[TRIAL INITIATED – Ember of Blue]
[Subject: Isaac Torva]
One second I was holding Eli upright against a rock, and the next...
The violet and blue embers glowed.
Since the start, I haven't taken my eyes off the horror that awaits. Through each squad member's trial, I only stared at my ember, the reflection of my past.
"No, don't let it take me!" I screamed to Eli, grabbing his shoulder.
But... a universal force, not gravity but... something else dragged me towards the gap in the flames.
"You got this!" Laef yelled, smirking. "Face your fears!"
Face my fears? Since the start of the hellhole, all I've done is listen to my fears.
Even now, I could hear them. Nearby water is calling my name. It was like a voice whispering into my mind, something... only I could hear.
Is it the system? Or something else entirely?
Not having the answer was driving me insane. Literally.
I was thrown into the wall of fire; blue light blinded everything in sight.
I stared into it, the cold, calming, suffocating blue.
Until... the world evaporated.
Water surrounded me. Not a calm, mellow ocean.
But, an ominous, dark blue hue. The kind of ocean where you never know what waits beneath the surface.
This... was my memory. I locked eyes on its reflection since the first trial, the day the boat collapsed.
The sky cracked above me as a lightning storm tore open the night sky. The boat was already broken. I stood on one of the few remaining pieces of the deck, floating on shattered hardwood as I stared at struggling survivors.
One after another dragged down by the waves. I could still hear their cries. Fathers, mothers, teens… even a child. The worst was the silence that came after.
And me?
I survived, along with seven others. A school boat trip that fit over sixty. Only eight survived. It was three years ago; I was sixteen. I didn't know how to swim and still don't.
Now... I'm forced to relive it?
If that's true, this new world really is hell.
I stared at the open water, waiting to hear a cry or an arm slam against the water. But none came. I just drifted.
Then...
My gaze lowered to the surface of the water. That's when I heard it... the voice beneath the water.
"Look at you... a high priest of a new world," called the face of an elderly man.
"You lived, and we died. Why?" a child asked.
"Where were your sanctifier powers when we needed you?" spat a middle-aged woman.
At least fifty faces lurked beneath the water. All the people from the ship. Their bodies darkened, faces pale and cold as they reached for my legs. Their eyes... were dark, glaring as they shouted over one another.
"You could have saved us!"
"WHY didn't you jump in?!"
Suddenly...
I covered my ears, sinking lower on the shattered deck. The wood groaned beneath me, but I didn't fall... not yet. Each whisper increased the weight of their pull, dragging me closer and closer to the dark abyss.
Yet... their voices didn't echo guilt or sound like normal whispers. More of a prayer to the wind, a chant laced with accusations.
"I couldn't…" I sobbed, trembling against my throat. "I don't know how to swim."
"Excuses!" they screeched.
Even I didn't believe them.
"You stood there and watched us drown." "High Priest? You're a coward dressed like a shepherd," mocked another.
My mouth opened, but nothing came out. Not even a whimper or gasp.
Without warning...
A tug.
The weight of their grasp pulled at my legs. My footing slipped as my hands reached for the nearest railing.
It was too late.
Wood groaned as my fingers ripped against the deck floor, clawing to find anything to hold onto. Anything to stop the motion of gravity. Pain bled from the fingertips, and splinters struck my arms, burning as they dragged.
"NO! Please!" I screamed, glancing towards the impending water. I took an enormous breath and closed my eyes.
I felt the wave of pressure, the piercing against my ears, as darkness surrounded me. Their faces vanished.
But it wasn't silent.
A single church bell echoed, deep and low, repeating through the abyss. Once. Twice. Then another. Each one closer. Louder. Like a monster's call lurking beneath the water.
I opened my eyes, expecting the sting of saltwater. But they didn't open to the sky nor the sea. Just stained glass and dark figures.
I gasped for air; the water was gone... yet somehow, I was wet. My robes clung to me, heavy and cold, as if the ocean had followed me here.
Candles flickered along the walls. The air smelled of damp stone and herb incense.
Wait... I've smelled this before.
After the boat accident, I turned to the church to atone and devoted three years to studying the Lord. I found it ironic that I was given the "High Priest" class and "Sanctifier" subclass. Maybe that was why.
I sniffed the air. That's definitely a blend of frankincense and myrrh. One of the most common incense blends in Catholic churches.
At the far end of the hall, beneath an altar carved with symbols I didn't recognize, hooded figures stood, waiting.
One by one they lowered their hoods; each face I recognized. The five elders of my church.
This can't be real...
They watched in silence. Not with hate or glares. Not with pity. Just waiting, expecting... something.
"I... I didn't choose to live," I whispered.
None answered.
My footsteps echoed across the marble tiles as I approached. Behind me, the whispers of the faces followed, as if they never left. As if... they couldn't leave.
"Coward,"
"Why him?"
"Why you?"
"I wasn't strong enough..." I murmured.
I reached the altar. A mirror sat upon it, but what stared back wasn't my reflection.
It was my fear... how I believed they saw me.
A boy dressed in ceremonial white with robes far too big. His face hidden beneath a hood, hands trembling as he distributed wine and bread.
Not a priest. Not a protector.
Just a burden wearing faith like a costume.
"I tried to change," I said, my voice cracking. "I turned to prayer. To penance. I gave everything to be worthy of the second chance."
They didn't speak. They didn't try to offer forgiveness.
Until...
One stepped forward.
"Why are you trying to change?" His voice was low and gravelly. "Why are you seeking forgiveness?"
I stopped. Why?
"Because I watched them die... I didn't do anything to help."
Another stepped forward,
"Do you truly believe if you stepped off that deck you could have saved someone?" Her voice was light, slowing her words as she spoke. "Isaac... would you have made a difference or died trying?"
"Died trying..." The words left my lips before I thought them.
Would it have even mattered? I thought about it for three whole years. Over and over, coming to the same conclusion.
"Maybe... maybe not." I paused, muttering beneath my breath. "But standing by is worse than not knowing."
"Then don't stop standing around. Use your powers and help your team," she whispered. "Prove to yourself you're not a burden."
Light poured from the stained glass above me. Blue and gold. Moving like a wave of liquid. It didn't descend gently... it struck me with force.
And something inside me burned.
The wave of light washed over me, laying across my skin like armor before solidifying into blue and yellow robes. In the center was a symbol... a holy cross. Bracers, made of blue light and flowing water, circled my wrists, veined with flickering gold scripture.
Then...
Came the chains. Each piece of robe suddenly connected with unyielding, tight chains. They tore into my skin, glowing as they ripped into my skin.
I screamed, fighting to take off the armor. But, it wouldn't budge.
I turned towards the priests for help, but they only glared. Waiting... Expecting.
My breath stopped as my ribs compressed. Almost like I was being crushed by the weight of their expectations. More golden light surged from the glass, coiling around my throat, burning down my spine as symbols across the altar came to life. Glowing a calming, light blue hue.
I gasped, once again clawing at the cloth forming over my chest.
It wouldn't come off.
"Get off!" I cried, tearing at the forming breastplate, trying to rip it free. It only clung tighter, squeezing against my ribs.
Suddenly, the whispers returned—not from the water, but from within the armor.
"You're unworthy," screeched one.
"Pretending to be a hero," tsk'd another.
I fell to my knees, coughing, hands shaking as the bracers dug into my arms. The mantle tightened against my throat; my throat closed.
I can't breathe...
The armor wasn't blessing me.
It was testing me. Trying to kill me for wearing what I hadn't earned.
Then... from the water, the child from the boat manifested.
"You don't believe in yourself," they whispered. "Do you truly believe you're worthy?"
I screamed, my cries echoing through the cathedral, but no one moved. The priests only stared, silently watching.
"Please!" I gasped. "I don't want to die."
"Then... say it," the child whispered.
"Say it!" That voice... was mine. Not the systems. Not the spirits or the child.
Mine.
My grunts rose through the pain, louder than my falling tears. Confident and unwavering.
"I'm not who I used to be," I screeched, struggling to find the breath.
The armor trembled, loosening around my throat.
"It wasn't my fault! I'm NOT a coward!" I yelled, my voice returning.
The armor shook, vibrating across my body.
The symbols across the altar began to vanish as flashes of blue filled the cathedral.
"And I deserve to keep trying," I sobbed, my body falling facefirst into the marble.
I couldn't keep my eyes open. Blue light exploded as the cathedral's murals shattered across the room. The armor lightened, and the bracers pulsed gently as the chains vanished, flowing like water across my limbs.
"You're worthy of the title," whispered the female priest.
The armor didn't resist anymore. It accepted me.
[EMBER OF BLUE – 5/5 SOURCES EXTINGUISHED]
[LEVEL 3 UNLOCKED]
[NEW SANCTIFIER PATH UNLOCKED – HOLY RADIANCE]
I stared, my face against the marble floor. What just happened?
[NEW ITEM OBTAINED - LIQUID ROBES OF SCRIPTURE - Made of water and Holy Light, these robes protect the user from harm while enhancing water and light affinities.
I blinked. Once. Twice. Darkness clouded my vision.
Nope... it's still here.
This wasn't just armor; it was my faith manifested into power. Is that my system? Faith is how I grow?
Just... by acceptance.
I glanced back up, turning towards the elder priests. But the cathedral was gone.
I was lying face first in the burnt clearing. My face against the ash, unable to move. I struggled to breathe.
The others were rushing toward me, shouting.
But I wasn't afraid.
For the first time… I felt seen.