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Chapter 3 – Trial of the Threshold
The forest air thickened as Kaelen followed the cloaked stranger. With every step, the familiar sounds of Eryndor—the chirping of crickets, the rustle of leaves—faded, replaced by an eerie silence that pressed against his senses. The trees stretched taller, their trunks glowing faintly with lines of golden light that pulsed like veins. Kaelen's heartbeat synced with the rhythm, his body alive with the energy that had awakened the night before.
"You feel it, don't you?" the stranger's voice echoed in his mind. "This is the Threshold—the border between your world and the realms of the divine. Few mortals ever sense it, and none have ever crossed it unprepared."
Kaelen swallowed hard, the weight of the words pressing down on him. "Prepared? I don't even know what I am yet!"
The stranger's gaze, unblinking and infinite, met his. "Exactly. That is why you must learn. Step wrong, and the Threshold will consume you. Step wisely, and you will begin to understand your place in the Convergence."
A gust of wind swept through the trees, and Kaelen felt the Threshold respond. Shapes moved in the periphery—shadows with eyes like molten gold, whispering unintelligible words that sent chills down his spine. The forest seemed alive, testing him, probing his fear.
Kaelen closed his eyes and focused on the sigil on his arm. Its soft blue glow pulsed with his heartbeat, and instinctively, he reached out. A tendril of light shot forward, striking the nearest shadow. The creature recoiled, wailing in a sound that made his teeth ache. Kaelen felt a thrill of power—and terror. He could do this. He could control it.
The stranger nodded approvingly. "Good. But power alone is not enough. You must learn restraint, cunning, and patience. The gods watch all, and they do not forgive mistakes."
Kaelen's legs trembled, but he stepped forward again. Each stride through the Threshold sharpened his senses—the air thick with magic, the ground alive with latent energy. He sensed distant realms brushing against each other: the thunder of Asgard's storms, the faint whispers of the Duat, the shimmering echoes of the Lokas. All converging.
And he realized, with a mixture of fear and awe, that the Convergence was not just a celestial event—it was a war waiting to happen, a game where gods, mortals, and hybrids like him would be the pieces.
Kaelen took a deep breath, steadying his mind. "I… will learn. I'll survive this Threshold."
The stranger's cloak shimmered, revealing faint outlines of symbols older than time. "Then step forward, Kaelen. Your trial begins now."
With that, the forest shifted, and Kaelen crossed fully into the Threshold, leaving behind the life he had known—and stepping into a world where gods, magic, and destiny awaited at every turn.
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