The temple floor glowed beneath their feet as the dust from Mikoto's defeat settled. Strange symbols appeared, each forming under one of the boys.
Shichiro's was a rising sun.Katsu's, a clock-like ring.Rokuro's, a shard of ice.Kentarō's, a twisted spiral.Ryosen's symbol flickered once, then faded.
Katsu adjusted his glasses. "These marks react to Heart resonance."
Ryosen stepped back. "I am not participating. My Heart was born complete. These trials are only for newly awakened Hearts."
A deep voice filled the hall.
"Prove your pulse."
The floor split open. Shichiro dropped into a glowing arena.
Shichiro's Trial: The Ever-Rising Opponent
He landed in a white void. No walls. No sky. Only the echo of a heartbeat.
A formless humanoid appeared in front of him.
Round one was instant. Shichiro cut it down with a single burning slash.
It reformed immediately, stronger.
Round two forced him to dodge his own copied attacks.
Round three pushed him against his limits. The entity copied his speed, his timing, even his flame technique.
Outside, Katsu watched the projection. "It is evolving based on his Heart."
Ryosen frowned. "If it evolves too far, it will destroy the chamber."
Round four nearly overwhelmed Shichiro. The creature fired a Dawn-like blast stronger than anything he had attempted.
Shichiro fell to one knee. His blade flickered.
He whispered, "Then evolve with me."
His sword shifted into blinding white. He unleashed a new technique, Solar Break, shattering the creature entirely.
It reformed one last time, this time as an exact mirror of him.
Before it could attack, a tall figure appeared. The Trial Master slammed his staff to the ground.
"Enough. Further evolution will break the arena."
The clone dissolved.
Shichiro collapsed to one knee, exhausted.
The Trial Master nodded once. "You grow with your will, but uncontrolled growth consumes the wielder."
Shichiro's blade flickered with new power.
Kentarō's Trial
Kentarō fell into a fog-covered arena. The air stung like poison.He laughed once, nervously. "Alright… if something jumps at me, I swear I'm kicking someone."
The fog parted.
A massive creature stepped forward, shaped like a warped version of himself.Same clothing. Same grin. But twisted.Its eyes were hollow, glowing green with venom.
Kentarō's joking expression faded.
The creature whispered in his voice, "You pretend you are fearless. But your real fear is yourself."
It rushed him with horrifying speed.
Kentarō dodged, but barely. Every strike poisoned the ground. Every movement mirrored his own.
The arena shifted. More copies crawled out of the fog. Laughing. Mocking.Each one represented a fear he tried to laugh away.
Kentarō's hands shook. For once, he could not joke.The fog closed in.
He whispered, "I'm scared… but I am still here."
His Heart pulsed. Green sparks lit up his veins.
He activated Venom Pulse, poisoning the copies with the same fear they came from.One by one, they dissolved into smoke.
The last clone approached. It placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You are strong because you feel fear," it said.
It vanished, and the trial ended.
Rokuro's Trial: The Glacier Corridor
Rokuro stepped into a long hallway made of thick ice.There was no sound except the crackling of frozen air.
A countdown appeared on the wall.
10
Rokuro raised an eyebrow. "Oh. A timed test."
The corridor collapsed behind him.
9
He walked forward calmly as massive ice pillars fell toward him.
8
A giant shard crashed near his head. He barely flinched.
Walls of ice slammed shut. He slid through with relaxed movements.
7
Frost storms raged around him, but he kept walking.
6
A mirror clone of himself appeared, blocking the path.
Rokuro sighed. "Move."
5
The clone charged with icy fury. Rokuro closed his eyes.
4
The clone froze mid-swing. Rokuro's calm overwhelmed the illusion.
3
He stepped past. The corridor narrowed.
2
The exit began to close.
1
Rokuro lifted his hand. Time inside the corridor slowed from sheer calm alone.He walked out just as the gate sealed shut behind him.
The trial ended.
Katsu's Trial: The Clockless Realm
Katsu landed in a world of shattered glass.Broken clocks floated in the air. Time slipped around him, looping and repeating.
A voice echoed:
"Your mind relies on structure. What happens when time does not obey you?"
A clock appeared in front of him.Its hands spun wildly.
Katsu raised his fists, ready. "Alright. Let's think this through."
Suddenly time froze.Then it jumped ahead.Then reversed.Every movement he made was delayed or sped up unpredictably.
Katsu tried to punch the clock.Time slowed, and he missed.
He tried again.Time warped, sending him stumbling.
The world blurred."Kentarō would be laughing right now," he muttered.
The clocks around him shattered, releasing distorted echoes of his past failures.
Katsu closed his eyes.
"Time changes. But I do not."
He centered himself.
His Heart glowed silver.Time aligned with him.Not perfect. Not controlled. But enough.
He struck the clock with a single punch.The entire realm froze.The trial shattered like glass.
Each of them passed, barely.
When the final trial collapsed, the hall shifted. The Trial Master emerged fully from the floor.
"I am Master Aion. You have endured your Hearts. Now receive the weapons that match your resonance."
Four pedestals formed.
Shichiro's Weapon
Aion gestured. Two burning whips ignited from the pedestal.
"Your Heart evolves. Your weapon must grow with you."
Shichiro grabbed them. The flames wrapped around his arms.
"Solar Flare," he said quietly. "And… Stardust Lash."
The whips sparked in response.
Katsu's Weapon
Two brass knuckles formed, gears turning inside.
"Your mind bends time. These will help you shape it."
Katsu slid them on.
"They feel heavy."
"Time always is," Aion replied.
The name shimmered on their surface.
Eon Breakers.
Kentarō's Weapon
Two glowing daggers floated in the air
"Your chaos is your strength. These will channel it."
Kentarō caught them.
"Oh yeah. These are mine."
Venom Fang. Widow's Echo.
"I don't like these names but, they'll do just fine."
Rokuro's Weapon
A long staff of ice condensed in front of him.
"Your calm brings silence to battle. With this, silence becomes absolute."
Rokuro touched it, frost spreading gently across his arm.
"Hush of Winter," he said softly.
Ryosen's Blessing
Aion turned to him.
"You were born complete. You require no weapon."
A golden seal floated to him.
"Take the Seal of Serenity."
Ryosen bowed. "Thank you."
He then turned to the group and smiled. "Damn. You guys got good."
Shichiro stepped forward. "Join us. We need you."
Ryosen considered it, then nodded. "Alright. Let us see where this path goes."
Together, they stepped out of the temple, stronger than they had ever been.
Far away, in the Abyssal Spire, Bellerophon sensed the death of his elite warrior. Mikoto. His claws tightened.
Around him, dozens of elite-grade Heartless kneeled. These ones were different. Their bodies were corrupted, but their Hearts still glowed faintly inside their chests.
Not taken. Not erased.
Preserved.
Bellerophon smiled.
"These ones keep their Hearts so they can grow. So they can evolve. So they can become perfect."
He turned toward the darkness.
"Send them."
The walls trembled.
The elites moved.