Arcadia stood on the cusp of a new dawn. Lanterns of frost and flame glimmered beneath a sky still echoing the Stormboon's calm. The Emberpetal Garden unfurled its blossoms in soft radiance, and the Memory, Convergence, and Stormboon Wards pulsed in harmonious chorus. Yet atop the Lightning Tower, I sensed an undercurrent—a whisper of futures unmade, of possibilities unchosen. Today, we faced Trial Nine: The Burden of Tomorrow, a reckoning with destiny itself.
I ascended the tower's spiral staircase to the apex platform, accompanied by Seraphina, Yuria, Valmira, Astraea, and Zephira. The breeze was gentle, carrying the faint scent of embers and frost. We formed a circle around the lightning conduit's core, where the Stormboon orb now hovered in silent testament.
