The dawn broke over the city, pale and cold. Rain from the night before had left the streets slick, reflecting broken neon and fading shadows. Mohamed sat cross-legged on the floor of the library's inner chamber, his head throbbing from last night's visions. Sweat clung to his temples, his hands still trembling from the uncontrolled memory fragment he had faced yesterday.
I survived… barely. But I can't falter again.
Selene circled him, her violet eyes scanning him like a predator studying its prey. "Today is different," she said softly. "Yesterday, you survived. Today, you fight. And this is the first real test."
Mohamed rose, muscles tight, nerves straining. "What kind of test?"
Selene's lips curved in a faint smile. "Reality itself."
The library shifted around them. Walls stretched and bent impossibly, floors became fractured, shelves rotated and hovered midair. Mohamed blinked. Is this real… or another projection?
"This is a controlled environment," Selene explained. "A simulation. But the danger is real. Your memory energy will shape it. Your fears… your choices… will become weapons against you. If you fail, the consequences will still teach you… brutally."
Mohamed swallowed hard. His hands tingled with latent power, and he felt the familiar pull of memories waiting to be summoned.
The first wave came without warning. Shadows, thick and coiling, surged from the walls. Figures resembling agents of the Eclipsed Order moved like water, but their movements were unpredictable, shifting in impossible patterns.
Focus… control… anchor… Mohamed chanted in his mind.
He reached into his memories, calling forth fragments of the city streets, alleyways where he had once felt safe, flashes of past victories—some real, some hallucinated. Slowly, the fragments crystallized into shields and barriers. Shadows struck. His walls of memory energy shimmered, absorbing blows and reshaping them into flashes of light.
A thrill surged through him. I can do this… I'm controlling them…
Selene moved like a shadow herself, striking projections before Mohamed could react, showing him the fluidity of memory power. "Your energy follows your intent," she instructed. "Do not just react. Create. Shape. Bend the simulation to your will."
Mohamed tried to grasp it fully. He focused on a fragment: a forest from a childhood memory, trees swaying in the wind, sunlight piercing the canopy. The projection solidified in front of him, branches twisting and striking the shadowy figures, knocking them aside.
This is incredible… I am shaping reality…
Suddenly, a ripple ran through the simulation. Shadows coalesced into a figure taller and darker than any Mohamed had faced: the high-ranking Eclipsed Order agent, cloaked in black, eyes glowing red, exuding presence that felt like gravity itself.
Ryoto's voice echoed in his mind, calm and taunting: "Impressive. But how long can you hold control before the shadows consume you? Memory power is seductive… dangerous. A moment of weakness, and it will destroy you."
Mohamed's stomach tightened. He could feel the fragment's energy thrumming inside him, waiting to be used, waiting to lash out uncontrollably. I can't fail… not now… not here…
The agent moved. Shadows leapt forward like living spears. Mohamed raised his hands, shaping his memories into a solid wall of light, reflecting and absorbing the attacks. The room twisted around him—floors bending, books flying like birds, shadows striking in impossible angles.
He felt the rush of adrenaline and fear mingling with the seductive pull of forbidden power. He could take more energy from darker memories, amplify his strength, but at a cost—his mind could fracture, his morality could bend.
Selene's voice cut through his thoughts: "Do not take the easy path. Every choice matters. Power is not just force—it is discipline."
Mohamed clenched his fists, summoning fragments of his childhood, his adolescence, even shadows of memories he had not yet fully reclaimed. The fragments aligned, forming a spectral army of light around him, shaping into forms that mirrored reality but obeyed his will. The agent staggered slightly, as if surprised by the audacity.
I… I am stronger than before… Mohamed thought, heart hammering.
The agent smiled. "Clever boy… but raw power alone does not make a master."
With a gesture, the agent lashed out with shadowy tendrils directly at Mohamed's mind, probing, twisting, seeking cracks in his control. Mohamed screamed internally, struggling to anchor the memories, to prevent them from tearing him apart. Pain lanced through his skull.
I can't let him break me… I won't…
Mohamed's control wavered—but then, a spark. He focused on the principle Selene taught him: not just control the memory, but align it with intent, with will, with himself. Light surged from his chest, spreading through the simulation, burning away the agent's probing shadows. The tendrils recoiled.
The agent blinked, then smiled faintly. "Interesting… much stronger than I expected. The boy may survive… longer than I thought."
Mohamed felt the strain. Sweat ran down his face, hands trembling. His chest burned with exertion, his mind teetering on the edge. He realized, with chilling clarity: this is what mastery costs. Pain, fear, and constant vigilance. Every lapse can destroy you.
The simulation collapsed, reality snapping back to the library. Books toppled, dust hung in the air, the silence almost deafening. Mohamed dropped to his knees, panting, exhausted but alive. Selene stood beside him, arms crossed, eyes calm.
"You did well," she said softly. "You held control longer than I expected. But remember—this is only the beginning. The Eclipsed Order is patient. And they will always find a way to test you… in ways you cannot anticipate."
Mohamed nodded, still shaking. "I… I understand. I have to keep going… keep fighting… and controlling… or I'll lose myself."
Selene's gaze softened. "Yes. And soon, you will face a choice that will test everything you have learned… and force you to decide who you truly are."
A faint shadow flickered across the far corner of the library. Mohamed's eyes narrowed. Ryoto's voice echoed faintly in his mind:
"The boy awakens… but will he rise… or fall?"
Mohamed clenched his fists, heart racing, the taste of both fear and exhilaration on his tongue. The real test had begun, and there was no turning back.