For days, Lunareth shone brighter than usual.
The dawn refused to fade, stretching endlessly across the sky in a thousand hues of silver and gold.
At the heart of it stood Kaleo Halburn — or what the elves now called him: the Starfallen One.
He had changed since the Sanctum of Reflections.
The calmness in his steps. The stillness in his eyes. The faint ripple of time around his movements.
It was as though he no longer existed within a single moment — but in many at once.
And yet… his journey had only just begun.
The Prism Gardens lay beyond the citadel, across an ocean of mist.
An endless field of crystal flora — each flower refracting the sunlight into rivers of color. The air shimmered with prismatic motes, each one humming with divine resonance.
It was said the gardens were fragments of an ancient star — the same that birthed Lunareth's eternal dawn.
Elder Lysara stood waiting at the edge, her long silver hair flowing like liquid light.
"You've touched time," she said as Kaleo approached. "Now you must learn to see light… not as illumination, but as truth."
Kaleo's gaze swept across the shimmering expanse. "Light as truth?"
She nodded.
"All light carries memory. Every beam that touches you knows your past, your essence, your sins. The Law of Light does not bless — it reveals."
He felt the words like a blade.
If that was true, then what would his light show him?
[Quest: Law of Light – Initiation]
[Objective: Harmonize with Pure Light of Lunareth]
[Warning: All impurities of spirit will manifest physically. Failure to harmonize may result in loss of Divine Resonance.]
Kaleo drew a slow breath. "So… I have to bare my soul to the light?"
Lysara's expression softened, almost pitying.
"Yes. To command light, you must let it see everything you wish to hide."
Without another word, she raised her hand — and the gardens responded.
Columns of radiant energy burst from the ground, intertwining above them into a vast, floating lattice of color. The air vibrated with power.
"Step forward, Kaleo Halburn," she said, voice echoing like chimes.
"Let Lunareth judge your truth."
He stepped into the light.
Instantly, his body seized.
A thousand beams of color pierced through him, not as wounds — but as revelations. Each thread of radiance reached into his memories, pulling fragments of his past into the open air.
Halburn's burning skies.
His mother's final spell.
The faces of soldiers who had died calling his name.
They all appeared — projected into the gardens like ghosts made of light.
Kaleo fell to one knee, chest burning.
"Stop—"
But the light didn't stop.
It intensified, growing sharper, brighter — peeling away his control layer by layer.
Lysara's voice echoed faintly from somewhere distant.
"Don't resist it! The Law of Light devours lies. It cannot hurt truth."
But his truth was pain.
Every memory he had buried — every regret, every doubt, every promise broken — all of it shone around him.
He saw himself as a boy, crying beneath the shattered banners of Halburn.
He saw the Divine Beast roaring above him, its voice declaring him unworthy.
He saw Lyra, smiling, reaching for him — then fading away into darkness.
Kaleo roared, slamming his fist into the crystalline ground. The light shattered — but only for an instant before reassembling around him.
[Warning: Emotional Distortion Detected]
[Purity Index Dropping — 71% → 62% → 55%]
"Enough!"
The word echoed like thunder, and for a moment, the light hesitated.
Kaleo stood, breathing heavily, his hair flickering with faint luminescence. His golden blood shimmered beneath his skin.
He stared into the light and spoke, voice low, steady.
"I am Kaleo Halburn. I carry the sins of my bloodline and the ruins of my world. But I will not let them define me."
He reached forward — and instead of resisting, he embraced the light.
The beams entered him willingly this time, flowing through his veins, merging with his essence. His blood turned molten gold, his aura expanding in a wave that made the entire garden bloom anew.
Each flower bent toward him — as though recognizing their master.
[Purity Index Restored: 92%]
[Resonance +15%]
[Law of Light: Stage I – Comprehended]
When the glow faded, the gardens returned to their calm radiance.
Lysara watched in silence as Kaleo straightened, light dancing faintly in his irises.
"You didn't shatter under it," she murmured. "You accepted it."
Kaleo looked at his hands. They glowed faintly, covered in thin runes of light that pulsed with every heartbeat.
"It showed me everything I hated about myself," he said quietly. "But I understand now… the light doesn't judge. It simply reflects."
Lysara smiled — the first true smile he had ever seen from her.
"Then you've seen its essence."
The wind shifted, carrying fragments of prism dust through the air.
She turned to leave, her tone soft but distant.
"You are walking the same path your father once did. But take care, Kaleo. The Law of Light reveals more than truth — it remembers everything it touches. And Lunareth… never forgets."
When she was gone, Kaleo stood alone among the radiant blooms.
He raised his hand — a single thread of light hovered over his palm, bending to his will.
He closed his eyes and released it, watching it drift skyward until it joined the eternal dawn.
He could feel it now — faintly, quietly — the next step calling to him.
The Law of Divinity.
The one that separated gods from mortals.
He exhaled slowly, the air shimmering with divine resonance.
[New Objective: Law of Divinity – Preparation Phase Initiated]
[Estimated Time Required: 30 Lunar Cycles]
[Reminder: Harmony precedes Ascension.]
Kaleo smiled faintly. "Thirty cycles, huh? Let's begin."
And as he turned toward the horizon, the gardens of Lunareth lit up behind him — a sea of starlight blooming under the eternal dawn.