They found the clearing just before nightfall.
It was shaped like an eye—perfectly round, ringed by towering trees with trunks that twisted in spirals, their bark blackened like charred bone. At the center stood a single stone altar, cracked and overgrown with moss. Beneath it, faintly glowing runes pulsed like a heartbeat.
Kairo stopped short.
He could feel it.
A low vibration in the soles of his boots. A hum in the back of his skull. The air thickened—not with heat, but intention. This was no resting place. It was a threshold.
"The forest has chosen," Aeska said grimly.
"Chosen what?"
"Whether you're worthy to pass."
Kairo stepped into the clearing.
The second his foot crossed the moss-ringed edge, the wind stilled.
The runes ignited with blue fire.
Then came the voice—not from above, not from the trees, but from inside his bones.
"ASHBORN."
Kairo dropped to one knee, clutching his head. The pressure in his skull mounted, every thought screaming as images poured into his mind: cities split in half by roots, blood pouring from stone walls, and Yui standing at the center of it all—her hands glowing, eyes burning white.
The voice continued.
"TO SAVE HER… YOU MUST BE KNOWN."
The altar split open.
From the crack rose a shape formed of root and flame. It bore no face, no weapons—just a cloak of ash and a mirrored surface in place of a head.
It raised one arm, and the mirror shone.
Kairo looked into it.
And saw himself—not as he was now, but as he once had been: a child, frightened, screaming in the arms of his sister as the world fell apart. Then older, clutching his first blade. Then older still, standing over the body of the man who betrayed their village. Then… burning.
A version of himself cloaked in fire, with nothing behind his eyes.
A killer.
The vision faded.
"DO YOU ACCEPT WHAT YOU ARE?"
Kairo stood slowly, staring at the mirror-being.
"I've killed," he said. "I've lied. I've run."
He glanced at Aeska, who stood frozen at the edge of the clearing, watching but unable to step in.
"But I've also survived. Protected. Searched."
He stepped forward. "I'm not proud of everything I've done. But I'll carry all of it… if it means I can save her."
The mirror-being raised its other arm.
Roots surged from the ground around Kairo, whipping toward him—testing his resolve.
He didn't flinch.
The roots stopped inches from his throat.
"THEN BEAR THE MARK."
A sliver of root wrapped around his wrist, burning into his skin. He gritted his teeth, refusing to scream. When it withdrew, a black sigil was left behind: the Eye of Ash.
The Trial was complete.
The altar closed. The forest exhaled.
And a path opened through the trees—wide, smooth, glowing faintly with blue spores.
Aeska finally stepped forward, staring at his wrist.
"You passed," she said. Her voice was reverent, maybe even afraid.
"I didn't ask for the mark," he replied.
"No one ever does."
They moved forward into the newly opened path. Behind them, the clearing sealed, and the wind returned to the trees.
As they walked, Kairo felt the mark burn again.
Not painfully—more like a signal.
Calling to something.
Or someone.
Far ahead, Bone Mountain rose on the horizon like a beast's broken tooth, its peak glowing with red light.
And deep within, Yui waited.