Chapter 255: Trial of Faith

The Third Gate loomed ahead, framed in silver and violet stone, humming with a resonance that pressed against their bones. Unlike the previous chambers, this one didn't open with a key.

It asked for something else.

Kael stood before the shimmering barrier, clutching the second key. The silver orb vibrated in his hand, but the gate remained unmoved.

"No lock," Thorne muttered, scanning for traps.

Ashara reached out — and was immediately blasted back by a wave of soundless force. She caught herself mid-air and landed with grace, grimacing.

"It doesn't want a key," she said. "It wants… something deeper."

The gate pulsed once.

A voice echoed in their minds.

"TO PROCEED, OFFER THE TRUTH YOU DARE NOT SPEAK."

"AND STAND BY IT."

Silence fell over the group.

Kael looked at each of them.

One by one, the gate projected illusions into the chamber — not memories, but choices. Future visions, possible paths, fears that could become reality.

Lysara stepped forward first.

The air around her shimmered, revealing a version of herself sitting on a golden throne, a kingdom in ruin around her. Her hands were stained red. Her crown was forged from ash.

The gate spoke again.

"Do you fear this future… or desire it?"

Lysara's voice was steady. "I fear becoming this. But I've thought about it. I've wanted revenge."

The vision faded. The gate glowed slightly.

Next was Thorne.

His illusion showed him walking away from the group, dressed in the armor of the Iron Concord. His sister stood beside him, alive, whole — but the Vault burned behind them, Kael's body at its base.

The question came again.

"Would you trade his life… for your family?"

Thorne clenched his fists. "I would have. Once. But not anymore."

The gate brightened further.

Then came Veyna. Her vision was filled with coin, contracts, a mountain of power — bought by betrayal. The blood of Ashara on her daggers.

"Would you choose gold over loyalty?"

Veyna scoffed. "I've betrayed people before. But not them."

The gate shimmered.

Ashara hesitated, then stepped forward.

Her illusion showed her surrounded by the undead, wielding the power of the very god she had once vowed to destroy. Her eyes glowed violet. In her hands: the Book of Sundering.

"Do you still crave forbidden knowledge?"

Ashara smiled bitterly. "Always. But I've learned not all knowledge is worth the cost."

Her image vanished.

Then, it was Kael's turn.

The gate conjured not a vision, but a void — empty, endless. Inside it, Kael stood alone. No flames. No companions. No war.

Just peace.

"Would you abandon the fire, if it meant peace?"

He stared at the nothingness. No battles. No death. No pain. A quiet life.

He didn't answer right away.

Then he looked back at his companions — worn, scarred, but standing with him.

"…No," he said at last. "Because peace without them isn't peace. It's erasure."

The void collapsed.

The gate opened.

Inside was a chamber unlike the others.

No walls. No sky. Just a platform floating in infinity, where stars shimmered in every direction. In the center stood an altar.

On it — a map.

Not just of their world… but of others.

Veyna stepped closer. "This is a star chart."

Ashara's eyes widened. "No… it's a record. This place connects to other Vaults. Other realms."

Kael touched the map.

Visions exploded outward — planets, civilizations, burning skies, elemental gods.

The Vault wasn't a prison.

It was a testbed. For those who would inherit the Spark and carry it beyond their world.

"Are you ready?" the voice asked again.

Not just to them — but to Kael alone.

Kael took a breath. The fire inside him roared in response. His past had fractured him. His fear had caged him. But now?

Now, he was whole.

"Yes," he said. "Open the Fourth Gate."

The stars turned.

The platform began to rise.

Far above them, a new light formed.

Not a gate — but a bridge.

To another world.