Chapter 14
The mountain winds howled like wolves mourning the sun.
Nezutsu and Kaelith stood at the edge of the Hollow Spires, watching as stormclouds swirled unnaturally overhead. The scroll's sigil still burned against Nezutsu's palm — the bloodmark of the God-Eater's Temple refusing to fade.
"We need to move," Kaelith said. "If they've summoned you by name, it means they've activated the Trial."
"Trial?" Nezutsu asked, still feeling the warmth of Asera's memory in his chest.
"A test of soul and flame. The Temple doesn't just want to kill you. They want to see if you're worthy of being destroyed."
"Then let's not keep them waiting."
The Path of Molten Dust
They descended the scorched slopes of the Hollow Spires through the Vermith Road, a trail only visible to those marked by the Eye. Every step activated dormant glyphs — some whispering, some screaming.
Along the path, they encountered the remnants of those who had failed the Trial.
Mages turned to obsidian.
Scrolls turned to ash.
Names scraped off stone as if time itself refused to remember them.
"The God-Eater doesn't kill for pleasure," Kaelith said. "He devours the meaning behind your existence."
"Good," Nezutsu said, voice steady. "Then I'll carve my name where even he can't reach."
Temple of the Unbound Maw
At the end of the Vermith Road stood a temple so large it bent the horizon. Its gates were made of interlocked bones. Its roof — a never-ending swirl of stardust and screaming reflections.
Carved above the entrance:
"All Flame Ends Here."
But Nezutsu's flame… pulsed brighter.
As they stepped inside, Kaelith stopped.
"This is as far as I go. The Trial is for you alone."
"You trust me to come back?"
"No. But I trust what's waking inside you."
She touched his cheek, then vanished into mist.
Nezutsu walked alone into the dark.
Trial of the First Sin
The temple reshaped itself with each step — reality melting and reforming.
At the center was a throne made of broken halos. On it sat a figure in bone-wrapped robes — the First Warden of the God-Eater.
"Ashless One," it hissed, "do you claim the title of Sovereign?"
"I claim nothing. I remember."
"Then be judged by memory."
The Trial began.
Flames surrounded Nezutsu — each one a moment from a life he hadn't lived yet:
A child standing atop corpses, smiling.
A king burning his people to save the world.
A god falling to his knees before a mortal with no magic.
"These are all you," said the Warden. "You are not a hero. You are a consequence."
Nezutsu stepped into the fire.
And didn't burn.
"Maybe I am. But even consequences can choose what comes next."
The throne split.
The temple shook.
The Warden screamed as violet flame erupted from Nezutsu's chest — not wild, but shaped.
A sword formed from his flame. Not crafted — remembered.
He raised it.
And the First Warden knelt.
"You… are not the Ash Sovereign."
"Then what am I?"
"You are his Return."
Outside the Temple
Kaelith gasped as the mountain horizon burned — the temple emitting violet pillars of fire visible for miles.
A whisper echoed through the wind.
"He passed it."
From the shadows, a new figure emerged — face hidden, wearing the cloak of the Obsidian Circle.
"Begin Phase Two. The Sovereign walks again."
[TO BE CONTINUED...]