The winds above the Skyhall faded into a soft murmur, the aftermath of divine judgment still lingering like ash in the air. Rizz walked down from the bridge of Seraph's Echo, barefoot, his hands shaking despite the calm look on his face. The mark on his palm had disappeared into his skin—but the weight of its meaning had not.
Safa was the first to reach him. She didn't say anything, only wrapped her arms around the boy tightly, her wings fluttering gently behind her. Her embrace was firm and steady, a shield against the storm he now carried inside.
Raze and Elena followed, their faces unreadable. Raze placed a hand on his son's shoulder.
> "You've changed," he said quietly.
> "I didn't ask for this," Rizz replied. "But… I won't run from it either."
Elena knelt in front of him, cupping his face. "You shouldn't have to choose between souls at your age. But fate doesn't ask permission, does it?"
Rizz shook his head. "No, it doesn't."
Safa stepped back and nodded toward the circular gate hovering in the center of the temple courtyard.
> "Your next trial awaits, little one. The Echo Gate will take you to the Temple of Dual Accord. There, the Guardians of Harmony and Discord wait. If you pass their trial, you'll gain the Sight of Balance—an ability to perceive the true resonance of other souls."
> "And if I fail?" Rizz asked.
> "Then the Mandate will consume your spirit," she said. "And someone else will be chosen."
> "Then I won't fail."
There was no arrogance in his voice. Just a quiet resolve.
Rizz stepped toward the floating ring of mirrored light. It shimmered as he approached, revealing a swirling portal of blue and black—opposites in dance, forever pulling and repelling.
He took one last look at his family, then stepped through.
---
The world on the other side was... silent.
No sky. No earth. Just a floating path of obsidian and ivory tiles stretching forward into a realm of stars. Rizz took a cautious step, and the tiles glowed under his feet—one white, one black, alternating in perfect symmetry.
Far ahead, two massive doors waited. One was shaped from silver crystal, smooth and glowing with calm energy. The other looked forged from molten obsidian, cracked and pulsing with heat.
As Rizz walked, a voice echoed from the stars.
> "To judge others, you must first face your own light."
Another voice followed, colder, sharp as shattered glass.
> "And your own darkness."
Suddenly, the two doors burst open—and from each emerged a version of himself.
From the silver door stepped a radiant Rizz, cloaked in white fire, his wings full and halo blazing. His smile was peaceful. Serene.
From the dark door strode a shadowed version of him, with blackened flames dancing in his hands, his horns curled higher, his eyes burning crimson.
Rizz froze.
> "You must defeat both," the voices said in unison. "Not with strength. But with truth."
The two mirrored Rizzes circled him slowly, their eyes boring into his soul.
> "You want to protect people," the light Rizz said. "But do you even know what protection means? Mercy can become weakness."
> "You crave power," the dark Rizz hissed. "But you're afraid to claim it. You mask fear with kindness. Why pretend?"
Rizz clenched his fists. "You're both me… and neither of you are me."
He closed his eyes and breathed. The Soul Seal within his chest pulsed.
Memories surged—his mother's lullabies, his father's teachings, Safa's fierce love, the faces of people he wanted to protect. Then came the darker ones—his doubts, his fear of hurting others, the fire he almost lost control of, the chaos that nearly consumed him.
> "I don't reject you," he said, facing both his halves. "But I'm more than either of you."
Light Rizz smiled faintly. Shadow Rizz scowled.
> "You seek balance," the light said.
> "You dare to unify us," the shadow growled.
Rizz extended his hands. "Not to unify. To transcend."
He touched both versions of himself.
And they shattered—into a blinding swirl of silver and black. The wind howled. The path crumbled. And from the storm of soul and truth, wings burst from Rizz's back—one feathered in brilliant gold, the other woven from shimmering darkness.
A third voice—deep, ancient—rumbled through the collapsing world.
> "You have passed the Trial of the Mirror Soul."
> "You now carry the Sight of Balance."
The storm cleared.
Rizz stood alone in a white chamber, the final chamber of the Temple. A mirror rose before him—one that reflected not his face, but the souls of others.
And within it, he saw two lights blinking across the realm.
One was silver—a soul twisted in time.
The other was celestial—a soul tethered to fate.
Isaac. Aethra.
And with that, Rizz's mission began.
---