> [Trial Instance: Echoes of the Buried Flame]
Soul Trial Layer 2: Fear Catalyst Activation
Objective: Confront the Event That Would Break You
Warning: Emotional Response May Trigger Unstable Flame Surge.
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Beneath the Crossroads – Layer Two Begins
Tian Xue stepped into the next chamber.
This one held no flame pillars, no statues—just a single flame mirror, gently flickering with a reflection that wasn't her own.
She saw Jiang Han.
Bloody.
Still.
Surrounded by black feathers.
> "No..."
The Phoenix Hatchling let out a low chirp, its embers dim.
The Nightflame Lynx stepped back, fur bristling.
The mirror rippled—and the scene changed.
Now Jiang knelt in front of her, gaze distant.
> "You're strong now," Mirror-Jiang said. "You don't need me anymore."
He stood, turned, and walked into fire.
> "Don't follow me. This path was never yours."
She ran at the mirror—but was stopped by a wall of heat that reflected her hesitation.
A voice echoed in the chamber:
> "Would your flame still burn… if he was gone?"
---
Above – Confronting the Traitor
Jin Moxian sat at the edge of the Crossroads' market row, sipping from a hollow ember cup. His eyes scanned the field as if nothing were wrong.
Jiang approached without a word.
The moment their eyes met, the tension in the world shifted.
> "You've been busy," Moxian said casually. "All that trapwork. That girl—Tian Xue? You care for her, don't you?"
Jiang didn't answer.
He dropped a piece of blackened Scythe-ink scroll between them.
> "Found this under your stone plate."
> "Curious," Moxian said. "And yet... I'm still alive."
Jiang drew Emberfang.
> "Because I want answers before ash."
> "Then listen closely," Moxian said, standing.
> "I did pass your name along. But not just to the Scythe…"
He leaned in.
> "The real buyer? Was from within the Academy's Sovereign Division."
Jiang's blood ran cold.
> "What?"
> "You thought they all wanted you to win?"
---
Below – The Choice
In the mirror, Tian Xue now saw flames consume a battlefield—students, allies, strangers. Jiang fought alone, bleeding and laughing, until the fire took him.
She clenched her fists.
> "Stop it."
> "He's alive."
The Phoenix Hatchling cried out again—its light almost gone.
> "You must burn alone," the chamber whispered. "Or your strength is a lie."
Tian Xue screamed—and her own flame exploded outward, shattering the mirror, ripping the illusion apart.
The embers swirled.
> "If he falls," she whispered, "then I rise with his fire."
---
Above – The Scorching Edge
Moxian stepped back as Jiang's flame surged.
> "What did they want?"
> "To control the next generation of Sovereigns. To ensure only their candidates rise."
> "Why me?"
> "Because you're not theirs," Moxian hissed. "You're Long Chen's flame. And they can't control his echo."
Jiang's blade struck—fast.
Not to kill.
To mark.
Moxian's shoulder burned with a binding sigil—a searing X in flame that would alert Jiang wherever he ran.
> "Run if you want," Jiang said. "You'll lead me to them."
He turned away, fire trailing his steps.
> "And when I get there…"
> "They'll learn what it means to fear a flame they didn't light."
---
Dungeon – Layer Two Complete
> [Trial Passed – Emotional Anchor Strengthened]
Reward: Soul Resonance Crystal x1 | Companion Sync Increased by 4.7%
Access to Final Layer: Unlocked.
Tian Xue stood alone beneath the broken mirror, her breath steady.
She looked up toward the dungeon ceiling, toward the sky above.
Toward Jiang.
> "Hold on," she whispered.
"We're not done yet."