The void is quiet.
Not peaceful—
never peaceful—
but quiet in the way a battlefield is quiet
when both armies stop to breathe
before the next strike.
I stand at the center of that silence.
My new body—
four pairs of wings glowing with molten moonfire and shadow—
feels heavy and light at the same time.
Alive in ways I never imagined.
Aiden stands beside me,
a wolf forged of starfire,
eyes bright gold,
fur shimmering with galaxies.
Two bodies.
One soul.
One heartbeat.
THRUM.
The merged entity breaks the silence first,
its voice soft but resonant,
like the whisper of a dying star.
"Wolf Ascendant…
your becoming has destabilized the Primordial Realm."
A massive crack splits the floor beneath us.
The Primordial drags its fractured form upright,
its twelve eyes burning with both fury
and something dangerously close to fear.
"TOO MUCH POWER IN ONE HEART—
REALITY WILL NOT WITHSTAND IT."
Aiden growls, tail lashing.
"Then get a stronger reality."
"Aiden," I murmur through the bond,
"you're going to provoke it."
"…And?"
"And we just became gods.
Can we not start a war immediately?"
He snorts.
"…Your form is making you soft."
"My form could incinerate you."
"…Now that sounds like you."
Despite everything—
despite the universe threatening to tear itself apart—
I laugh.
The Primordial doesn't.
Its voice deepens into a cosmic rumble.
"You mock forces you cannot comprehend."
Aiden bares his teeth.
"I comprehend enough to know
you're scared of her."
Its twelve eyes blink.
Stunned.
Aiden steps forward, massive and radiant.
"And you SHOULD be."
The merged entity lifts one glowing hand.
"Enough.
The Wolf Ascendant has not yet been shown the path."
A shiver runs up my spine.
"The path to what?"
It turns to face us fully.
Its wings unfold like shifting universes.
"The path to your throne."
Aiden goes rigid beside me.
I blink.
"My… what?"
"You thought becoming was the end?"
the entity asks softly.
"It is only the beginning."
The Primordial raises a trembling arm, gesturing around us.
"THE REALMS ARE COLLAPSING.
THE ASCENDANT THRONE HAS BEEN EMPTY
FOR TEN THOUSAND YEARS."
Aiden growls under his breath.
"Why do I feel like I'm not going to like this next part?"
Because I feel it too.
A slow, cold understanding
settling into the cracks of my new bones.
The merged entity speaks again.
"The throne chooses only those with dual souls."
Dual souls.
My breath catches.
"You mean…
the throne was meant for us?"
"Meant? No."
Its eyes burn brighter.
"But you are the first beings capable of surviving it."
Aiden huffs.
"If she sits on something ancient and dangerous,
I'm sitting beside her."
The Primordial's voice snaps:
"THAT IS NOT HOW ASCENDANCY FUNCTIONS—"
Aiden snarls.
"Then rewrite it."
His confidence—
his blind, ferocious loyalty—
fills my chest like warm fire.
"…I like this version of you," I whisper through the bond.
"…I'm the same version," he replies.
"Just shinier."
THE SUMMONING
The merged entity spreads both hands.
The void rumbles.
Light bursts from the cracks in the sky,
peeling open like a wound—
revealing a swirling, endless cosmos beyond.
A gate.
Aiden moves in front of me instantly,
fur bristling,
spreading himself like a shield.
I place my hand on his shoulder.
"It's okay."
Aiden snorts.
"No, it isn't.
This smells like destiny."
"And?"
"I don't like destiny.
It's always rude."
I smile despite myself.
But inside—
inside I'm shaking.
The merged entity steps closer,
towering over us both.
"Wolf Ascendant—
you must pass the Trial of Sovereigns."
My pulse stutters.
"The what?"
The Primordial answers darkly:
"A test designed for gods.
A test no mortal or immortal has survived."
A chill runs through me.
"Why design a test no one can pass?"
"TO KEEP THE THRONE EMPTY."
Aiden snarls again.
"Then we'll fill it."
I shake my head, whispering through the bond:
Aiden…
what if the trial is meant to kill me?
His voice warms.
"…Then I'll kill the trial."
"Aiden—please—be serious—"
His golden eyes soften.
"…I am being serious.
I just sound stupid because I'm in wolf form."
A laugh escapes me—
a shaky one.
The merged entity lowers its face toward me.
"The trial is not physical.
Not magical.
Not even spiritual."
"Then what is it?"
Its voice becomes a whisper.
"Choice."
Aiden tenses next to me.
"Choice is easy."
But the merged entity shakes its head.
"This one is not."
The Primordial adds coldly:
"THE TRIAL WILL FORCE THE ASCENDANT
TO DECIDE WHICH PART OF HER HEART
WILL LEAD THE REALMS."
My breath dies.
"What does that mean?"
Aiden answers before the entity can.
His voice is a whisper of dread.
"It means…
you'll have to choose
between being Ascendant…"
His gaze flickers.
"Or being wolf."
The words punch into me.
Aiden steps closer, pressing his forehead to mine.
"You won't choose wrong,"
he murmurs softly.
But I feel the fear in him.
The fear he's trying to hide.
Loss.
Separation.
Abandonment.
Aiden has already died once.
Merged once.
Reborn once.
He cannot survive me choosing a world without him.
Neither can I.
"I'm not choosing between us," I whisper fiercely.
He nudges my hand with his massive head.
"I know.
But the trial won't care."
The merged entity's eyes glow brighter.
"You must choose with truth."
"Truth?" I echo.
"Yes."
A pause.
"What do you want more—
your power…
or your mate?"
My wings freeze mid-air.
The question slashes through me.
Aiden flinches.
"Don't answer that," he growls.
But the entity leans closer.
"Only one answer restores the realms."
The Primordial adds:
"AND THE WRONG ANSWER
DESTROYS EVERYTHING YOU LOVE."
My heart slams painfully.
Aiden's voice softens in my head.
"…Liyana…
don't choose me if it kills you."
I choke.
"You ARE me."
He doesn't argue.
He just presses closer—
quiet, steady, warm.
Letting me feel him.
Letting me know he's there.
THE PATH OPENS
The merged entity lifts its staff—
a pillar of starlight and shadow.
The gate above us widens,
spilling silver fog and gold fire across the void.
The moment the light touches my wings,
they blaze brighter—
reacting.
Calling.
The Primordial bows its many heads.
"THE PATH TO THE TRIAL OF SOVEREIGNS IS OPEN."
Aiden turns to me.
"Whatever happens," he murmurs,
"I walk with you."
"Always?" I whisper.
"Always," he vows.
The gate pulses,
demanding my step—
my choice—
my heart.
My wings spread.
My power rises.
Aiden's golden gaze locks onto mine.
And together—
bonded in one heartbeat,
two forms,
one soul—
we step toward destiny.
And the chapter ends with:
Liyana and Aiden crossing into the Trial of Sovereigns—
where her next choice will decide the fate of all realms.