A low hum filled the air.
The others stood in silence as the chamber adjusted. The emerald glow from Frank's obelisk dimmed, and almost immediately, another began to pulse—this one with a deep, glistening blue light. It shimmered like a calm ocean beneath moonlight but vibrated with hidden force, as though something sharp and ancient stirred inside it.
Susan knew it was for her.
Her chest tightened. The air grew cooler around her, denser. Her breath came out visibly. She didn't speak—she didn't need to. Everyone knew whose trial had begun.
"You okay?" Lucy asked softly.
Susan gave a small nod. "I think… this has been waiting for me a long time."
The sigil beneath her feet lit up in intricate, geometric patterns—diamonds, fractals, intersecting lines. She inhaled deeply and took a step forward. As her boot touched the glowing ring, the chamber fell away.
No fire. No light. Just silence.
Darkness wrapped around her, not hostile, but isolating. There was no wind, no floor, no ceiling. She floated in a space that felt endless, yet suffocating.
Then, a voice.
"You try to be perfect. Calm. Reliable. But perfection is a prison."
Susan spun around. "Who are you?"
The space before her rippled. A figure stepped forward—her exact mirror. Same face. Same build. Same eyes. But her reflection was dressed in glittering armor, covered in jagged, glass-like shards. Her smile was cruel, bitter.
"I'm you," it said. "The part you bury."
Susan tensed. "This again. A reflection trial."
"No," the reflection said, stepping closer. "I'm not your reflection. I'm your truth."
Without warning, the diamond-armored Susan lunged.
Susan barely raised her arms in time. A sharp elbow struck her ribs, and she was thrown backward into the void. Pain exploded across her side. She landed hard—though there was no floor. Just a sense of impact, of weight.
"You always try to fix everything," the voice said again. "You carry everyone's burdens. But who carries yours?"
"I don't need anyone to," Susan gasped, pushing herself up.
"Liar," the voice snapped.
Another slash came—this time from behind. A blade of pure crystal sliced across her shoulder, leaving a glowing mark. She spun, grabbing the arm of her attacker, and flung her backward. But the second version of her twisted mid-air, landed lightly, and grinned.
"I know what's really inside you. Anger. Pressure. Fear that one day… you'll crack."
"I'm not weak," Susan shouted.
"No. You're brittle."
Susan screamed, surging forward, fists clenched. She punched, kicked, blocked. The two Susans fought in a flurry of motion, light and shadow colliding. But for every blow she landed, the other version adapted.
"You're fighting yourself," the voice mocked. "And you'll lose."
Susan stumbled again, falling to her knees. Her armor was cracked. Her breath ragged. The other Susan stood over her, raising a gleaming sword made of diamond light.
"Admit it," she said. "You're not enough."
"No," Susan whispered. "I'm not perfect. I never was. But that doesn't mean I'm not strong."
Her hand closed over her own heart.
"I carry their burdens because I care. I hold myself together because someone has to. And even if I'm not enough on my own, I'll keep standing anyway."
The mirror-Susan hesitated.
Susan stood. "I'm done hiding behind control. Behind silence. Behind fear of breaking. If I'm going to shatter—then I'll do it on my terms."
The reflection faltered, then slowly smiled.
Finally, the voice spoke again—this time not in anger, but in calm reverence.
"Then you are ready."
The duplicate faded into motes of light, and a massive symbol burned itself into the void above Susan—shaped like a perfect crystal. Lines of radiant blue light shot down into her body.
She felt it in her chest first—an overwhelming sense of balance. Of clarity.
A name entered her mind, not whispered, but etched.
"Velastra."
Diamond formed across her arms like armor. A symbol appeared on her left hand—a four-pointed star fused with a diamond ring.
She breathed in.
And the void shattered.
---
Back in the chamber, the others shielded their eyes as a pillar of shimmering blue light erupted around Susan's platform. Crystalline shards floated upward like ash. The temperature dropped. Then, with a ringing tone like a chime of glass, the light vanished.
Susan stood tall, her hair lifted slightly by a wind that no one else could feel. Her arms glowed faintly beneath her sleeves.
Tom blinked. "That… was intense."
Lucy smiled. "You're glowing."
Susan looked down at her hands. "I met her. The Diamond Demon."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Friendly?"
Susan's voice was calm, but unshakable. "She wasn't there to be friendly. She was there to remind me I'm more than what I pretend to be."
Frank stepped closer. "What's her name?"
"Velastra," Susan said. "She's not like fire or wind. She's still. Silent. But unbreakable."
The blue obelisk dimmed. A new one, dull grey, began to flicker faintly. Another trial was near.
But for now, they gave Susan space. She had changed—like Tom and Frank—but in a way that radiated from within. Calm, steady, and stronger than steel.
Somewhere deep below the chamber, in the cracks of forgotten ruins, something stirred.
The demons were awakening.
But so were their chosen.