The moment Kael stepped into the circle, the world disappeared.
The chamber vanished.
The ruins vanished.
Even the blue flames along the walls were gone.
Kael suddenly found himself standing in complete darkness.
Endless darkness.
He looked around nervously.
"Hello?"
His voice echoed into the void.
No answer came.
Then suddenly—
Fire ignited around him.
WHOOSH.
Massive pillars of flame rose from the ground, forming a burning circle around him.
Kael stumbled backward.
The heat was intense, but strangely it didn't burn his skin.
Instead, it felt like the fire was watching him.
Testing him.
A deep voice echoed from the darkness.
"Trial One: Courage."
Kael turned around quickly.
"Who said that?"
The voice continued.
"Only those with the courage to face dragons may wield the magic that erased them."
Kael clenched his fists.
"I'm not afraid."
The moment he said those words—
The flames exploded outward.
BOOM.
The fire twisted together and formed a massive shape.
Wings.
Claws.
A long serpentine body covered in scales of burning light.
Kael's eyes widened in horror.
"A dragon…!"
The creature roared.
Its roar shook the darkness like thunder.
Even though Kael knew dragons were gone, the monster standing before him felt real.
Too real.
The dragon lowered its massive head and stared directly at him.
Smoke curled from its nostrils.
Kael's legs trembled.
This creature was easily twenty times his size.
If it attacked—
He would die instantly.
The deep voice echoed again.
"Defeat your fear."
The dragon opened its mouth.
Flames began gathering in its throat.
Kael's heart pounded wildly.
"I don't have a weapon!"
The dragon roared and released a wave of fire.
Kael dove to the side just in time.
The flames blasted across the ground, leaving burning cracks behind.
Kael scrambled to his feet.
"How am I supposed to fight this?!"
The dragon's tail whipped toward him.
CRASH.
Kael jumped back as the tail smashed into the ground where he had been standing.
Dust and sparks filled the air.
Kael stumbled and fell.
The dragon slowly approached him.
Each step shook the ground.
Its glowing eyes stared directly into his soul.
Fear gripped Kael's chest.
For a moment—
He wanted to run.
He wanted to hide.
But there was nowhere to go.
Kael thought of his father.
His village.
The flames swallowing the houses.
The soldiers laughing.
The lies of the Highlands.
Slowly, Kael stood up.
His legs were still shaking.
But he forced himself to look directly at the dragon.
"You're not real," he said.
The dragon roared again.
Hot wind blasted against Kael's face.
"Even if you were real," Kael continued, his voice growing stronger, "I wouldn't run."
The dragon lunged forward.
Its jaws opened wide enough to swallow him whole.
But Kael didn't move.
He stood his ground.
The dragon's teeth stopped only inches from his face.
Everything went silent.
Then—
The dragon's body began to crack.
Light burst through the cracks.
The massive creature shattered into thousands of glowing fragments.
They drifted away like sparks in the wind.
The deep voice returned.
"Trial One… passed."
Kael collapsed to his knees, breathing heavily.
"That… was insane…"
But the trial wasn't over.
The darkness shifted again.
The ground beneath him changed.
Kael suddenly found himself standing in a familiar place.
His village.
The same houses.
The same wheat fields.
But everything was burning.
Flames covered the rooftops.
Smoke filled the sky.
Kael's eyes widened.
"No…"
He saw villagers running.
Screaming.
Then soldiers appeared.
Highland soldiers.
Cutting people down.
The same scene from earlier that night.
Kael ran forward.
"Stop!"
But no one could hear him.
It was like he was invisible.
Then he saw something that froze his heart.
His father.
Standing in front of the soldiers.
Just like before.
The bounty hunter raised his sword.
Kael rushed forward.
"No! Don't!"
But his father suddenly turned and looked directly at him.
Even though this was only a vision.
"Kael," his father said gently.
Tears filled Kael's eyes.
"Father…"
The old man smiled.
"You passed the first trial."
Kael wiped his face angrily.
"Why are you here?"
"This is the second trial," his father said.
The world around them froze.
The burning houses stopped moving.
The soldiers turned into motionless shadows.
"Trial Two: Resolve."
Kael looked confused.
"What does that mean?"
His father pointed toward the sky.
The floating Highlands appeared above the burning village.
Bright.
Untouchable.
"Your path will lead you there," his father said.
"To fight them."
Kael clenched his fists.
"I know."
"But listen carefully," the old man continued.
"The Highlands are powerful."
"Their magicians are strong."
"And many innocent people live there too."
Kael hesitated.
"You will have to make difficult choices."
His father's voice grew serious.
"If destroying the Highlands means sacrificing thousands of lives…"
"Will you still do it?"
Kael froze.
He had never thought that far.
His mind was filled only with anger.
Revenge.
But now…
He saw the floating cities in the sky.
People living there.
Children.
Families.
Just like the Lowlands.
His father watched him quietly.
"Well, Kael?"
Kael's hands trembled.
Finally he spoke.
"I won't destroy innocent people."
"But I will destroy the lies."
His father smiled.
"That is the answer I hoped for."
The world shattered like glass.
Light exploded around Kael.
The deep voice returned one final time.
"Trial Two… passed."
The darkness faded.
Kael's vision slowly returned.
He was back inside the underground sanctuary.
Standing in the glowing circle.
The spirit of the old magician looked at him calmly.
"Well done," the spirit said.
Kael collapsed onto the floor, exhausted.
"Please tell me… that was the last trial…"
The spirit shook his head slightly.
"There is one more."
Kael groaned.
"You've got to be kidding me."
But before he could complain further—
Another explosion shook the ruin above them.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
The spirit looked upward.
"The Highland soldiers are almost here."
Kael forced himself to stand.
"So what's the final trial?"
The spirit raised his glowing hand.
"Trial Three… begins now."
And the chamber filled with blinding light once again.