They stood at the threshold.
The Shattered Crucible rose before them like a broken monument to forgotten gods—spires twisted skyward, half-melted runes crawling along the stone like old scars. Thunder echoed from within, but the skies above were clear.
> "It looks like the inside of Kaien's mind," Raik muttered.
> "Less chaotic," Igris replied dryly.
Kaien grinned. "Flattered."
Adexander stepped forward. The ground recognized him.
The runes beneath his boots ignited crimson.
> [System Warning: Trial of Origin – Entry Detected.]
> [Participant: Crimson King – Status: Incomplete.]
> [Trial Tier: S]
> [Warning: Survival Probability – 16%. Proceed?]
> "Yes."
The gates unlatched with a sound like a god inhaling.
They entered.
---
The Crucible – Interior
The air shifted instantly. Heat. Gravity. Pressure.
Time itself bent wrong.
They moved through mirrored corridors that reflected not just their forms—but versions of themselves. In one, Adexander saw a version of himself bleeding, kneeling before unseen enemies. In another, he saw himself crowned, alone atop a mountain of corpses.
> "This place plays with memory," Velessia whispered. "And possibility."
> "Then it'll die trying," Adexander muttered.
They advanced deeper.
The floor cracked.
And the Trial began.
---
Crucible Trial 1: Echo of Failure
The room was a battlefield—an exact replica of Adexander's final stand from his past life. Dozens of phantom warriors surrounded them, each bearing the mark of the traitors who had once served under him.
Kaien whistled. "That's… morbid."
> "They're not real," Igris said.
> "They're real enough to kill you," Adexander replied.
> [System Notice: Trial Condition – Relive the Fall.]
> [Survive for 7 Minutes. No resurrection.]
The enemies charged.
And Adexander unleashed hell.
Crimson waves tore through phantom lines. Kaien moved like a blur of knives and mischief. Igris tanked three ghost-knights at once, blades clashing in bursts of sparks. Raik hurled shock-charges laced with fire sigils. Velessia's light burned like judgment.
But they kept coming.
Adexander fought through it all—face-to-face with the image of the man who had dealt the final blow in his past life: his old general.
> "Still afraid of me?" the phantom mocked.
> "No," Adexander said, stabbing him through the heart. "I'm not the same man you killed."
The moment the last echo fell, the arena dissolved into ash.
---
Aftermath
They stood panting in silence.
The walls reformed.
> [Trial One – Complete.]
> [Bloodforge Progression: 8% → 14%.]
> [New Passive Unlocked: Crimson Anchor – Resistance to illusion-based effects increased by 50%.]
Adexander felt it—his grip on this new life tightening.
He glanced at the next door. It pulsed faintly with darker light.
> "Rest if you need to," he said.
> "No," Velessia replied. "We follow."
Kaien tossed Raik a health potion.
> "Onward, then," Raik grunted. "Before this place shows us our high school years."
The group advanced—into the second trial, where the Crucible would no longer test Adexander's past… but tempt his future.