The moment Kael crossed the threshold into the Chamber of Remembrance, reality bent.
He staggered as the silver light enveloped him, weightless yet crushing. The air hummed like a living thing, vibrating against his skin and pulsing inside his ears. Around him, walls dissolved into infinite white void, as if they had stepped into the marrow of existence itself.
His hand gripped tighter around Eira's—her skin ice-cold now, her breath shallow. Vireya and Arion followed just behind, equally disoriented. The Ruinweaver stood at the doorway, refusing to cross. His voice drifted toward them like a distant bell.
> "Once you enter fully, your minds will be stripped bare. This place does not lie—it only reveals."
Then the door behind them sealed with a hiss of finality. The light thickened.
Kael's instincts screamed.
---
The Trial Begins
Suddenly, the whiteness shifted. Tendrils of mist coiled upward, forming half-shapes—figures with blurred faces, fractured echoes of memory and soul.
> "Azherah…" the voice came again. Feminine. Familiar. Sad.
"Do you remember what you are?"
Eira's eyes darted wildly. She clutched her head, gasping.
"No—I don't—I… I can't—"
Kael stepped in front of her, shielding her from the swirling forms. "Stay with me. Focus on my voice."
But his words sounded distant even to himself.
---
Visions of the Forgotten
The light sharpened into images now. Clearer. Sharper.
Kael saw them—not illusions, but histories.
Cities aflame.
Skies torn apart.
Creatures descending like shadows from rifts in the heavens.
The world before the world they knew.
And at the center of it all—her.
Azherah. But not Eira.
Towering, regal, her long white hair flowing like silk under blackened skies. Her eyes were pure silver. Wings of jagged energy flared behind her as she stood atop a mountain of ruins, hand outstretched.
Around her knelt thousands of creatures—mutants, beasts, and aberrations—all chanting in unison.
> "We serve the Mouth That Consumes."
"We serve the Devourer."
"We serve Azherah, Voice of His Will."
Kael's breath caught.
"No…" Eira whispered beside him, her voice shaking. "That's not me… that's not me!"
The images shifted again.
A war council.
Ancient rulers kneeling before a throne of black crystal.
And sitting upon it—the Devourer.
His form was formless—impossible to perceive fully—but tendrils of shadow caressed Azherah like a favored pet. His voice was not heard, but felt.
> "You are mine. You are my voice, my hand, my hunger."
Azherah—Eira—bowed before Him.
> "Yes, my Master."
---
Kael's Inner Fracture
Kael's knees nearly buckled.
The girl he swore to protect—the girl he was beginning to feel something far more dangerous for—had once been this.
A herald of extinction.
An agent of annihilation.
> But she isn't now, he told himself desperately.
That isn't who she chose to be.
Yet the seed of doubt dug deep.
Would she remain Eira… or return to Azherah?
---
The Voices Close In
Vireya gritted her teeth, her dagger clenched so tightly her knuckles whitened. "Kael… we're not supposed to see this. This place—it's not just showing memories—it's breaking us."
Arion, pale and sweating, muttered through gritted teeth. "The Chamber adapts. It knows your doubts. It feeds on them."
The swirling mists thickened again, now whispering directly into Kael's ear:
> "You cannot save her."
"She belongs to the Hunger."
"Even your blood sings to Him."
Kael recoiled. "No. Get out of my head."
But they didn't stop.
> "Why else do you hear the whispers, Kael?"
"Why does your strength grow unnatural?"
"You are not untouched."
His chest tightened. The strange power he'd been feeling since the Wastes. The bursts of inhuman strength. The whispers in the dead of night.
Had it always been connected? To Him?
---
Eira's Collapse
Suddenly, Eira screamed and fell to her knees.
Her body arched unnaturally as glyphs—similar to those that pulsed in the Vault—flared across her skin like glowing scars.
Her voice was not her own now.
> "I am Azherah."
"I return to my Master."
Kael dove toward her, grabbing her shoulders. "NO! You're not His! You're stronger than this, Eira!"
Her eyes snapped open—pure silver.
Tears streamed down her face.
> "I—I don't want to go back…"
Her entire body convulsed, hovering slightly above the ground as though the Chamber itself sought to tear her apart and rebuild her into what she once was.
---
Kael's Choice
Kael's heart pounded.
He could feel the pull himself now—a dark presence whispering promises into his mind.
> Power.
Purpose.
Unity with her.
A place at the Devourer's side.
If he let go… he could join her.
They could rule together.
But—
He clenched his fists, forcing his own rising power to heel.
"No."
He leaned forward, pressing his forehead against hers.
"You're not alone. Fight it, Eira."
Her breathing slowed.
Her hands trembled—then grabbed his wrists tightly.
> "Kael… help me..."
---
The Hidden Guardian Awakes
Suddenly, the ground beneath them rumbled.
Arion shouted, "Something's activating beneath the Chamber!"
From the depths, a massive glyphic seal ignited—an ancient containment array that none of them recognized.
The Ruinweaver's voice echoed from behind the door as it barely cracked open:
> "You have awakened the Guardian."
"Pray that it recognizes your intent."
As the light pulsed brighter, a shadowy form began to rise beneath their feet—massive, towering, its form indistinct but radiating impossible power.
Its hollow voice boomed, ancient and cold:
> "WHO DARES AWAKEN THE SLEEPING JUDGEMENT?"
"WHO CLAIMS RIGHT TO DEFY THE DEVOURER?"
The Chamber of Remembrance had turned into something far more dangerous than any of them had expected.
And their trial had only just begun.