"You cannot wield Tenebranth until you bleed a part of yourself no magic can heal."
— The Second Echo Wound
---
The chamber was colder now.
Not from wind or temperature—
but from what was missing.
Serenya was gone.
But the air still whispered her name.
And Tenebranth floated silently in the center of the room, surrounded by a ring of pale flame.
It pulsed.
Once.
And Lyra stepped forward.
---
"Wait," Vayren said. His voice was low. Unsteady.
She didn't stop.
"I saw you fight a god," she said. "I saw you cut away concepts."
She looked back at him.
"Let me fight something I can't burn."
---
Scene: The Trial of Emotion
The moment her foot crossed the flame, the world shifted.
The chamber dissolved—no longer stone or echo, but memory.
She was alone.
Standing inside her childhood home.
Unburned. Untouched.
But… wrong.
---
A voice called out from the hallway.
"Lyra?"
She turned.
It was her sister.
Smiling.
Alive.
> "I made tea. You promised you'd stay this time."
Lyra took a step back.
"No."
> "What's wrong?" her sister asked. "You're safe now. No fighting. No flames."
Lyra gritted her teeth.
"You're not real."
> "But does that matter?"
The room began to fade.
---
Scene: The Cut
Lyra stood in front of her sister.
Tears streaming down her face.
The air around her shimmered with golden heat.
"I don't want to forget you."
> "Then don't."
"I don't want to let go."
> "Then stay."
"I can't."
She raised her hand.
> "You're gone."
And the image of her sister smiled one last time.
> "And now… so is this part of you."
---
The dagger appeared.
Spinning mid-air.
Its edge flickered between glass and flame.
And it whispered not words—
but grief.
---
Lyra reached for it.
It cut her palm.
And with that single wound, she felt it:
Her rage. Her love. Her guilt.
All pulled taut—stretched—
Then silenced.
One feeling was gone.
Love.
She remembered the word.
But not the weight.
---
Tenebranth fell into her hand.
Silent.
Sharp.
Hers.
---
Final Scene: Vayren Watches
Lyra stepped out of the circle.
She looked the same.
But something was gone.
He saw it in her eyes.
"What did it take?" he asked.
She looked at him.
Smiled.
> "Nothing I needed."
And walked past.
But her flame flickered colder.
---
To be continued…
---
Chapter 19 finished:
Lyra faces Tenebranth's trial alone
An emotional illusion—her sister's memory
Her cost: the emotion of love
She wins… but comes back changed
And Vayren knows it