The moment their feet crossed the threshold into the second trial chamber, the air shifted. It grew heavier, dense with humidity that clung to their skin like sweat-soaked cloth. Mist crawled along the floor, curling around their ankles as faint echoes whispered from unseen corners. The ceiling stretched endlessly above, vanishing into darkness, and towering marble pillars spiraled into the void like the skeletal remains of forgotten giants.
"Trial of Water…" Verena muttered under her breath, recognizing the oppressive weight of it instantly. "Perfect. Emotional breakdowns with extra dampness."
A vast circular arena stretched before them, the ground made of smooth, reflective obsidian tiles that rippled like water under each step. In the center stood a colossal, glass-like orb floating above the floor, pulsing with faint cerulean light. Around its surface, images flickered—memories, moments, faces frozen in time like an endless, spinning reel of regret.
