Aiden felt as if the Arena dropped out from under him.
Killed…
By one of his own?
His pulse hammered in his ears.
His throat tightened, dry and burning.
"Wh… what do you mean?" he forced out. "One of my guardians killed me? How—why—who?!"
Astraxion didn't answer immediately.
The dragon's vast eyes dimmed, as though even he hesitated to speak this truth. And if a cosmic dragon hesitated… it could only mean one thing:
The truth was catastrophic.
Yunaria stepped between Aiden and Astraxion, wings flaring as if shielding him from the words themselves.
"Stop," she said sharply, voice cracking. "He isn't ready—this memory is… the deepest wound in his soul. If it resurfaces too fast, it could destabilize him—tear his mind apart."
Aiden snapped his head toward her.
"If someone killed me, I deserve to know."
"Aiden—"
"Tell me."
Yunaria closed her eyes, trembling.
Astraxion's voice rumbled low.
"The name of your betrayer cannot be spoken yet. The moment you hear it, your sealed memories will explode open."
He lowered his head until his snout nearly touched Aiden.
"But you will feel him soon. His shadow is already moving."
Aiden's fists clenched.
"Whoever he is…
if he killed me once…
I won't let him do it again."
Yunaria's breath hitched—fear, pride, grief all tangled in that single sound.
Astraxion rumbled.
"Then your training must begin."
◆ ◆ ◆
THE CELESTIAL ARENA – OUTSKIRTS
Astraxion's enormous body coiled, shrinking—
contracting—
folding in on itself—
until the dragon became a humanoid figure made of pure galaxy-light.
Aiden stared.
"You can turn human?!"
Yunaria rubbed her forehead.
"He's always been able to. He just chooses not to because he 'finds mortal proportions inefficient.'"
Astraxion crossed his arms smugly.
"They are."
Then he snapped his fingers.
The Arena shifted.
Pillars of starlight erupted from the ground.
Platforms spiraled upward.
Gravity bent ever so slightly, warping the air.
Aiden staggered.
"Whoa, what—"
"This is the Trial Lattice," Astraxion said. "Your first test in reclaiming your power."
Yunaria grabbed Aiden's sleeve.
"Listen carefully. The Lattice adapts to your soul. The stronger you become, the harder it becomes."
Astraxion added:
"If you fail a trial at your current level, you will die."
Aiden froze.
"…Seriously?"
"I do not joke."
Yunaria glared at him.
"He doesn't even know how to joke."
Aiden exhaled.
"Alright. What's the first trial?"
Astraxion's starlit eyes sharpened.
"Facing your past."
The Arena trembled—
and a crack split across the floor.
Cold wind burst upward, carrying whispers—
laughter—
screaming—
echoes.
Aiden shivered.
"I don't like that sound."
"You shouldn't," Astraxion replied. "The first trial is Memory Manifestation. Fragments of your forgotten life given shape."
Yunaria's voice softened.
"These aren't illusions, Aiden. They're real echoes… pieces of you."
Aiden inhaled.
"Okay. Show me."
Astraxion touched the air.
---
THE SHADOW OF THE KING
From the crack, a silhouette rose.
A figure shaped like Aiden—
but taller, older—
with the broken-star crown engraved into its skull.
Its body was made of shadowed light and memory fragments swirling like torn film reels.
Its eyes glowed pure white.
Aiden stumbled back.
"What is that?"
Astraxion answered:
"Your lost self. The part of you that remembers everything you've forgotten."
Yunaria stepped closer, whispering:
"That's… the part of you that died."
Aiden's breath froze.
The shadow moved.
Slowly at first—
then with terrifying purpose.
It walked toward Aiden, each step making the Arena flicker like a glitching star.
Aiden's throat tightened.
"Is it going to… attack?"
Astraxion crossed his arms.
"Yes."
Aiden choked.
"WHAT?!"
"Your trial is to endure what your past endured."
The shadow raised its hand—
and a spear of star-forged light formed.
Yunaria lunged forward.
"No! He's not ready for that blade—!!"
Astraxion blocked her with a burst of cosmic pressure.
"He must be."
Aiden's heart thundered—
And then the shadow vanished.
Aiden blinked—
And the spear pressed against his throat.
So fast.
So impossibly fast.
He didn't even see it move.
Aiden froze.
The point kissed his skin.
Cold.
Sharp.
Familiar—
A chilling deja vu struck him.
He had felt this blade before.
He had died to this blade before.
There was a smear of memory—
the same light—
the same weapon—
the same angle—
Aiden's breath went shallow.
"I… I remember this…"
Yunaria's wings snapped open, feathers scattering like shards of moonlight.
"Astraxion, STOP THIS TRIAL—HE'S REMEMBERING TOO FAST—!!"
Astraxion did not budge.
"It is necessary."
Aiden gasped.
The shadow's mouth moved—
but no sound came out.
Instead, a single tear rolled down its cheek.
Aiden's eyes widened.
"You… you're crying…?"
The shadow trembled.
Aiden's heart twisted.
This wasn't an enemy.
It was pain.
Condensed.
Weaponized.
A version of himself that still remembered its last breath.
Aiden reached out.
"It's okay—"
The shadow reeled back—
shook violently—
then its form flickered.
It wasn't dissolving.
It was shifting.
Becoming something else.
A long coat formed.
A blade at its hip.
A crest burned on its chest—
The crest of the Archivist Guardians.
Aiden's blood went cold.
Yunaria's wings snapped shut.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"No… no, not this one…"
Astraxion's expression hardened.
"It begins."
The shadow fully transformed—
Into a warrior.
Tall.
Elegant.
Blade sharp enough to cut starlight.
Eyes dimmed with betrayal.
Aiden stepped back.
"That… that's…"
The Arena dimmed.
Wind stilled.
Yunaria whispered the name like a wound reopening:
"…Soltren."
Aiden's pulse stuttered.
"Who… is Soltren?"
Yunaria's voice broke.
"He was your First Guardian.
Your closest friend.
Your most loyal protector."
Astraxion finished:
"And your murderer."
Aiden's stomach dropped.
The shadow-Soltren lifted his blade:
The same blade that once killed Aiden.
Astraxion's voice boomed:
"Face the Betrayer's Phantom.
And survive."
Aiden swallowed.
His legs shook.
But he raised his fists.
"…Then let's finish what he started."
The shadow lunged.