Valeria's POV
I woke with a gasp, the weight of the ocean still heavy in my chest, the salt of the water lingering in my throat. My body ached as though I had been crushed under the weight of a thousand waves, but I was alive. I was still here.
The world around me was quiet, too quiet. My eyes slowly adjusted, and I found myself lying on cold stone. The familiar scent of salt air had been replaced by something darker—stale, suffocating, like a tomb.
I sat up, my limbs shaking, and looked around. I was no longer on the cliff or by the ocean. Instead, I was in a vast, endless void. Shadows hung like thick curtains, swirling in unnatural patterns, their edges constantly shifting. There was no horizon, no direction, just the overwhelming sense of being trapped in some place between time and space.
I tried to stand, but the weight of my own power was like chains on my body. It was as though the very essence of the Trial had seized me, forcing me to confront something far worse than the physical torment of the ocean's depths.
The Trial had always been more than I could prepare for. It wasn't just about my power, or the curse. It was about me—the parts of myself that I had hidden from the world, from Adrian, even from myself. The Trial knew what I feared most, what I had buried beneath layers of time and deception.
A voice broke the silence, a soft whisper that seemed to come from all directions at once.
"Valeria…"
I froze. The voice was unmistakable—my voice, but distorted, hollow.
"Valeria," it called again, the sound dripping with sorrow and anger.
I looked around, but there was no one there. Nothing but the darkness.
"You cannot escape, Celestial," the voice continued, growing louder, more insistent. "You cannot hide from yourself. Face what you have denied, or be consumed by it."
The shadows seemed to pull closer, wrapping around me like tendrils, constricting, suffocating. I tried to push them away, but my power was out of reach. It was as though the Trial itself had sealed me off from my own abilities.
"No," I whispered, the words barely escaping my lips. "I'm not ready."
The voice laughed—cold, merciless. "You have never been ready. You have never faced the truth."
A sudden vision flashed before my eyes—a memory, or something more?
I was standing in a room I recognized, my hands trembling as I held a dagger. In front of me was a man, bound and broken. His eyes met mine, and for a moment, I saw my own reflection in them—haunted, regretful, and utterly lost.
I looked down at the dagger in my hand, the blood staining my fingers, and then at the man on the floor, his breath ragged.
"No," I gasped, stumbling back, my heart pounding. "No, that's not me. I didn't…"
But the memory wouldn't fade. It was real. I had made the choice. I had taken a life to gain my power. To survive.
"You did this," the voice whispered again, softer this time, but no less accusing. "You chose this path, and now you must pay the price."
The shadows pulled tighter, and the memory began to unravel, revealing more—the faces of those I had betrayed, the lives I had ruined in my quest for power. My family. My friends.
And Adrian.
A sharp pang of guilt pierced my chest. The man I had claimed to love, the man I had allowed myself to trust—was he just another pawn in this game I had played? Had I manipulated him just as I had manipulated everyone else?
"No!" I screamed, falling to my knees. "I loved him. I do love him. I can change."
The shadows hissed around me, the voice mocking my plea. "Can you? Can you truly change, or are you doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again?"
I squeezed my eyes shut, the weight of my past crashing down on me. The Trial knew me better than I knew myself.
I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep my grip on reality. The walls were closing in, the darkness pressing against me from all sides, and in my mind's eye, the faces of my past—every lie, every betrayal—were all staring back at me.
I heard a sound—a faint voice cutting through the chaos.
"Valeria."
It was Adrian. His voice, familiar and full of conviction.
My heart skipped a beat, a flicker of hope lighting within me.
"Adrian?" I whispered, my voice trembling.
"You're not alone," his voice came again, clearer this time. "Whatever you've done, whatever the Trial throws at you, we'll face it together."
But as soon as the words reached me, the darkness surged forward again, a tidal wave threatening to drown me.
"You cannot have him," I whispered fiercely, reaching out with all the strength I could muster. "Not this time."
I felt it—my power, surging from deep within me, clawing its way out of the suffocating dark. The light of my silver energy flared, piercing the shadows, burning away the lies and the guilt.
And then, I saw him—Adrian, standing at the edge of the darkness, his eyes locked onto mine.
"I'm not giving up on you, Valeria," he said, his voice unwavering.
I reached out toward him, and the shadows recoiled, giving way to the light I had summoned. With every ounce of strength, I pulled myself forward, the power within me pushing back the darkness.