Chapter 72: The Pavilion of the Five Paths – The Crucible of the Twenty
I. The Opening of the Forbidden Tower
The dawn cast its first rays upon the western plaza, where the earth still vibrated with the residual magic of the previous night. The air was thick, heavy with both promise and fear. There, only the elite congregated: Kael, Violeta, Eris, Cedric, Xylia, The Fallen, Lyra, Aylin, Rowan, Draven, Tamsin, Elowen, Torian, Sela, Lys, Maren, Elian, Joren, Bren, Lirael… and Elara, the newly ascended Disciple. The rest of the clan was but a sea of expectant shadows upon the walls.
Before them, the System's reward materialized: a pagoda of obsidian and crystal, five stories high, each floor pulsing with an elemental color: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Lightning. The walls vibrated, and the Qi emanating from it was so dense that ordinary disciples, even from a distance, felt their legs grow numb and their chests tighten.
Samael appeared before the gates, the Eclipse Odachi on his back. His simple gaze marked an abyss between generations.
—"You hold a title," he began, his voice sliding over stone, through flesh, and into the hearts of the chosen. "But a title without power is a target on your back. The Ancient Sects will come. If you do not break your limits within this tower, if you do not unearth your fears and burn them, you will die outside of it."
The System flashed before their eyes:
[Activating Pavilion of the Five Paths]
[Function: Time Compression (1 day inside = 10 days of mental cultivation).]
[Requirement: Only suitable for Loyalty > 90 and Elite Potential.]
Samael looked at each of them, lingering on Kael, Violeta, and Elara for a second longer. —"Enter. No one leaves until they have mastered their own weakness."
The gates groaned open with a thunderous sound, and the Morningstar elite crossed the threshold… into the crucible.
II. Floor 1: The Labyrinth of Mirrors (Mind and Control)
The first group to enter was the second set of ten: Tamsin, Elowen, Torian, Sela, Lys, Maren, Elian, Joren, Bren, and Lirael. The mist inside was cold, the polished floor reflecting light like water. Thousands of mirrors lined the walls, but they did not show faces. Each reflection was a fear.
Tamsin saw her own shadow stabbing her loved ones, surviving at the cost of everyone else. Elowen saw her hands covered in blood, unable to save a dying child. Torian saw himself kneeling, his back broken by an invisible anvil.
At first, panic seized the group. The illusions whispered, tempted, and tore at them: —"Your promises are worthless." —"You are only the heir to mistakes."
Elowen, trembling, closed her eyes and let her wood Qi sprout into green roots that hugged the floor. —"Do not fight the image!" she shouted. "Fight the fear that provokes it!"
Tamsin, her face drenched in sweat, stabbed her own reflection. —"I am not my past," she growled.
The mirror shattered into a thousand fragments, each releasing a wave of pure Qi that was absorbed by her body. One by one, the disciples faced their inner shadows. Each time a mirror broke, the air cleared, mental pressure diminished, and spiritual strength increased.
[Tamsin: Mental Stability +20%. Progress toward Origin Realm: 15%.]
[Elowen: Advanced Empathy. Progress toward Peak Transcendence.]
When they finally crossed the labyrinth, a spiral staircase awaited them, along with the certainty that the first wall was not the body, but the memory.
III. Floor 3: The Elemental Forge (Brute Power)
The third floor was a chaos of storms: rivers of lava, blizzards, lightning, and golems of metal and bolt. Here, the heavyweights entered: Eris, Kael, Cedric, and Xylia.
Eris immediately threw herself into the sea of blue flames. The fire did not burn her flesh; instead, it licked at her Qi, trying to devour it. —"You think you can consume me?" Eris laughed, her pupils ignited. "There is no ruin I cannot make my own!"
She rose, wrapped in the Flame of Ruin, and instead of defending herself, she devoured the surrounding fire. Each flame absorbed made her aura vaster; her hair became a living torch. The floor shook under the weight of her will.
Kael and Cedric faced a titanic golem of black metal, powered by lightning. —"Cedric, shield at three o'clock!" Xylia shouted, launching a discharge. Cedric, with supreme precision, raised a hexagonal barrier that redirected the electricity through his formations, amplifying it. —"Xylia, now!"
She fired an electric spear through the shield's opening, piercing the golem's core. The synchrony was perfect: metal and thunder, defense and attack, mind and muscle. Kael, seeing the opportunity, unleashed the Crimson Slash: a sword wave that split the golem in two and swept away the ash.
When they finally fell to their knees, the four knew they had crossed the threshold: now, the Elemental Forge was their ally, not their enemy.
IV. Floor 5: The Void and the Frost (Monster Territory)
The final floor was pure oppression: multiplied gravity, almost non-existent air, and a silence so dense it seemed to absorb thoughts. Here were the monsters: Violeta, The Fallen, Lyra, and Elara.
Samael entered to supervise, his mere presence stabilizing the space. —"This level simulates the pressure of a Saint Realm," he explained, walking effortlessly. "If you can move here, you can face the Ancestors of the Sects."
Violeta, panting, channeled space to "cut" through the gravity. Every step was a battle, but her eyes shone with icy determination. The Fallen, wrapped in shadows, glided across the floor, his abyssal aura resisting the pressure. Lyra, with mist around her body, made herself intangible, floating through the currents like a weightless shadow.
But the surprise was Elara. She did not fight the gravity. Instead, she simply dissolved into mist, letting the pressure pass right through her. She reformed beside Samael, gasping but standing. —"Clever," Samael approved. "But can you attack in that form?"
Elara extended her hand, condensing Qi until the air around her became steely blue ice. —"I am learning," she said, smiling with a hint of defiance. Samael nodded, allowing pride to show beneath his severity for a brief moment.
V. The Result of the Seclusion
Three days passed inside the Pavilion. For their bodies, it was only one day, but their minds and souls had lived through a month of struggles, fears, and broken dreams reconstructed. When the doors opened, the twenty emerged. The clan's disciples fell silent: they saw the torn robes, eyes full of scars and light, and auras cracking the earth beneath their feet.
The System erupted in Samael's mind:
[Clan Progress:]
[Kael, Violeta, Eris: Origin Stage 7 (Peak) consolidated.]
[Lyra, Aylin: Ascension to Origin Stage 1.]
[Sequences 11-20: Peak Transcendence, ready for the jump.]
Samael walked silently among them, reading the wounds and triumphs with a single glance. Finally, he nodded. —"Now. You have fangs. No one will give you their respect: you must rip it from them."
VI. The Trial of the Sequences (The Beginning)
Before they could rest, the ground rumbled and a blue light emerged from the center of the plaza. The System, using Samael as a channel, spoke with a voice of thunder and echo:
[Beginning of the Trial of the Sequences:
The positions from 1 to 20 will not be final until each has defended their place in combat, strategy, and spirit.
The challenge comes from within and without. Who among you can be the new pillar of the clan?]
The plaza stones reorganized, forming twenty circular platforms connected by bridges of light. Each sequence was pulled to a platform, their Qi vibrating with the name engraved in stone. Kael and Violeta looked at each other, smiling. Eris raised her fists. Elara, for the first time, felt the heat of the challenge not as a threat, but as a welcome.
Samael raised his hand. —"Let the internal tournament begin."
VII. Epilogue: The Purple Wrath
The sky split with a roar. It was not a storm, but a massive flying ship with violet lightning and the banner of the Sect of the Purple Light waving like a threat over the citadel. The disciples tensed, hands on their steel.
But Samael floated to the front, unshaken. —"Sheathe your steel. Today they do not come to fight. They come to demand. And I want them to see that their demands are worth nothing here."
A magic-amplified voice boomed from the ship: —"By order of the Northern Alliance, the Morningstar Clan must hand over the 'Child of Black Destiny' and submit to inspection. Open your barriers or be purged!"
Samael smiled, and the air curved around him. —"Purged? You are late. The trash was swept away long ago. Descend if you dare."
The clan roared behind him, and the battle of wills began, both inside and outside the Forbidden Tower.