"Can't do it? Then stay here and wait for the second trial to begin… wait, wait, what did you say?"
The Guardian Spirit froze mid-sentence, her tone trailing into disbelief as her eyes narrowed on Ricky's unmoving figure. Her ethereal form seemed to flicker slightly, as though the very idea of what he'd just declared disrupted the ambient spiritual flow.
She had expected hesitation. Expected him to flinch. Back off. Plead.
But instead, he had done the unthinkable—he had agreed. Agreed to forge a second spiritual space without the aid of any heavenly treasure.
A cold silence fell upon the grand trial hall. The golden altar beneath their feet shimmered with faint pulses of energy, reflecting the heavy atmosphere coiling through the chamber like mist. The towering pillars—etched with ancient runes and wrapped in threads of luminous gold—seemed to lean inward, bearing witness to this moment.
The Guardian Spirit's cold stare turned unreadable as she studied him deeply.
