They came for her before dawn.
Three cloaked mages with glowing sigils led Aria from her dorm in silence, their footsteps echoing across the stone halls like whispers of fate. When she asked where they were taking her, one answered:
> "To the arena. The Trials begin today."
The Eclipse Trials—ancient, brutal, and binding. Once used to test the strength of bonded pairs when war loomed on the horizon. Now, it was a tradition twisted into something darker: a show of power, bloodlines, and prophecy.
---
The Arena of Cinders
The arena was massive—built from obsidian, carved runes glowing along the walls, its sky enchanted to mirror a starless night.
Aria stood in the center, wind biting at her skin.
Beside her, Kael appeared through a portal of black fire, his expression unreadable, his aura... thrumming.
Their bond pulsed between them like a living thread.
"Are you ready?" he asked.
"No," she said, voice shaking. "But I'll fight anyway."
> A horn sounded. The trials had begun.
---
Trial One: Illusions of the Self
The floor cracked open beneath them, and they fell—only to land in a silent field of mirrors.
Each one showed a version of themselves.
One mirror showed Aria bathed in light, wings of gold behind her.
Another showed her with hollow eyes and fire dripping from her hands.
> "These are not just reflections," Kael said grimly. "They're truths we fear."
Aria's heart pounded. The mirrors shimmered... and from their glass, figures stepped out.
> Kael vs. Kael. Aria vs. Aria.
Aria's mirror-self grinned. "You think you're strong enough to carry this bond? You're just a girl pretending to be chosen."
Aria's hands trembled. "I don't have to be chosen," she whispered.
> "I chose myself."
She lunged—light bursting from her fingertips, smashing her mirror-self into a spray of glass and starlight.
Beside her, Kael roared, black flame meeting his own void-shadow.
Their enemies vanished.
The field cleared.
And the mark on Aria's wrist blazed silver and red.
> A combination never seen before.
---
Council Chamber – Moments Later
In the upper balconies, the High Magisterians of Aetherfall whispered furiously.
> "The bond is evolving too fast." "They skipped two stages of awakening!" "This is dangerous."
But Serel only smiled from her seat in the shadows.
> "Let them awaken," she murmured. "Let them break everything."
---
Later That Night
Aria sat in the gardens, still shaking from the trial.
Kael found her again, just like he always did.
He sat beside her, silent for a long time.
Then said, "When I fought my mirror-self… I saw what I'd become without you."
She looked at him.
"What did you see?"
His voice cracked.
> "A monster."
She reached for his hand.
> "Then I guess we'll save each other."
The bond between them sparked again, this time not in fear or chaos—but in something deeper. Raw. Magnetic.
Their fingers intertwined.
And from the shadows of the garden, someone watched.
A figure cloaked in moonlight, holding a blade that shimmered with the crest of the Eclipsed Realm.
---