The chamber hadn't moved in minutes. The runes had faded. The silence stretched too long.
"Maybe it's over," Pate muttered, still glowing faintly with the aftermath of his lightstorm.
"No," Shoto said quietly. "Something's still watching us."
That was when the world shattered — again.
The wall behind them exploded inward, spraying dust and stone across the chamber.
A roar ripped through the ruins, louder than anything they'd heard since arriving in Valoria.
And in the middle of the debris… it stood.
Twisted. Evolved. Furious.
The Hollowfang.
Its stone armor was cracked and scorched from Shoto's elemental blast back in the ruins, but instead of falling apart…
It had grown stronger.
Crystalline veins now pulsed across its shoulders, glowing blue.
Its gnarled roots were tighter, coiled like muscle.
Its eyes — once black voids — now burned a deep, violent red.
"It followed us…" Elizabeth whispered.
"No," KJ said grimly. "It's been hunting us."
Shoto stepped forward instinctively, but Elizabeth grabbed his arm.
"You're not stable yet," she warned. "If you lose control again—"
Before she could finish, the Hollowfang let out another roar and charged.
⸻
They scattered.
Braydon ducked behind a broken pillar, firing shots that ricocheted harmlessly off the Hollowfang's armor.
KJ sent shadows flying to bind its legs, but they barely slowed it down.
Elizabeth struck it with a wave of healing light — it recoiled, hissing, as if that actually hurt it.
"They remember," she said. "They remember our powers."
"Then it knows mine, too," Pate growled.
He threw out a blast of spatial energy — the creature twisted sideways just before it hit.
It had learned.
It wasn't just stronger.
It was smarter.
⸻
And then — the real Trial began.
Without warning, the mist in the chamber thickened again, this time turning pitch black.
The voices started to whisper.
One by one, they heard things they weren't supposed to.
⸻
"KJ would leave you all behind if it kept him alive."
"Braydon only cares about being the strongest. He doesn't care if you die."
"Elizabeth thinks she's better than you."
"Shoto… will destroy all of you. He can't help it."
"Pate… has already seen what he'll become. And he's afraid of it."
⸻
Their minds fractured.
They looked at each other — eyes wide, uncertain. Weapons lowered.
"Is this real?" Pate asked, voice shaking.
"Don't listen!" Elizabeth shouted. "It's part of the Trial!"
But the Hollowfang was still moving — slow, deliberate, feeding off the doubt.
It wasn't just here to kill them.
It was here to break them.
⸻
Shoto fell to one knee, gripping his head.
The elemental storm was rising inside him again, but it felt… wrong this time. Twisted by guilt. By fear.
His eyes burned.
"Shoto, no!" Elizabeth ran to him, grabbing his face. "This isn't who you are!"
He looked up at her — and his voice cracked.
"What if it is?"
Then it snapped.
The fire inside him exploded.
Flames and wind erupted outward in a massive blast. The shockwave flung everyone backward.
Braydon hit the wall hard. KJ was swallowed in smoke.
Elizabeth screamed as her shield cracked under the pressure.
The Hollowfang didn't flinch.
It stepped forward — hungrier than ever.
⸻
And then —
Pate stepped forward.
Light pulsed from his body — not chaotic, but focused. Controlled.
The space around him shimmered like glass, rippling with energy.
"No more games," he said.
He reached out, and the air folded.
Reality bent inward — and a cage of shimmering light slammed down over Shoto, containing the storm.
Shoto thrashed inside it, lightning sparking from his chest, fists, breath.
"You wanna burn the world?" Pate shouted. "Do it in here."
Shoto's storm surged — flames lashed against the cage — but it held.
And finally…
He collapsed.
Steam rolled off his back as he fell to his knees, gasping. The light around him dimmed.
Pate's hands were shaking, his breathing ragged, but his voice stayed steady.
"Trial or not, we're not losing each other. Not like this."
⸻
Silence fell again.
No more whispers.
The Hollowfang slowly retreated back into the mist, its head low — watching. Studying.
And then… it vanished.
The Trial was over.
For now.
⸻
But the damage was done.
They stood apart.
No one spoke.
Braydon wouldn't meet Shoto's eyes.
KJ looked like he was ready to bolt.
Even Elizabeth was quiet, her staff trembling faintly in her grip.
And Shoto…
Shoto didn't say a word.
Because he wasn't sure who he was anymore.
Or if they still believed in him.