Jason stepped through the mist that leaked from the Bloodline Gate, and the air around him shifted instantly. The heavy scent of damp earth disappeared, replaced by something sharper—ozone, fire, and ancient magic. The light behind him faded, and before him stretched a corridor of swirling silver fog.
His fingers twitched. The glow from the birthmark on his wrist pulsed softly, like a heartbeat, guiding him forward.
As he moved, the ground beneath his feet changed. The cracked stones of the underground chamber transformed into polished marble etched with moving runes. Each step triggered silent whispers—words he couldn't yet understand, but they stirred something in him. Memories not his own. Lives he had never lived, yet somehow remembered.
A voice echoed through the void.
"Blood calls to blood. The Seeker has returned."
Jason turned sharply. Shadows twisted behind him but formed no figure. The voice continued.
"Three Trials. One Truth. All must be faced before the Gate fully opens."
He kept walking.
Suddenly, the corridor ended.
Jason found himself standing in a massive hall suspended in space. Above him, stars swirled in galaxies that looked close enough to touch. Below, endless clouds shimmered with lightning, like a storm brewing beneath the world.
At the center of the hall floated a crystal platform, and on it stood a man cloaked in dark green robes, his back to Jason.
"Are you... Elias?" Jason asked.
The man turned.
His face was carved with age, eyes glowing faintly with white fire. His long beard swayed, even though no wind touched it. Yet his presence radiated peace—and power.
"I am the Guide," he said calmly. "And I am your final warning."
Jason stepped onto the platform. "I've come for the truth. About the Gate. About my bloodline."
Elias studied him. "Then the first trial begins now."
The air shimmered. The hall darkened. Jason blinked—and suddenly, he was elsewhere.
---
He stood in a clearing. A night sky overhead, just like the forest outside the real world. But this was older. Wiser.
Before him stood a girl—no older than he was—with pale hair and stormy eyes. She held a curved dagger in one hand, and in the other, a fragment of obsidian stone.
Jason felt his breath catch.
The girl was Evelyn—his grandmother—as a teenager.
But she didn't look kind. She looked… dangerous.
"Why are you here?" she demanded.
Jason opened his mouth, but no words came.
She stepped forward. "This is my trial. You're not meant to be here."
Suddenly, the air cracked with energy. Behind Evelyn, shadows stretched and moved, rising like smoke into monstrous forms.
Shadowborn.
Jason's instincts kicked in. He summoned the flame from his wrist, but Evelyn moved first. Her dagger glowed silver as she dashed forward, slicing through the creatures like she'd done it a hundred times.
Jason watched, stunned. She wasn't just a gatekeeper.
She was a warrior.
When the last shadow fell, Evelyn turned to him. Her expression softened just a little.
"Who are you really?" she asked.
Jason managed to find his voice. "I think... I'm your grandson."
The dagger dropped.
For a moment, silence.
Then Evelyn said quietly, "Then this is only the beginning."
The vision dissolved.
---
Jason stumbled backward as the crystal platform reformed under his feet. Elias caught his arm.
"You faced her memory," Elias said. "And she saw you."
"I didn't know she was like that," Jason whispered. "She was brave."
"She still is," Elias said. "But the gate didn't show you that to admire her. It showed you what you must become."
Jason nodded slowly.
"What's the next trial?"
Elias raised his hand. "The Trial of Choice. And it begins now."