I stepped out of the second chamber, sweat dripping down my body, the stench of molten rock still burning in my nose. The Headmaster didn't give me a moment to breathe. He raised his hand, pointing at the third gate.
It wasn't stone. It wasn't fire. It was just a curtain of shifting black mist, moving like a living smoke.
His voice cut through the silence, heavy with dread:
— "What you face now… is not just a trial. It is your deepest fear. Your weakest moment. Many have entered… none returned."
The word "none" sank into my chest like a spear. But my legs moved before my mind could argue. As I stepped through the curtain, the world around me shattered.
Flames. Everywhere. Roofs collapsing, wood hissing as it burned, smoke blotting out the sky like a suffocating shroud. Screams pierced the air—men, women, children—dying right before my eyes.
I stood in the center of the village, my sword trembling in my grip, the heat biting into my skin. My heart hammered. My eyes darted, desperate to find someone I could save… but the fire devoured faster than I could move.
From within the inferno, a massive shape emerged. Ghram. The monstrous being, body forged of fire and smoke, eyes burning like molten embers. Every step he took made the very air quake.
Behind him, the corpses on the ground began to stir. Villagers. Neighbors. The elderly. The children. And… Rose.
They rose together, faces charred and broken, eyes hollow and black. Their voices blended into one horrific chorus:
— "It's your fault… it's your fault… why didn't you save us?"
I staggered back, tears forcing their way down my face. My voice cracked:
— "No… no, it wasn't me… I tried… I TRIED!"
But the voices only grew louder, like hammers striking my skull:
— "Your fault! Your fault!"
And then, she stepped forward.
Rose. Her golden hair burned to ash, her eyes glowing with sorrow. She moved slowly, until she stood before me. She wrapped her hands around the sword in mine, lifting it between us. Her face was inches from mine as she whispered:
— "Why didn't you save me, Arian?"
My hands froze. My eyes widened. Before I could speak, my body betrayed me. The sword plunged forward—straight through her chest.
Time stopped.
Her lips curved into a broken smile, a single tear sliding down her ruined cheek. Her voice was fragile, almost gone:
— "Goodbye…"
And then, her head fell. Separated from her body. Rolling across the dirt. Eyes still open, still staring at me.
I collapsed to my knees, a scream tearing out of me, raw and endless:
— "ROOOOOSE!!!"
Ghram's laughter thundered across the burning sky. The dead villagers echoed his torment in unison:
— "Your fault… your fault… your fault…"
The fire raged higher. The world spun. My grip locked around the blade, my face drowned in tears.
And the trial… had only just begun.