Seven years later.
Kai, now twenty, sat upon the wooden shaft that floated on the endless waters of the trial. The sea if it could even be called that stretched infinitely in every direction. Its surface was smooth, impossibly clean, reflecting everything above and below, but nothing truly touched the water. It held Kai's reflection perfectly, yet even as he leaned closer, even as he studied the pale contours of his own face, he saw something else a sky that was wrong.
The sky was like a mirror, but not merely reflecting the ocean below. It reflected itself endlessly, folding back upon the waters, creating an impossible loop of inverted reality. The day existed, yet there was no sun. The light had no source, only a pale illumination that seemed drawn from the reflection itself, soft and blinding in a strange, unnatural way.
Kai tilted his head, letting his black hair fall across his forehead, shadowing his eyes. He studied the mirrored heavens, and for a moment, it felt as though the world had become a perfect glass transparent, infinite, and utterly silent. He could see his reflection in the water, but he could also see the mirrored sky above, bending around him as though the world itself had fractured, folding in on itself.
He sighed.
The Trial of the Gods. That was what it was called. He remembered the title because the labyrinth itself had whispered it, in tones that seemed older than the stars. But what he did not remember was anything about the rules, the path, or the dangers. The water emitted a subtle, oppressive aura, heavy and cold, as if it resented his presence. He could feel it pressing down on him, whispering unease into the marrow of his bones.
The sky or the reflection that claimed to be sky felt worse. It was wrong. Mirrored wrong. He could not tell if he should look up or down, for both directions seemed to merge into a single, infinite horizon. Something about it was unnatural, and yet it felt alive. Watching. Judging.
Kai lowered his head and sat cross-legged on the shaft, letting his hands rest on his knees. He tried to breathe evenly, but the weight of the silence pressed against him. What was he supposed to do? How could he pass a trial like this when everything, even the light and water, seemed bent against him?
Time passed slowly. It had no meaning here. There was no wind, no sound, save for the faint ripple of the shaft against the mirrored water.
And yet he was aware.
The trial was not only a test of skill or courage. It was a judgment. He could feel it in his bones. The Trial of the Gods did not welcome him it weighed him. It considered him. And for that reason, he could not move forward, and he could not turn back.
Meanwhile, outside the labyrinth, the world felt different.
The mist that had blanketed the forest like a living shroud began to thin, shifting as if stirred by unseen hands. The three companions Cateline, the old-looking man who was twenty yet carried himself with the calm authority of age, and the youngest, whose presence betrayed maturity beyond his years sat in silence around the flickering campfire.
The woman, previously hidden beneath the fog, now became visible. The mist retreated, not naturally, but under her control. It rolled and sank obediently, revealing the world as it was, or rather, as they needed to see it. The labyrinth stood before them, dark and immense, its walls seeming to stretch endlessly into shadow. Beyond it, there was nothing: no forest, no mountains, no sky only emptiness.
As the mist settled, the woman's hair shimmered, dark black strands fading into a rich green that matched her eyes. The transformation was subtle but impossible to ignore. She looked every bit as otherworldly as her eyes suggested, and her presence carried an authority that made the air itself still.
Her name was Cateline.
She glanced around at the labyrinth, taking in the absence of life and land, and exhaled softly. There was calmness in her gaze, but also a quiet intensity, a readiness. The forest remained silent, and even the campfire seemed to lean into her will.
***
7 Years ago, before the labyrinth, before the trial, a different moment in time had set the stage.
Kai was thirteen then, a boy of slender frame and sharp eyes, riding in a carriage that carried him through the streets of Athelguard, the capital of the Valeria Kingdom. His hair, black and unkempt despite the ceremonial braid, fell over his eyes as he looked out at the city.
The guards, polished in metal and ceremonial blue, marched beside the carriage, their armor clinking softly as they kept pace. Kai's mind wandered, restless and impatient.
"Where… is sister?" he asked suddenly, looking to the nearest guard. His voice was quiet, almost uncertain, but it carried the weight of expectation.
The guard did not answer.
Kai's small hands gripped the edge of the carriage. He leaned closer to the window, watching as Castle receded in the distance. The ivory towers of the fortress gleamed in the sunlight, their spires piercing the sky, an imposing crown that watched over the city like a silent god.
The streets of Athelguard teemed with life merchants shouting, children running, and nobles in silks moving with practiced grace. To a passerby, the city was beautiful, vibrant, perfect. But to Kai, the grandeur felt distant, like something meant for someone else.
He sat quietly as the carriage rolled onward, the clatter of hooves against cobblestone a steady rhythm. He didn't ask again. He didn't need to. The guards were silent, and the castle faded behind him.
Kai was of age now.
The trial awaited.
The first Trial of Creation a test that would define his affinity with the world energy and mark him with the curse that every conjurer carried. The Trial of Awakening.
It was said that completing the trial would change a person. Not just their abilities, but their very soul. And in that change lay a shadow, a flaw, a price that no one could see but all would feel.
Kai did not yet understand this. But in the pit of his stomach, he felt the weight of it. He could sense the pulse of the world energy even now, faint and distant, like a heartbeat beneath the ocean's surface.
The trial was beginning.
And there was no turning back.
The carriage moved onward, leaving behind the safety of walls, the certainty of the castle, and the familiarity of family.
It carried Kai toward the unknown.
Toward the trial that would test him.
Toward the pillars of the world that would judge him.
Toward the curse and power that awaited in equal measure.
For seven years had passed since that carriage rolled through Athelguard, and now, at twenty, Kai was facing a different trial to find out the truth of what happened at the Valeria
The Trial of Gods.
The reflection of the water stretched endlessly before him, the mirrored sky folding upon itself, strange and silent. The world waited. The labyrinth waited. And Kai he waited, too.
But for what? That, even he could not yet know.