Chapter 98: Trial One — The Lie of Peace
The night before, the Academy’s gates had fallen silent with anticipation. Students whispered in cramped halls, professors lingered by torchlight, and the Codex trembled on its pedestal as if it sensed what was coming. Now, dawn broke with an eerie stillness, the kind that lives between heartbeat and breath. No birds sang. No wind stirred. Only the Origin Halo, suspended above the rooftops, glowed with a soft iridescence that matched the pale sky.
I stood on the balcony of the East Wing, peering down at the courtyard where four of my closest allies awaited me. Seraphina, Valmira, Yuria, and Zephira formed a half-circle around the old brazier at the center, its basin cold and empty since Lilith’s final farewell. This morning, the brazier would serve as our portal into the first of ten trials the Halo had foretold—ten tests that would determine whether I was worthy of the magic it offered.
A tremor pulsed beneath my feet as I approached, and I could feel the Halo’s gentle tug upon my spirit. It was not a threat, but a summons. I inhaled, letting the calm sink in. My breath fogged in the crisp morning air.
Seraphina turned to me, her frost-laced staff resting in one hand. "Are you ready?" she asked, her voice low.
I nodded, swallowing the tightness in my throat. "Always."
Valmira opened the Codex to a fresh page. "The first trial will manifest as an illusion," she said. "A peace so perfect it veils a darker truth. Recognize its lie and you will pass."
Yuria cracked her knuckles, lightning sparking in her curls. "Sounds like my kind of party."
Zephira’s scarred gaze swept the courtyard. "Stay sharp. Illusions can be deadlier than real foes."
I pressed a hand to the brazier’s rim. "Then let’s begin."
Summoning the Trial
Together, we formed a circle around the brazier. The Halo’s light intensified until it pierced the morning gloom. Golden motes drifted from above, swirling like dust caught in a sunbeam. The motes descended into the brazier’s basin, and the air filled with a soft hum that turned into a tidal wave of sound—voices singing a hymn of peace.