The air was heavy.Not just with darkness—but with memory, coiling like smoke around their thoughts.
Every step deeper into the Heart of the Veil made the world feel less certain.
🏹 Seren Breaks the Tension
"Anyone else feel like we're walking into someone else's grief?"
Kael:
"Not grief."
He touched a floating stone as they passed—etched with a child's drawing.
"Regret."
🐉 Vaelrix Mutters
"I'd take a sword to the chest over this."
Alari offered a faint smile.
"This is the blade. We're just not bleeding yet."
They all stopped, just before the threshold where light began to fold inward.
👁️ A Presence Waits
Ahead, the Veil pulses—like a heartbeat made of memory.
And then… the mist speaks:
"Names carry weight.Yours shine.Let us see if you can bear them."
🌪️ Chapter 34: The Trial of Names Begins
Each Flamebearer takes a step forward…
And vanishes.
Not in body. In soul.
Each into their own space—A trial crafted not to test their strength…
But their identity.
🔥 Trial I — Seren
She wakes in a battlefield.Ash. Arrows. Fire.
Her brother stands before her—burned, but smiling.
"You saved them. But not me."
"If the light is just… why do I have to stay here while you move on?"
Her bow is gone.Her strength is memory.
Only her voice remains.
Will she say: "I didn't deserve to survive"?
Or: "I'm still here… to make your sacrifice mean something."
🕯️ Trial II — Kael
A library with no walls.Every book blank.
A voice echoes:
"You speak for angels. But would they still follow you if they knew your doubts?"
He finds a mirror.
His reflection holds a torch…But turns its back to him.
"You know the words. But do you believe them?"
His test:Speak a Celestine word aloud, without certainty—only love.
🐉 Trial III — Vaelrix
A throne room split in half.
On one side: dragons.On the other: mankind.
He stands between them.
Both shout:
"Choose."
And then, behind him…A third voice:
"Or become what neither understands… and walk alone."
His wings begin to disappear.
His choice: belong to one... or stand as something new.
👧 Trial IV — Alari
A field of stars.
Lioren appears—not monstrous, but tired.
"If you let me stay, I will give you power enough to silence the storm."
"But if you cast me out… you may never hear me again."
She looks down…And sees her reflection fading.
Her test:Will she be a vessel…Or her own name?