The moment they passed through the Gate, everything changed.
Light and shadow twisted around Elira and Theron in spiraling ribbons, neither warm nor cold, neither matter nor magic. It was as though time had paused—or had never started to begin with. For a heartbeat, they floated between worlds.
Then they fell.
Not far.
But far enough.
They landed on ground that didn't feel like earth. It was soft beneath their boots—almost like velvet moss—and glowed faintly in shades of silver and indigo. Above them, the sky was not black but a swirling ocean of stars, so close they felt they could breathe them in.
Theron straightened first, his hand instinctively reaching for Elira.
She took it, gripping tightly.
They were not alone.
---
The realm stretched endlessly before them—rolling fields of starlit grasses, obsidian trees whose leaves chimed like bells, and hills that pulsed with a rhythm like breathing.
But no sun. No moon.
Only presence.
They moved forward slowly, the path unfolding under their feet with each step—as if the land read their intent and shaped itself accordingly.
"There's no scent," Theron murmured. "No wind. Just... sound."
Indeed, the world was filled with distant hums. Whispers. Music. And the occasional thrum, like something ancient shifting below the surface.
"Where do we start?" Elira asked.
Theron tilted his head. "I think it's already started."
---
They came upon it after only a few miles—a still, circular pool of water, so clear it reflected not their current selves, but flickering images of past and future.
Elira stepped closer, and gasped.
In the pool she saw herself standing on a throne made of ice and fire, wearing a crown of light. Beside her, Theron knelt—bound in shadow, his eyes glowing silver. But when she blinked, the image shifted.
Now she was alone.
Crying.
Holding ashes in her hands.
Theron looked too, but said nothing.
Only after several long moments did he murmur, "They're not visions. They're choices."
Elira shivered.
"The realm is watching," he added. "We are the trial."
---
A voice emerged from the stillness, low and melodic. "Starborn children," it said. "Why have you come?"
They turned to find a woman standing at the edge of the pool. She was tall, pale-skinned, her eyes glowing with galaxies. Her robe was woven from smoke and silver. She looked young and ancient all at once.
"I am Eiranis," she said. "One of the Shardbound."
Elira's voice wavered. "We seek the truth of our purpose."
Eiranis stepped closer, her eyes gentle. "Your purpose is not given. It is earned. And to earn it, you must pass three gates."
Theron frowned. "We already passed the Gate."
Eiranis smiled. "That was just the door. What lies beyond is much more… difficult."
She turned toward a path that hadn't been there before.
"Follow me."
---
The first test was swift.
Eiranis brought them to a grove of blackwood trees, where the air grew thick and memories came alive.
Suddenly, Elira was alone.
She stood in the ruins of their pack house, blood on her hands, her mother's body crumpled nearby. Fire roared around her, and Kael's blade lay at her feet—broken.
"This is your fault," a voice hissed.
"No," she whispered.
"You chose this path. You opened the gate. You brought ruin."
"No—"
She fell to her knees.
And then she heard him.
Theron's voice. Calling for her.
"Elira, it's not real. Listen to me. Come back."
She gasped—and the vision broke.
Across the grove, Theron fell forward, shaking.
"What did you see?" she asked.
He looked up, hollow.
"You. Dead. Because of me."
They sat together beneath the blackwood trees for a long while, holding on to each other like lifelines.
Eiranis approached, nodding. "You've passed the Gate of Fear. The next is harder."
They arrived at a hilltop where two stone thrones waited, bathed in pale light. A man and a woman sat there—mirror images of Elira and Theron, older, dressed in royal regalia, serene.
"Do you wish to know what could be yours?" the woman asked.
She rose and extended her hand to Elira. "A world of peace. No war. No pain. Your people safe. Your love eternal. All you must do is surrender your choice. Let the realm guide you. It knows the best path."
Theron stepped forward. "You mean submit."
The male figure nodded. "Why suffer when the stars already see the outcome?"
Elira hesitated.
Everything they wanted. Without pain. Without struggle.
But she remembered Rowan's words: "Sometimes the only way forward is through."
She looked up.
"I won't be a puppet."
Theron raised his chin. "We'll carve our own fate."
The two mirror-figures smiled, then dissolved into stardust.
Eiranis appeared behind them.
"Few refuse. Fewer survive."
She gestured onward.
"One gate remains."
They reached a plateau where the sky fractured into shards of light.
"Step into the center," Eiranis instructed.
Elira and Theron did.
The moment they entered the light, the world dropped away.
They stood in a void filled with stars—and with every possible version of themselves. Children. Monsters. Lovers. Enemies. Gods.
The void spoke.
> "You are many. You are none. Who do you choose to be?"
Elira reached for Theron.
And in that moment, they glowed.
One in light. One in shadow.
But tethered.
Balanced.
"We are us," she whispered.
The stars exploded around them—and reformed into a single doorway.
The Gate of Truth opened.
Eiranis bowed.
"You have passed."
Beyond the final gate stood a massive structure—floating in the sky, tethered to the realm by chains of pure energy. Its walls were inscribed with names—millions of them—Starborns who had come before.
Inside, Elira and Theron entered a chamber filled with pillars of light.
A figure waited there.
Neither male nor female. Eyes burning with creation. Voice like thunder and song.
> "You are the first to come together. Not in conquest. Not in fear. But in balance."
It placed its hands on their heads.
> "The power you hold is no longer potential. It is choice made manifest."
Marks burned on their skin—fresh runes joining the constellations. They shone, even through their clothes.
> "Go back. You are the tether. The bridge. The first true Starborn heirs."
They woke where they had entered the realm.
But the forest was no longer quiet.
Storm clouds churned on the horizon.
The moon glowed red.
Selene stood nearby, her eyes wide in awe.
"You were gone for hours," she said. "But the sky changed immediately."
Theron reached for Elira.
Elira touched her mother's hand.
Behind them, the Gate flickered.
Naeria stepped forward. "You opened the path. Others… will follow."
Rowan scanned the trees.
"Then we'd better be ready."
Kael unsheathed his blade.
"Because not all who follow will come in peace."
---