The Echo of a False Hero

Elias was escorted out of his quarters once again, the veiled woman and several guards by his side. He didn't ask questions; there was no need to. The path he was on had become clearer, and it had led him here, to this moment. Every step felt heavy, but he kept his composure.

They soon reached the castle, and the air seemed thick with a sense of finality. Inside, Kaela stood by a window, her amber eyes fixed on the villagers below, her expression distant. Her presence was imposing, but Elias didn't flinch.

The guards filed out, leaving just the three of them in the room. Elias' gaze briefly landed on the shrine in the center. The symbol of Ashurn was engraved in the stone basin, a reminder of the religion that Kaela and her followers lived by. He had seen that symbol everywhere, in every corner of the Ashborn clan, and it carried with it both power and weight. But could he trust it?

Kaela didn't turn around immediately. When she did, her voice was heavy with something close to hate, her words clipped.

"Living a peaceful life is a privilege," she said, her eyes still fixed on the world outside. "Not many people get to experience that. In the capital, we have corruption, an unstable royal family, and the rifts... so many things pulling us apart. Fighting poison with poison." Her voice deepened as her anger rose, the words sharper with each passing moment.

Elias didn't react. He simply watched her, knowing exactly where this was going. The same rhetoric, the same ideals. But it felt empty now. He had seen something far bigger than the petty politics of the kingdom.

"You think someone with this sigil can live peacefully?" Elias asked, his voice steady, but filled with scorn. "I'm not meant for peace. The more I remember, the more it gnaws at me. I know what I have to do. I have to become a Voidwalker. And maybe you understand that too."

Kaela whipped around at his words, her eyes blazing with fury. "Impudence!" she spat, her voice like fire. "You think you can simply choose your path? Voidwalkers outside our clan are weak-willed and always fall. What makes you think you're any different?"

Elias didn't flinch. Instead, he met her gaze, unyielding.

"Maybe you don't see it," he said, his voice low but unwavering. "But I'm different. I know what I saw, and I know what I need to do." His gaze hardened. "I'm not wasting my life away forging trinkets. There's something out there, something I need to understand. I won't stand by while the world collapses."

Kaela was seething now, her fists clenched, but before she could respond, the veiled woman's calm voice interrupted.

"Kaela. Composure."

For a brief moment, Kaela seemed to collect herself, her anger simmering just beneath the surface. She took a long breath, then turned back to Elias, her eyes sharp with disbelief.

"You truly think you can control the Void?" she asked, her voice laced with doubt. "Even the greatest of heroes have fallen to its corruption. You, a boy with no understanding of what you're dealing with, think you can control it?"

Elias' gaze didn't waver. "Let Ashurn decide," he said simply, his words firm and resolute.

Kaela's eyes widened for a moment, her expression flickering between surprise and frustration. The room fell into a heavy silence, the tension palpable. The veiled woman observed Elias silently, her expression unreadable.

"I believe there's a good way to settle this," the veiled woman finally spoke, her voice calm yet unwavering. "I propose that Elias walks through a bonfire. If he is smited by Ashurn, we will allow him to fight a Voidbeast and take its shard. If he dies, it will be clear that he was not fated to live this life."

She paused, then added, her voice softer, but still intense, "What did you see?"

Elias felt the familiar splinters of vision flash in his mind, the fragments of something far more powerful than anything he could explain.

"Something that no human could ever describe," Elias said, his voice distant. "Something that could devour the sky."

Kaela's face darkened at the words, her brows furrowing as she looked at the veiled woman. She sighed, then waved her hand dismissively.

"Go back. We must prepare the fire," she muttered, turning away from the two.

Elias didn't argue. He simply turned and left the room, escorted by the guards once again.

As Elias made his way back to his quarters, he couldn't shake the weight of what had just transpired. He felt more certain than ever that this was the path he had to take, even if the price was high. He couldn't go back now.

The veiled woman and Kaela remained behind, the silence between them stretching long.

"Is he related to the Verdant hero?" Kaela muttered. "The timeline would make sense... but the man was never known to have a son."

"We need to hurry, Matriarch," the veiled woman responded. "We need to use Ashurn's light to free this continent from the Void."

Kaela sighed and placed a hand over her face , before letting out a slight groan.

 Elias' baptism arrived quickly, and he was marched out of his house once more. This time, however, he wore a ceremonial robe ,,a pure white cloak with elements of red and gold. The villagers watched in silence, whispering to each other as he passed. This was no ordinary day, and they knew it. Elias was to be tested. If he passed, he would be accepted as a brother among them. If he failed , his life would be forfeit.

Swarms of villagers began to follow him as he made his way to the church. Elias felt their eyes on him, their whispers like a distant hum in his ears. But strangely, no one uttered a harsh word. They seemed to watch with a strange reverence. They believed in their trials, and they believed in Ashurn's judgment. If Elias survived, he would be one of them.

He arrived at the church, the same place where the woman he had watched be baptized had stood before. The flames crackled ahead, as if welcoming him into their embrace. The heat radiated from the fire, a reminder of the danger that awaited him. Elias wasn't afraid, though. He knew what this was—he knew the fire would not consume him. Not this time.

He stepped forward, his robe falling away as he stood before the high priest. His eyes focused on the flames, the heat already making his skin prickle.

With a steady breath, Elias took his first step into the fire.

The heat was immediate, intense. The flames licked at his skin, scorching him at first, but Elias kept his focus. He closed his eyes, tuning out the pain, and concentrated on controlling it. The fire seemed to grow, wrapping around him like tendrils, tightening with each passing second. But Elias wasn't burning. He wasn't being consumed.

His sigil began to glow with a radiant white light, pulsing from within him as if the fire itself was afraid of the power he now commanded. The flames recoiled, retreating from his skin, unable to touch him. Elias felt a strange sensation wash over him—a powerful energy flowing through him, filling him with something more than he had ever known.

Then, as quickly as it began, it was over. Elias stepped out of the flames, his body marked with both the burn marks of the Voidwalkers and the lacerations from the past. The crowd watched in stunned silence before erupting into cheers. The villagers clapped and whistled, their hostility toward him melting away in an instant.

But Elias didn't smile.

He stood there, staring ahead, the weight of what he had just done pressing on him. Surviving the trial was only the beginning. He had taken a step deeper into the unknown, and there was no turning back now.