The Covenant Seal

Luke barely had time to process the words that echoed through the Shardrealm.

"The Chosen have arrived. The Trial begins now."

The air turned heavy, mana crackling like electricity through the obsidian floor. At the edges of the endless void, shadows twisted, pulling together into spectral warriors clad in ancient, rune-carved armor. Their eyes burned like dying embers, hollow yet filled with purpose.

Luke clenched his fists as three Echoes stepped forward. Their weapons—formed of crystallized mana—gleamed in the eerie glow of the realm. One carried a bladed spear, the second wielded a jagged longsword, and the third hefted a massive axe that hummed with barely restrained power.

Beside him, Lila hovered, golden glyphs forming around her hands. "They're strong, Luke. They feel… alive."

Luke inhaled sharply, mana surging through his veins. The Covenant Seal on his forehead pulsed, igniting with golden light. He squared his stance, letting his energy flow outward into his limbs. "Then we don't hold back."

The first Echo lunged—the spear-wielder, moving faster than Luke expected.

It thrust its weapon forward, the tip shimmering with condensed energy. Luke barely dodged, twisting his body sideways as the spear sliced past his ribs, leaving a faint trail of burning mana in the air.

He retaliated with a mana-empowered punch, driving his fist toward the Echo's chest. The impact sent it staggering back, but instead of breaking apart, its body shifted like smoke, reforming in an instant.

Luke barely had time to react before the second Echo struck.

A longsword slashed toward his side. He threw up a hasty mana barrier, but the impact shattered his defense instantly, sending him skidding backward. He landed hard on the obsidian ground. Pain flared up his arms from the backlash.

"Damn it! They hit hard!"

"Keep moving!" Lila's voice rang in his ears. "They react like warriors. If you stop, it's over!"

Luke pushed off the ground, rolling to his feet just as the axe-wielding Echo charged.

The massive weapon came down like a falling meteor, slamming into the black beneath their feet with a thunderous impact. Cracks spiderwebbed outward from the force, shaking the entire battlefield.

Luke vaulted to the side, avoiding the devastating blow by mere inches.

Lila was already moving. Golden chains erupted from her glyphs, wrapping around the spear-wielding Echo's legs, pinning it in place.

"Luke! Now!" she called.

Luke's heart pounded as he focused all of his intention and will into summoning a blade like the Echoes had. He grinned as his first attempt was successful. 

The shimmering energy solidified, and in his right hand was a huge sword made of crystalized mana. It was heavy, but somehow still lighter than it should have been given its size. He gripped the hilt with both hands and charged forward, swinging the great sword with speed and ferocity. With a single clean stroke, his blade cut cleanly through the Echo's midsection. 

The spectral warrior dissolved into motes of blue light, its spear clattering to the ground before vanishing.

One down.

Luke turned, breathing heavily. But the moment of victory was short-lived.

The longsword Echo rushed him from behind.

Lila saw it first. "Luke, behind you!"

Luke barely managed to duck as the blade carved through the space where his head had been. He felt the heat of the mana-infused strike as it sliced through the air.

The Echo pivoted sharply, bringing its weapon around for another strike.

Luke reacted on instinct.

Instead of dodging, he raised his forearm, channeling mana into it at the last second.

The blade clashed against his newly reinforced arm, sending a shockwave of energy outward.

Luke gritted his teeth and summoned a complete mana cloak. I can feel it. The mana… I can control it more precisely now.

His mana cloak shifted, solidifying into something denser, stronger—not just raw energy, but a refined layer of protection.

The Echo pushed against him, but this time, Luke wasn't budging.

He sidestepped, spinning with a burst of speed, and drove his great mana blade through its chest.

The spectral warrior let out a hollow hiss before vanishing into the void.

Two down.

Luke turned, adrenaline surging through his veins. Only one Echo remained—the axe-wielder.

It roared silently, raising its massive weapon with both hands.

Before it could strike, Lila struck first.

Golden daggers appeared in her hands, and with a swift motion, she hurled them forward.

The daggers pierced the Echo's form, staggering it for a brief moment.

"Luke! Finish it!"

Luke didn't hesitate.

He took a deep breath, feeling the mana currents around him. For the first time, he understood their rhythm, the way they moved through the battlefield.

He stepped forward, his body moving in sync with the mana itself.

The Echo swung its axe—a final, desperate attempt to cut him down.

But Luke was already inside its guard.

With a controlled uppercut, he channeled everything he had into a single strike.

A brilliant explosion of blue-white energy erupted from his fist.

The Echo shattered instantly, breaking apart in a cascade of glowing embers.

The battlefield fell silent.

Luke staggered back, breathing heavily, his mana veins pulsing with exhaustion.

Lila drifted closer, watching him with a knowing smile. "You adapted," she said.

Luke exhaled, hands trembling slightly as he released his mana cloak. "I had to." 

Before he could say anything more, runes in the obsidian ground began to glow and pulse brightly.

The deep, resonant voice returned:

"The Chosen have begun to awaken. The path continues…"

At the far end of the battlefield, a new path materialized—a bridge of glowing blue stone leading deeper into the Shardrealm.

Luke wiped the sweat from his forehead, his body still thrumming with adrenaline. He looked at Lila. "So it's more than just those three, huh?"

Lila giggled. "This is my first trial, just like you," she said. "But from the looks of it, I'm going to have to say, 'yeah, there's more.'"

Luke looked toward the new path, setting his jaw and resolving to pass this Trial or die trying. He looked at Lila and nodded, then the pair set off toward the glowing blue bridge.

A few minutes passed in near silence, the only sounds were Luke's footsteps resounding oddly through the Shardrealm and faint whispers that seemed to come from nowhere and drift eerily through the odd, ancient space. They reached the oddly glowing stone bridge. Luke stepped onto it and looked over the edge. A strange sense of vertigo threatened to overwhelm him and he gripped the hand rail tightly.

It was both beautiful and terrifying. It was outer space, stretching out below him in a never-ending expanse. There were more stars than he'd ever seen before, far more, and he stayed there to take in as much of it as he could.

"It's beautiful, huh?" Lila said softly.

Luke nodded, still awestruck. "Is that really outer space?" he said in barely more than a whisper.

Lila hesitated before answering, her gaze lingering on the stars. "Yeah," she finally said, softer than before. "We're closer to my world than yours now."

Luke's head snapped up at that. "Whoa. Really? "We actually traveled across the universe?" The grandeur of the idea threatened to completely overwhelm him.

Lila chuckled softly, melodically. "Yeah. The Shardrealms are unique and difficult to explain. I know they were made by the Ancient Builders, and that they can be found spread out all over both this universe and the Aetherion Universe. And if one is powerful enough, mana portal travel can be used to reach them. I don't know anything more specific than that, though."

Luke's gaze returned to the once-in-a-lifetime view stretching out below them. He thought of Headmaster Calderon, then, and realized the man must be quite powerful if he could open a portal that was able to send them across the universe.

"We should go," Lila said reluctantly. "We can't stay here forever, and there is more to accomplish here."

Luke nodded, turning to follow Lila across the bridge. His gaze kept wandering back to the beautiful view below them, though, and he wasn't sure how much time had passed once they finally reached the other side. 

As they neared the end of the bridge, Luke was drawn to stay on it. He stopped before stepping off, his eyes trying to capture all that they could of the view. 

"Luke, we have to go," Lila said. 

He nodded again, "I know, I know." But he didn't want to leave. He felt suddenly that if he left he would be losing something extremely valuable and important to him. He could just stay there, couldn't he? Where was he ever going to find something so beautiful again? He could simply step over the rail and drift into the expanse…

Lila's brow furrowed as she watched Luke. She didn't want to be pushy, but they had to continue on or what was the point of even entering the Shardrealm? A nagging feeling rose in her gut as she drifted back toward her partner. 

"Luke? Are you okay?" She asked softly.

No response. Suddenly, Luke put his hands on the rail and threw his legs over, deftly clearing it and landing with his feet on the very edge of the bridge.

"Luke! What are you doing!?" Lila yelled at him. "This isn't funny!" 

The stars blurred, pulling at the edges of Luke's consciousness. A voice—no, not a voice, a feeling—tugged at the back of his mind. He didn't belong where he was. He belonged out there, among the endless lights. The thought was warm, comforting, inevitable. 

Lila continued to stare at Luke as he said nothing. Then it hit her: the Trial was taking a new form. She darted forward, grabbing Luke's arm just as he released his grip on the handrail. With a thought she stopped gravity from affecting Luke's body and pulled him back over the rail and off the bridge. 

Once off the bridge she released her grip on gravity and Luke thudded to the ground. A groan escaped his lips and a pained expression crossed his face. 

"What the crap was that?" he asked, climbing to his feet.

Lila didn't immediately answer. She was frustrated with herself for not seeing the problem earlier, and with Luke for being so easily baited.

"Luke," she began, "you literally just tried to jump off that bridge."

Luke's brow furrowed. His memory was foggy, but he didn't think he was trying to actually jump off the bridge. He did remember wanting to be closer to the stars, and drift away… And there it was. He shook his head, taken aback by the realization. 

"I almost died, didn't I?" 

Lila nodded, arms crossed. "Yeah, and that would have sucked." Fear flashed through her eyes as she spoke. 

"Dang… Well thank you for saving me," Luke said gratefully, stepping forward and embracing Lila. 

Lila stiffened for half a second before sighing and patting his back. "Okay, okay, you're welcome," she muttered, but Luke caught the tiny, relieved smile she was trying to hide.

He hugged her for a few seconds, then stepped back, looking her in the eyes. "Did you really need to drop me like that, though?"

Lila's grin grew. "Yeah, kind of," she said, giggling. She sighed then and patted Luke on the shoulder. "Come on, Partner, "Let's keep going. And please keep your feet on the ground in the future."