The Trial Realm trembled.
It wasn't a quake, not quite. There
was no ground-shaking roar, no collapse of bone or stone. Instead, the tremor
moved through the Realm, like a current beneath the skin of reality—rippling
across the Hollow Spires, down into the caverns of the Womb, and beyond… into
places unseen.
Something had changed.
And the Realm knew it.
Ash stood at the heart of the Graven
Womb, his boots resting on the edge of the summoning circle that had nearly
torn his soul in two. The air still smelled of scorched mana and bloodless
dust. Nearby, Xeravon slept—not because he was weak, but because the act of remembering
had drained him. Even in rest, the beast twitched, as if his dreams were
tangled with things long buried.
Ash didn't look at him. His eyes were
fixed on the empty sky above the Womb's cracked ceiling. It was like staring
into a wound that refused to scar.
Beside him, Iriis stood in silence.
"I thought the Trial would be about
survival," Ash said softly. "Get stronger. Defeat monsters. Beat a boss. Win."
He exhaled, voice hollow.
"But it's not."
Iriis didn't answer immediately. Her
voice came slow, careful.
"It's about claiming. The System
doesn't test you to see if you can follow the rules."
"It tests whether you can break them."
Ash turned toward her.
"And if I can?"
"Then you become more than a Binder."
"You become a Court."
Far above the Trial Realm, in
dimensions stitched from memory and purpose, the System stirred.
A construct of infinite algorithms,
ancient logic, and evolving sentience, it watched Ashland Vale's path with
growing uncertainty.
He had passed trials not through
domination, but through empathy.
He had refused to kill where others
had consumed.
He had named a forgotten guardian, and
in doing so, had rewritten its fate.
And now… he stood on the threshold of
something the System hadn't accounted for.
[SYSTEM ALERT – UNREGISTERED COURT
CLASS IN PROGRESS]
Court Status: Unnamed
Members: 2
– Iriis, Sentinel (Loyal)
– Xeravon, Warden (Stabilizing)
Leadership: Provisional | Ashland Vale
Core Trait: Primordial Bond
Alignment: Memory-Bound
Domain Signature: Incomplete
Initiate Naming Protocol
Warning: A Court's name defines its
future.
It will echo through all Binds, all
realms, all fates.
Ash closed his eyes.
The power surged again—not with pain,
but pressure. The System wasn't forcing him—it was asking. Waiting.
A name.
Something to hold the shape of what he
was building. Something that could bind not just companions—but legacies.
He saw Iriis—the last sentinel of a
forgotten world. Xeravon—the starved warden, reborn through memory. Himself—an
ash-born slum child, standing where no one expected him to.
He saw not monsters. Not tools.
But echoes.
Each of them, remnants of something
once great, now shattered.
He saw himself, a boy made of ash and
stubborn fire, building a throne out of broken pieces.
His voice came low.
"I name this Court…"
"The Court of Broken Stars."
The System froze.
For a heartbeat, the Realm stopped
breathing.
Then came the backlash.
Power.
A wave of resonance burst outward from
the naming ritual—raw, violet-blue energy that tore upward through the Womb's
dome and into the sky above, piercing the clouds like a blade.
All across the Trial Realm, others
felt it.
Summons paused mid-hunt.
Trial-born spirits screamed and
dissolved.
Gates trembled.
And in the far corners of the
fractured world—others watched.
Elsewhere – Unknown Zone
A dark chamber. A circle of veiled
thrones.
One by one, figures stirred.
"Another one," a voice rasped.
"Another Court dares rise."
"This one is different," a second
said. "He has Bound an Echo."
"No… two."
Silence. Then:
"We should end it before it roots."
A voice cut through the shadows,
colder than steel.
"No. Let him grow."
"Let him show his teeth—then we tear
them out."
Back in the Womb
Ash was on his knees, panting. The
energy surge had passed, but the aftershock rattled his bones.
Iriis helped him stand. Her helm
tilted slightly.
"That name…" she said.
He looked up, eyes still glowing
faintly.
"Does it bother you?"
She was silent for a moment.
Then:
"No," she said softly. "It fits."
Ash turned toward Xeravon, who had
stirred slightly from his rest. The beast didn't rise, but its many eyes had
opened. One stared at Ash.
There was no hate there.
No hunger.
Only recognition.
[SYSTEM UPDATE – COURT REGISTERED]
Court Name: The Court of Broken Stars
Founding Binder: Ashland Vale
Domain Signature Created.
Binding Sigil Manifested.
Influence Trail Initiated.
Your Court is now detectable across
Trial Realms and lesser Realms.
Court Growth Unlocked.
— Court Members:
• Iriis – Sentinel | Loyalty: 100%
• Xeravon – Warden | Loyalty: 42%
(Stabilizing)
— Passive Trait Unlocked:
Echo Throne (Lv.1) – The more sentient
summons you bind, the greater your authority over lost domains.
• Court Commands may be issued in
battle.
• Bonus synergy between members
unlocked.
— Active Trait Unlocked:
Court Sigil Projection – Can summon a
burst of Realm Presence to suppress lower-tier enemies. Cooldown: 6 hours.
Ash exhaled.
The surge was fading now. But he could
still feel it—everything had changed. Even the ground felt more solid beneath
him. As if the Realm had been forced to recognize him.
He was no longer a trial-taker.
He was a rival.
He turned toward Iriis, who now looked
at him not just as a protector…
…but as someone worth following.
"Let's find the next Trial," he said
quietly.
"And if they try to stop us?"
Ash's violet eyes glinted.
"Let them try."