The shadows had tested him, had sought to break him with the weight of his past, but he had emerged stronger, his resolve forged anew in the crucible of memory and truth.
Two phases remained—Dao and control—each a mystery, each a challenge that would demand more than steel or strength. Kael's lips curved into a faint, defiant smile. Let the Gatekeeper bring its worst. Let the pagoda test his soul. He was ready not just to survive but to transcend.
The Gatekeeper raised its arms, the runes on its armor flaring brighter, the void around them pulsing with anticipation. Kael steadied his stance, Abyssal Fang gleaming in his grip, its edge a reflection of his unbowed spirit.
The trial was far from over, and he would face it as he always had—with defiance, with resolve, with the heart of a cultivator who refused to break.
