The massive stone doors groaned open, ancient runes pulsing with golden light as the first phase of the trial began.A chilling wind blew through the underground corridor, carrying with it the distant roars of beasts long forgotten by time.
Sam adjusted the strap of his cloak and glanced ahead. Dozens of students stood before the gate some trembling, some radiating confidence.And among them, Alana Rainheart stood tall, her silver-gold hair glinting like fire beneath the torches. Her crimson eyes burned with ambition.
She looked back once, meeting Sam's calm gaze."You'd better not slow me down, commoner," she said sharply, the edges of her lips curling in defiance.
Sam smirked faintly. "I should be the one saying that, Lady Rainheart."
Before either could say more, a horn echoed through the cavern.
The passage lived up to its name labyrinth of fangs and claws. The ground rumbled as skeletal beasts crawled out from the walls, their bones clattering like metal chains. Their eyes burned with blue fire, and their movements were unnaturally fast.
Sam dashed forward, his boots striking sparks against the stone. His hand glowed a golden flame ignited at his fingertips.
"Solar Veil!" he whispered.
A shimmering wall of light burst around him, deflecting a claw swipe from the nearest creature. The impact shook the corridor, scattering dust and ash.The golden flame wavered, bending and swirling like liquid sunlight.
He turned his wrist, molding it into a blade."Solar Edge Radiant Slash!"
The golden sword gleamed, slicing through the bone beast with a hiss. The monster disintegrated into fragments of light, its echo fading.
Behind him, Alana conjured a tornado of blue flame her Rainheart lineage flame, colder than ice yet hot enough to burn steel.Her expression was composed, but sweat trickled down her temple.
When the creatures began to swarm in from every direction, Sam and Alana found themselves standing back-to-back.
"Don't think this means I need your help," Alana muttered.
"I don't care who helps who," Sam replied, tightening his grip on his glowing blade. "Just try not to die."
After what felt like hours, the final monster of the passage crumbled to dust.The surviving participants barely a handful entered a vast circular chamber. At its center floated a monolith, covered in countless glowing runes.
A voice echoed through the hall.
"To those who seek the relic answer this riddle of truth. Fail, and your courage shall be devoured."
The air grew thick, the walls shifting as if alive. Sam stared up at the floating question burning on the stone:
"What exists without beginning, yet ends without ending? What devours all but cannot be devoured?"
The participants whispered among themselves. Fear flickered in their eyes. The runes pulsed faster with every passing second.
Alana folded her arms, her brows furrowed. "It's obviously time. Everything ends with it."
Sam frowned. Something felt… off.He thought back to the faint whispers from his pendant echoes of wisdom from an age lost to myths.
But before he could speak, Alana confidently declared, "The answer is time!"
The monolith pulsed once. Then the chamber shook violently.
The runes turned blood red.
"Incorrect."
The ground beneath them fractured, stone giving way to darkness.Alana's eyes widened as the floor shattered completely.
"Damn it....!!"
They both fell.
They landed hard, the impact echoing through a cavern that smelled of rust and rot.Sam groaned, pushing himself up. His body ached, but he was mostly fine—thanks to a quick burst of Light Shield mid-fall.
Alana wasn't so lucky. She sat up, wincing, her uniform torn and dust clinging to her hair.
"Where… are we?" she muttered, scanning the dim surroundings.
The cavern stretched endlessly, filled with broken pillars and cracked bones. Shadows moved between them fast, hungry, whispering.
Sam held out his palm. Golden light flared, revealing a sea of monsters, their skeletal frames coated in dark slime.
"Looks like we're at the bottom of the puzzle," Sam said grimly. "The wrong answer leads straight to hell."
The creatures hissed and charged.
Alana immediately raised her hand, summoning a vortex of blue flame. "Azure Storm!"The fire exploded outward, freezing the monsters mid-lunge before shattering them into glittering shards.
But for every creature destroyed, two more emerged.
Sam stepped forward, golden flame igniting again this time swirling into a sphere."Radiant Burst—Solar Core!"
He unleashed it, a concentrated blast of light that exploded with a deafening roar. The monsters vaporized, and the cavern briefly shone like daylight.
The light dimmed. Dozens more shadows crept forward.
"Too many," Alana said through gritted teeth. "We'll be overwhelmed at this rate!"
Sam's eyes narrowed. "Then we make them blind."
He clapped his hands together. The air trembled as golden runes formed around him. The technique was new—something he'd been working on secretly.
"Solar Mirage."
The cavern filled with blinding reflections of Sam dozens of glowing silhouettes darting in every direction.The monsters slashed wildly, attacking illusions while Sam moved between them like a streak of sunlight.
He leapt high, twisting midair. "Solar Edge Cascade Strike!"
Golden arcs of flame rained down, cutting through the horde like falling stars. The entire cavern trembled with each hit.
When Sam landed, his chest was heaving, sweat running down his face.
Alana watched him in shock. "What kind of magic… was that? That's not normal light magic."
Sam didn't answer. His eyes were locked ahead focused, unreadable. "We can talk later. Move."
As they pushed deeper through the pit, exhaustion began to weigh on them.Alana's flames grew dimmer, her mana nearly depleted. She stumbled once, catching herself on a rock.
Sam noticed but didn't say anything. Instead, he adjusted his light sphere to illuminate their path.
For a moment, neither spoke. Only their footsteps echoed in the ancient dark.
Finally, Alana broke the silence. "You're… stronger than you look."
Sam shrugged. "You're not bad yourself."
"That wasn't a compliment."
"I didn't take it as one."
Despite the sharpness in their words, there was something different now a mutual understanding born of survival.
When the next wave of monsters came, they didn't hesitate. Sam's light danced alongside Alana's flame gold and blue intertwining, burning brighter than either could alone.
They fought until the last creature fell, its body dissolving into embers.
Breathing heavily, Alana leaned against a pillar. "I… guess we make a decent team."
Sam looked at her, faintly smiling. "Don't get used to it."
A faint hum filled the air, and light spilled from a crack in the far wall.A passageway hidden behind the chaos.
Alana straightened, brushing off the dust. "Looks like that's our way out."
Sam nodded, glancing back one last time. The battlefield behind them was littered with the ashes of monsters and the faint shimmer of something glowing faintly in the dark.
He could feel it the relic was near.
As they stepped forward, the air grew warmer, charged with energy that made their skin prickle.
Alana's eyes flickered with determination. "When we find it… don't get in my way."
Sam chuckled softly, his golden flame lighting the path ahead. "Same to you."
And together, two rivals walked into the light, unaware that this fragile alliance would soon decide not only the trial's outcome but the fate of everything waiting beyond it.
High above the labyrinth, within the floating dome of the Academy's Great Arena, thousands of students and professors watched the trial unfold through shimmering crystal projections suspended in the air.
The Trial of the Relic was being broadcast live across every corner of Aetherion Academy a spectacle of courage, intellect, and survival.
Each student who entered the ancient ruins had their vision linked to a scrying orb, allowing the spectators to witness their progress.
But it was clear to everyone this year, the real show belonged to Sam Aegis and Alana Rainheart.
As the first projection lit up, the crowd gasped.Sam was seen cutting through skeletal beasts with radiant light, his every strike glowing like sunlight breaking through storm clouds.Alana followed beside him, her azure flames freezing entire hordes mid-charge.
Among the audience, Lucy sat on the edge of her seat, hands clutching her cloak tightly.Her eyes shimmered with both pride and anxiety.
When Sam unleashed his Solar Core, filling the cavern with blinding golden fire, she couldn't help but whisper,
"You've been practicing again, haven't you, Sam?"
Beside her, the Royal Siblings Prince Aurel and Princess Seraphine watched in silence.
Aurel smirked faintly. "So the boy of light can truly stand alongside the Rainheart prodigy. Impressive."
Seraphine, however, looked uneasy. "It's not just power I see… It's something else. The way he moves like he's been fighting for survival all his life."
Lucy didn't answer. Her heart pounded with every flicker of the crystal screen, her gaze fixed on Sam's calm face even amidst chaos.
When the second phase began the Chamber of Echoes tension rippled through the crowd.Alana's confident expression as she declared her answer drew cheers from her supporters.
But when the monolith turned crimson and the ground shattered beneath them, gasps filled the arena.
"They fell!""Did they fail the trial?""No, the connection is still active look, they're alive!"
The projection flickered back to life, showing Sam and Alana surrounded by hundreds of monsters.
Lucy stood up, hands trembling.
"Come on, Sam… you can do this."
As the two began to fight side by side Alana's blue flames dancing with Sam's golden light the crowd fell silent.
For the first time, they weren't rivals.They were allies, fighting like twin stars in a sky of darkness.
Even the professors exchanged astonished looks.
"Rainheart and Aegis… a fragile alliance born of desperation.""Or perhaps something greater is taking root."
When the dust settled and Sam and Alana reached the hidden passage leading to the final phase, the audience erupted in applause.
Lucy exhaled a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, smiling softly. "You did it…"
But then,
The crystal projection flickered once.Then twice.
And then, suddenly it went black.
The image of Sam and Alana, just steps away from the glowing archway leading into the final trial, vanished.
The entire arena went silent.
"What happened?""Did the connection break?""No ....the feed was cut from inside!"
Lucy's heart stopped.
"Sam…?"
The professors scrambled, chanting detection spells. The orbs remained dead, showing only static light.
A single crimson symbol flickered across the main projection an ancient sigil none of the faculty recognized.
Lucy took a step forward, her voice trembling.
"That symbol… I've seen it before…"
Before anyone could respond, the entire dome trembled and the relic chamber's barrier pulsed once with blinding light.
The broadcast was gone.The fate of Sam and Alana unknown.