Full Chapter – Traps, Shadows, and IceBlooded Resolve
Location: Velthari Borderlands – The Ruins of House Daevaryn.
These crumbling strongholds once belonged to one of the lost noble families of Velthar, known for crafting experimental core traps and illusion warfare. Now they are overgrown, corrupted by lingering magic — and crawling with hired mercenaries waiting for blood.
Arrival
The gates of the ruined estate rose like bones out of the forest. Mosseaten statues glared down from broken towers. Every crack in the stone whispered old names and forgotten debts.
Max said nothing as they approached. But the shadows at his feet moved without wind.
"I'll scout ahead," he said.
Tristan handed Seris gently to her brother. "She's stable. Keep pressure on the wound. We'll clear the path."
Rael didn't argue — for once.
The Traps Awaken
The moment the group stepped past the arch, the ground shimmered.
"Etherencoded traps," Max muttered. "Active."
Hadi stepped forward, her palm glowing pink.
"Then let's short them out."
She unleashed a wave of energy — but it rebounded instantly, redirecting toward Max.
He caught it with a snap of darkness and redirected it to the wall, which hissed and opened.
"That's new," Hadi blinked. "Your turn, genius."
Tristan looked around. "These aren't just traps. They're tests."
"Of what?" Hadi asked.
"Us."
First Challenge – Max: The Shadow Hall
A narrow hallway split off from the group, lined with flickering lanterns. Max was pulled in by force — the shadows swallowed him.
Inside, voices whispered.
"You're not whole."
"You hide in darkness… because you fear what light will show."
"Do your siblings really trust you?"
Max's breath stayed calm.
"No," he whispered. "But they don't have to."
The shadow around him surged — manifesting as a monstrous version of himself, cloaked in pure abyss.
It lunged.
Max met it with a blade of woven night, his movements fluid, honed.
The fight was brutal — shadows clashing, parrying, warping the space.
Max struck low, feinted, and sliced upward through the doppelgänger's core.
The illusion bled sparks and collapsed into mist.
"Nice try," he growled.
Second Challenge – Hadi: The Mirror Chamber
Hadi stepped through a curved stone doorway into a chamber of floating mirrors. Each one showed her — laughing, crying, raging, burning.
Then… one spoke.
"They don't take you seriously. You're just the loud one. The spark that flickers and fades."
Her hands trembled.
"That's not true," she whispered.
"Isn't it?"
Each mirror began shooting bolts of energy, mimicking her own attacks — more polished, more precise.
Hadi screamed — and unleashed pure core energy, not as a blast, but as a pulse of intent.
"I'm not just a spark."
Her aura expanded outward in every direction — vaporizing the fake Hadi constructs and forcing the mirrors to crack, then shatter.
Third Challenge – Tristan: The Frozen Trial
Tristan entered what looked like a ballroom of ice. Velvet curtains frozen middrape, chandeliers of frost.
In the center stood a woman — made of crystal ice, wearing Seris's face.
"You'll let her fall. Like all the others. Charming words won't keep her safe."
Tristan clenched his jaw.
"You think I'm all charm and no grit?"
The iceSeris attacked, her blade sharp, relentless. Tristan parried each strike, but she didn't slow.
She slashed him across the arm.
"You won't protect her."
He lowered his stance.
"I don't need to protect her. I need to fight with her."
His frost flared — and for the first time, deep blue veins of flame curled inside it.
Hybrid flame and ice. The mark of an evolving core.
He shattered the illusion with a fullbody lunge, impaling the iceclone with a pillar of crystallized fire.
Back at Camp
Rael stared into the fire while Seris rested beside him, sweat on her brow.
"They better not die in there," he whispered.
Suddenly, the ruins rumbled.
And all three siblings emerged — worn, bloodied, but alive. Sparks danced on Hadi's shoulders. Ice curled around Tristan's sleeves. Shadows rolled from Max's boots.
Seris opened her eyes at the sound.
Tristan knelt beside her, breathless.
"Still alive, princess."
She smirked faintly. "Took you long enough."