Chapter9-The Realm's Judgement
The ground beneath Ling's feet glowed brighter and brighter until the entire realm felt like it was breathing with her. The light wasn't violent this time. It wasn't tearing her apart. It was... choosing her.
Ling staggered slightly as the grow wrapped around her ankles, rising slowly like mist. Arin stood beside her, watching silently, her expression unreadable.
"Arin... what's happening?"
Arin didn't answer immediately. Her eyes were fixed on the ground, on the way light curled around Ling like it recognized her.
"The realm is testing you."
Ling's stomach tightened. "Testing me for what?"
Arin finally looked at her – and there was something new in her gaze. Not fear. Not sadness. Something heavier.
"To decide whether you belong here... or whether it you should send you back."
Ling's breath caught.
"Send me back? But I just—I just got my soul back."
"Exactly."
Arin stepped closer, her glow dimming slightly as if realm's light was overpowering her own.
"Now that you're whole again, the realm wants to know what you'll do with that power."
Ling swallowed hard.
"What kind of test is this."
Arin lifted her hand pointed toward the horizon.
The realm shifted.
The glowing ground rippled outward, and shapes began to rise from the surface – silhouettes, memories, fragments of something Ling couldn't fully understand. They twisted into forms she recognized:
The ritual chamber. The broken thread. Her own face – crying, shaking, stepping back.
Ling's chest tightened painfully.
"Why is it showing me this."
"Because the realm doesn't judge your power," Arin whispered. "It judges your choices."
The silhouettes moved closer, surrounding Ling in slow, tightening circle.
Arin reached for her hand.
"Whatever you see... don't run this time."
Ling's pulse hammered.
"I won't."
The realm darkened.
The test began.
Not like night—but like a curtain being pulled over Ling's senses. The glowing ground dimmed until only faint outlines remained and the air grew heavy, thick, almost suffocating.
Arin's hand slipped from Ling's fingers.
Ling spun around. "Arin?"
No answer.
The realm had seperated them.
A cold shiver crawled up Ling's spine.
A soft whisper rose behind her.
"You always run."
Ling froze.
She turned slowly.
Her own silhouette stood a few steps away – a perfect shadow version of herself, but darker, sharper, eyes hollow like empty mirrors.
Ling's breath caught. "What... are you?"
The shadow tilted its head.
"I'm the part of you that stepped back."
Ling's chest tightened.
The shadow stepped closer, its voice low and cutting.
"You think you're brave now? You think saying her name fixes everything?"
Ling swallowed hard.
The shadow's form flickered, growing taller, more distorted.
"You abandoned her once."
Ling flinched. "I didn't mean to--"
"Intent doesn't erase consequences."
The ground beneath Ling trembled.
The shadow raised its hand, and realm responded—the glowing surface cracked open beneath Ling's feet, revealing a swirling darkness below.
"If you want to stay in this realm... you must face the version of yourself that broke her."
Ling pulse hammered.
The shadow stepped closer, its voice a whisper that felt like a blade.
"She me you won't run again."
Ling clenched her fists.
"I'm not running."
The shadow smiled— a cold, cruel curve of her own mouth.
"Then prove it."
The ground split wider.
Ling jumped back just in time, landing on a narrow strip of glowing surface as the darkness surged upward like smoke.
The shadow lunged.
Ling braced herself.
The first trial had begun.
Ling barely dodged as the darkness sliced through the air, leaving a cold trail that made her skin prickle. The ground beneath her feet rippled violently, reacting to the clash of fear and determination inside her.
The shadow laughed – a hollow, echoing sound that didn't belong to any living thing.
"You think stepping forward once makes you brave?"
Ling steadied her breath.
"I'm not the same person who stepped bac."
The shadow tilted its head, its form flickering like smoke caught in a storm.
"Then why are you shaking?"
Ling froze.
Her hands were trembling. Her breath uneven. Her heart pounded too fast.
The shadow stepped closer, its voice soft and poisonous.
"Because you're still afraid of losing her."
Ling's chest tightened painfully.
The shadow's shape twisted, stretching taller, sharper, until it towered over her like a distorted reflection.
"You think you can protect her now."
Ling clenched her fists.
"Yes."
"You couldn't protect her then."
The words hit Ling like a blow.
The ground cracked beneath her feet, glowing fissures spreading outward. The realm reacted to her fear instantly – the air thickened, the light dimmed, the shadows deepened.
The shadow raised its hand.
"Show me you've changed."
Darkness shot toward her like a spear.
Ling threw up her arm immediately – and light inside her erupted.
A burst of white energy exploded outward, colliding with the shadow's attack and shattering it into fragments of darkness that dissolved in air.
Ling staggered back, breath shaking.
The shadow paused.
For the first time... it hesitated.
Ling stared at her glowing hands, stunned.
"I... did that?"
The shadow's voice lowered, almost thoughtful.
"Power means nothing if you still run from the truth."
Ling lifted her chin.
"I'm not running."
The shadow stepped closer, it's from shrinking, condensing, becoming sharper – more human, more like her.
"Then face me."
Ling swallowed hard.
"What does that mean?"
The shadow's eyes glowed with cold light.
"Face the moment you broke her."
The realm shifted violently.
The ritual chamber rose around them – but twisted, darker, echoing with Ling's own heartbeat.
Arin's distant voice echoed somewhere far away.
"Ling... don't let the memory control you."
Ling took a breath.
And stepped into the memory.
The second phase of the trial had begun.
The ritual chamber formed around Ling like a living nightmare.
But this wasn't the real chamber. This was the realm's version – sharper, darker, echoing with every heartbeat she had tried to forget.
The symbols on the floor glowed a deep, pulsing red. The air was thick, humming with unfinished magic.
And in the centre of the chamber... stood her past self.
Ling froze.
The girl in the memory looked exactly as she had that day – trembling, clutching the red thread, eyes full of fear she never admitted.
Shadow-Ling stepped beside the memory version, her voice low and cold.
"This is the moment you broke her."
Ling's throat tightened.
"No... I didn't mean to--"
"Intent doesn't matter." Shadow-Ling's voice cut through her like a blade. "This is the moment the realm wants you to face."
The memory Ling stepped forward.
Arin appeared in the centre of the chamber – glowing softly, fragile, hopeful.
"Take my hand," Arin whispered in the memory.
Ling felt her heart twist painfully.
She remembered this. She remembered wanting to reach out. She remembered fear choking her.
The memory Ling hesitated.
Shadow-Ling turned to real Ling.
"Say it,"
Ling swallowed hard. "Say what?"
"Say why you stepped back."
Ling's breath caught.
The memory Ling took a step backward -- the same step that had changed everything.
The chamber reacted instantly – symbols flaring, the thread snapping, Arin screaming as she was pulled into the void.
Ling squeezed her eyes shut.
"I was scared," she whispered.
Shadow-Ling stepped closer.
"Louder."
Ling's voice cracked.
"I was scared!"
The chamber trembled.
Shadow-Ling's eyes glowed.
"Of what?"
Ling's breath shook.
"I was scared of losing her!"
The memory froze.
The chamber stilled.
Shadow-Ling tilted her head.
"Then why did you step back?"
Ling's voice broke.
"Because I thought... if I touched her... I would break her."
Silence.
Deep, heavy silence.
Shadow-Ling form flickered – not with anger, but with something like understanding.
"So, you hurt her to protect her."
Ling nodded, tears burning her eyes.
"I didn't know what else to do."
The chamber shifted – the memory dissolving into the soft light.
Shadow-Ling stepped closer, her voice softer now.
"Then show the realm what you would do now."
Ling lifted her chin.
"I won't step back."
The chamber brightened.
Arin appeared again – not memory version, but the real one, glowing softly at the edge of the ritual circle.
She extended her hand.
Not trembling. Not fragile. But steady.
Ling took a long breath.
And stepped forward.
The moment her fingers touched Arin's, the chamber exploded with light- not violent, not painful, but warm, like a truth finally accepted.
Shadow-Ling dissolved into light.
The trial shifted into its final phase.
The chamber dissolved around them.
Light folded inward, shadows stretched outward, and the realm twisted into a space Ling had never seen before – a vast, endless expanse of glowing threads suspended in the air like constellations.
Each thread pulsed with a different colour. Each one hummed with a different memory. Each one felt alive.
Ling stood at the centre of it all, breath unsteady.
Arin appeared beside her – not pulled away this time, not fading, but solid, steady, her glow soft and warm.
"Arin... is this still the trial?"
Arin nodded slowly.
"This is the final phase."
Ling swallowed.
"What do I have to do?"
Arin lifted her hand and pointed upward.
Ling followed her gaze.
A single thread hung above them – brighter than all the others, glowing with a fierce, white-gold light. It pulsed like a heartbeat, steady and strong.
Ling felt in her chest.
Her own heartbeat matched it.
"What is that?"
Arin stepped closer, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Your soul's core."
Ling froze.
The thread pulsed again – and the realm trembled.
Arin's expression shifted, something like fear flickering in her eyes.
"If you touch it... the realm will know who you truly are."
Ling's breath caught.
"And if I don't?"
Arin hesitated.
"Then the realm will decide for you."
The glowing threads around them tightened, forming a spiral that slowly began to close in. The realm wasn't giving her a choice. It was pushing her toward the truth.
Ling took a step forward.
The core-thread brightened.
The air vibrated.
Arin reached out, grabbing Ling's wrist gently.
"Ling... listen to me."
Ling turned to her.
Arin's glow flickered – not from weakness, but from emotion.
"Whatever you see... whatever realm shows you... don't let it convince you that you're alone."
Ling's chest tightened.
"Arin... why do you sound scared?"
Arin looked away.
"Because the core doesn't just show truth."
She met Ling's eyes again.
"It shows destiny."
The ground beneath Ling's feet dissolved into light.
The core- thread dropped toward her like a failing star.
Ling reached out—And the moment her fingers touched it, the realm shattered.
The realm shattered.
Not like breaking glass – but like a thousand memories exploding outward at once.
Ling felt herself falling through light, through sound, through something deeper than time. Threads of gold and white spiraled around her, wrapping her in warmth and pressure all at once.
Her breath caught.
She wasn't falling. She was being pulled.
Pulled into herself.
A voice echoed through the light.
Not Arin's. Not the realms. Her own.
"You were never incomplete."
Ling gasped as the light condensed, forming a sphere around her. Images flickered across its surface—moments she remembered, moments she had forgotten, moments she had never seen.
Her childhood. Her first fear. Her first lie. Her first moment of courage.
And then--
Arin.
Standing in the ritual chamber. Smiling softly. Reaching out.
Ling's chest tightened painfully.
The voice whispered again.
"You didn't lose your soul."
The light pulsed.
"You hid it."
Ling froze.
"What... what does that mean?"
The sphere around cracked, threads of light swirling faster, weaving themselves into shapes—shadows of her past, echoes of her choices.
The voice grew clearer.
"You feared hurting her so much... you locked away the part of yourself that could love her fully."
Ling's breath shook.
"No... I--"
"You stepped back because you believed you were dangerous."
Ling's heart twisted.
The light dimmed, revealing a memory she had never seen before:
Arin, alone in the void. Crying. Holding the broken thread. Whispering Ling's name over and over.
Ling's knees buckled.
"I didn't know... I didn't know she--"
The voice softened.
"This is your truth. Not punishment. Not judgement. Truth."
The sphere shattered completely.
Ling found herself standing on a glowing platform suspended in darkness. Arin stood at the edge—watching her, waiting, her expression unreadable.
Ling took a shaky step forward.
"Arin..."
Arin didn't move.
"The realm has seen your truth."
Ling swallowed hard.
"What does that mean?"
Arin's glow dimmed slightly.
"It means the realm will decide whether you're allowed to stay... or whether you must return to the human world."
Arin looked away.
"That's not your choice anymore."
The darkest around them began to pulse.
The realm was waking.
The verdict was coming.
The darkness pulsed.
Slow. Heavy. Alive.
Ling stood frozen on the glowing platform as the realm's heartbeat echoed around her—deep vibrations that shook the air, the ground, even her bones.
Arin didn't move.
She stood at the edge of the platform, hands clasped tightly, glow dimmed to a trembling flicker. Her eyes were fixed on Ling, but there was something in them Ling had never seen before.
Fear. Not for herself. For Ling.
The darkness thickened, swirling upward like a storm forming around them. Threads of light twisted into symbols Ling didn't recognize—ancient, shifting, judging.
A voice rose from the void.
Not loud. Not soft. Just absolute.
"The soul has been revealed."
Ling's breath caught.
Arin bowed her head.
"The truth has been accepted."
Ling swallowed hard, her voice barely steady.
"What... what does that mean?"
The realm answered.
"The human has faced her fear."
The platform brightened beneath Ling's feet.
"The human has embraced her truth."
Arin's glow flickered.
"The human has reclaimed her soul."
Ling felt her chest tighten.
"So... I passed?"
Silence.
Then--
But the human has formed a forbidden bond."
Ling froze.
Arin's eyes widened, panic flashing across her face.
"No--" Ling stepped forward. "What bond? What are you talking about?"
The darkness swirled faster, symbols burning brighter.
"A bond that alters fate."
Arin whispered, voice breaking.
"Ling... don't speak."
Ling ignored her.
"What bond?!"
The realm answer without hesitation.
"The bond between a human soul... and a guardian spirit."
Ling's heart stopped.
Guardian spirit.
She turned to Arin slowly.
"Arin... what is it talking about?"
Arin didn't answer.
Her glow dimmed further, almost fading.
Ling stepped closer.
"Arin... look at me."
Arin finally lifted her eyes.
There was no anger. No fear. Just sorrow.
"Ling... I wasn't supposed to stay with you."
Ling's breath shook.
"What do you mean?"
Arin took a trembling step forward.
"I was meant to guide you once. Only once. During the ritual."
Ling's chest tightened painfully.
"Arin..."
"But when you stepped back... I didn't let go."
The realm thundered.
"The guardian broke the law."
Ling's eyes widened.
"You stayed because of me?"
Arin nodded tears glowing like tiny sparks.
"I stayed because I couldn't watch you fall apart."
The darkness roared.
"The verdict is decided."
Ling grabbed Arin's hands.
"No. No, please—don't take her away."
The realm's voice deepened.
"The human may stay."
Line gasped.
Arin's breath caught.
But then--
"The guardian must return to the void."
Ling's world shattered.
Arin's glow flickered violently, her form destabilizing.
"Ling--"
Ling clutched her tighter.
"No! I just got you back! I'm not losing you again!"
The realm pulsed.
"The bond must be broken."
Arin whispered, voice trembling.
"Ling... let go."
Ling shook her head, tears burning.
"I won't."
The platform cracked beneath them.
Light surged upward.
The realm reached for Arin.
Ling held on.