The heavy, rune-carved doors of Asgard's Council Hall boomed shut behind Ella, Samuel, and Leah.
The sound echoed like a death knell.
Sunlight streamed through high, stained-glass windows, painting the marble floor in streaks of gold and blue.
Rows of seated disciples lined either side, their eyes sharp, curious, and judgmental.
At the far end, five elder mages sat upon elevated stone thrones, their robes woven with ancient magic, their expressions stern and unyielding.
And at the center of them all, higher than anyone else, sat Lord Odin.
His white beard fell to his chest, woven with faint silver runes. His eyes were the color of storm-touched starlight, sharp enough to peer straight into a person's soul.
This was the heart of Asgard's authority.
The place where fates were decided.
In the original novel, this was the exact room where Ella was labeled unstable, dangerous, and corrupted.
It was the first step toward her eventual sacrifice.
Ella's boots clicked against the marble as she stepped forward, her back straight, her chin lifted, her gaze steady.
She did not bow.
She did not cower.
She did not drop her eyes in shame.
To every disciple and elder present, the act was unthinkable.
The broken Oracle Vessel, the useless thirty-percent-conversion waste of magic, was daring to stand before Lord Odin as an equal.
Whispers rippled through the hall like wildfire.
Samuel walked rigidly at her side, his broad frame tense, his hand never straying far from the hilt of his sword.
His dark eyes flickered toward Ella again and again, confusion and wariness warring within him.
He had never seen her like this.
Never heard her speak like this.
Never felt anything from her but faint, useless mana.
The way she'd dodged his attack, the way she'd disrupted his mana flow with that strange, silent power…
It wasn't supposed to be possible.
Leah glided ahead of them, her white gown flowing like pure light, her head bowed, her delicate shoulders trembling ever so slightly.
She was the picture of innocence, fear, and gentle concern.
The perfect Chosen One.
The beloved saint of Asgard.
By the time they reached the center of the hall, every single person in the room already believed they knew the truth.
Ella was the villain.
Leah was the victim.
Samuel was the loyal protector.
That was the story.
The fixed plot.
The unchanging fate.
Ella planned to burn it all to ash.
Lord Odin's deep, resonant voice cut through the murmurs, silencing the entire hall in an instant.
"Ella, Oracle Vessel of Asgard. You stand accused of unprovoked, violent assault upon disciple Kael Rainer. You stand further accused of wielding unstable, unregulated, and potentially corrupted power. How do you plead?"
Leah lifted her head at once, her big, doe eyes glistening with unshed tears. Her voice was soft, trembling, and full of fake sorrow.
"Lord Odin, please… I tried to stop her. I begged her to calm down. One moment she was fine, and the next… she attacked Kael without warning. Her power isn't like ours. It's cold. It's empty. It feels wrong, like shadow magic. I'm afraid she's been corrupted by something dark."
She paused, pressing a trembling hand to her chest, as if the very thought pained her.
"I do not want to see her punished. I only want to help her. But she is a danger to the other disciples. To all of Asgard."
Kael limped forward then, his face bruised, his lip split, his once-perfect silver robe torn and dusty. He dropped to one knee, bowing his head deeply, his voice filled with manufactured outrage and self-pity.
"My lord, Ella attacked me without reason! I only spoke to her after she collapsed from mana exhaustion, and she snapped! She used some kind of unholy power to send me flying into a wall. She is no longer fit to stand among the disciples of Asgard. She must be restrained!"
The elders nodded among themselves, their expressions hardening.
Disciples muttered in agreement, casting Ella looks of fear and disgust.
"Broken vessels always turn bitter."
"Her mana has been wrong since the day she arrived."
"She's a ticking time bomb. The Chosen One is right to fear her."
No one asked for her side.
No one paused to consider the truth.
No one cared that she had been bullied, tormented, and cornered for months.
She was the disposable vessel.
The battery.
The plot's designated villain.
Why would anyone listen to her?
Ella let the noise wash over her, her face calm, her psyche power thrumming quietly beneath her skin, alert and alive.
She could feel every emotion in the room.
Every whisper.
Every biased thought.
Every flicker of fake concern from Leah.
Every flicker of doubt, deep within Samuel's chest.
When the noise reached its peak, she spoke.
Her voice was clear, strong, and unapologetic, cutting through the chaos like a blade through silk.
"I do not deny that I fought back."
Silence crashed down instantly.
Every head snapped toward her.
Every eye widened.
No one, not even the highest-ranking disciples, dared to speak so boldly in front of Lord Odin.
Leah's perfect, tearful mask faltered for a single, dangerous second.
Samuel's jaw tightened, his muscles coiling like a spring. He looked ready to drag her silent by force.
Lord Odin's starlight eyes narrowed, cold and imposing.
"You dare speak with such defiance in my hall? You show no remorse for your violence? No respect for the laws of Asgard?"
"I show no remorse for defending my life," Ella replied, her voice steady, unbroken. "I do not apologize for surviving."
She took one step forward, her gaze sweeping the hall, meeting the eyes of every whispering disciple, every judgmental elder.
"For months, Kael Rainer has cornered me in hallways. He has mocked me. He has tripped me. He has raised his hand to me more times than I can count. He has called me worthless, broken, a waste of divine magic. Not once did any of you notice. Not once did any of you care. Not once did anyone ask if I was hurt."
Her eyes locked onto Kael, cold and unforgiving.
"Today, he cornered me again. He mocked my mana conversion rate. He threatened to teach me a lesson. He raised his hand to attack me before I ever moved. I defended myself. That is not corruption. That is not darkness. That is survival."
The hall stirred, uncertainty replacing some of the judgment.
A few younger disciples exchanged hesitant glances.
They had all heard the rumors about Kael's bullying.
They had all pretended not to see.
Leah recovered quickly, her eyes filling with fresh tears, her voice rising in gentle, desperate protest.
"Ella, please, do not lie to save yourself. The power you used was not normal mana. It was not holy. It was not of Asgard. It was dark. It was twisted. You are changing, and you do not even see it. I am only trying to protect you—and everyone else—from what you are becoming."
"Dark?" Ella let out a low, sharp, mocking laugh. "You want to talk about darkness, Leah? Let us speak of the shadows you carry."
She took another step forward, her psyche power spreading outward, silent and invisible, brushing against the very core of Leah's magic.
She did not attack.
She only observed.
And what she found made her lips curl into a cold, victorious smile.
Beneath Leah's bright, holy, perfect mana, buried deep where no one else would think to look, was a faint, sticky, unmistakable trace of Nether energy.
The corrupt, cold magic of the dark realm.
The very place Ella was destined to be sacrificed.
The evil Leah claimed to devote her life to destroying.
Leah had been colluding with darkness long before Ella ever unlocked her system.
[DING!]
[Host has detected hidden Nether energy within Leah's mana core.]
[Evidence Unlocked: The Chosen One's Secret Corruption.]
[Side Quest: Expose Leah's First Lie – 50% COMPLETED.]
[Psyche Perception has been temporarily enhanced.]
Gasps exploded through the hall as Ella's words registered.
She was accusing the Chosen One of dark magic.
Of corruption.
Of betrayal.
It was unthinkable.
Unheard of.
Leah's face blanched white as a sheet, her entire body trembling, her saintly facade shattering into panic.
"You lie! You are trying to turn them all against me! I am the Chosen One! I am pure! My magic is blessed by the gods themselves!" she shrieked, her voice high and desperate, no longer soft or gentle.
The change was so sudden, so stark, that even the most loyal disciples flinched.
Samuel stared at Leah, his brows furrowed, his loyal expression cracking for the first time.
Doubt.
Genuine, unignorable doubt.
It flickered in his dark eyes, plain for anyone to see.
He had spent his entire life believing in Leah's purity.
Believing in her goodness.
Believing that she was the light that would save them all.
But hearing Ella's accusation, seeing Leah's uncharacteristic panic…
For the first time, he wondered.
"Prove it," Ella said calmly, her gaze never leaving Leah's panicked face. "If you are so pure, if you carry no trace of darkness, then let Lord Odin examine your mana core. Let him see the truth for himself. If you are innocent, you have nothing to fear."
Leah's mouth opened and closed, no sound coming out.
She could not agree.
An examination would reveal the Nether taint in an instant.
She could not refuse.
Refusal would be an admission of guilt.
She was trapped.
The elders leaned forward, their stern expressions shifting to sharp suspicion.
Lord Odin's starlight eyes blazed, his gaze moving from Ella to Leah, his authority heavy in the air.
"Enough."
His single word silenced every sound in the hall.
He rose slowly from his throne, his tall frame imposing, his magic thrumming around him like a storm.
"I will hear no more shouting. No more accusations. No more performances."
He stepped down from his platform, moving toward the two young women.
"I will examine both of your mana cores, personally. No secrets. No lies. No favoritism. The truth will be laid bare for all to see."
Leah's legs nearly gave out beneath her.
Her face was the color of marble, her eyes wide with terror.
The game she had played her entire life was finally falling apart.
Ella stood tall, a faint, sharp smile on her lips.
She had nothing to hide.
No darkness.
No corruption.
No lies.
Only a power no one in Asgard understood.
A power that would soon make them all bow.
[DING!]
[Host has forced a public, official mana core investigation.]
[Leah's reputation has suffered severe, irreversible damage.]
[New Main Quest Activated: Survive the Mana Core Inspection.]
[Objective: Prevent Leah and her allies from twisting the truth. Do not be framed as a dark mage.]
[Reward: Mana Conversion Rate +10%. Permanent Psyche Perception Upgrade. Unlock Basic Psyche Shield.]
[Failure Penalty: Labeled a dark mage. Public imprisonment. Quest line for sacrifice will accelerate.]
Samuel stood frozen between the two women, his gaze darting back and forth, his loyalty hanging by a thread.
The hall held its breath.
The false saint's perfect kingdom was cracking.
The broken vessel was rising.
And the fate of Asgard, once written in stone, was about to be rewritten forever.
Ella lifted her chin, meeting Lord Odin's gaze without fear.
"Begin the examination," she said.
"I have nothing to hide."