Dawn crouched beneath the tangled roots of an ancient tree, his breath steady despite the frantic thrum of his heart. The Celestial Fruits—now secured in his satchel—radiated a faint, golden glow even through the thick fabric. Their presence felt heavier than expected, as though they contained something more than mere energy.
He forced his breathing to slow, listening intently. Had he truly escaped?
The Eclipse Warden had not pursued him. It had simply vanished, dissolving into the celestial air as if it had never existed. That was the part that unsettled him most. The battle had not reached a conclusion; it had simply... stopped.
Why?
Dawn's Astral Eyes flickered to life as he peered through the dense canopy. The Celestial Tree stood in the distance, its silver-white bark gleaming under the eternal light of the sky. Despite his victory—or perhaps because of it—he felt an unseen presence still lingering near its branches, like an echo of something watching.
He wasn't the type to let paranoia take hold, but instincts honed through his journey across the land told him one thing—
The trial was far from over.
---
Dawn's body still thrummed with tension, the aftershocks of battle refusing to fade. His limbs, despite the strain they had endured, felt light—an aftereffect of his transformation. He rolled his shoulders, testing his strength. No pain. No exhaustion.
It was as if he had been reforged.
His gaze shifted toward the satchel at his side. Celestial Fruits.
They pulsed faintly, as if alive.
He had stolen them from the Eclipse Warden's domain, yet something told him that the act of taking them had changed more than just the balance of power in the trial.
Something deep within the trial grounds had shifted.
He closed his eyes for a moment, steadying his thoughts. There was no time to linger.
He had to move.
---
With a quiet exhale, Dawn reached into his satchel, retrieving the sealed directive that had been given to him before the trial began. The parchment felt heavier than it should have, carrying an unseen weight beyond mere words.
Unrolling it, he read through its contents once more:
"Seek the designated location. Retrieve the hidden book. Only the alignment of stars will reveal the Terrain that was hidden by the sky."
Dawn's gaze lingered on the final line.
"A terrain hidden by the sky? What is that supposed to mean? What of the alignment of stars? Was that why I was chosen?"
It was cryptic. Too cryptic.
These special assignments were not simple tests of skill or endurance. They were responsibilities, assigned only to those the Academy believed capable of handling something beyond their standard trials.
But what exactly was he meant to find?
The artifact in question was not described in detail. Even the location was only vaguely marked on his celestial compass—an ancient device used specifically for these missions.
With careful movements, he retrieved the compass and flicked it open. The star-forged needle quivered for a moment before settling toward the southwest.
Dawn's gaze followed its direction, eyes narrowing as he took in the distant landscape.
Beyond the Celestial Tree lay a vast valley, shrouded in silver mist. The celestial glow that bathed the rest of the trial grounds seemed to dim near its edges, as though something there rejected its light.
A strange sensation ran through him.
If the Celestial Tree had been the heart of illumination, then this valley felt like the remnants of something long forgotten.
Something that did not belong in the radiant lands of the trial.
A fragment of something beyond the Academy's control.
---
Dawn exhaled softly, his mind sharpening.
He had no time to waste.
Adjusting his satchel, ensuring the Celestial Fruits were secured, he moved into the undergrowth, his body low and movements careful. Even though he had avoided the Eclipse Warden's grasp for now, he could not assume the trial would let him leave unchallenged.
The towering trees gradually gave way to twisted, jagged rock formations, their surfaces cracked and worn as though time had eroded them at an unnatural pace. The further he traveled, the fainter the celestial glow became, replaced instead by the eerie silver mist curling along the ground like living tendrils.
A deep, unsettling silence settled around him.
No wind.
No rustling leaves.
Not even the distant calls of unseen beasts.
It was as if the land itself held its breath.
Dawn's fingers brushed against his rapier-whip's handle, his instincts flaring.
This wasn't just any part of the trial grounds.
It was an anomaly.
Something the Academy had either hidden or refused to acknowledge.
He paused at the edge of a broken ridge, his Astral Eyes flaring to life.
In the distance, nestled within the valley, stood a structure—an altar of unknown origin, bathed in pale luminescence.
His breath hitched slightly.
This was it.
The place marked in his special assignment.
Yet even as he prepared to move, an unsettling realization settled over him.
Something was waiting for him there.
Something hidden within the mist, just beyond the edges of his sight.
---
Dawn remained motionless, allowing the silence to settle around him.
The feeling wasn't oppressive—not like the Eclipse Warden's presence had been. No, this was different.
It wasn't just a force of overwhelming might.
It was something watching.
Something waiting.
Something that had been there long before he arrived.
Dawn tightened his grip on his weapon, his mind racing.
The trial had been crafted with precision. Every step, every challenge, designed to test celestial resonance. Yet this place, this altar hidden within the mist, felt different.
Had he truly escaped the trial's grasp?
Or had he stepped into something else entirely?
The silver mist thickened, curling around the edges of his vision, swallowing the distant altar from view.
He took a step forward.
The mist reacted.
A whisper, ancient and fragmented, brushed against the edges of his mind.
It wasn't words. Not exactly.
But it carried meaning.
A single, undeniable truth.
"You were not meant to come here."
Dawn froze.
Then, deep within the unknown, something stirred in response.