The world tilted when Hine stepped past the veil. The Silent Soul had called it the "astral threshold," but that word felt far too small for what she experienced. The air became thick and crystalline, each breath sharp as though she were inhaling light itself. The land ahead shimmered, neither physical nor spiritual, like a reflection trapped between two mirrors.
Her boots scraped against a glasslike surface as she took her first tentative steps. The ground rippled beneath her, sending pulses of white and gold that ran toward the horizon. There was no sky, only an infinite canvas filled with stars that moved like living creatures. Some flared briefly, like a dying candle. Others pulsed with slow, measured rhythms, watching her.
"This is where they dwell," the Silent Soul murmured, his voice echoing without an origin point. He was a phantom now, faint and blurred, tethered to her by the shard glowing dimly in her palm. "They will not harm you unless you falter. They will see through you. Through every thought, every memory."
Hine swallowed, her throat dry. "What do they want from me?"
"Not want," the Silent Soul said. "They need to know if you are worthy."
Worthy. The word carried a weight that threatened to crush her resolve. She thought of the battles she had already endured, of the Night Beasts that had nearly killed her, of the ruins and murals that revealed her sister's name carved into history itself. She thought of the whispers that her blood was not just her own.
She straightened her back, her fingers tightening around the shard. "Then I will show them."
The horizon cracked open like glass shattering underwater. From the fissures emerged figures made of celestial light, each taller than the tallest tree in Mondstadt, their forms shifting between human and something far greater. The first one stepped forward, its voice vibrating through the entire plane.
"Hine of the forgotten line. You stand where few mortals have dared. Speak. Why do you seek the path beyond the stars?"
The voice did not demand, but it weighed on her chest like stone. She opened her mouth, her voice rough but steady. "I seek my sister, Mavuika. I seek the truth of what binds her to this world. And if I must, I will burn through the heavens themselves to bring her back."
The guardians stirred, their light dimming as though considering her words. One of them, its body shaped like an armored warrior with wings of pure light, drifted closer.
"Resolve without discipline is ruin," it said, its tone sharp, almost scolding. "Do you understand the cost of what you seek? The blood you will spill? The memories you will lose?"
Hine hesitated. The thought of losing pieces of herself, of forgetting her sister's laugh, her mother's face, her home, sent a sharp ache through her chest. But hesitation was a weakness she could not afford here. She forced herself to meet the guardian's hollow, star-filled gaze.
"I understand. Take my memories, take everything, if that's what it takes. As long as I can stand, I will not stop."
The plane trembled. The Silent Soul's whisper cut through the air like a cold wind. "Be careful. They are testing your will, not your desperation."
Another guardian emerged, this one neither warrior nor priest, but something formless, a shifting spiral of constellations. Its voice was softer, melodic, but no less intimidating.
"Power is a double-edged blessing," it said, orbiting her slowly. "Your sister's path was sealed not out of cruelty, but necessity. Are you prepared to become the very weapon that may destroy her?"
The words carved through her like a blade. Hine faltered for the briefest second, the image of her sister smiling beneath the sun flashing in her mind. Could she truly face her, if the truth demanded they stand on opposite sides? Her pulse roared in her ears, but her hands did not tremble.
"If that is what it takes to reach her," she whispered, "then yes. I will bear it."
The guardians moved as one, circling her, their light intensifying until it became blinding. The ground beneath her feet fractured, glowing symbols etched into the surface, ancient and incomprehensible. The Silent Soul's presence thinned, as though even he could not withstand the rising energy.
"Stand firm," he urged. "This is the final measure."
The ground cracked, and from the fissures rose shadows, dense and sharp, mirroring her movements with perfect precision. They were her... every scar, every breath, every ounce of fear and rage made manifest. One lunged without warning, blade in hand, its eyes cold and unfeeling.
Hine barely raised her arm in time, blocking the strike with the shard as it flared in violent light. The force sent her sprawling backward, but she rolled to her feet, lungs burning. The shadows did not hesitate. They came at her in waves, relentless and silent, a storm of mirrored fury.
Pain became her only constant. Every strike she landed was returned in kind, her blood painting the glasslike surface in streaks of crimson light. Her breath came ragged, her limbs trembling under the unrelenting weight of her other selves. Yet every time she stumbled, she rose again.
"They will break you if you let them," the Silent Soul warned, his voice strained, almost desperate. "This is your will made flesh. Conquer it."
Hine bit down on the pain, her vision swimming. She thought of the icy peaks she had crossed, the star-lit plains, the Night Beasts that had torn at her flesh. She thought of her sister's voice, the way it still echoed in her dreams. That single memory ignited a fire deep within her chest.
"No," she rasped, her voice low but steady. "You will not take this from me."
The shard in her hand flared, searing her skin, but she did not let go. Power coursed through her veins, wild and divine, spilling out in a burst of light that tore the shadows apart. One by one they crumbled into nothingness, their hollow screams swallowed by the silence of the astral plane.
When the last shadow faded, the guardians stepped forward again, their gazes unreadable. The warrior spoke first.
"You are not unbroken, but you did not bend. The path ahead is yours to claim."
The spiral of constellations flared softly, its voice now almost gentle. "But remember, child of the forgotten line... what you carry will either save this world or end it. Choose wisely."
The plane shifted, the stars drawing closer, folding in upon themselves. The ground beneath her feet dissolved into a current of light, pulling her backward toward the veil. She fought to keep her balance, her body trembling, her blood still hot with the remnants of the trial.
"Hine," the Silent Soul whispered as the world began to collapse into blinding white. "This was only the beginning."
And then, silence.