"You showed them you weren't to be underestimated."
Kael's tone had softened, sarcasm fading. "Yeah. But now they're watching. All of them."
The soul imprint's voice was little more than a whisper now, laced with something ancient and unreadable. "And some of them want you gone."
Kael didn't respond. He didn't need to.
The wind shifted again, this time carrying more than murmurs. Steel clashed in the distance. A faint pressure in the air made the fine hairs on his arms rise. Something was off.
Then, the knock came.
Three hard raps against the wooden door of his sect room. No courtesy. No pause. Just a message delivered in sharp intent.
Kael turned, voice already dry. "Ah, my fan club. They never sleep."
He opened the door to find a tall, gaunt disciple wearing the gray trim of an inner sect liaison. The man's eyes didn't meet Kael's. Instead, he thrust a sealed scroll into Kael's hands and stepped back as if Kael might explode.
"You're summoned to the Jade Platform at dusk. Elder Veylun's orders."
Then the man turned and left, like Kael might infect him with sarcasm by proximity.
Kael unsealed the scroll, his brow twitching at the neat, precise characters:
"You are to present yourself before the Elders of the Azure Assembly for evaluation. Your presence is not requested. It is required."
He snorted. "Well, at least they're polite about it."
The soul imprint stirred again. "This is no ordinary summons. The Jade Platform hasn't hosted an Azure Assembly in two decades. They're baiting you."
Kael stretched lazily, joints popping. "Baiting me into what? A promotion? A murder attempt? A fashion critique?"
"Possibly all three."
By dusk, the sky bled crimson as Kael stood at the edge of the Jade Platform—a towering ring of polished green stone that overlooked the heart of the sect. Elders circled its rim like statues, their gazes heavy, robes flowing with invisible spiritual pressure.
In the center stood a familiar face.
Karn Jil—the golden-haired prodigy of the Flame Vein Pavilion. Smiling like a snake with a secret.
"You're late," Karn drawled, flicking imaginary dust from his sleeve.
Kael rolled his eyes. "I stopped to comb my hair and write my will."
Laughter rippled from a few watching disciples on the lower steps, but the Elders remained silent.
Elder Veylun, her face serene but eyes sharp, finally spoke. "Disciple Kael. Your rapid rise and recent... conflicts have warranted attention. You've been selected for the Path of Stone Trial."
A whisper spread through the gathered crowd like fire through dry grass.
Kael's smirk faltered. "Path of what now?"
Karn chuckled. "Don't worry. You'll get plenty of time to scream."
The soul imprint surged in Kael's mind, tone urgent. "Victor's Gauntlet. A trial disguised as evaluation. A relic from the old sect days. Most don't return."
"Fantastic," Kael muttered. "Just what I needed. A one-star vacation in a death trap."
Elder Veylun gestured. "Step forward. The trial begins now."
The Path of Stone wasn't just a trial—it was a living array, etched into the mountain beneath the sect itself. Kael descended into a tunnel that pulsed with faint blue light, walls lined with ancient runes.
The door behind him sealed with a thunderous boom.
He exhaled and took his first step.
Immediately, pressure slammed into him—like diving into the ocean with a mountain on your chest. His knees buckled, but he stayed upright, breath ragged.
"It's a test of more than strength," the soul imprint warned. "Endurance. Will. Perception. These chambers feed on your mind as much as your body."
Kael grunted. "Great. Psychological torture. My favorite flavor."
The first chamber held mirrors—dozens of them, angled to reflect Kael's every move. But in the reflections, his eyes glowed red, his smile twisted.
"You're not meant to be here," a reflection hissed.
"Please," Kael replied. "If I listened to that voice, I'd still be a worthless brat."
He shattered the mirror with a blast of spiritual force, and the rest cracked in tandem. The path opened.
The second chamber was fire.
Blades of flame rained from the ceiling, each strike timed to his steps. Kael twisted, rolled, cursed, and laughed through the heat, his shirt singed, sweat pouring down his brow.
"Next time," he gasped, "I'm taking the library exam."
When he finally emerged into a cool, stone hallway, he collapsed to his knees.
That's when he heard a voice.
"Kael?!"
His head snapped up.
Saria.
She rushed forward, robes torn, her cheek bruised. "They threw me in too. Said I was 'tainted' by association."
He blinked. "Wow. That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said about me."
She smiled weakly but didn't laugh. Her hand clutched his. "I thought I lost you."
For a moment, Kael's sarcasm died.
"You won't," he said softly. "I'm too stubborn for that."
Their brief moment was interrupted by rumbling ahead. The final chamber loomed.
Together, they entered.
The chamber was circular, its walls etched in glowing runes. At its center stood a massive, coiling construct of stone and spirit—a Guardian Beast shaped like a dragon with no eyes, only ears.
"Sound-based sensing," Kael whispered. "So we whisper sweet nothings and hope for the best?"
Saria pulled him back. "We move in silence. One wrong step—"
CLACK.
Kael stepped on a loose tile.
The beast roared awake, stone wings unfolding with a tremor that knocked them both off their feet.
"Dammit, Kael!" Saria hissed.
"I panicked! You're too pretty when you whisper!"
The beast lunged.
Kael flared his spiritual energy, redirecting the sound to a far corner. The beast turned, confused.
Saria seized the opening and slashed at a vulnerable joint in the leg. The beast faltered, shrieked, then twisted its tail toward her.
Kael caught it mid-swing.
Pain ripped through his arms.
His veins glowed blue.
And something inside him… snapped awake.
His body surged with a new flow—raw, wild, ancient.
The soul imprint screamed. "This energy—it's not from this sect!"
Kael's hair lifted slightly, spirit pressure cracking the floor beneath him. He moved like liquid flame, driving his palm into the beast's chest.
A shockwave erupted.
When the dust cleared, the dragon lay shattered. The chamber dimmed.
And Kael was still standing—barely.
Saria stared. "What… was that?"
Kael grinned, bleeding from the corner of his mouth. "Premature enlightenment. Happens to the best of us."
Back on the Jade Platform, silence greeted their return.
Kael tossed a fragment of the beast's core onto the stone floor. "Lost your beast. Guess I passed."
Elder Veylun said nothing. But her eyes… her eyes saw too much.
Karn Jil scowled. For the first time, his confidence cracked.
Later, as Kael and Saria limped back to their quarters, the soul imprint stirred once more.
"You've awakened a part of your bloodline. But now the real hunt begins. They won't let you go free. Not anymore."
Kael chuckled, spitting blood.
"Let them come. I'm just getting started."