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Scarlet Dragon King – Chapter 12: The Gate of Mirrors
A voice, ancient and absolute, echoed across the realms:
> "The Trial begins now."
The sky over Kyoto tore open—not with violence, but precision.
A golden gate, vast and veined with celestial glyphs, descended from the rift. Each of the eleven sigils that hovered around Eric ignited, one by one, casting beams of light into the gate's center.
It responded with a deep hum—a heartbeat of creation and judgment intertwined.
Eric stood still, cloak billowing in the divine wind. The flames of each of his lovers now flared at full power, responding instinctively to the threat ahead.
"What's on the other side?" Rias asked, hand resting on her hip.
Before Eric could answer, the gate itself did.
> "You will face your truths."
> "You will be shown the part of you you fear most."
> "If your flame falters… it shall be extinguished."
With a blinding pulse, the sigils shot out from the gate and attached themselves to each woman.
Yasaka's tails flicked as one fused to her chest. Astaroth's sigil shimmered like ink on her skin. Even Shiva narrowed her eyes as the symbol burned briefly onto her arm.
One by one, they were pulled through the gate—not bodily, but soul-first. Their eyes glowed, their bodies frozen, locked in a trance of cosmic depth.
Eric tried to step forward.
But the gate stopped him.
Only one sigil remained—his own, floating in front of him, untouched.
> "You, Eric Aivor… must witness."
His eyes flared. "I won't stand by while they suffer—"
> "You will watch. You will learn. And if your faith falters, they will fall."
He clenched his fists as the first vision began.
A mirror of fire appeared in front of him—shimmering, unstable.
Inside it: Rias Gremory… alone… standing in a memory that Eric had never seen.
A cold hall of stone.
A father who never smiled.
A fate she once believed was hers alone.
> And now she would face it again—without power, without title—only with the strength of her love for him.
Eric's breath caught.
The Trial had begun.
And his flames would be tested—one by one.
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The Trial of Realms tore through dimensions—not with violence, but revelation.
Eric stood before the mirror of fire, his breath shallow as the image stabilized.
Inside the flame: Rias Gremory, stripped of her title, her magic… and her name.
—
The Trial Plane: Gremory Estate (Reimagined)
She awoke on marble floors, her body aching, her clothes plain and colorless. Gone was the strength in her fingertips, the hellfire in her blood.
She reached for her magic—
Nothing.
A servant approached and bowed curtly. "Lady Rias, your father summons you. Your engagement to Riser Phenex is to be finalized tonight."
Her heart stopped.
No… not this.
> This isn't real.
I've already broken these chains.
But the plane didn't care.
Here, in this mirrored world, Rias had never met Issei. Never defied her family. Never escaped her cage.
And Eric?
He didn't exist.
—
Rias was walked through gilded halls that felt like tombs. Every painting of her showed cold eyes and an emotionless smile.
She stood before her father's throne, just as she had years ago—but this time, she was alone.
"Do you accept your duty to the Gremory name?" her father intoned, voice hollow.
She wanted to scream.
But a weight pressed on her chest.
If you reject this world… you will die here. The thought was not her own, but woven into the air.
Suddenly, she saw a table before her.
One chair was empty.
Eric's chair.
> But he was never here…
And yet—
She reached for it.
Touched it.
Closed her eyes.
And saw him.
His crimson hair, his wild smile, the warmth in his voice when he said her name like it was his favorite word.
> "You're not just Gremory," his voice echoed faintly. "You're Rias. My flame. My queen."
Her eyes snapped open, blazing with tears.
The world began to shake.
"No," she whispered.
Then louder: "NO!"
The sigil on her chest flared crimson. Her magic exploded outward, fire bursting from her like a tidal wave.
The illusion cracked.
The hall melted away.
And standing in the void—
Was Eric.
Not the real one.
A vision.
But it was enough.
She ran to him, wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest.
And whispered, "I choose you. Every time."
—
Outside the Trial
Eric staggered as Rias's mirror shattered, her body collapsing into his arms in the real world. Her sigil glowed bright and whole—she had passed.
She opened her eyes slowly.
"You saw?" she asked.
Eric nodded, eyes fierce. "I saw. And I'll never let them put you in that place again."
Their foreheads touched, crimson to crimson.
One flame had endured.
But ten more still burned in silence, each walking through their own nightmare.
And the gods watched.
Waiting to see which would fall.