Chapter 5:
The sleek metallic hallway pulsed with soft blue light as the remaining 526 candidates marched forward. They were led in silence toward the Mental Health Simulation Chambers, their steps echoing beneath them.
A sign above the threshold read:
"Phase II: The Mind's Mirror – Know Thyself or Be Undone."
A robotic attendant stood at the entrance.
"Each of you will enter a private pod. You will undergo a personalized simulation based on your deepest subconscious fears and internal conflicts. The trial is not physical. Survival depends on self-awareness, emotional control, and the ability to endure psychological strain. Failing to complete the trial will result in elimination."
The tension in the air thickened.
The group exchanged quiet glances.
A second door hissed open, revealing a row of black glass pods—coffin-shaped but large enough to hold a person standing upright.
"Are we ready?" Ariane asked softly, looking at her brother.
Don exhaled slowly. "As we'll ever be."
Each candidate stepped into a pod.
⸻
🜁 Simulation: Solla
Inside the pod, Solla was engulfed in darkness.
Suddenly, light.
He stood in the ruins of his childhood home in Asya. The smell of smoke and blood choked the air. Across from him, a younger version of himself—barefoot, dirt-covered, and trembling—stared back at him.
"You left me behind," the child said. "You promised we'd always stay together."
Solla's heart raced.
"I didn't leave you," he replied. "I survived. I had to."
The child's face twisted with hurt. "You forgot our parents. You forgot me."
Suddenly, flames roared around the house again. A ceiling beam fell between them.
Tears welled in Solla's eyes. "I remember everything. And I fight every day because of you."
He stepped through the fire, grabbed his younger self's hand, and held him.
The simulation collapsed.
A robotic voice whispered:
"Candidate #1022 – Passed. Emotional grounding: Stable."
⸻
🜁 Simulation: Van Staden
Van found himself inside a throne room. Empty. Cold. The crown sat on the throne.
In the corner, his mother, Queen Martha, stood with her back to him.
"You were born for this," she said. "You carry the blood of kings."
"I never wanted the crown," Van replied. "I wanted to be free."
"You are weak without power," she hissed, turning to reveal a hollow face made of mirror shards.
"You hide behind another name. You lie."
The mirrors floated toward him, showing his face in every direction—Van Staden the Wanderer… Prince Blake the Heir… broken into fragments.
"I'm both," he whispered.
The mirrors shattered.
"Candidate #021 – Passed. Identity cohesion: Confirmed."
⸻
🜁 Simulation: Ariane
Ariane stood in a vast wheat field. Wind rustled the golden stalks. In the distance, her mother stood with her back turned.
"Mama?" Ariane called out.
No reply.
She walked forward—but every step pushed her further away. No matter how fast she ran, she couldn't reach her.
"You abandoned us!" Ariane screamed. "Why? Was I not enough?"
The sky darkened. Rain poured. The wheat turned black.
Then, a whisper:
"You are strong because I left. You never needed me."
Ariane dropped to her knees—then rose again.
"I didn't need you to survive," she said. "But I still miss you."
The storm calmed. The field turned gold again.
"Candidate #1024 – Passed. Trauma resilience: Strong."
⸻
🜁 Simulation: Doniglao
Don stood in the center of a coliseum. All around him: centaurs, chanting and laughing.
"You're not one of us!"
"You're weak! A mutt!"
In the center arena stood a perfect centaur—golden-haired, armor-clad, radiant. Don looked down at himself. His legs were shaking. His tail was cut. He felt small, broken.
But then, Ariane's voice echoed in the silence.
"You are one of us. We are not less—we are more."
Don raised his head. His form shifted. Muscles returned. Hair turned radiant gold.
"I don't need your approval," he shouted to the crowd. "I accept myself!"
"Candidate #1023 – Passed. Internal acceptance: Achieved."
⸻
🜁 Simulation: Nate
Nate appeared in a long corridor lined with mirrors. In every reflection, he saw a servant. Carrying. Bowing. Obeying.
He screamed. "I'm more than this! I matter!"
The mirrors didn't answer.
One shattered.
He stepped inside.
Inside stood a version of himself in regal robes—powerful, confident.
"You can serve and still lead," the reflection said. "Obedience isn't weakness. Humility is not submission."
Nate reached out and embraced his reflection.
"Candidate #025– Passed. Self-worth: Recovered."
⸻
🜁 Simulation: Suthra
Suthra floated in a deep black lake.
Above her, stars shimmered.
Beneath her, faces of her fallen kin stared up from the water—silent, haunting.
"You lived while we died," the water whispered. "You smiled while we drowned."
Tears fell from her eyes, merging with the lake.
"I carry you with me," she said. "I smile not because I forget—but because I remember. And because I want others to live."
A single flower bloomed on the water's surface.
The lake turned to silver.
"Candidate #305 – Passed. Emotional maturity: Exceptional."
⸻
🜁 After the Trial…
The simulation pods opened one by one.
Candidates emerged, sweat-soaked and trembling.
Some cried. Some collapsed.
But a few stood tall.
Solla, Van Staden, Ariane, Don, Nate, and Suthra stepped out, changed—but stronger.
A screen lit up:
"Mental Health Simulation Completed. 132 Candidates Eliminated. 394 Remain."
"Next," said a voice through the hall,
"Spiritual Evaluation – Final Round Begins Tomorrow."
⸻
TO BE CONTINUED…