The sky tore open.
Not like before. Not in drifting shadows or slow, creeping shapes. This time the rift split from horizon to horizon in a blinding arc of violet-white, shaking Celestara Spire so violently that entire platforms tilted. Students grabbed railings. Floating crystals cracked. Runes across the academy dimmed as if the sky itself had stolen their light.
Caelum Vale staggered back, shielding his eyes.
A sound like grinding stars ripped through the air.
A giant hand—formed from swirling, half-solid void-matter—gripped the edge of the breach.
Lyra's voice cracked. "Tell me that's not a hand."
Seraphine's lips parted slightly. "That is… considerably larger than a hand."
Astra whistled. "So the invasion has phases. How exciting."
Elowen clutched Virren as the fox trembled. "Caelum… something ancient is coming through. I can feel it. The spirits are screaming."
Aradia stood on the tower's ledge, glowing faintly, her violet aura pulsing in rhythm with the breach. Her eyes reflected the colossal silhouette forcing its way through the sky.
"He has found you," she whispered.
Caelum's pulse hammered. "Who?"
Aradia turned to him, her hair lifting in the rising storm. "The Harbinger of Crowns. One of the void's oldest hunters. And he is here for you."
A thunderous limb pushed farther through. A shoulder. Then a massive head like a fractured helm, hollow eyes burning with purple fire.
The Titan stepped through.
It wasn't solid—not fully—but every step made the Spire shudder as if the void was rewriting gravity itself.
Lyra breathed out a single, horrified word. "Great."
The Titan raised one arm.
A beam of violet energy slammed into the academy's outer barrier. The protective dome flickered—fought—then shattered like glass.
Screams echoed from below.
Astra tensed. "We're losing platforms. We need a plan."
Seraphine's voice stayed steady. "A Titan-class entity cannot be fought by force. At least not by us."
Elowen shook her head. "Then what do we do?"
Aradia's answer came instantly. "He's not here for all of you. Only him." She pointed at Caelum. "His presence destabilizes the others. If Caelum goes to him—"
Lyra spun toward her. "Absolutely not!"
Astra scoffed. "Yes, let's deliver Caelum on a silver platter. Fantastic strategy."
Seraphine narrowed her eyes. "Explain. Quickly."
Aradia stepped off the ledge—and floated down, landing lightly.
"Caelum carries the Starfire Arcana. A fragment of celestial law. Titans are bound by such laws. They cannot take him unless his light dims. They can only attempt to. If he confronts the Harbinger directly, face-to-face, it weakens the Titan's influence."
Lyra stared. "So you're saying he should walk up to that thing?"
"I'm saying," Aradia replied, "he is the only one it fears."
The Titan stepped again. A shockwave blasted outward, sending students tumbling. Caelum caught two midair with a burst of gravity magic, lowering them gently.
He looked at Aradia. "If I go… what happens?"
Aradia's eyes dimmed. "I don't know. Only that if you don't, the Spire will fall. And the path to the Crown ends here."
Astra muttered, "I vote for not letting the academy crash into the ocean."
Elowen touched Caelum's arm. "We won't let you face it alone."
He shook his head. "No. I think that's exactly what I have to do."
Lyra grabbed his cloak. "Caelum—"
He turned to her, and for a moment the raging sky faded. "I'll come back. I promise."
She swallowed hard but didn't argue.
Seraphine stepped forward. "If you must confront it, you require stabilization." She placed a cold hand on his wrist. Ice-runes spread across her skin, forming a delicate pattern. "This will keep your mana flow from collapsing."
Astra clapped his shoulder. "If it tries anything stupid, kick it in the void."
Elowen whispered a blessing of vines and starlight. "May the spirits guide your steps."
Aradia watched silently, wind swirling around her.
Caelum breathed in deeply.
The Starfire within him pulsed—stronger, brighter, hotter than it ever had before.
He stepped toward the Titan.
The world warped.
Every step felt like wading through dense gravity. The Titan's hollow gaze turned down toward him, massive enough to block half the sky.
Then it spoke.
A voice like distant thunder rolled through the air.
"Bearer of the Starfire. Child of the Crown. You walk willingly?"
Caelum's voice remained steady. "If you want me—stop hurting them."
The Titan lowered its head until its face hovered just above him.
"You misunderstand. I do not seek to claim you."
Violet sparks rippled through the Titan's form.
"I seek to judge you."
The ground trembled.
A circle of light erupted beneath Caelum's feet—half gold, half violet—spiraling outward like a celestial seal.
Lyra screamed his name.
Seraphine tried to run forward but the gravity thickened into an invisible wall.
Elowen's vines snapped as they tried to reach him.
Astra cursed. "What is happening?!"
Only Aradia whispered the answer.
"The Trial has begun."
Caelum couldn't move.
The seal tightened.
The Titan raised its hand—and touched the center of the light.
A surge of force blasted upward, swallowing Caelum in radiance.
For one breathless moment, everyone saw the sky twist into a crown-shaped fractal of starlight.
Then Caelum vanished.
Aradia fell to her knees.
Lyra's flames sputtered. "Where did he go?!"
Seraphine clenched her fists. "Aradia. Tell us. Now."
Aradia looked up, tears streaming.
"He has been taken to the Astral Threshold… the place where the Crown chooses its bearer."
Astra froze. "And the Titan?"
The massive figure began to dissolve, fading back into the rift.
Aradia whispered the words none of them wanted to hear.
"It will wait. And if he fails… it will return."
Lightning cracked across the sky.
Lyra's voice shook. "Then we find him. We go wherever he went."
Aradia nodded slowly. "Then prepare yourselves. The path to the Astral Threshold is forbidden. And only those bound to Caelum can follow."
Seraphine lifted her chin. "We are bound."
Elowen wiped her eyes. "Always."
Astra smirked thinly. "Then let's break whatever rules we have to."
Aradia rose.
"Very well."
High above, the rift sealed.
The Spire trembled.
And somewhere beyond sight, beyond stars, beyond the void—Caelum Vale stood alone.
Facing the Trial of the Crown.
The next step had begun