🔥 Chapter 30
"You fear monsters outside. But the worst ones are sewn into your own soul."— Trialmaster Zyn, Keeper of Bloodline Labyrinth
📍 Location: Sinjai Academy – Trial Gate Grounds
The arena had changed.
What once was a combat field was now transformed into a massive portal hub — swirling, chaotic energy pulsing from it like a heartbeat. The Bloodline Trials had begun.
The Academy's highest-level Seekers stood watch while students lined up — one by one, entering the gates that would lead them into their own truth.
"Remember," Instructor Varik shouted, "You will face no monster greater than what your bloodline fears the most. Many will fail. Some may… vanish."
Whispers filled the crowd.
Anshi stood silently, glancing back at Aeren who was last in line.
"You can still run away," she whispered."And leave you behind?" Aeren smiled softly. "Never."
🧪 Inside the Trial Gate – The Bloodline Scanner
The moment Aeren stepped onto the sigil platform, his body lit up with ancient symbols — ones none of the instructors had seen before.
"Unregistered bloodline detected… Scanning…""Classification: Mythical Unknown.""Trial generated: Temporal Paradox Realm."
The air shifted.
Instead of a normal dungeon, Aeren vanished into a dimension that bent time, space, and his very soul.
🌀 Scene: Inside Aeren's Trial
He stood in a dark hallway.
Mirrors floated mid-air. Clocks ticked erratically. Doorways appeared, disappeared, then reappeared behind him.
"This place…" he whispered, "feels like I've been here before."
Suddenly, a door burst open.
From it stepped an older version of himself — face emotionless, eyes glowing with sigils.
"You will destroy the world," the version said.
Aeren's hands trembled.
"No… I'm not a monster.""Not yet. But you will be. You will rewrite minds, twist fate, and decide who lives or dies.""I'd never—"
The vision attacked.
Every move the older Aeren made — Aeren already knew it.
"I can read your mind…" he muttered."So can I," the older version replied.
Their battle raged not with fists — but with thoughts, illusions, and shifting dreams.
👁 Meanwhile – Outside the Trial
Instructors watched the gate flicker uncontrollably.
"His realm… it's destabilizing.""Should we pull him out?""We can't. That's not a realm built by the academy — it's built from his own soul."
Anshi's heart pounded. She gripped the trial terminal.
"Please come back…"
🔚 Inside the Realm – The Awakening of the Fifth Sigil
Aeren finally collapsed — his knees shaking under the pressure of battling himself.
Then, the walls around him cracked. A great bell tolled. Shadows bowed.
Floating above him appeared the Fifth Sigil — burning into his chest with crimson light.
"The Trial is complete," said a voice from nowhere.
"You have faced your fate… and survived."
He woke up outside the gate — gasping.
The instructors stood stunned. His eyes were glowing. Faintly. But undeniably.
"How long was I inside?" he asked.
"Three minutes," one teacher said, pale."That's… impossible. No one comes out before an hour."
🌒 End Scene: The Black Moon Rises
At the exact moment Aeren returned — a dark omen appeared in the sky.
A second moon. Black. Oozing.
Only a few high-level Seekers noticed. Among them — one in a black robe smiled behind a tree.
"So the fifth sigil awakens… and the Black Moon stirs. The prophecy is aligning faster than we expected."
🗝️ Chapter 31 Preview:
"The Sealed Tunnels Beneath Sinjai"With the top 13 teams selected, the second phase of the year-end tournament begins — a team challenge in the forgotten catacombs beneath the school. But deep below the academy lies a gate... and something behind it begins to wake.