Serena's shoulder ached under Bai Lian's weight, but she didn't let it show.
The Eastern girl's arm was broken in at least two places. Her skin was pale, slick with sweat, and she clutched the shattered remnants of her flute like a lifeline. Every step she took was an effort, and Serena was doing most of the work keeping them upright.
The Eastern girl's breath ca in ragged, wet gasps, her fingers clutching the broken halves of her flute like a lifeline. Blood seeped through the makeshift bandages Serena had torn from her own sleeves, but Bai Lian hadn't made a sound since the trial's final monts—just stared ahead with hollow eyes, her lips moving in silent prayer.
Between them, they carried the prize.
A sphere of swirling darkness, barely contained by the silver-threaded bracelet-like structure coiled around it. It writhed in Serena's grip, pulsing like a living heart, resisting her touch, but still not nearly as dangerous as it was before.
The flute-sling Serena received in her box had faint sigils that seed to be perfectly able to restrain the object—once it cald down enough for her to even try binding it.
It had been impossible to hold the artifact with bare hands at first. The mont Serena touched it, it lashed out—not with claws or teeth, but with the kind of pressure that squeezed your skull from the inside and scraped your nerves raw. But when Bai Lian, barely conscious and heavily injured due to their arduous journey to get to that point, had played a few trembling notes on her flute, the object had… listened.
Its fury had cald. Not completely, but enough.
Serena had wasted no ti. She wrapped the string around it tightly, fastened it like a carrying strap, and slung it over her back. From the outside, it looked like an ornate, tal backpack.
Still, it was worth it.
This trial had shown them sothing. Or hinted at sothing. A truth hidden amidst murals of a horrifying war. The Abyss. It was always the Abyss. This entire ruin—this entire test—was about more than simple power or competition. It was searching for candidates. Survivors—or perhaps inheritors was more accurate—for sothing that could help humanity better fight off the alien threat.
Kain would want to hear this.
Serena tightened her grip on Bai Lian and didn't resist as a beam of light ca down and wrapped both to bring back.
'See you soon,' she thought, her heart lifting just a little at finally seeing a familiar face.
She rematerialized in an empty circular chamber a mont later—which seed to be like the default waiting room for this relic.
Cassian was the first face she saw.
He leaned against the wall, his clothes torn and stained, one sleeve missing entirely. His expression was flat—tired, but watchful.
To his left, the Holy Son Seraphius stood with hands clasped behind his back, white and gold robes untarnished, as if the relic itself had protected him from even the concept of harm.
Cassian, who was his partner, was pointedly glaring at his perfectly put-together appearance. The Holy Son almost seed to have not even gone through the sa relic as himself.
And then there was the Eyeris girl.
Like Cassian, Serena wasn't too familiar with her, although they grew up in similar circles. It was a combination of the 2-3 year age difference, and their personalities not quite shing well together—not that Serena's personality particularly 'shed' well with anyone…at least until recently.
Soreia stood off to the side. Unmoving. White eyes focused on Serena with unreadable calm.
Serena scanned the chamber again.
There were four other people here, aside from herself.
Only four.
Her heart skipped a beat.
She looked again, slower this ti. Making sure to count for good asure…
"Where is Kain?" she asked, her voice low but sharp. Like a blade of ice being drawn.
Cassian's brow twitched, but he said nothing.
Soreia also kept silent.
"WHERE. IS. HE?!" Serena yelled in a frosty boom reminiscent of a snow storm.
Soreia's voice calmly answered her. "Dead."
The word hung in the air.
"There was an accident," Soreia continued. "We were crossing platforms. There was acid below. He slipped," Soreia said evenly. "I tried to help him up, but… the platform was dissolving. I couldn't hold him."
Silence.
Long and thick.
Bai Lian collapsed gently to the ground when Serena unceremoniously dropped her, groaning faintly… but drawing no attention. Serena didn't have the emotional capacity to care about a virtual stranger right now.
All of Serena's focus was on Soreia.
"You tried," she said quietly.
"I did."
"You tried," she repeated.
"I couldn't save him," Soreia said. Her tone didn't waver.
And that was the problem.
There was no grief. No hesitation. Not even a glimr of regret.
Just precision.
Serena took one slow step forward.
To everyone else, she probably looked the sa as always—composed, aloof, cold.
But the corner of Soreia's eye twitched.
Because sothing in Serena's gaze had changed.
Her voice didn't rise. She didn't scream or cry.
But when she spoke, it was like frost settling over your body.
"If I find out you're lying," she said, "I'll make you wish you had died with him."
Soreia t her eyes. "Believe what you want."
"I will," Serena said. "I will get to the bottom of what happened in that relic."
The silence that followed was only broken by Bai Lian's shallow breathing.
Cassian, rely glanced at the conflict and then looked away. He'd been raised with many female siblings, half-siblings, and cousins. It had been completely ingrained in him that when won are fighting, he should just pretend to be blind and deaf…unless he wants to beco the new target of their fury. His older sisters and cousins had taught him well…
'Won. Always so emotional. And they say n are the irrational ones. No wonder Father picked as the heir.' Cassian thought smugly, while completely ignoring the growing tension on the other side of the room.
Seeing that the actual prince of the Celestial Empire wasn't stepping forward to resolve the intra-country conflict, the Holy Son stepped forward to hopefully resolve Serena's anger with so comforting words and a tranquil smile:
"Since only four people can pass this relic, soone was destined to die anyway."
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