Dawn's first light seemed hesitant that morning, as though the world itself anticipated the next trial. The courtyard's frost-lilies shimmered in the cold air, but no warmth reached their petals. Instead, an oppressive hush lay over the Academy, broken only by the distant hum of the Lightning Tower and the low murmur of the Origin Halo overhead. I met Seraphina, Yuria, Valmira, Astraea, and Zephira at the plaza, where Nilthria's flame-form drifted beside the brazier.
"The Trial of Fire and Flesh awaits," Nilthria intoned, her eyes molten with solemnity. "It is a crucible of pure potential: raw magic stripped of its trappings, and the body made mortal. You must survive not as the Architect, not as a professor, but as flesh and bone. Only then will you prove that power and purpose can stand united against primal force."
Astraea's gaze hardened. "We will endure."
Yuria cracked her knuckles. "Bring it on."
Seraphina raised her frost-staff. "We face it together."
