Chrizer's Trial: Flames of Regret
[Illustration: Chrizer kneeling before a burning battlefield, his younger self crying among ashes]
I opened my eyes—and gasped. The world around me was dead silent. No volcanic wasteland. No beasts. Just… grey stone, like an arena carved from sorrow. My armor felt heavy; my hands trembled. I reached for the key fragment in my pouch, but it had vanished. A cold whisper echoed through the air:
"Only one who masters their regret may move forward."
Loss. I closed my eyes. I smelled the smoke again.
A flash—the faces of friends I failed. I saw Mizelein, Yuna, Phiona and Yugia—hurting, dying, because I couldn't protect them. I screamed.
"Stop! That's not real!"
But images only grew more vivid. Elligus standing victorious atop a mountain of our corpses. Mazelein's lifeless eyes. My eyes burned. I sank to my knees, shaking.
And then I saw her—my own mother—her voice trembling:
"Chrizer, why did you choose this path? You abandoned us."
It stabbed deeper than any blade.
Inside my mind, a furnace broke. I fell to my back, tears burning. Rage welled up—the desire to fix every mistake, to erase my hesitation.
"I'm not that person anymore!"
I stood. My armor flared with embers. The stones trembled.
"Show yourself!" I demanded, voice echoing.
A figure draped in shadows formed. It looked like me—older, ruthless. The Regret Incarnate.
It raised a sword of obsidian flame.
We clashed. For each strike it landed, I countered with determination. I wasn't just fighting a doppelgänger—I was facing every moment I'd doubted.
One swing nearly struck my chest. I stumbled.
But then—someone's voice: "Don't stop!"
I remembered Yuna's voice, Phiona's laugh, Yugia's grin. I fought harder.
With one final roar, I shoved the Regret Incarnate back, and it dissolved.
Light swallowed the arena. A weapon glowed before me—a sword etched with phoenix wings. It hummed with power.
Resonance Achieved.
Weapon: Ignis Aeterna
Ability Unlocked: Phoenix Ascendant – grants ablative regeneration and flight in flame form.
In my hand felt weightless yet heavy. I closed my eyes, drew in a breath, and saw a path of embers leading upward. I stepped forward—and found the Third Key Fragment, glowing molten gold, ready to be claimed.
— Mizelein's Trial: Echoes of Choice
[Illustration: Mizelein in a hall of shattered mirrors, his reflection smiling coldly]
My world shifted. One moment I stood in a forest. The next, I was in a palace hall lit by dying candles. Mirrors lined the walls—seven of them. A whisper traced my ear:
"Foreshadowed by destiny… defined by choice."
The mirrors reflected different versions of myself: one crowned in gold, another mourning lost love. One wielding power with reckless intensity. All were me—yet none were me. I felt torn.
"What am I supposed to do?"
A fragment of memory flashed. Shiara—my childhood friend. I had once hidden feelings for her, but chose the path of power over personal life. Was that weakness?
The mirrors shifted again. Scenes played out: victory in war, but tears afterward. Celebration that tasted hollow.
I weighed my sword. Each memory fractured a little more. The palace hall began to rot. Dark vines curled, consuming light.
"Would you sacrifice everything for power?" a mirror whispered.
I stared at the mirrored Mizelein crowned in gold.
No. I'm stronger than that.
I dashed forward and shattered the mirror with my blade. The room tremored. One by one, each mirror shattered. Vines withered. Light returned.
My sword glowed—layers of frost and soul energy weaving around the blade.
Resonance Achieved.
Weapon: Soul Frost Lance
Ability Unlocked: Soul Spear – grants spectral piercing attack and aura that reveals illusions.
A beam of pale blue led me across the hall to the 3rd Fragment—it floated among the shattered shards, an ethereal shard of ice. I gripped it firmly.
— Yuna's Trial: Song of Illusions
[Illustration: Yuna standing in moonlight, surrounded by dancing voices]
The world spun. I stood in an open courtyard under a fractured moon. The grass whispered. Every whisper contained a memory—sweet, innocent, heartbreaking.
As a child I sang lullabies. But when duty called I had left them behind. The whispers grew darker.
"You abandoned your voice to fight."
I clutched my staff. The moonlight shifted. Suddenly, I saw my little brother crying in empty corridors. "Where are you, Yuna?" he called.
I stepped forward, voice trembling as I sang low and sweet:
"I never left."
The whisper shifted: "You lied."
The moon fractured again. A storm of illusions whirled.
I closed my eyes. Softly I sang my own melody—the one I composed, not forced upon me.
Moonlight coalesced around me. My staff glowed. I opened my eyes—my voice burned with true power. I wove moonlit arcs that shattered phantoms of doubt.
Resonance Achieved.
Weapon: Lunaria Songstaff
Ability Unlocked: Celestial Chorus – grants crowd buff and silence-protection via resonant melody.
Light converged into a pillar. At its base lay the glowing Third Key Fragment, shimmering with starlight.
— Phiona's Trial: Roots of Farewell
[Illustration: Phiona kneeling in a grove of glowing flowers, tears on her face]
I found myself in a grove—alive, vibrant—with flowers blooming at my feet. Yet every bloom felt… unnatural, forced. A memory of my first harvest played in my mind. Joy. Heartache. But this was different. Veins of black ran through each stem.
I touched one. It died in my hand.
"Perfection costs life," the grove whispered.
Pathways forked before me. One led to my parents' cottage; another to the rebellion camp; another to Elligus's downfall. But at each fork, I saw a version of myself who had abandoned something—duty, compassion, love—for power.
I gripped a fallen branch and swung it like a staff. Roots writhed. Flowers cried.
A creature formed from twisted vines—Regret's Bloom—attacked. Its petals cut like glass. I dodged, unleashed healing energy—but it only fueled the creature. It fed on blood guilt.
"No!" I roared. "I won't let you feed on me!"
I dove in, embedding the branch at its core. The creature shrieked and dissolved. Light burst, and the grove bloomed pure again—flowers silver and gold.
In the center emerged a bow carved from willow wood, string shimmering like water.
Resonance Achieved.
Weapon: Verdant Seraph Bow
Ability Unlocked: Forest's Grace – grants homing nature arrows and self-healing foliage shield.
Amidst petals, the Third Key Fragment glowed emerald. I lifted it.
— Yugia's Trial: Tempest of Truth
[Illustration: Yugia standing in a storm-swept cliff, lightning tearing through his armor]
Thunder boomed. I stood atop a rocky precipice, waves crashing below. A storm brewed—faces emerging from the wind. One was my mentor. Another was a child I saved and left behind. Another was the me who once took life without thought.
I clenched my fists. My gauntlets glowed with mana—but each time I struck lightning, the storm only grew stronger.
"You are anger incarnate. Reckless."
Lightning struck at my feet. The ground shook. I yelled:
"Not anymore!"
I centered myself. Calmly. My heart pounded, but I found rhythm in the storm.
I reached out—my hands glowed—and called to the sky in silence.
No blast. No crack.
And then—
"You are the calm in chaos."
I shattered the storm—not with power, but with acceptance.
Lightning receded. From above, a glaive descended—etched with storm motifs.
Resonance Achieved.
Weapon: Stormbreaker Glaive
Ability Unlocked: Aetherfield Nova – grants charged lance of lightning and area electrification aura.
The Third Key Fragment dropped in my path, humming with raw electricity. I took hold.
— Chapter Closing: Convergence of Light
[Illustration: All five characters standing around a glowing trio of key fragments]
We stood in a dark nexus—echoes of our battles fading like grounding electricity. Each of us held a key fragment pulsing with individual glow. Flames. Ice. Star‑light. Forest green. Lightning blue.
Together, the lights merged. A portal shimmered before us—a new gateway, humming with power.
I glanced at each face. We changed. Traumatized, yes—but purified through trial.
"We're ready," I said softly.
No words more needed.
Our weapons glowed. Resonance complete.
The portal opened.
Ahead lay the next realm—uncharted, unknown, and promising the final battle for the Weapon of Fusion ( Eclipserion)
Chapter - Ended
Next Chapter - Soon