White faded into stone and sky as the courtyard in my soul took shape around me. But this time, it felt different—more real. The flagstones beneath me were solid, tangible. I couldn’t feel my physical self the way I usually did when meditating.


    I scanned the area for Ted, but for the first time, he was nowhere to be found. My gaze landed on the massive doors set into the mountain—Valor’s sigil burned hot across the surface, its deep blue glow pulsing. A cold flicker of light flashed behind me, and I turned, slow and weightless, as if moving through water.


    An impossibly huge storm hovered over the endless ocean ahead, roiling with blue lightning that crackled through the churning clouds. Bolts lashed down in bright flashes, striking the water below. I blinked, my movements sluggish, and when my eyes reopened, the storm had closed the distance, covering kilometers in an instant. The lightning came faster now, lancing through the sky as the massive cell rolled toward the mountain.


    <i>What the hell do I do?</i>


    I tried to say, but no words came out. My body felt heavy, unresponsive. Instead, I turned back to the door, focusing on the sigil.


    Valor burned in a deep, royal blue, its intricate patterns impossibly detailed. The more I looked, the more I saw—layers upon layers of symbols curling inward, each one containing countless more. I could spend a lifetime studying it and still only scratch the surface.


    Reaching out, my fingertips brushed against the runes, a pulse of mana buzzing through my skin. Images flooded my mind, crashing into me with the weight of something vast and absolute. Countless acts of Valor, woven together into a singular message.


    <b>Stand. Fight. Protect.</b>


    I turned back toward the storm just as a bolt of lightning struck the mountainside. Blue energy surged across the courtyard’s railings, crackling over the stone. The storm was right on top of me now, lightning tearing into everything—except the courtyard itself.


    For the first time, I noticed the layout of the stones beneath me. They formed a perfect circle, equidistant from both the door and the other side. As if by design.


    Of course.


    I took a step toward the center. This was my soul, right? It felt like a waking dream, vivid yet untouchable. No real danger. Just something waiting for me to understand it.


    After what felt like ages, I reached the center and looked up. The storm churned above, its massive clouds flickering with relentless energy. Blue lightning rained down, tearing into the mountainside, blasting stone into the air. The ozone in the air was sharp, almost electric, as the destruction unfolded around me—everywhere but here.


    Then, just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped.


    The silence hit harder than the storm’s roar. The clouds still pulsed with blue light, but there was something different now—like the storm was faltering.


    Without warning, a thick bolt tore downward, crackling through the air in front of me before bending in an impossible arc—straight into my chest.


    Pain lanced through my body, white-hot and unbearable. The force sent me flying backward toward the doors. But before I could hit them, everything went black.


    <hr>


    I blinked, unsure if I had passed out, but there was no difference between having my eyes open or closed. It was pure black—absolute, suffocating darkness.


    I lay on my back, the floor beneath me cold and smooth against my bare skin.


    Pushing myself upright, I no longer felt the sluggish weight that had slowed me before. I turned, searching for anything in the void, but there was nothing. No light. No shape. Just endless black.


    Instinctively, I reached for my earring, fumbling for a lantern orb—only to find nothing. My mana sanctum was gone.


    Something deep in my mind screamed at me to fight back the darkness. Mana surged through me, my pathways vibrant and blue in my sight, but when I reached for Valor or Bravery, I found neither. Only one concept remained.


    <b>Radiance</b>.


    I latched onto it, pulling it into my hands. They glowed with an inner light through my skin. My fingers formed the Lotus Mudra, and I pushed everything I had into them.


    Daylight erupted from my palms, piercing the dark in a brilliant arc like a blade of pure sunlight. But the the beam wasn’t just illuminating the void—it was cutting through it. The blackness smoldered where the light passed, curling away like smoke. Yet as I moved, the darkness pushed back, shifting against the glow as if resisting it.


    Then something unnatural stirred.


    The beam of light began to thin, the pressure against my hands growing stronger. The mana I channeled felt compressed, like trying to force water through a hole in a barrel while something on the other side pushed back. The beam shrank, narrowing to just a meter ahead of me—defying logic, as if the darkness was actively rejecting the light.


    Then the pressure hit.


    The darkness closed in from all sides, crushing, suffocating. It wasn’t just around me—it was inside me, sinking into my muscles, locking them up until I started to shake. My breath hitched, my chest tightening as my hands trembled. The light in my palms flickered, dimming to a weak pink glow. My heart pounded, my eyes wide in the abyss.


    <b>Fight</b>.


    The command slammed into my mind, raw and undeniable.


    Desperation flared through me as I forced Radiance into my body, igniting every mana pathway I had. Pain seared through me, tearing through my body as white light erupted outward in a violent dome of red, burning away the suffocating black.


    I screamed in defiance, heat crackling over my skin as I threw my arms wide. The darkness recoiled, sliding against the barrier of light, testing for a gap, searching for a way in. It shifted and twisted, the red smoke curling unnaturally around me, trying to reform.


    But I didn’t stop.


    I stepped forward, forcing the aura of light against it, burning away whatever it was. The shadow squirmed, shifting frantically to slip around me, but I flooded more mana into myself, shifting my movements to keep pressing it back.


    The thing screamed. A shrill, high-pitched screech—almost human.


    Then, in a final burst of red light, the world detonated into clarity.


    Blinding illumination seared my vision, and when the brightness settled, I found myself standing on a massive stone dais, high in the sky, and surrounded by an endless horizon of jagged mountains. The air was impossibly clear.


    And lying in front of me—was me.


    Black smoke curled from his body, burning away in tendrils of red light. He lifted his head, the void in his eyes dissolving, revealing my own gaze staring back at me.


    “<b>Without light, there will always be darkness. The fight is eternal</b>.”


    My breath caught as he shifted, dissolving into a cascade of multicolored sparkles—before slamming into me with enough force to send me crashing backward. I hit the stone hard, landing awkwardly.


    Gasping for air, I pushed myself upright. The panic, the pain—gone. In their place was only an eerie sense of tranquility. The sheer terror of what had just happened felt distant, already fading like a half-remembered dream.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Then reality cracked.


    The sound was sharp, unnatural, and it came from behind me. I spun as I stood, just in time to see an entire mountain collapse in a plume of dust. A massive golden figure followed through from a kick, its sheer size incomprehensible—boulders the size of cities hurtled through the air, slamming into distant peaks with thunderous force.


    The thing had no discernible features, only an immense, humanoid form with four arms, each carving through mountains like they were nothing more than snowdrifts.


    A new kind of terror gripped me as the figure turned, raising one massive hand. A thick beam of white energy erupted from its palm, cutting through the mountains to my right. The explosion that followed sent a shockwave tearing across the landscape, slamming into the dais with enough force to launch me airborne. I tumbled, rolling dangerously close to the edge.


    My ears rang. My mind scrambled for any magic I could grasp.


    <b>Courage</b>.


    For the first time, I bound it—not as Bravery, but something more pure, raw, and necessary.


    The colossal figure seemed to notice me then. It paused, its head tilting ever so slightly, as if curious.


    I narrowed my eyes as it stepped over a mountain, then broke into a sprint—thousands of tons of stone and debris flying in its wake, boulders slamming into the dais around me like meteors.


    I walked forward, unbothered, through the chaos.


    Standing at the edge, I met the towering figure’s gaze, locking eyes with whatever it had in place of them.


    <b>Stand!</b>


    “Oh, I already am,” I muttered, half amused, half exhilarated.


    The ground trembled beneath me, the sheer force of the thing’s footsteps lifting me slightly with each impact. I pointed straight at it as it tore through the landscape, shaking the world with every stride.


    "Dream or not, that is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”


    The figure skidded to a stop just in front of the dais—and grinned my grin. Another me.


    “Well, you can’t fault me for at least trying,” it boomed in my voice, sounding almost sheepish. “Figured I’d crank it up to eleven. Go for something cinematic, you know?”


    I laughed. The Courage rune had dampened any lingering fear, making the whole thing feel less like a nightmare and more like what it really was—a test. And after using Bravery for a week straight, it felt like greeting an old friend.


    “Let’s not make this awkward,” the statue cleared its throat. “I’ve got a thing to say here.”


    I smirked. “Can you do the beam thing one more time first?”


    The statue grinned. “Oh, hell yeah.”


    It raised a hand, and a brilliant white beam ripped through the mountains to my left, obliterating them in an explosion of energy and dust. Debris cascaded in every direction, a spectacle of destruction as over-the-top as I’d hoped.


    Then, with a knowing look, the statue spoke.


    “<b>Sometimes all that hope needs is the Courage to stand against the tide.</b>”


    Before I could respond, it burst apart into a colossal wave of multicolored light, the sheer force slamming into me like a fire hose.


    I was launched off the dais, weightless, tumbling through the air as the energy kept pouring into me—faster, deeper, accelerating me into the unknown.


    The ground slammed into my back, knocking the wind out of me. Given how fast I’d been falling, I expected worse, but the earth was soft, and grass tickled against my skin. My vision cleared, revealing an impossibly vivid night sky. Millions of stars swirled overhead, clustering into massive constellations, each twinkling in a variety of colors. A low, resonant hum—like a struck tuning fork—rang through the air before fading into silence.


    "You good?" The voice was mine.


    I sat up, blinking at the figure sitting on a log just ahead. It was me—or close enough. He looked older, a salt-and-pepper beard matching his hair, with a deep green satin robe draped over his shoulders.


    “Compassion?” I asked.


    He laughed, turning a hand over in a noncommittal gesture. “Eh, sort of. We’re all just representations of your soul’s connection to the concepts. The light trial was the only real concern—black and white and all that.” He shrugged. “As for Compassion… a deep conversation seems more fitting than a test. Not that the last one was really a trial either.”


    With a grunt, he stood, grabbing a black walking staff with an unmistakable orange orb embedded at the end.


    I stared. “Holy shit, Winchester?” I scrambled to my feet. “Or is that just a representation? I’m confused.”


    Compassion glanced at the staff like he was seeing it for the first time. “Oh, this? Is that what it’s called?” He gave it a small twirl, then turned and started walking through the field. I jogged to catch up, only then realizing I was wearing the same robe he was. I opened my mouth to ask about it, but he spoke first.


    "Life is precious and fragile,” he said, gesturing to the open expanse around us. “But it’s also relentless, unstoppable, and brutal.” As he spoke, trees erupted from the ground all around us, twisting upward at an impossible speed. Branches cracked and splintered as the clearing transformed into a dense forest in seconds.


    "Life finds a way?" I said, smirking.


    He chuckled. “Exactly. And with that comes sacrifice. Compassion means helping when you can—but sometimes you can’t. And sometimes…” He exhaled, his expression unreadable. “Sometimes, you shouldn’t.” The forest settled into silence, thick and heavy.


    “Death is part of life. A cycle. You can save people from it, but sometimes the kindest thing you can do… is return them to it.”


    “Ominous,” I said, walking beside him.


    “I know. Not bad, eh?” He turned to meet my gaze, taking a deep breath before letting out a long sigh. “I don’t have answers. I’m just you, and in a second, you’ll just be you again, and there won’t be a me. But…” He hesitated, his expression unreadable. “You should be proud of what you’ve become. Not just anyone can be a Paladin, right?”


    He stepped back, his form already starting to dissolve into flickering light.


    <b>“Protect those that matter to you, and live life to its fullest.”</b>


    Grinning, he tossed Winchester toward me. The moment it hit my palm, the world exploded in light, knocking me flat on my back. I stared up at the sky, the swirling stars and constellations spinning above me.


    I blinked, trying to clear the spots from my vision. Something felt… different. As if some weight had been pressing on me this whole time and had finally lifted. I felt lighter, faster—every movement smooth and effortless. I was again aware of myself lying in the tub in Arryava’s room, but at the same time, I was here, somewhere deep inside my soul.


    Then, the distinct hiss of a can being cracked open pulled me from my thoughts.


    I craned my neck and looked down toward my feet. Ted stood over me, his usual ragged clothes replaced by robes that actually made him look presentable. He’d even bothered to comb his ratty hair.


    Taking a long swig from the can, he let out a loud burp and smacked his lips.


    “Well, shit. Didn’t expect to be doin’ this today. Welcome to your soul-space, kid.”


    I pushed myself up, glancing around. The doors leading out to the courtyard were gone, replaced by an open gateway where the Valor sigil burned bright in their place. The chamber around me was circular, and pulsed with a dim blue energy almost like a heartbeat. Directly across from me, a completely out-of-place purple and orange door stood on its own, leading to nowhere. The air was thick with mana, and it felt as if it was flowing in through the now open gates like a breeze.


    Ted grinned, raising his beer in a lazy salute. “Yeah, it’s a bit cramped for now. But you fuckin’ did it, kid! You took the first step.”


    Realizing I was still holding Winchester, I turned it over in my hands, feeling the faint buzz of energy humming beneath my fingers. How the hell did it get here… in my soul? And could I get it out?


    Ted seemed to consider something for a moment, and the light in the room shifted. I barely had time to react before my vision tilted, and I toppled over, slamming onto my back. The ceiling above was gone, replaced by the endless night sky filled with millions of swirling, multi-colored stars. Thin lines of energy connected them into constellations, pulsing with some deeper, unknowable meaning.


    My heart pounded as I stared into the vast, infinite galaxies overhead. My body—my real body—strained, as if I were sprinting full speed without moving. Information screamed at me from all angles, a relentless rush of meaning and noise. The air trembled with the weight of it, the room itself shuddering under the sheer volume of knowledge pouring in.


    Then, without warning, it all winked out.


    The ceiling reappeared, bare and domed, dimly lit by the soft glow of the blue light.


    “Whoa, shit. Sorry ‘bout that, kid.” Ted let out a breath, shaking his head. “Spirit-guide stuff. That was a doozy of a question, had to check my math.”


    I blinked, trying to clear my head. “A question? Spirit-guide stuff? That was a literal universe of information up there, Ted, what the fuck?”


    Ted just grinned, pointing his beer at Winchester. “You asked, well thought, you could bring that fancy lookin’ stick into the physical world, and I think we can—if we move quick.”


    My body was starting to adjust to the mana flowing through it, and I could feel my physical form stirring somewhere distant, like waking up just beneath the surface of a dream.


    Ted strolled over to the glowing Valor sigil in the doorway. “Ain’t got time to explain, but you need to take all the mana your meat suit’s soakin’ up in that tub and shove it into this Seal. It’s called mana burnin’.” He smirked. “Though I don’t think the insect lady watchin’ you is gonna like the result.”


    I stopped mid-stride, narrowing my eyes. “That’s the first time you’ve referenced my actual physical situation.”


    Ted’s grin stretched wide, entirely too pleased with himself. “That Seal you bound? Yeah, it’s basically a damn window now. I get a front-row seat, and trust me—ol’ Ted likes to watch.”


    I ran a hand down my face, not at all sure how to process that, everything was happening too fast.


    “Hey, go open that door, will ya?” He pointed at the odd, purple-and-orange door standing alone.


    Still wary, I walked over and cautiously pushed it open. Inside was a long hallway lined with golden shelves, each stacked with bread, a water gourd, a scattering of coins, and various items I’d collected.


    “My mana sanctum?” I asked, staring into what was basically an impossible storage closet.


    “Yep! Don’t ask me how it can cross the veil because we ain’t got time for the lecture. We’re gonna use it as a bridge for your stick.”


    He held his hands out toward my Seal like he was warming himself by a campfire. With just a thought, I could feel all the mana in the air shift toward it, as if feeding into a fire as energy exploded through the air around me.


    “Now,” he said, sounding almost too cheerful, “this is probably gonna hurt. A lot.”


    Before I could react, the room erupted into an inferno of molten blue, a wave of raw energy slamming into me and launching me backward—straight through the door.