The forest was silent, yet it thrummed with an invisible weight. The mist had thickened since dawn, curling around the trees like ancient fingers. Students stood in a wide circle, nervous energy buzzing among them. Every breath of air seemed heavier, as if the world itself was watching.
At the center stood Vir. His robe swayed gently, untouched by the wind, his expression carved from stone. He raised his hand, and the earth itself seemed to hush.
"Today," Vir said, his voice ringing clear, "you face the threshold between man and spirit. This is no lesson. This is no spar. This is trial. Some of you will glimpse the beings that dwell within you. Most of you… will not."
Murmurs broke out, but they died instantly when Vir's gaze swept across the crowd.
"You are not all destined to succeed. That is the truth of magic."
The words hung like a guillotine. Several students swallowed hard.
Behind Vir, his serpent spirit emerged again—obsidian scales gleaming, golden eyes burning. Its hiss was a chorus, echoing into every soul present.
"Step forward. One by one. The spirits do not lie. They will accept you—or they will reject you."
The first student, a boy trembling so badly he nearly tripped, stepped forward. He shut his eyes, reaching for the magic within him. The air around him flickered… and then sputtered out. Nothing.
A flat silence followed. Vir's voice was cold:
"Rejected."
The boy staggered back into the group, tears stinging his eyes.
Another stepped forward. This time, faint sparks danced, a hazy outline of a bird appearing behind her shoulder. But it shattered like glass the moment she tried to reach for it. She collapsed to her knees, gasping.
"Rejected."
Whispers rippled among the students. Fear spread like ink in water. The spirits were merciless.
But then came Ravi.
---
Ravi's Trial
The world around him shifted. Fire surged into the sky, painting everything orange. The ground beneath his feet glowed molten, searing his boots, but he didn't flinch.
And then, it appeared.
A colossal lion, mane blazing, wings unfurling wide enough to blot out the heavens. Its fangs gleamed like ivory blades. Its eyes burned like the sun.
Ravi stumbled back, heart hammering. "What… what are you?"
The lion's voice rumbled like a thousand thunderstorms.
"I am flame unbound, the roar that crowns the horizon. Yet you, boy, flicker like a candle in the storm. Can a spark dare to call itself the sun?"
Ravi clenched his fists, throat dry, but his lips curved in a trembling grin.
"I don't care if I'm a candle. I'll burn until even you can't ignore me!"
The lion lowered its head, eyes narrowing. Then it chuckled—a deep, earth-shaking sound.
"Bold words. Step forward, then. Into my furnace. Let us see if you endure the blaze—or crumble into ash."
Fire swallowed Ravi whole. Outside, his body shook on the ground, sweat dripping down his brow. But his lips, even unconscious, curved into a smile.
---
Mira's Trial
Next was Mira. She walked with measured steps, hiding the tightness in her chest. As her mana pulsed outward, the world around her twisted—into endless snowfields.
The sky bled pale blue. The ground froze solid beneath her. And then the serpent rose.
Crystalline, colossal, its body like a river of glass, eyes shining with cold eternity.
The serpent's voice was like cracking ice.
"I do not rage. I do not haste. I wait, as glaciers wait, until rivers carve mountains to dust. Tell me, child—will you fracture like brittle ice, or endure centuries as I do?"
Mira's hands trembled, but her eyes burned steady.
"I don't need centuries. I just need enough to carve my own path. I won't break—not today, not tomorrow. Never."
The serpent hissed softly, snow swirling tighter around her.
"Then endure my silence. Patience is strength that storms cannot break."
Her knees buckled as frost crawled across her skin, but she didn't collapse. The serpent's shadow lingered, watching.
---
Arjun's Trial
Arjun stepped forward, fists clenched, jaw tight. His mana surged, and the ground split beneath him.
From the chasm, an elephant rose. Vast, ancient, its tusks sharp as blades, each step shaking the earth.
Its voice boomed like rolling thunder.
"I have carried kingdoms on my back, marched through wars that split the world. What weight can you bear, little one? Will you snap like brittle twigs—or rise as the pillar all lean on?"
Arjun gritted his teeth, punching the earth until his knuckles bled.
"I don't care how heavy it is. Let the world climb on me—I'll still stand!"
The elephant's gaze softened, but its tone was iron.
"Then lift, boy. Lift until your bones scream. Only then will you know if you are more than flesh."
Stone pressed down on Arjun like mountains. His body shook, veins bulging, but he held.
---
Aarav's Trial
Finally, Aarav stepped forward.
The forest vanished. Darkness swallowed everything, silent and absolute. Only a single light flickered in the void, pulsing softly.
It stretched, and from it stepped a figure—neither man nor god, cloaked in radiance. Its face was a blur, but its eyes burned like suns.
Its voice was an echo from beyond.
"Light does not kneel. Light reveals. And I see you, Aarav—stripped of shadow, trembling. Tell me, will you shine steady in the storm, or flicker and vanish into night?"
Aarav's throat tightened. Memories stabbed him—Ravi's blood, Rahul's betrayal, his own helplessness. His chest burned.
But then he whispered: "Not again. Not ever."
He raised his head, eyes glowing faintly with light.
"Even if I flicker, I'll flicker until the darkness breaks. I won't vanish."
For a moment, the spirit smiled faintly.
"Then let me test your glow, boy. Stars are born only when darkness crushes them."
The void collapsed, and Aarav gasped awake, chest heaving, his eyes faintly glowing gold.
Back in the Clearing
The dome flickered. Some students collapsed, their eyes hollow. They had failed, their spirits gone forever. Others woke in tears, clutching themselves, whispering of horrors.
Vir's gaze fell on Arjun, Mira, and Aarav, whose bodies still glowed faintly.
When their eyes finally opened, sweat drenching them, he studied them silently. Then he spoke:
"Partial acknowledgment. Hmph. Better than most. Don't think this makes you strong — you barely survived the first step."
Behind his cold tone, however, a shadow of pride lingered.
The Trials were only the beginning.
"Far away, another fire was burning—one lit not by choice, but by chains.
And unseen, in the shadows of the cult's hideout, Ravi's scream tore through the night.
Chapter 13:- End