Ayden closed his eyes.
"I'll take the Trial," he said.
The moment the words left his lips, the earth vanished beneath his feet.
No wind. No sound. No sky. Just silence and stars.
Then—light exploded.
He was pulled through it like a thread through a needle, hurled across time, space, and memory—
> Into his first death.
Echo One – The Burning Tower
Ayden stood at the top of a burning tower, smoke choking his lungs. He was fifteen, clutching a violin in his hands.
Below him—war. Fire. Screams.
And then, a falling star: Kael. Clad in flame and wings.
She screamed his name and wrapped him in her arms as the tower collapsed.
He remembered the warmth. The way her tears fell silently as they vanished into light.
Then everything blinked black.
---
Echo Two – The Drowning River
Now he was older. A college student. Standing on a bridge in the pouring rain, sobbing, ready to jump.
Kael appeared beside him—not winged, not shining. Just a girl. A classmate. A stranger who had memorized his schedule and saved him every time.
He remembered the way she whispered, "You're not alone," before she pulled him back.
> That time, she didn't fall from the sky.
She simply waited. Until he chose to live.
Another blink of light.
-
Echo Three – The Battlefield
He was a soldier now.
Blood on his hands. His unit wiped out. A sniper's bullet aimed at his chest.
But she came. Again.
Kael—this time as a medic. A nurse who wasn't even assigned to his unit.
She took the shot.
Died in his place.
And he lived again.
-
The Final Echo – The First Death
And then—
Ayden stood as a child.
Five years old.
He ran into the street chasing a red balloon.
A car. Headlights. Screams.
And Kael—
A celestial being, unseen by mortals, floating above.
"Do not interfere," the Stars had warned.
But she did.
She pulled his soul back.
> That was the moment everything began to unravel.
The Heart of the Trial
Ayden dropped to his knees.
Tears streamed down his face. "How many times have I died?"
Kael's voice echoed all around him.
> "Every time I couldn't bear losing you."
The stars reformed, gathering like a council of judges.
Aetheron's voice thundered:
> "You have seen the truth. Now choose.
Will you save Kaelith?
Will you save Elira?
Or will you surrender your soul… to restore balance?"
Ayden Stands
He rose slowly.
His chest glowed with both the sigil of Kael… and the spark of Elira's soul.
"I choose…" he began, eyes blazing, voice clear—
> "Neither. I choose to rewrite the rules."
Aetheron stilled.
Ayden raised both hands—and the sigil burst, no longer gold or silver but a new color entirely: starlight blue.
The color of rebirth.