Chapter One: The Trial Begins Tomorrow (Part Two)
Date: May 22, Year 204 PCR (Maelis 22)
Location: Trial Arena – Harmonic Lyceum
Time: Midday
Zephryn didn't move.
He stood at the edge of the arena, Selka's hand still resting lightly on his shoulder, as if holding him in place—not physically, but… cosmically. Like the world might spin too fast if she let go.
Kaelen adjusted his stance across the ring. Half a halberd still gripped in his calloused hands. The other half lay shattered near the center line, splintered clean at the haft, just like it had before.
Exactly like it had before.
And yet, no one else noticed the repetition. The déjà vu thick in the air. The orchestration.
The Hollow Choir's voices had gone quiet again, but the residue remained. A hum in the marrow. A static beneath his skin.
Zephryn blinked, once. Twice. The sun hadn't moved.
Neither had time.
"They want me to think this is new…"
"But I've bled here already."
"Zephryn," Yolti said, stepping beside him. "We're supposed to join the line."
Her voice sounded real. Her eyes didn't. They were too calm. Too clear.
Scripted.
Kaelen turned as Torr stepped back, the brief match paused by a flare of golden resonance from the perimeter ward. A Lyceum elder—one of the twelve seated around the arena—raised their hand. Signal to reset.
And again, Kaelen didn't look surprised.
Didn't curse. Didn't panic over his broken weapon.
Just… turned. As if he knew it would break before he stepped in.
As if this wasn't the first time.
"We're all dreaming it together…"
Zephryn took one step forward.
Selka's hand slipped from his shoulder without resistance.
He passed through the energy field marking the outer ring and felt the buzz of resonance crawl over his arms like wet ash. His eyes never left Kaelen.
"You knew it would break," Zephryn said quietly.
Kaelen blinked. "What?"
"Your halberd."
Kaelen looked down. "It was old. Should've reforged it."
"No," Zephryn said, a little sharper. "You knew. Before it snapped. You knew exactly where it would split."
Kaelen didn't respond. But something in his jaw twitched. A tight click of bone. His fingers clenched around the broken shaft like he was remembering something he hadn't remembered until now.
Zephryn stepped closer, lowering his voice. "This has happened before."
"Zeph…" Yolti's voice behind him. Not caution. Warning.
"I've seen it. The fight. The crack. The same crowd. The same clouds. The same pause."
"You're tired," Kaelen said. But he didn't sound like he believed it.
"No," Zephryn breathed. "I'm remembering."
The Choir's words returned—not in whispers, but full sentences, spoken in his own voice.
"He's destabilizing again."
"Insert secondary tether—use the sibling glyph."
"We'll lose control of the loop if he speaks her name."
He staggered. Dropped to a knee.
Bubbalor stirred again—hot this time. Agitated.
The halberd splinters at his feet blurred. His hand touched one, and he felt the memory buried inside it.
This was the moment she screamed.
This was the moment they turned the page.
This was the moment they made it forgettable.
He grabbed the shard and stood.
Torr watched from a distance, face unreadable, arms crossed.
Kaelen tilted his head. "You all right?"
Zephryn turned the broken weapon in his palm. "Do you remember Solara?"
Kaelen blinked slowly. "What?"
"I said—do you remember her name?"
Yolti stepped forward. "Zephryn, we need to line up—"
"She died," he whispered. "I saw it. But I wasn't supposed to. I wasn't meant to remember. That's what they said. That's what they—"
His breath cut off.
The shard in his hand was glowing.
Veilmark light.
Kaelen reached out. "Drop it."
"Why?" Zephryn's voice cracked. "You remember too, don't you?"
Kaelen froze.
Not because of the question—but because he did.
Just for a second.
It flickered in his eyes.
Her.
Selka stepped between them. She didn't speak.
But she looked at Zephryn like he'd just stepped outside of time.
Zephryn's arm lowered. His fingers loosened. The shard fell, clattering against the arena floor. The glow faded.
Around them, the world returned to motion. A new match began in another quadrant. The crowd shifted. An instructor called for Squad Echo to move into formation.
Everything resumed.
Except them.
Because the lie had broken.
Even if the world still pretended it hadn't.
Zephryn took a breath and turned his face to the sky.
"They thought I wouldn't feel it."
"They thought memory was a thread they could cut."
"But I remember her scream."
And he wasn't going to forget again.