Full Chapter – The Trial Begins
Location: The Field of Requital – a vast, shifting battleground conjured beyond the Academy's outer rings. Each year, the terrain changes. This time… it remembers the world.
The students of Ashenwell stood assembled before a towering gate of molten gold. Runes pulsed around its arch, depicting the four known kingdoms — Velthar, Thalum, Avara, and Irix — each represented by a glowing seal.
The Field Trial had officially begun.
Above the gate, the Headmaster, now appearing as a stern man in his forties, stood with arms crossed, watching them all from a floating dais.
"Welcome," his voice rang out, "to the final step of your Second Year evolution."
"This is not a game. This is not a spar. This is a war simulation based on real battlefield scenarios — across the kingdoms we've fought beside… and those we may fight against."
"Survive. Work together. Don't die. I hate paperwork."
The gate began to open.
The ground trembled beneath them.
Teams Formed – Tensions Rise
The siblings naturally stood together, their presences drawing attention like orbiting stars.
Sparks was stretching dramatically, making annoyed noises every time someone whispered near her.
"If one more person calls us 'the flame freaks,' I'm going to burn this whole exam and walk into Velthar on my own."
"We're trying not to start an international incident," Grim said.
"Then don't let Tristan lead."
"I'm right here," Tristan said, winking at Seris, who had not stopped smiling since they met.
Rael, already on edge, stepped in. "You take this lightly."
"No," Max said, his eyes shadowing. "But we're used to trials that weren't designed to let us survive."
Silence followed.
Then a bell rang.
The Field of Requital Unfolds
The students marched through the gate… and stepped into chaos.
The terrain shifted like a memory being rewritten.
• Craggy black cliffs echoed the Thalum wilds, home to monsters and broken flame-beasts.
• A frost-covered ruin pulsed with arcane sigils from Velthar, whispering cold secrets.
• The golden marshes of Avara shimmered with mirage-like illusions, soft and strange.
• Jagged glitching walls like shattered glass marked the edge of Irix — a broken realm of tech and time.
Each zone had trials.
Each one called to a different bloodline.
The teams were split into zones.
And of course…
"Ashenkindled team," the Headmaster announced from above, "you get all four."
Grim blinked. "What?"
"Congratulations. You're either the most trusted… or the most expendable. Depending on the hour."
First Zone: Thalum – Shadows and Flamebeasts
The trial began in the Thalum region — jagged volcanic land broken by deep ravines. Flickers of red ash fell from the sky like reverse snow.
The team moved silently. Sparks stuck close to Grim, occasionally jabbing him with her elbow to stay alert.
"So, which one of us dies first?"
"None."
"That's optimistic."
A scream echoed from nearby.
They moved as one.
What they found wasn't human.
A beast, warped by flame corruption — ten feet tall, covered in molten bone and smoke, its eyes glowing hollow gold.
"Shadowflame variant," Max said coldly. "It shouldn't be here."
"It was brought here," Ayesha said, stringing her bow. "Deliberately."
They fought — not as five separate powers, but as a unit.
Max cloaked their flank in darkness.
Hadi's pink energy arced like lightning, pinning its joints.
Ayesha hit the exposed weak point.
Tristan froze the corrupted flames.
Grim sliced through with a single, blazing strike.
And Sparks?
She walked straight through the smoke.
"Boom."
And it did.
Meanwhile – Someone Watches
Far beyond the edge of the field, cloaked in fractured time, someone watched the battle through an ancient mirror of blackened glass.
A gloved hand traced the image of Grim's face.
"The Crown's spark still breathes. Curious."
Behind them, shadows hissed.
"Should we engage?"
"No. Let the fire play. When it burns enough… the Ashen Crown will awaken."
The mirror cracked.
And across the field, the runes of Irix began to pulse — prematurely.