The stone doors groaned as they slid open, revealing a vast circular chamber bathed in a cold, shifting glow. Walls of polished glass stretched high above them, reflecting every movement with eerie precision. The floor was a mosaic of fractured images—scenes from their pasts, distorted and flickering like dying embers.
Zoren stepped forward cautiously, his boots pressing against a tile that shimmered beneath him. For the briefest moment, he glimpsed something—a memory?—but before he could register it, the image shifted.
Ryan''s voice echoed through the chamber.
"The first trial: The Arena of Mirrors."
The ten candidates, now spread across the arena, tensed as the energy in the room thickened. Aiden and Ivar Pendrol, standing side by side, exchanged a knowing glance. Elizabeth, Elyria, and Franklin Scorch all remained composed, while the others looked uncertain.
Ryan continued. "You will face yourselves."
A ripple passed through the walls, distorting the reflections for a split second—then they stepped forward.
The mirror clones emerged.
Each candidate stared at a perfect reflection of themselves, stepping forward from the glass as if peeling away from their own shadows. But these copies were not mere illusions. Their movements were sharper, their stances more controlled.
Zoren''s mirror clone locked eyes with him.
Then it attacked.
The clone moved faster than him—a blur of motion as it lashed out with a precise strike aimed at Zoren''s ribs. Zoren barely twisted in time, the force of the impact grazing his side as he stumbled back.
A sharp laugh echoed in his ears.
"Pathetic," the clone sneered, its voice his own but colder, more confident. "This is all you are?"
Zoren''s jaw clenched. Around him, the others were already locked in battle.
Aiden''s clone fought with an effortless grace, forcing him on the defensive. Ivar was already countering his own, adapting quickly to the clone''s movements. Elizabeth, Elyria, and Franklin moved with dangerous precision, already accustomed to the trial.
But the other candidates? They struggled.
Joe''s clone had him pinned within seconds, driving brutal strikes into his defenses. Others were being overwhelmed—not just by the physical battle, but by the whispers.
Because the clones didn''t just fight.
They spoke.
"You will never be strong enough."
"They will leave you behind."
"You are nothing without your Core."
Zoren gritted his teeth. The clone pressed forward, attacking in a relentless storm of precise strikes—every movement a perfected version of his own.
But Zoren wasn''t just fighting himself.
He was fighting his doubts.
His hesitation.
His uncertainty about who he was.
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The clone smirked, stepping back for a brief moment, eyes glowing with mirrored malice.
"You can''t win against yourself."
Zoren exhaled. The words twisted in his mind, but then—he felt it again. The pulse of his Core. The lingering echo of Ryan''s lesson.
Don''t fight the current. Resonate with it.
Instead of matching the clone''s movements, Zoren did something different.
He shifted.
He let the flow of energy guide him rather than forcing it, letting his body adjust instinctively. The next time the clone struck, Zoren dodged without thinking, twisting with the motion instead of against it.
For the first time, the clone hesitated.
Zoren''s lips curled into a small grin.
"You''re right," he murmured. "I can''t win against myself."
His fist shot forward—not in a wild strike, but in a movement that felt natural, fluid.
The impact shattered the clone''s form.
The reflection splintered like glass, breaking apart into fading fragments of light.
Zoren exhaled, turning just in time to see Aiden and Ivar finishing their own clones. Elizabeth''s clone had already crumbled, Elyria barely looked affected, and Franklin… well, Franklin just looked amused.
But the trial wasn''t over yet.
Ryan''s voice cut through the air once more.
"This was only the beginning."
The arena shifted, and the mirrors darkened.
The real trial was about to begin.
----
The walls of the Arena of Mirrors trembled. The shattered glass from fallen reflections drifted upward, pulled by an unseen force. The ground beneath their feet rippled, as if rejecting their presence. Then—the floor gave way.
Zoren''s heart lurched as the world tilted.
Darkness swallowed them.
A sudden rush of wind, a sense of falling—and then—
THUD.
Zoren landed on something solid. Not stone. Not metal.
Glass.
A sharp crack ran beneath his palm as he pushed himself up.
Then he saw it.
The Bridge of Shattered Glass.
It stretched across an endless abyss, narrow as a single wooden plank, but made of cracked, unstable glass. Some pieces gleamed like mirrors, others were fractured, jagged, bleeding golden light from their cracks. Beneath them, an abyss of shifting reflections swallowed every trace of light.
And the reflections moved.
Zoren stiffened. His reflection in the glass below wasn''t just mirroring his stance—it was staring at him. The eyes were wrong. Hollow. Twisted. Smirking.
Ryan''s voice boomed from somewhere unseen.
"Trial Two: The Bridge of Shattered Glass.
A single path forward. An endless fall for those who falter."
Zoren didn''t need further explanation.
He took a slow, measured step forward—
—and the bridge lurched beneath him.
He staggered, arms shooting out for balance.
A sharp whisper crawled up from below.
"You hesitate."
Zoren''s pulse spiked.
The voice came from his own reflection.
Then, all around him, other whispers rose.
"You don''t belong here."
"You will fall."
"You are not worthy."
The whispers slithered into his skull, needling at every doubt he had buried.
Zoren clenched his jaw and took another step.
Behind him, the others had started crossing.
Aiden and Ivar moved quickly, light on their feet, using controlled movements to keep the bridge steady.
Elizabeth''s eyes darted between the cracks, calculating every step.
Elyria barely seemed concerned—she walked as if the shifting glass meant nothing to her.
Franklin, of course, grinned as if the entire thing was a joke.
Then—the bridge tilted violently.
Zoren''s foot slipped. The abyss yawned beneath him.
"No, you don''t."
Aiden''s hand snatched his wrist before he could fall.
Zoren gritted his teeth as Aiden yanked him forward, helping him regain his footing.
"Move fast." Aiden said, voice clipped. "It gets worse the longer we take."
Zoren looked ahead—and his stomach dropped.
The bridge was changing.
With every step they took, the glass cracked further, pieces falling away into nothingness.
Worse—the reflections below were getting louder.
"Give up."
"You can''t trust them."
"They will leave you behind."
One of the candidates faltered—joe. He shook his head, gripping his temples.
"Shut up—just shut up!"
His foot slipped—he fell.
Zoren lunged, but it was too late.
Joe plunged into the abyss.
And then—
A ripple. A flash of light.
Joe slammed back onto the bridge at the very start.
Ryan''s voice echoed.
"Falling is not death. But each failure makes the bridge weaker."
Zoren''s chest tightened.
They had no room for mistakes.
The bridge groaned, fractures spreading like veins of lightning.
They had to move. Now.
"Go!" Elizabeth snapped, pushing forward.
Zoren focused.
Step. Breathe. Balance.
Step. Ignore the whispers.
Step—
The glass beneath him shifted.
Zoren''s stomach dropped.
The bridge was crumbling. Falling apart faster.
And then—the final twist hit.
The glass began to tilt them toward the edge.
Like it was alive. Like it wanted them to fall.
"We have to spread out the weight!" Ivar shouted. "Too much pressure in one spot, and it collapses!"
Zoren glanced around. He understood immediately. They weren''t just balancing themselves anymore. They had to balance each other.
A test of teamwork.
Elizabeth shifted left. Ivar moved to counterbalance. Franklin hopped over a crack like it was a game. Elyria barely adjusted, yet every step seemed to fix the instability.
Aiden, moving faster now, locked eyes with Zoren. "Trust your instincts. Move when I move."
Zoren nodded.
They rushed forward.
Glass cracked. Pieces fell.
But step by step—they adapted.
Zoren''s feet found the rhythm.
He moved with the shifting bridge, rather than fighting it.
Aiden leaped. Zoren leaped.
Elizabeth slid past a collapsing panel. Elyria walked as if gravity didn''t touch her.
Franklin laughed the entire time.
And then—
The final stretch.
One last jump.
The abyss roared below.
Zoren''s muscles tensed—and he jumped.
For a moment—only weightlessness.
Then—solid ground.
They landed on the other side.
Behind them, the bridge shattered completely, collapsing into the abyss.
Zoren exhaled, hands on his knees.
Ryan''s voice rang out.
"Trial Two—complete."
No celebration. No relief.
Just silence.
And then—the ground beneath them shifted again.
The next trial had already begun.
---
To be continued.