My Wife Is a Demon Queen – Volume 5
The Trial of Devotion
The moment the phantom gate swallowed Elias, the world twisted into darkness—silent, suffocating, aware. When light finally shimmered back, he found himself standing in a vast crystalline landscape. Mirrors of memory surrounded him, reflecting pieces of his past and fragments of his soul.
A deep voice echoed around him:
"THIRD TRIAL: DEVOTION.
Show the truth of your heart."
The scenery cracked, shifting violently. Suddenly, Elias stood on a broken battlefield. Obsidian spikes pierced the ground, and dark clouds roiled overhead. And in the center of it all lay Azeryn—his Demon Queen—collapsed, barely breathing, blood stark against her pale skin.
"No—Azeryn!" Elias rushed forward, but the terrain stretched endlessly, pulling her farther with every step. He ran harder, but invisible chains wrapped around his limbs, dragging him back.
Azeryn's fading voice drifted through the illusion.
"Why fight for me, Elias? Your world hates mine. Your people will call you traitor. My people call me weak for choosing you."
The Trial whispered coldly:
"Do you love the Queen… or her power?"
Elias gritted his teeth, forcing himself forward even as the chains dug into his skin. "I don't care about her throne! I love her! The woman who protected me… trusted me when no one else did. I choose Azeryn—not because fate demands it, but because my heart does!"
The chains shattered. The battlefield dissolved.
---
The Core of the Trial
Elias now stood before a luminous, heart-shaped crystal pulsing with Azeryn's essence. The Trial rumbled:
"To complete devotion, you must share your soul.
If your love is true, you will survive.
If it is not… you will vanish."
Elias placed his hand on the core.
A surge of memories washed over him—Azeryn's childhood loneliness, her rise to the throne, the crushing weight of leadership, her secret fear of being abandoned. The emotions nearly tore him apart.
Elias whispered, "Azeryn… I'm here. I'll stay with you."
Light burst from the crystal, searing yet warm.
A new mark—crimson and shaped like intertwined flames—formed on his chest: the Mark of Devotion, equal to a royal sigil.
---
Return
The gate exploded open.
Azeryn gasped as Elias stepped out, glowing with twin marks. "Elias… you survived."
He smiled softly and touched her cheek. "I came back for you."
She pulled him into a trembling embrace.