Alden stood before the now-open Gate of Eternity, his breath coming in slow, measured gulps. The light from the runes still pulsed faintly, a reminder of what he had just endured. He had faced his own reflection, the embodiment of his doubt, and he had conquered it. But his body still ached, and his mind felt heavy with the weight of what lay ahead.
His father watched him carefully. "You have done well."
Alden turned to him, searching his expression. "But I'm not finished, am I?"
His father shook his head. "No. There is still the final trial."
Alden exhaled, bracing himself. "What is it?"
His father stepped closer, his face unreadable. "The first trial tested your fear. The second, your will. But the final trial…" He paused, his voice lower. "It will test your heart."
Alden frowned. "What does that mean?"
His father studied him for a long moment before speaking again. "Come."
Without another word, his father stepped through the gate.
Alden hesitated for only a moment before following.
The moment he crossed the threshold, the world changed.
The Sanctuary was gone. The gate, the torches, the stone—all of it had vanished.
Alden stood on an endless field of stars.
The ground beneath him was a dark, shimmering surface, like a mirror reflecting the cosmos. Nebulas swirled in the distance, and streaks of silver light cut across the sky like falling stars. It was breathtaking… and eerily silent.
Then, a voice broke the silence.
"You have come far, Alden Runehart."
Alden turned sharply.
Before him stood a figure unlike any he had ever seen.
It was neither man nor beast, but something between. Its body was tall and cloaked in shifting shadows, and its eyes were deep pools of light and void, ever-changing. Around its head floated a crown of celestial fire.
Alden instinctively took a step back. "Who… are you?"
The figure's voice was neither male nor female, yet it carried the weight of ages.
"I am the Keeper of the Arcane Throne."
Alden's heart pounded. This was it. The final test.
The Keeper lifted a hand, and suddenly—the stars moved.
The darkness around them rippled, shifting into something else. Alden gasped as visions appeared before him.
Memories.
His childhood in Eldoria. The warmth of his mother's embrace. The laughter of his father as they sat by the fire. The scent of fresh bread and morning dew.
Then—
The attack.
The Hollow descending upon his home. The screams. The fire. His father's desperate fight. His mother's final words before the darkness took her.
Alden clenched his fists, the ache in his chest nearly unbearable. "Why are you showing me this?"
The Keeper's voice was steady. "Because this is what you fight for."
Alden swallowed hard.
Then the visions shifted.
Now, he saw something… different.
A future.
He saw himself, older, seated upon a throne of swirling light and shadow. A crown rested upon his brow, and his body radiated power. He watched as entire kingdoms bowed before him, their banners fluttering in the wind. The world trembled beneath his gaze.
Then—
The vision darkened.
Alden gasped as the throne's light dimmed, consumed by a creeping shadow. His face became cold, his eyes hollow. The same emptiness he had seen in the Hollow now lingered in his own gaze.
And before him—
His friends. His father. Those he had sworn to protect—kneeling in chains.
Alden staggered back, horror gripping his chest. "No… No, that's not me!"
The Keeper's voice was calm. "Is it not?"
Alden's breath came in ragged gasps. The vision felt too real.
The power. The throne. The hunger in his own eyes.
He turned to the Keeper, desperation clawing at his throat. "Why are you showing me this?"
"Because power comes at a cost."
Alden's pulse thundered.
"This is the final trial, Alden Runehart." The Keeper's voice held both warmth and weight. "Not of strength. Not of will. But of choice."
Alden stared. "Choice?"
The Keeper gestured to the vision.
"You have seen your destiny. You are meant to rule. The Throne will give you power beyond imagination. But power—true power—always demands a sacrifice."
The shadows around the vision darkened.
"To claim the Arcane Throne, you must surrender your heart."
Alden's stomach turned. "What do you mean?"
"You will no longer be Alden Runehart, the boy from Eldoria. You will become something greater—but also something less."
Alden's hands clenched into fists. "And if I refuse?"
The Keeper's eyes gleamed.
"Then the Throne will not be yours."
Alden took a shaky breath. His mind reeled.
Was this truly his fate? To sit upon a lonely throne, wielding power but losing himself in the process? Was this the price he had to pay?
Then—he remembered.
His father's words.
"No matter what happens, you are not alone."
Alden's heart pounded.
No.
He was Alden Runehart. He was the boy from Eldoria. He was the one who had survived. The one who had fought. The one who still carried the voices of those he loved.
And he refused to let power steal that away.
His eyes met the Keeper's. His voice was steady.
"I choose myself."
The Keeper stilled. The vision flickered.
Then—the stars shattered.
Alden gasped as the world around him shifted.
He was back.
The Gate of Eternity had vanished. The Sanctuary's torches flickered around him.
And standing before him—was his father.
Alden's breath was still unsteady. His body trembled. But something inside him had changed.
His father watched him carefully. "You made your choice."
Alden nodded. "I did."
His father exhaled, his expression unreadable. Then, for the first time since this journey began—he smiled.
And Alden knew.
He had passed the final trial.
That night, Alden stood at the highest tower of the Sanctuary, looking up at the sky. The stars stretched endlessly above him, vast and unchanging.
He had won.
And yet—the real fight had only just begun.
Because now, he carried something greater than the Throne's power.
He carried himself.
And that, he knew, was the strongest magic of all.