Chapter 63: The Trial Of The Heart

Selene's POV

The light wrapped around me like a cocoon, weightless yet suffused with an undeniable presence.

My breath hitched as the chamber faded, replaced by an endless expanse of shifting radiance.

Colors I had no words for shimmered around me, flowing like liquid stardust, each pulse of light carrying whispers—memories, voices, something deeper than time itself.

Then the voice came again, steady and unyielding.

"The path ahead will test not only your strength, but your will. Are you prepared?"

I straightened my stance, heart pounding but resolute. "Yes."

"Then step forward."

The world around me warped, and suddenly, I was standing in the ruins of Eldoria—not as they were now, but as they had been in the vision. The grand spires stood tall, the streets thrived with energy, and the sky held no trace of darkness. But something was wrong. There were no people. No voices. Only silence.

A chill ran down my spine as I took a step forward. My surroundings rippled like disturbed water, and from the stillness, a figure emerged. I froze, my breath catching in my throat.

Eltharia.

But this was not the sister I had seen in the vision. Her golden hair was dull, her radiant presence dimmed, and her eyes—once bright with wisdom—were hollow, empty. Shadows clung to her form, flickering in and out like a candle in the wind.

"Selene," she spoke, her voice fragmented, layered with something inhuman. "You walk a dangerous path. Do you truly wish to claim the power of Eldoria?"

I swallowed hard. "I don't wish to claim it. I wish to understand it. To wield it so I can save what remains."

She tilted her head, the motion unnatural, unsettling. "Power is not meant to be controlled. It is meant to be endured."

The air thickened. A sudden force crashed into me, knocking me backward. I barely caught myself before hitting the ground, the impact reverberating through my bones. I pushed myself up, my breath ragged. "Is this the trial?" I asked, forcing myself to meet her gaze.

Eltharia—or the entity wearing her face—did not answer. Instead, the shadows around her writhed and expanded, taking form.

Three figures emerged, their presence oppressive. They had no faces, only swirling voids where eyes should be. Their forms flickered, their shapes never quite solid, as if they existed between reality and something else entirely.

"The burdens of power."

The voice did not belong to Eltharia, nor the Luminescent One. It resonated from the space itself, from the power I had been seeking to understand. My fists clenched.

"If this is a test, then I will face it."

The first figure lunged.

It moved faster than thought, closing the distance in an instant. My instincts screamed, and I barely dodged in time, rolling to the side as the shadow's arm crashed into the ground where I had stood.

The impact sent a shockwave through the air, the ground cracking beneath its force.

I summoned my power—an unfamiliar sensation, raw and untamed. It coiled within me, waiting, expectant. I reached for it, molding it as Axel had taught me, shaping it into a blade of light.

The weapon materialized in my grasp, humming with energy. The shadow figures hesitated, as if sensing the shift.

Then they attacked as one.

I fought. The first shadow struck high, and I parried, the force rattling my bones. The second came low, sweeping at my legs—I jumped, twisting mid-air, barely avoiding its grasp.

The third one moved differently, waiting, calculating. Watching for an opening.

They were testing me, just as much as I was testing myself.

Another strike. Another clash. The fight blurred into motion, each exchange sharpening my control, pushing me past hesitation. But the figures did not tire. And I—

I was growing slower.

A misstep. A moment too late. The third figure lunged while I was off balance, its arm striking true. Pain exploded through my chest as I was thrown back, skidding across the cracked stone.

I gasped, struggling to rise. The figures did not relent. Shadows curled around me, dragging me down, suffocating. My vision blurred.

"You seek control" the voice murmured.

"But power is not about control alone. It is about understanding. About knowing when to yield."

Yield? I gritted my teeth. How could I yield when I was losing? When failure meant—

Realization struck like lightning.

This was not about winning. This was not about overpowering them.

It was about balance.

I exhaled, releasing the tension in my muscles, letting go of the desperate need to fight against the force around me. Instead, I embraced it.

The shadows surged, but instead of resisting, I guided them, redirected them. The energy that had sought to consume me shifted, coalescing into something new. Something mine.

The figures froze. Then, one by one, they dissolved, the darkness unraveling into threads of light before vanishing entirely.

Silence fell.

Eltharia smiled, the void in her eyes clearing, if only for a moment. "You are ready."

The silence stretched in the wake of the trial, the last remnants of shadow dissolving into the chamber's pulsing light. My breath came in slow, measured draws, my body aching but whole. I had passed. I had endured.

But it was not over.

The Luminescent One had not spoken yet. It merely watched, its glow dimmed slightly, as if considering. Then, another pulse of energy rippled through the air, shifting the space around me.

"You have faced the burdens of power. Now, you must face yourself"

A chill coiled in my spine. The chamber warped, the golden hues twisting into something colder.

The crystalline formations darkened, their glow fading into a deep, abyssal blue. The reflection of light on the endless pool at the center of the chamber wavered, and within it, something moved.

I turned—

And saw myself.

Not as I was, weary and breathless from the battle before. But as something else. Something greater. Something terrifying.

She stood with an unnatural stillness, her form radiating raw, unfiltered power. The energy around her did not hum—it roared.

Her eyes, those same pale eyes I had hidden for so long, shone with an otherworldly brilliance, their glow consuming. The air around her crackled with force, reality itself bending beneath her presence.

I could not move.

She tilted her head, her expression unreadable. Then she spoke, and her voice was mine, layered, resounding.

"You seek power, yet you fear it. You seek control, yet you fight against what you are."

My throat felt tight. "I don't fear my power."

The other me—she—smiled. It was not cruel, nor kind. It was knowing.

"Then why do you hesitate? Why do you resist what you are meant to become?"

I took a step back. "I don't resist. I only want to understand."

"Understanding alone will not save you. You have seen what comes. You have seen the destruction. You think restraint will stop it?"

She took a step forward, and the weight of her presence pressed down on me. "Power is not a thing to be tamed. It is to be claimed."

The chamber pulsed, the energy in the air thickening, heavy with expectation. I clenched my fists, my heart hammering.

"If I become like you, what will be left of me?"

Her glow flared. "Everything. And nothing."

The space around us trembled, the reflection in the pool shifting, flickering between possibilities.

A world bathed in light. A world consumed in ruin. The line between them thin, fragile. My future. My choice.

My fears.

I took a slow breath, forcing my voice steady.

"Power without restraint leads to destruction. But power without purpose is meaningless." I met her gaze, refusing to falter.

"I will not let my power decide my path. I will decide."

A pause. Then, she laughed—not mocking, not cruel. A sound like echoes in eternity.

And she vanished.

The weight pressing on me lifted. The darkness receded. The chamber slowly returned to its golden glow.

The Luminescent One pulsed once more, its light steady.

"You understand now. The path ahead remains uncertain, but you no longer walk it in fear."

I exhaled, closing my eyes for a brief moment.

I was not afraid.

To be continued.