There were no roads leading to the Garden.
No maps.
No trails.
It wasn't a place that could be reached—only found.
Ezra and Rei stood before a massive archway in the middle of a rain-slicked valley. The structure loomed impossibly tall, formed from white bones woven with silver vines, untouched by weather or time. In the center of the arch, a swirling pool of mirror-like mist spun slowly, like water caught between breath and memory.
[Gate Detected: Garden of Pale Saints]Status: Incomplete Dungeon | Affiliation: Veil Court (Sealed)Warning: Trial Type – Reflection / Instability Threat: HighGem Affinity: BALANCE
Rei studied the arch.
"This feels like a trap."
Ezra gripped Hollow Mercy.
"It is."
"Then why are we walking in?"
He looked up at the swirling mist.
"Because the last Gem is inside."
She nodded.
But before stepping through, she grabbed his wrist.
"If it shows you something… something awful—don't let it convince you that it's true."
Ezra didn't reply.
Then he stepped through.
The Garden
He landed on marble.
Not dirt. Not dungeon tile. Not blood-soaked ruins.
Just endless white marble, glowing faintly beneath his boots.
The air was warm, clean.
Too clean.
He stood in a garden without plants. Trees without leaves. Flowerbeds without color. Everything was bleached, as though the world had tried to create beauty but forgot how.
Above, the sky rippled like oil.
A sound echoed across the stillness—a slow, deliberate applause.
Ezra turned.
And froze.
The man walking toward him wore a cloak of white and gold. His face was smooth, proud, untouched by scars. His eyes were sharp, commanding, kind.
And in his hand, he carried a pristine Hollow Mercy, still gleaming like it had just been forged.
Ezra's voice was a whisper.
"…me?"
The figure smiled.
"No," he said. "I'm who you could've been."
[Reflection Entity Detected – Name: Ezra Vale]Title: Saint of Balance | Classification: World-Ranked Echo]
Trial Initiated: Face the version of yourself that accepted peace over power.
The Saint of Balance
He didn't attack.
Not right away.
Instead, the Saint sat on a white stone bench and gestured for Ezra to do the same.
Ezra hesitated.
Then sat across from him.
They studied each other for a moment.
"You seem disappointed," the Saint said.
"I don't trust pretty things," Ezra replied.
"You don't trust peace."
Ezra frowned. "Peace isn't real."
The Saint shrugged. "Maybe not in your world. But in mine? I laid down Hollow Mercy after the second Gem. Chose to become a Warden. Taught others. Healed. Guided. We stopped a war before it started."
Ezra clenched his fists. "And how many died while you negotiated?"
"Fewer than died while you killed."
The silence sharpened.
Rei appeared beside Ezra—her reflection smiling, unscarred, eyes filled with light.
Ezra turned away.
The Saint tapped his chest.
"Balance isn't about surrender, Ezra. It's about restraint. You were born to fight. But what are you fighting for?"
Ezra didn't answer.
The Saint rose, lifting Hollow Mercy.
"Let's see if you remember."
Battle of the Self
[Trial Commenced: Ezra vs. Reflection – Balance]
The Saint moved first.
Graceful. Controlled. Every step perfect.
Ezra blocked the first strike—barely. The second nicked his ribs.
The third sent him sliding across the marble.
The Saint didn't press the attack.
He just stood, scythe lowered.
"You can't beat me with rage."
Ezra rose, breathing heavy.
"I'm not angry."
"Then what are you?"
Ezra didn't reply.
He lunged.
Strikes flashed. Bone armor shattered. Chrono Rift triggered.
But the Saint anticipated it—he used Ezra's own Rift to slip behind him and counterattack, nearly severing Ezra's arm.
Blood sprayed.
[Health: 34%]Soul Stability: Threatened – Hollow Mercy resisting containment.
Ezra dropped to one knee.
The Saint approached.
"You will destroy yourself."
Ezra looked up, smiling through blood.
"I already did."
He pressed one hand to the marble.
[Raise Undead – Echo Variant: Regretform]
From the ground, three versions of Ezra rose.
Each one broken. One scarred. One weeping. One wearing a Reaper mask.
The Saint hesitated.
Ezra surged forward with them.
Pain sang.
Time broke.
Blood pooled.
And when it ended—
Ezra stood.
The Saint did not.
Trial Completion
The Saint lay dying—face calm, unafraid.
Ezra knelt beside him.
"I didn't want to kill you," he whispered.
The Saint smiled weakly. "But you needed to."
He pressed a glowing orb into Ezra's hand.
[Balance Gem Acquired – Soul Slot 4 Unlocked](Ability: Equilibrium Pulse – Stabilizes all summoned undead. Prevents corruption. Reduces cooldowns by 50% for 10s. Cooldown: 90s.)
Hollow Mercy – 4/5 Gems Active
Ezra's system pulsed.
Power flooded him.
Then the Saint faded—not with pain, but with peace.
"Don't forget…" he whispered. "Even war must rest."
Return to Reality
Ezra woke with Rei shaking him.
"You were screaming."
He sat up. "I saw… a version of myself."
"Did he win?"
Ezra stared at his scythe.
"No."
"But maybe he should have."