"The Trial of Light and Lies"
Chapter 10: The Trial of Light and Lies
The temple bells rang at dawn.
Not in celebration.
But as a summons.
I stood in the courtyard, barefoot on the cold marble, the wind wrapping around me like a whisper of warning. Elders circled the outer steps, their white robes flowing like ghosts. I could feel their eyes on me—some afraid, others curious. None of them kind.
Kael wasn't allowed to stand beside me.
He tried.
But they pulled him back.
"This is her burden to carry," Elder Varn said. "The flame tests the vessel alone."
I wanted to scream. To fight back. But I stayed still. Not because I was calm—but because my mother once told me:
> "Sometimes, silence is louder than rage."
---
Inside the Hall of Origin, a golden ring glowed at the center. Ancient runes danced along its edge. I stepped into it.
And the world changed.
Gone was the stone floor beneath me. Gone were the judging stares.
I was somewhere else now.
A place made of light and sound.
The Trial Realm.
---
It didn't start with monsters. Or fire. Or pain.
It started with memories.
My childhood.
Laughter. Rain. My brother's small fingers gripping mine after he scraped his knee.
Then my father — whispering bedtime stories I barely remembered. A warmth I hadn't felt in years.
And then…
It changed.
My mother. Screaming. A flame devouring the village temple. And me, six years old, glowing.
Not with fear.
But with power.
Uncontrolled. Wild. Beautiful — and horrible.
"It was you," a voice echoed.
"No—" I gasped. "I didn't know—"
"You did," the voice accused. "Even then. And still… you walked away from the ashes."
I fell to my knees.
Tears hit the glowing floor and sizzled like sparks.
"Am I a monster?" I whispered.
"No," another voice answered. Gentle. Firm. "You are human. And humans break before they rise."
---
Suddenly, fire surrounded me. But it didn't burn.
It embraced.
The flames wrapped around my arms, my legs, my heart — like a second skin. They weren't just heat.
They were mine.
And I understood.
This wasn't a punishment.
This was the truth.
I wasn't chosen to be a weapon.
I was chosen to remember what the flame was — life, warmth, rebirth.
---
When the light faded, I stood again in the Hall of Origin.
The Elders stared in silence.
I was glowing.
My skin shimmered with soft embers.
Not violently. Not chaotically.
But like sunrise after a storm.
"She has passed," said Elder Rema, her voice trembling. "She is… worthy."
I exhaled.
Kael broke from the guards and rushed to me. I fell into him, exhausted.
"I saw everything," I whispered. "Even the parts I buried deep."
"And you didn't break," he said. "You burned through it."
---
But as we stepped outside, a shadow slipped across the temple's outer wall.
A man stood there, cloaked in black feathers, eyes like dying stars.
He watched me.
Smiled.
And disappeared into the wind.
---
Something was coming.
The trial was just the beginning.
And the real fire… hadn't started yet.
---
To be continued…