Chapter 21: The Echo of Fire
The night cloaked the Ember Academy in a veil of shadows, its ebony towers rising like grim peaks beneath a sky stained in oppressive crimson, as if the heavens themselves bled under an invisible weight. I stood in an elevated training hall, an open space with polished obsidian floors and walls adorned with glyphs glowing with warm light, the air saturated with the acrid scent of embers and an electric hum. My body still bore the marks of the previous trial: a stabbing pain in my ribs with every movement, a throbbing wound on my thigh beneath the torn fabric of my garb, and the darkened veins of Aether crawling beneath my skin like poisonous currents.
Lirien's amulet, cold as a forgotten memory, hung from my neck — a fragile bond to a past fading into the mist. Dren's reliquary, hidden in my clothes, pulsed with a violet glow that resonated with the etched symbols — a secret pulling me deeper.
Nyra stood beside me, her dagger resting in her hand with restrained tension, her gaze evasive after our recent argument — an emotional chasm growing between us.
The Threshold whispered in my mind, its voice a chilling blade slicing through my resolve:
"The echo calls you, Echo. Listen, or the throne will crush you."
Lysara stood tall in the center of the hall, her robe wrapped in snowy flames that danced like ethereal spirits, her presence silencing the whispers of the gathered apprentices.
"Today you will refine your skills in a resonance trial," she announced, her voice echoing like a distant thunder that made the glyphs vibrate.
"Vaelis and Nyra, you will channel fire and wind in harmony. Let the flames reveal your limits."
Her eyes, burning like eternal torches, fixed on us — a command that weighed like stone. Kaelith watched from a corner, his crimson gaze heavy with envy, his presence a constant reminder of the rivalry that stalked us.
Nyra gave me a wary look, her voice tense yet firm.
"If we're going to do this, we need to sync up," she said, though the distrust in her tone was clear.
I nodded, gripping my weapon as Lysara raised her hand. The glyphs on the walls flared brightly, and a circle of fire formed around us — a testing ground that began to spin slowly.
The air heated instantly, and a rush of Threshold servants emerged from the flames — ethereal forms with glowing red eyes and sharp claws, a challenge designed to forge our bond.
"Go!" I shouted, lunging forward, my blade slicing through the air and piercing one of them, its body collapsing into violet dust that scattered with the wind.
Nyra followed, her dagger unleashing a whirlwind that stirred ash and halted two more, her movements graceful like a wild dance.
My aura surged — a violet glow intertwined with golden flames erupting from my palms, the Aether beneath barely under control. The ground trembled beneath me, ash swirling upward, and a moment of aura filled the hall with my determination — a stand against the darkness surrounding us.
Nyra responded, her essence rising in a spiral of breeze that cut through the air with serene majesty — a moment of aura that intertwined with mine, strengthening our stance.
The servants attacked in waves. One lunged, its claws tearing into my arm with a searing gash that drew a growl from me. I rolled away, dodging another strike, and conjured a blaze Lysara had taught me — orange tongues devouring the attacker in a burst of light.
Nyra unleashed a gale that knocked another back, her dagger driving through its chest with lethal precision. But the horde swelled, and a colossal servant emerged from the flames, shrouded in dense mist, its eyes glowing with malevolent fire.
"Flank it!" I ordered, charging at the giant. My weapon clashed against its claws in a shower of sparks, the impact rattling me to the bone. Nyra raised a whirlwind that threw it off balance, and I climbed onto its back, driving my blade into its neck with a sharp strike. The monster roared, staggering, and collapsed in an explosion of dust that engulfed us.
Panting, I turned — more servants surged in, their movements coordinated like a well-set ambush.
The reliquary pulsed wildly, and a violet fissure cracked open in the circle. Envy emerged, her form surrounded by a realm of mirrors, her eyes reflecting my distorted face in a cruel game.
"Your bond is fragile, Echo," she whispered, and one mirror shattered, releasing sharp shards that fell like deadly rain.
I barely dodged them — one slashed my cheek, drawing a cry, and I retaliated with a flame burst that clashed against the fragments, dissolving them into smoke.
Nyra cast a gale that slowed Envy, but she laughed — her aura of mirrors expanding in a moment of aura that darkened the room.
Kaelith burst into the circle, his flaming sword drawn, his fire aura cloaking him like a living shroud — a moment of aura that challenged our alliance.
"The reliquary is mine!" he roared, charging at me.
I blocked his strike, the clash sending a rain of sparks, and we grappled, my strength faltering under his assault. Nyra intervened, her whirlwind shoving him back, but Kaelith conjured a fire dragon, its roar echoing through the space.
"Together!" Nyra shouted, and we combined our powers: my flames and her breeze merging into a fiery vortex that struck the dragon, dissolving it into glowing embers.
Kaelith roared, his blade carving a lethal arc — I barely dodged, a burn grazing my shoulder.
Envy struck again, her mirrors shattering anew, and Nyra raised a wind barrier that cracked under the assault, forcing us to tumble across the floor.
The fire circle intensified, and a second colossal servant emerged, its presence making the runes tremble.
"Cover me!" I yelled, sprinting toward the new enemy. My blade clashed against its claws in a flare of light, the hit sending me flying.
Nyra summoned a whirlwind that unbalanced it, and I scaled a nearby column, leaping to drive my weapon into its skull. The beast collapsed — but a third servant attacked, its claws tearing my leg and ripping a scream from my throat.
Nyra dashed to me, her dagger piercing the servant with a fluid motion, her breath ragged.
"Don't let it break you!" she cried, her aura intensifying into a ferocious storm.
We launched a combined strike — my flames and her wind formed a blazing sphere that incinerated the enemy in a burst of light.
Kaelith charged again, his dragon reborn, and I dodged a fire torrent, rolling as Nyra slowed him with a whirlwind.
The Aether roared within me, a hurricane of power threatening to erupt — and I let it go for an instant. My eyes glowed with violet light, illuminating the room.
A shockwave of purple energy swept the space, hurling Kaelith, his dragon, and Envy against a wall, the impact shaking the runes. The remaining servants vanished, and the fissure sealed with a crack.
I fell to my knees, blood dripping from my mouth in a crimson thread, the dark veins spreading like living vines.
Nyra caught me, her face hardened.
"The Aether again," she accused, her voice breaking with frustration.
Kaelith rose, panting, his aura weakened.
"This isn't over," he growled, staggering away.
Lysara stepped forward, her snowy fire aura imposing with calm authority.
"Your synchronicity has improved, but your power betrays you, Vaelis," she said.
"Control it, or lose everything."
A vision struck me: the obsidian throne soaked in blood that dripped like silent tears, Nyra lifeless at its base, Lirien fading into an ethereal whisper.
Envy whispered from a mirror:
"Your echo will destroy them."
Other Sins emerged: the shadow king with a crown of night, the ice queen with a frozen scepter, the chained monster dragging its burden, the golden specter with radiant eyes, the misted deceiver offering lies, the blood-winged warrior with a broken blade, the crystal-eyed shadow watching, and the colossus wrapped in ashes roaring with contained fury.
"The echo grows louder," thundered the Threshold.
"Choose your fate, Echo, or become theirs."
Nyra helped me stand, her trembling hand on my shoulder.
"If you don't trust me with the truth, this will fall apart," she whispered, her voice laced with pain.
The hall settled, the glyphs fading like dying embers — but I knew this trial had echoed far beyond the fire, drawing us closer to the end of this phase.