Leila stood in front of Elaric. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ɴo(v)elFɪre.ɴet
Above and beneath them stretched the never-ending cosmos.
Galaxies spun in silence....
Stars burned and died in the blink of an eye...
Entire universes expanded and collapsed within moments.
Time itself twisted and distorted around them, warping reality into impossible shapes.
Floating high above, countless eyes...
Each stretched into eerie slits of light as they gazed down upon them coldly.
Those eyes seemed to form the shape of something…
Something far beyond human understanding.
The trial for the Authority of Omniscience had begun.
Leila's breathing turned ragged as she looked up at the impossible sight.
Her knees trembled under the crushing pressure the environment brought to her.
Even the two voices of fate that always whispered quietly in her ears… fell silent.
They watched in hushed fear, as if unwilling to disturb what was unfolding.
An unnatural stillness surrounded her mind, yet within that stillness was chaos.
Numerous thoughts twisted and warped into shapes that couldn't be understood.
She felt like her mind was being peeled open layer by layer...
Her memories were scattering like torn pages in a storm!
Sweat dripped down her pale face as her vision blurred.
She tried to focus, to move, to speak—
But nothing came out.
Across from her, Elaric stood calmly.
His blue eyes reflected countless stars and shifting timelines, his expression unchanging...
As though nothing could touch him.
He tilted his head slightly, observing her trembling form with quiet detachment.
It was as if this test meant nothing to him.
As if he was merely waiting for her inevitable end.
Leila's hands clenched at her sides, nails digging into her palms until blood dripped down onto the shifting, star-filled floor.
But even as pain grounded her fading mind, her legs buckled slightly.
The oppressive presence bearing down upon her seemed to grow heavier with each passing second.
Her lips parted, a shaky breath leaving her throat.
It felt as if her consciousness itself was starting to crack.
And all around them, the silent eyes watched unblinking...
Waiting for their judgment to fall.
At the same time, as Adam hid within the shadows cast by [Surreal Creation].
The arena fell silent.
Only the faint dripping of blood from his wounds onto the cracked stone could be heard...
'My regeneration is being suppressed...'
Selena stood at the center, her long silver hair brushing against her white armor.
Her crimson eyes scanned the dark, indifferent and still.
Her voice was quiet, calm, and utterly empty of warmth.
Adam stayed hidden within the shadows.
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he activated [Surreal Creation], manipulating the illusions to make his voice echo from different directions.
His cold, emotionless tone came from his left.
This time, it came from his right.
"Why are you wearing my mother's face?"
It came from directly above her.
Selena tilted her head slightly, her calm expression unchanging as she listened to his echoing voice.
"This is not a face I wear."
She replied, her tone sharp but calm.
Adam was silent for a second
His voice cracked, rage trembling within each word.
Selena tilted her head slightly, observing the shadows with a faint, unreadable glimmer in her crimson eyes.
"I have no reason to lie to you."
Silence fell between them.
Then Adam spoke again, his voice low and trembling with contained hatred.
"…My mother died years ago. She wasn't… she wasn't like you."
Selena didn't flinch.
Her expression remained the same...
Cold, unwavering, and emotionless.
"You misunderstand, Adam."
She said, her tone quiet and precise.
"I never died. I simply left."
Adam let out a broken, bitter laugh.
It sounded out faintly through the arena.
"…Left… yeah. Frankly enough, I can believe it."
His eyes burned with a sharp, cold sadness.
"You've always been selfish."
Blood dripped from his shaking fists onto the ground.
"So when you left… when you walked into the Tower of Yxthar without even turning back… no one cried for you. No one but dad."
His voice lowered to a near whisper.
"Raiden and Miya didn't shed a single tear."
Selena remained silent, her crimson eyes locked onto the shifting shadows where he hid.
Her gaze didn't soften, nor did it harden.
It simply watched, like a dead star observing the endless dark.
"This is irrelevant."
She finally spoke, her tone still flat, though a faint shadow of something unspoken lingered in her words.
"It doesn't matter what you think of me, Adam. It never has. What matters is what must be done."
Adam felt a burning pain twist through his chest, rage and grief choking him...
At the same time, he was confused.
"…What must be done…?"
He let out a quiet, broken laugh.
"That's all you've ever cared about, huh."
His illusions flickered, his weakened voice echoing out one last time.
"…Don't call yourself my mother."
Selena didn't respond immediately.
She merely blinked once, her expression empty as a corpse.
Then Celestia appeared beside her, stepping out from warped space with quiet grace.
She placed a hand on Selena's armored shoulder, her crimson eyes glimmering with cold amusement.
"He won't come out willingly..."
Celestia said softly, before raising her hand and snapping her fingers sharply.
The sound cracked through the silent arena like a bone breaking.
Two figures appeared before Selena, thrown harshly onto the bloodstained floor.
Adam's eyes widened within the shadows.
Standing there, barely conscious, bloodied and bruised, were two people he was familiar with.
A man with his black hair messy and bloodstained.
Cuts and bruises marked his arms and face, his dark eyes glaring up at Celestia with tired defiance despite the blood dripping down his chin.
Beside him was a woman, her long black hair tied in a low ponytail, dirtied with dust and blood.
Her soft brown eyes blurred with tears as she struggled to keep herself upright, her arms bound tightly behind her back.
Adam felt something twist painfully in his chest as he looked at them.
The only family he had left in this twisted world.
Raiden raised his head weakly, his dull eyes trying to focus amidst the pain...
He could not even speak even if he wanted to.
Miya, trembling, forced her eyes open as tears fell down her dirtied cheeks.
"Brother… Adam... run…! They're... they're trying to.…"
Her voice cracked at the end, as though something was "preventing" her from saying what should not be said.
Adam's nails dug into his palms so hard that blood dripped down onto the cold shadowed stone.
His illusions flickered again, but he quickly stabilized them.
"…What do you want from me…?"
His voice came from above them, quiet and dark.
Celestia smiled faintly, her crimson eyes narrowing with cruel amusement.
She said softly, almost sweetly.
"Originally, we would have killed you and used your body for the purpose we want to achieve. But even then it'll be the same if you were to come with us alive."
Her words dripped like poison-coated honey.
"And I promise… your siblings will live."
Selena stood silently beside her, her crimson gaze locked onto where Adam's real body hid within the shadows.
Miya sobbed softly, shaking her head as tears fell freely.
"Brother… don't come out… please…! They'll... they'll hang you with those people!"
Adam's heart pounded painfully against his ribs.
He forced himself to think calmly, to control his trembling limbs.
'If I surrender… we all die. If I don't…'
His thoughts trailed off as he watched Miya sway dangerously on her feet, blood dripping from her forehead onto the stone.
His fingers twitched as rage burned deep within his chest.
But he forced himself to breathe slowly.
He whispered within his mind like a mantra.
His illusions remained steady as his gaze flicked towards Celestia.
She was watching the shadows carefully, her eyes narrowing slightly with faint irritation.
She knew he wouldn't come out easily.
Adam forced his shaking hands to steady
Just then, a notification came.
[SimplyInvincible is silent for a moment]
[SimplyInvincible reaches out a hand towards Adam]