The world around cracked like pieces of glass.
Darkness swallowed my vision, the weight of the trial lifting, only to be replaced by a sudden, terrifying drop.
My body plumted through an endless void, the remnants of fire flickering around before vanishing into the abyss.
Wind howled past my ears, but there was no sky, no ground—only the sensation of falling.
I tried to move, to reach out, but my limbs felt heavy, unresponsive.
My breath ca in rough intervals and my heart pounded like a war drum in the chest.
Was this part of the trial?
Had I truly passed?
Or was I still being tested?
The warmth of the mark on my wrist pulsed faintly, the only indication that what had happened was real.
That I had endured the flas.
That I had survived.
Yet, I had no ti to think.
The fall ended abruptly.
A thud rattled my bones as I landed hard on solid ground. Pain shot through my legs, but I bit down a cry, pushing myself up onto shaking arms.
The air was cool now, free of the suffocating heat from before.
I blinked.
Stone.
I was lying on smooth, polished stone, the surface cold beneath my palms.
The space around was dimly lit, golden torches flickering against towering walls.
A vast, open hall stretched ahead, lined with thick marble columns.
I knew this place.
I had seen it before—years ago, in paintings and old texts.
The Temple of Suryi.
I swallowed, my throat still raw from the flas.
The masked figure was gone.
The chained girl was gone.
I was alone.
Forcing myself to stand, I steadied my already wobbling legs.
My every muscle pained from the stretch, but I was alive.
That was all that mattered.
Before I could take a step, a deep, echoing voice rang through the hall.
"You have walked the path of judgnt. Now, you must walk the path of truth."
The words vibrated through the stone, through my very bones. I turned sharply, feeling soone's presence.
At the end of the hall, a figure sat upon a massive throne.
She was draped in flowing red and gold robes, her posture regal yet relaxed. Long, crimson hair cascaded down her back, her expression unreadable. The air around her shimred with heat, the faint embers of a dying fire.
Suryi.
The Goddess of Flas.
I had seen statues of her before, heard the stories passed down through generations. But now, standing before her in the flesh, I felt sothing I hadn't expected.
She didn't radiate overwhelming divinity.
She felt… human.
"Took you long enough," she mused, her golden eyes piercing into .
I stiffened. "Where am I?"
Suryi leaned forward, resting her chin on her knuckles. "You're still within the trial, girl. Or rather, the part of it that truly matters."
My stomach twisted. "I thought I had already passed."
Her lips curled into sothing between amusent and pity. "You endured the flas. You accepted suffering. That was only the first step."
I clenched my fists. "Then what is this?"
She motioned around her. "This is where I ask you the only question that matters."
Silence stretched between us.
Suryi's gaze bore into mine, unblinking, unyielding.
"Now that you have endured, tell —what is justice?"
The words struck harder than any fla.
I froze.
What was justice?
For so long, justice had been an abstract concept to .
A word people used to justify revenge, to justify cruelty.
Was it about punishing the guilty?
Protecting the innocent?
I thought back to the child in chains.
To the golden-eyed girl who had tested .
To the masked figure who had warned .
Had I done the right thing?
Had I truly saved her?
I opened my mouth, then closed it.
I didn't know.
Suryi tilted her head. "You hesitate."
I exhaled sharply. "Because… I don't have an answer."
Her eyes narrowed. "Then why did you act?"
I swallowed. "Because I had to."
Suryi leaned back. "You had to?"
I hesitated again.
Why had I?
Because the child had begged to? Because the sight of her chained and broken had been unbearable?
Or because…
Because I had seen myself in her.
I clenched my fists. "Because I couldn't stand there and do nothing."
Suryi studied for a long mont. Then she sighed, shaking her head. "You humans are always the sa."
I tensed. "What do you an?"
She waved a hand lazily. "You mistake emotion for justice. You think that by acting on your feelings, you're doing the right thing."
I gritted my teeth. "And you think justice ans turning your back on suffering?"
Her gaze sharpened.
A pause.
Then, she chuckled. "Good."
I blinked.
What?
Suryi stood from her throne, descending the steps toward . With every step, the air around her shifted, the embers growing brighter.
"Justice isn't about being right," she murmured. "It isn't about being kind, either. It's about making a choice and living with it."
She stopped in front of , golden eyes locking onto mine.
"You freed that child. You accepted the consequences. That is enough."
Relief washed over , but before I could speak, Suryi reached out.
Her hand pressed against my forehead.
Heat surged through —different from the flas before. This was not pain.
This was knowledge.
mories that weren't mine flashed before my eyes.
A battlefield drenched in fire.
A goddess standing alone, sword in hand.
A broken world, shattered by a single mistake.
Suryi's past.
Her failure.
Her guilt.
Her endless, burning regret.
I gasped, stumbling back.
Suryi withdrew her hand, watching carefully. "Now, you understand."
I clutched my chest, my heart pounding. "You... you regret what you did."
Her expression didn't change. "I did what I had to do."
The words echoed my own.
I took a shaky breath. "And now...?"
She turned, walking back to her throne. "Now, you wake up."
The temple began to fade, the stone crumbling into golden dust.
I felt myself being pulled away, the weight of my body growing lighter.
Suryi's voice echoed in the distance.
"You carry my mark now, Sylvie. Do not waste it."
And then—
I opened my eyes.
***
Reviews
All reviews (0)