The Eidarus Temple was filled with natural light.
Roots coiled upward around a hollow chamber, forming a dome.
Queen Sylvara stood at the entrance, hand pressed to the wall.
"Are you ready for your trial?"
Hajime glanced back at Rei and Izumi.
Rei's arms were folded, and Izumi's eyes were tight with worry.
"Don't worry about me, I got this," Hajime said.
Rei's voice was low.
"Try not to die."
Hajime nodded once and stepped through the void.
Silence swallowed him.
He stood on a floor made of veins with roots glowing faintly under his feet.
Above, a hollow trunk stretched endlessly upward, filled with drifting motes of Seiki (聖気).
The air vibrated with whispers.
"You should have saved them."
Hajime's hands clenched. Not this again…
A figure formed from the mist, the old widow from Eisenwald, eyes hollow, face burned.
"Why didn't you save us?"
Another shape followed: the children, the hunters, the elder—all of them.
Their voices overlapped, echoing in time with the Tree's pulse.
"You said you'd protect us."
Hajime stumbled backward, fearful and ashamed.
"This isn't real!"
The Tree's voice filled the chamber.
"Hajime Takeshi, prove yourself worthy to save mankind."
Roots surged upward, twisting into human shapes.
One stood before him, mirroring his own face, perfect and calm.
It smiled.
"You want to build a world without pain," the double asked.
"Want to know a secret? You won't be around to see it. Because you're pitifully weak."
Hajime charged.
Their fists collided. The shockwave rippled across the chamber, shaking the roots to their core.
He swung again, shouting through gritted teeth.
"I made a promise... I'll never let someone I love get hurt again."
The copy blocked, countered, and drove a knee into Hajime's chest.
Pain shot through his ribs, and Seiki burst from his skin uncontrolled.
Hajime immediately spat up blood.
Outside the barrier, Izumi gasped as the temple shook.
"His Seiki is spiking!"
Takahiro frowned.
"He's rejecting the Tree's rhythm. If he can't sync his Seiki and achieve Seiki Resonance, it will crush him."
Rei stepped closer to the barrier, blue-white aura flickering, a faint smirk on his face.
"Come on, Hajime."
Hajime slid across the floor, blood at his lip.
The copy stood unscathed, its Seiki flowing smooth and pure.
"You think his will makes you special?" it asked.
"Adam had the same arrogance. He died a gruesome death, and couldn't save anyone he loved either."
Hajime wiped the blood away, calm.
"I'm going to finish what he started."
His Seiki flared, gold and silver spiraling together until they rang out.
The air warped under the pressure, the Tree groaning in response.
The copy lunged, and Hajime met it head-on, their fists colliding in a blinding burst of light.
When the glow faded, only one stood.
Hajime panted, steam rising from his shoulders. The double lay dissolving into golden dust.
Hajime could feel the Seiki flowing perfectly through his body. He had done it. He achieved Seiki Resonance.
The Tree's voice returned, softer.
"He who carries pain without fleeing it, rises."
Roots unwound around him, the chamber brightening.
A warm sensation flowed through his chest.
The barrier of light cracked open. Hajime stumbled out, half-collapsed.
Izumi caught him instantly, channeling gentle Verdant Seiki (翠の聖気) into his arms.
Rei stepped forward, studying the faint mark now glowing on Hajime's palm — a golden branch intertwined with silver roots.
"So you passed."
Hajime managed a tired grin.
"I told you I'd be fine."
Takahiro tilted his head slightly.
"The Tree accepted him. You now have an ally with us here in The Verdant Veil."
Sylvara's voice echoed from behind.
"Wherever your journeys take you, I will rest assured knowing Adam made the right decision."
Hajime blinked up at her.
"Does that mean I'm done being tested?"
Sylvara smiled faintly.
"You are free to go as you please, Hajime."
High in the branches, silver light shimmered.
Selaphine sat upon a root, chains coiled lazily around her wrist.
She watched the trio emerge from the temple, eyes unreadable.
"He resonated with the Tree."
"Interesting."
Her chains slithered away into the mist as she vanished.
Later, Hajime sat by the temple's pond, hands still trembling.
Rei joined him, lowering himself onto a root beside him.
"You faced yourself and didn't break," Rei said. "Most people do."
Hajime looked at his reflection and the mark glowing faintly in his palm.
It wasn't about strength. It was about control.
Rei nodded. "Now, next time you fight, you'll have more control over your Will and Seiki."
Izumi approached quietly, carrying a bowl of glowing fruit.
"Eat before your body realizes how much energy you burned."
Hajime smiled tiredly.
"You sound like my mother."
"That's because you're hopeless," Izumi replied with a huge grin.
Their laughter carried through the roots, fading into the hum of the living forest.