Darkness folded around Way'Lee like a living thing, thick and suffocating. The jade talisman flickered in her grasp, its glow swallowed by the void. Wang Jo was nowhere to be seen.
A voice, the White Fox's, drifted through the mist.
"Your first test: the weight of memory."
The darkness shifted. Shapes formed, coiling like smoke, becoming figures she knew too well.
The palace courtyard appeared before her, drenched in twilight. Lanterns bobbed in the wind, their soft light dancing across polished stone. A younger Way'Lee stood at the center, her robes pristine, her hair braided with pearls. Before her knelt a man, bound in chains. Blood trickled from his lip.
Way'Lee's breath caught.
She knew this memory.
The man—Minister Kao—had conspired against her, selling secrets to her enemies. She had sentenced him to death.
Her past self raised a hand, and the guards obeyed. The sword flashed. The execution was swift.
But now, standing in the mist, Way'Lee saw something she had not seen before.
A child—no older than ten—hidden in the shadows of the courtyard, tears streaking his face.
Way'Lee's pulse pounded. She had never noticed him before.
The White Fox's voice curled around her like smoke.
"The choices of the past cannot be undone. But they can demand reckoning."
The child stepped forward. His eyes were the same as Minister Kao's.
"Why did you kill my father?" His voice was soft, but it cut through her like a blade.
Way'Lee clenched her fists. "He betrayed the throne."
The child stared at her. "And what of his son? Did I deserve to lose him?"
Guilt, sharp and sudden, coiled in her chest. She had never thought of this before. The ministers were names, the executions were duty. She had told herself she did what was necessary.
The White Fox's voice came again. "A ruler carries not only power, but the ghosts of those they condemn. Will you turn from them, or bear their weight?"
Way'Lee's hands trembled. The child was not real—just a trial, a fragment of her past twisted into judgment. And yet…
She knelt, meeting his gaze. "I will not ask for your forgiveness," she said quietly. "But I will remember you. And I will carry you with me."
The boy studied her for a long moment. Then, he dissolved into mist.
The darkness receded.
Way'Lee found herself standing on solid ground again, the fog thinning around her. Wang Jo stood a few feet away, his sword drawn, his body rigid.
He turned sharply. "Where were you?"
Way'Lee shook her head. "The trial. It showed me something I had forgotten."
Wang Jo's jaw tensed. "And did you pass?"
A flicker of doubt crept into her chest. "I don't know."
A soft laugh echoed around them. The White Fox stepped forward, her nine tails curling behind her. "You do not seek forgiveness," she mused. "Only understanding. A dangerous path for a queen."
Way'Lee met her gaze. "I seek the truth."
The White Fox smiled. "Then you are not finished."
The mist thickened once more, and the second trial began.
This time, it was not the past she faced, but the future.
She stood in the throne room of her palace, yet it was not as she had left it. The banners were torn. The pillars cracked. Ash floated through the air, the scent of burning wood thick in her lungs.
And at the center of it all, slumped on the steps of her throne, was Wang Jo.
His sword lay broken beside him. His armor was stained with blood—his own. His eyes, usually so sharp, were dull with fading light.
Way'Lee's breath hitched.
She rushed to him, falling to her knees. "Wang Jo—!"
His gaze barely lifted. "Too late," he rasped.
"No." She gripped his shoulders. "This isn't real."
His fingers curled around her wrist. "Then save me."
The White Fox's voice whispered from the shadows.
"Would you give your throne to save him?"
Way'Lee's heart pounded. She turned, searching for the White Fox's form, but the mist revealed nothing. "This is not a fair choice."
"There are no fair choices."
Wang Jo's grip weakened. His breath slowed.
Way'Lee gritted her teeth. "If I step down, the kingdom falls into chaos."
"And if you rule, he dies."
Tears burned in her eyes.
The White Fox's voice softened. "Is he worth more than your crown?"
Way'Lee clenched her fists. The weight of the decision crushed her, but she knew the truth.
"I will not sacrifice my kingdom for one man," she whispered.
Silence.
Then—
The world cracked.
Way'Lee gasped as reality snapped back into place. She was on her knees in the mist, her hands shaking. Wang Jo stood beside her, unharmed.
She turned to him, her throat tight. "Did you—"
"I saw nothing," he admitted. "Only mist."
The White Fox watched them, her blue eyes unreadable. "You understand now."
Way'Lee swallowed hard. "Understand what?"
The White Fox's tails flicked. "That there is always a cost. That the choices you make will demand sacrifice. You passed the trial because you accepted this truth."
Way'Lee exhaled shakily. "And what of my answers?"
The White Fox smiled, a slow, knowing smile. "You have already found them."
Way'Lee frowned.
The White Fox leaned closer. "You came seeking wisdom. But wisdom is not given—it is earned."
She tapped a single claw against Way'Lee's chest.
"Go. Rule. And remember what you have learned."
The mist surged one last time.
And the veil shattered.
Way'Lee and Wang Jo stood at the base of the Northern Peaks, the sun rising over the horizon. The jade talisman in her palm had cracked, its glow extinguished.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Wang Jo adjusted his sword. "Well?"
Way'Lee closed her fingers around the broken talisman. The weight of the trials sat heavy on her shoulders, but there was a new clarity in her heart.
She turned toward the road home. "Let's go."
Neither looked back.