyph trace."
Then she vanished in feathers and static.
Elsewhere, other mentors observed.
A jackal-shaped shadow whispered to Rj as he slept. A floating scale followed Tuma through a sandstorm. Eshe felt warmth behind her — Ra's gaze.
And far below, in the darkest part of Planet Apex…
Something stirred.
Something not meant to be in the first trial.