The field was silent now, empty of the chaotic energy that had dominated the combat trials. Instead, a low hum filled the air, vibrating in our bones.
Lieutenant Chen's voice echoed softly, almost hypnotically:
"Welcome to the Heart Mirror. Those who enter will confront not the world outside, but the truths within themselves. Fear, doubt, grief — all will manifest. Only by facing and overcoming them can you continue."
Recruits shuffled nervously. Some whispered prayers; others stared at the circular formation etched into the stone like a spiderweb of glowing lines. The pattern pulsed with silver light, each pulse echoing like a heartbeat.
Alex and I stepped forward, side by side. Our hands brushed briefly, an unspoken reassurance.
The Lieutenant continued, "Enter the center. Do not falter. Do not flee."
We crossed the first line together. The world changed instantly.
Gone was the training field. Instead, we were in a warped reflection of ourselves — the sky a bleeding red, the ground cracked and shifting under our feet. Shadows stretched and twisted, forming humanoid shapes. From the distance, I could hear screams — our own, or echoes of them?
I sensed Alex tense beside me. "This isn't just an illusion," he said softly. "It's trying to reach into us."
I nodded, feeling the edges of my mind press under a weight I had never encountered. Memories flashed unbidden — my family's massacre, John's betrayal, my father's final words. Pain surged like wildfire in my chest, threatening to drag me into despair.
A shadow shaped like my father stepped forward, eyes accusing, voice trembling:
"You failed us."
"NO!" I roared, flames flaring instinctively around my aura. The shadow dissipated, replaced by another — one of Randy, smirking, eyes glinting with malice.
Alex's presence steadied me. He raised a hand, his own aura shimmering. Silver mana threads intertwined between us, forming a faint protective barrier.
"Focus on the present," he murmured.
The illusions grew darker. I saw Alex fall in a heap of mangled limbs, crying out as he choked on mana. I surged forward instinctively, but a chain of illusory beasts blocked me — wolves, leopards, and thunder boars, all too real in appearance.
Control, control, I whispered. I adjusted the flow of mana through my paths, regulating the pressure in my core, my flame pulsing not outward but inward, steadying my body, clarifying my mind.
Alex mirrored me, weaving his spatial threads with calm precision, bending the illusory beasts' trajectories to give us breathing room.
We moved together, step by step, our coordination honed by months of survival. The Heart Mirror seemed to test not only our fears but our ability to rely on one another under extreme pressure.
Then came the final vision — a massive, distorted mirror of the battlefield outside. Thousands of corpses lay around us, including friends and enemies alike. Above them, Colonel Zhang's face appeared, eyes deep and unreadable.
"You are weak," he said. "Yield, and this will be your legacy."
Alex's hand tightened on my shoulder. "Ignore it. None of this is real."
I closed my eyes, drawing every fragment of mana into my core, feeling the fire pulse in rhythm with my heartbeat. "We do not yield," I said. Together, we surged forward, breaking the illusions with a force born of will and mana combined.
The Heart Mirror erupted around us in silver light, a shockwave that sent the remaining illusions shattering.
When the light faded, we were on the field again, the real world returned. Other recruits lay scattered — unconscious or broken in spirit. Very few had even reached the center, and none had passed like we had.
Colonel Zhang's voice rang out from the platform:
"Extraordinary. No recruit has ever faced the Heart Mirror together and emerged unbroken. You two have demonstrated not only strength and precision but unwavering will and unparalleled teamwork."
Alex exhaled slowly, his body trembling slightly. I felt the aftershocks of the trial in my own muscles — not fatigue alone, but the profound release of stress, as if the illusion had extracted every ounce of fear and doubt from us.
The officers began taking notes, whispering among themselves.
We turned to each other. Alex's eyes shone with relief. "We made it."
I nodded. "Together."
For the first time since leaving our home, I realized the enormity of our progress. We had survived not just beasts, not just trials, but the deepest shadows of our own minds.
And somewhere high above, Colonel Zhang's gaze lingered on us, sharp and calculating, already seeing the potential that even the empire had yet to comprehend.