Chapter 65 – Trial of the Observer
The battlefield had no sky, no moon—only the echo of firelight flickering against broken swords and jagged stone. The Hollow had pulled Ariz into its deepest memory, a place between time and judgment. Here, twelve figures stood before him. Twelve kings. Twelve shadows of a bloodline long dead.
He faced them alone.
Each king was a fragment of power, memory, and regret. They spoke in verses and riddles, voices echoing from forgotten wars. One by one, they asked the same question in different forms:
"What right do you have to the throne?"
And one by one, Ariz answered—not with words, but with steel.
He fought through the seventh. Then the eighth. Still, he stood. Blood clung to his side, breath shallow, cloak in tatters. But his grip never loosened. His gaze never wavered.
The eleventh came in silence, a giant crowned in ash, swinging a hammer that split the earth. Ariz ducked low, cut behind, and tore through the shadow with a backward slash.
The king collapsed into dust, whispering:
"The blood still remembers."
Only one remained.
This one wasn't armored. Wasn't crowned.
It looked like him.
Not older. Not darker. Just—Ariz, stripped of warmth.
The echo raised no weapon. Instead, the world twisted. The battlefield melted into a cascade of endless memories—burned villages, screaming children, laughing priests, broken blades and shattered vows.
"You will be feared." "You will be hated." "You will stand alone."
The echo lifted a hand. From the sky, blades of light fell—each one a memory Ariz had survived. Each one a lie dressed as judgment.
He stood tall.
"I already do."
He raised his arm and walked forward.
The blades passed through him.
He didn't need to cut them.
Because he had already endured them.
The last echo bowed.
And vanished.
The battlefield shattered.
A voice spoke:
[Trial Complete. Title Granted: Crownless Sovereign.]
New Passive Unlocked: Sovereign's Veil Passive: Immune to shadow-based detection. Active: Phase-shift for 12 seconds once daily. Magic and spiritual tracking fail. Command lower-tier shadow creatures within 20 meters.
[System Sync: 92%]
Ariz opened his eyes.
Serika was the first to move.
She didn't speak at first.
Just stared.
He wasn't glowing. He wasn't radiating power.
He was still.
And that, somehow, was more dangerous.
Luceris exhaled. "What the hell did you just survive?"
Ariz stood.
His coat shifted as he rose, the shadows around his form clinging just a heartbeat too long.
Serika stepped closer.
Close enough to see the faint change in his skin—more pale now. Almost silver under moonlight.
His eyes weren't just glowing.
They were seeing.
Seeing her.
Seeing everything.
She reached up, resting two fingers lightly against his jaw. Bold. Deliberate.
He didn't stop her.
"You know what's worse than kneeling?" she asked quietly.
Ariz blinked. "What?"
She leaned in, her voice a low murmur.
"Wanting to, just to see what you'd do."
Her hand dropped.
She didn't smile.
But she looked satisfied.
Luceris raised a brow. "Are you two gonna start kissing or killing things again? Because I'm getting jealous over here."
Neither answered.
The sky above pulsed once.
And deep in the Hollow—something ancient blinked.
The Observer had taken note.