JAX POV
The moment she stepped off the last stone of the Riftwalk, I knew.
Not just that she had passed.
Many had done that before.
But the way she did it…
There was something different about her.
The Rift doesn't just test balance. It tests control. Power. The part of a person that breaks when fear sinks its teeth in.
I had watched hundreds attempt it.
Most ran.
Most panicked.
Most looked down.
And the Rift showed them exactly what they feared most.
But her…
She stepped onto that first floating stone as she had already decided she wasn't falling.
The wind howled around the bridge, magic twisting through the cavern like a living storm. Stones shifted and tilted beneath her feet, some vanishing into thin air before blinking back into existence.
Still, she moved.
Slow.
Steady.
Focused.
Then the Rift tried to break her.
The darkness below stirred, illusions rising from its depths. I saw her body stiffen slightly. Whatever the Rift showed her… it hit something deep.
