The ruins stretched farther than Kaelis had imagined—broken corridors swallowed by ivy, shattered halls where echoes whispered like memories. Nyros led them with steady steps, staff tapping against stone as though measuring the air.
Finally, they stopped before a vast archway carved into the cliffside. Its surface was etched with spirals and runes that shimmered faintly in the morning light. Though the stone was cracked and weathered, power still thrummed from it like a heartbeat.
"This," Nyros said, "is the Gate of Ashara. Beyond it lies the first of three trials. Each one is shaped not by the wardens alone, but by the fears and truths you carry."
Selara swallowed hard. "So it will show us… ourselves."
Nyros's eyes glinted. "It will judge you. If your bond is weak, it will break you. If it is strong, you may walk out alive."
Kaelis glanced at Selara, then back at Nyros. "And you? You're not coming with us?"
Nyros shook their head. "These trials are not mine to face. Only those bound by the prophecy may enter. I will wait."
With that, they pressed the staff to the runes. The gate shuddered, stone grinding against stone, and a rush of cold air poured out as it opened.
Inside lay darkness.
Kaelis felt Selara's hand brush against his. He caught it, steadying her, and together they stepped through.
The world shifted.
They were no longer in ruins but in a vast hall of mirrors, endless reflections stretching in every direction. Each mirror glimmered faintly, showing fragments of Kaelis and Selara—not as they stood, but as they could have been.
Kaelis frowned at one reflection: himself, crowned, cold-eyed, a ruler with power that bent others to his will. Another showed him broken, bloodied, alone.
Selara's reflections were crueler still—one where she stood beside Maelor as his heir, shadows coiling around her, and another where she lay lifeless, her eyes empty, consumed by the curse.
Her breath caught. "This… this is what it thinks I'll become."
Kaelis gritted his teeth. "That's not you."
The mirrors laughed. A sound like shattering glass rippled through the hall, and from the fractured reflections stepped shadow-versions of themselves—Kaelis with burning eyes, Selara cloaked in shadow-fire.
The first trial had begun.
Illusions clashed with reality, every strike echoing through the glass hall. Kaelis fought his darker self, each blade stroke like fighting his own doubts—you will abandon her, you will fail her.
Selara battled her shadow, every spell cast against her reflection whispering—you are your curse, you were born to destroy.
But as the struggle raged, Kaelis heard Selara's cry. She faltered, her reflection pinning her down, shadow claws at her throat.
Without hesitation, Kaelis broke from his fight, driving his dagger into the shadow threatening her. The false Selara shattered into shards of light, dissolving into nothing.
The hall trembled. Kaelis's darker self vanished with it, as though proving the trial's true measure was not strength alone—but loyalty.
Selara gasped, clutching his arm. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. "You chose me… over winning your fight."
Kaelis looked at her firmly. "There was never a choice."
The mirrors stilled. The hall brightened, the reflections fading until only their own remained. A voice, deep and resonant, filled the chamber.
"First trial complete. The bond holds."
And then, like waking from a dream, they stood once more at the cliffside gate, Nyros waiting in silence.
The stranger's gaze lingered on them, unreadable. "So, you survived. But the second trial waits. And it will not be so merciful."