The ruins behind them had faded into the distance, but the weight of what they had learned still pressed against them like a storm cloud refusing to break. It was the kind of silence that wrapped around the chest, squeezing tighter with each step forward.
Aria could feel the tension humming in the air, a string pulled taut, ready to snap. Every step they took toward the Second Gate felt heavier, like they were walking through unseen chains dragging at their limbs. No one spoke. Even Finn, who always found a way to lighten the mood, had kept his usual quips to himself.
Now, the Second Gate loomed before them.
It wasn't like the first.
The first gate had been a test of skill—puzzles, traps, fire. They had worked together, relying on their instincts and knowledge to pass through. But this? This was different.
The gate itself pulsed with energy, dark and ancient. Veins of silver ran through its obsidian archway, shimmering like trapped starlight. It was eerily silent, as if the world around them held its breath, waiting. The air here was thick, oppressive.
Wrong.
Aria stepped forward, and instantly, the temperature dropped. Cold wrapped around her like a vice, biting into her skin. It wasn't the kind of cold that came from mere weather—it was deeper than that, something unnatural. A stillness that felt sentient.
Her heart pounded as she looked back at the others. Kael was gripping his sword so tightly his knuckles had gone white. Lyric's usual sharp eyes flickered with unease. Finn exhaled slowly, and for the first time since she had met him, he looked genuinely afraid.
"I don't like this," Lyric murmured, breaking the silence.
"None of us do," Quinn said. His voice was unreadable, but his eyes were locked on the gate as if he knew exactly what awaited them.
Aria swallowed hard. Her fingers curled into fists at her sides.
"We have to go through."
The second she stepped inside, the world shifted.
---
The moment Aria crossed the threshold, everything changed.
The air turned thick, suffocating, pressing against her chest like invisible hands. The ruins, the mountains, her friends—gone.
She was alone.
"Kael? Finn? Lyric? Quinn?" Her voice rang out, but the only answer was silence.
Then, the whispers came.
"You will never be enough."
"You should have died instead of her."
"Your mother died for nothing."
The words slithered around her like vines, curling into her mind, sinking into her bones. They weren't just words. They were truths she had buried deep within herself, wounds never given time to heal.
She clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms, trying to push them away. "This isn't real."
But then—
A flicker of movement in the darkness.
A figure emerged.
Aria's breath caught.
Her mother.
Or at least… something that looked like her.
Celeste Evercrest stood before her, bathed in dim, pale light. Her long silver hair cascaded over her shoulders, her robes flowing like mist. She was just as Aria remembered from old portraits, from the fragmented memories that came to her in dreams.
But her eyes—her warm, kind eyes—were empty voids.
Her lips twisted in something that looked like sorrow. Like pity.
Aria took a step back. "You're not real."
The shadow tilted its head. "Aren't I?"
The voice was her mother's. Gentle. Familiar. But layered with something else. Something hollow.
Aria's throat tightened. "My mother wouldn't—"
"You don't know what she would do."
The words hit her like a knife to the chest.
"You barely remember me, do you?" the shadow whispered, stepping closer. "Only the stories. Only the pieces your father gave you. But did you ever wonder why I left you behind?"
"No," Aria rasped, but her heartbeat thundered in her ears.
The shadow smiled, but it was not kind. "You are afraid."
"No."
"You are weak."
Aria clenched her teeth, her entire body shaking. "No."
"You are nothing."
The darkness surged forward.
And for a moment—just a moment—Aria felt herself slipping.
Then, through the void—
A voice.
"ARIA!"
Kael's voice.
It sliced through the darkness like a blade, sharp and unwavering.
She gasped, a rush of air filling her lungs.
Something inside her cracked open—not fear, not doubt, but something stronger.
Rage.
"You're not my mother," she whispered.
The shadow flickered.
"You're just my fear."
The illusion shattered.
Aria gasped as the weight lifted, as the darkness peeled away like smoke. And suddenly—
She was back.
---
She wasn't the only one who had been tested.
Finn was on his knees, breathing heavily, his face pale.
Kael was rigid, his hands clenched into fists, his eyes dark with something haunted.
Lyric wiped at her face, her expression carefully blank. But Aria knew—whatever she had seen had hurt her.
And Quinn—
Quinn stood apart, quiet and still, his expression unreadable.
Aria's chest tightened.
"What did you see?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Finn let out a shaky breath. "Something I thought I buried a long time ago."
Kael didn't answer.
Lyric's jaw clenched. "Nothing that matters."
But it did. It mattered.
Aria turned to Kael. His eyes met hers, and in them, she saw something raw.
Pain.
Guilt.
A silent war fought behind his gaze.
"You saw us, didn't you?" she asked softly. "Dead."
Kael flinched, as if she had struck him.
The silence was answer enough.
Aria swallowed.
This place had broken all of them.
But they were still standing.
---
The Second Gate had tested them, torn them apart, forced them to face the things they feared the most.
But they had survived.
Even Finn, despite everything, managed a weak grin. "Well, that was absolute garbage. I'm never doing that again."
Lyric huffed a quiet laugh. "Agreed."
Kael didn't speak, but when Aria reached for his hand, he didn't pull away.
Quinn finally broke the silence. "We need to keep moving."
Aria nodded. She turned back to the gate, now silent, now empty.
This trial had nearly broken her.
Had nearly convinced her that she wasn't strong enough.
But she was.
And no illusion, no fear, no shadow of her past could change that.
She glanced at her friends, at the people who had walked through their own nightmares and were still standing beside her.
"We're not stopping now," she said firmly.
Kael's grip on his sword tightened. "No. We're not."
Finn exhaled. "Onward to more near-death experiences, then."
Aria took a deep breath, steeling herself for whatever came next.
They had walked through the darkness.
Now it was time to find the light.
And no force in the world was going to stop them.
---
Unseen, unnoticed, Dorian Veyl stood at the edge of the ruins, watching.
He had observed everything—their struggles, their pain, their triumphs.
His gaze lingered on Aria. The way she had stood her ground. The way she had shattered the illusion.
The way she had defied the fear meant to break her.
A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
"Maybe she might be ready after all."
Then, with a swirl of darkness, he was gone.