The screaming started all at once.
Dozens of young beasts stumbled through the black water, clawing their way onto the circular platform while the basin continued rising behind them.
Some were small enough to fit in Aiden’s arms.
Others were already the size of wolves.
None looked fully grown.
Golden fur.
Half-formed wings.
Scales that had not yet hardened.
Horns barely emerging through soft skin.
They were different from one another, but Aiden could feel the connection between them.
Every creature carried a faint trace of the Primordial Chimera.
Not identical.
Not copies.
Children.
The same word Aurelius had used echoed through Aiden’s mind.
The pack.
A young Aurelius collapsed near his feet.
One of the cub’s six wings bent at an unnatural angle.
Blood ran down its side.
Aiden immediately crouched.
His hand reached toward it.
The Primordial Chimera roared.
DO NOT TOUCH THEM.
Aiden stopped.
“They’re injured.” THEY ARE NOT REAL.
The little Aurelius looked up.
Golden eyes filled with pain.
“Father?” Aiden’s chest tightened.
The Primordial Chimera recoiled inside him.
The word had struck something deeper than anger.
Aiden looked across the platform.
Malachor had not moved.
The Firstborn stood at the edge of the trial, his pale armored form still active, six arms hanging loosely at his sides.
But his face had changed.
All arrogance was gone.
His red eyes moved from child to child.
He knew them.
Sophia stepped closer to Aiden.
“Are these illusions?” “I think so.” Theodore studied the black water.
“An illusion can still kill.” Marcus kept his sword ready.
“Especially in a place like this.” Golden words remained above the platform.
SECOND TRIAL: THE WEIGHT OF THE PACK CHOOSE WHO SURVIVES The water rose another inch.
Aiden frowned.
“How many?” The hall did not answer.
A second message appeared.
THE HEIR CANNOT CARRY ALL.
Malachor closed his eyes.
Aiden noticed.
“You’ve done this trial before.” The Firstborn opened them again.
“Once.” “And?” “I passed.” The young Aurelius whimpered.
Aiden looked toward Malachor.
“How?” Silence.
The Primordial Chimera’s rage returned.
DON’T.
Aiden ignored it.
“How did he pass?” The answer came from Malachor himself.
“I chose.” Aiden stood slowly.
The water continued climbing around the smaller beasts.
One creature with translucent wings tried to pull another toward higher ground.
A serpent-like child coiled around an injured cub to keep its head above the water.
Aiden watched them.
“How many did you save?” Malachor did not answer.
That was answer enough.
The Primordial Chimera’s memory broke through.
Aiden saw the same platform.
Not damaged.
Not dark.
Beautiful.
Golden light covered the hall.
Hundreds of young beasts stood together.
Malachor was younger.
Smaller.
His armor unfinished.
The Primordial Chimera watched from the throne.
The trial activated.
The black water rose.
The message appeared.
THE HEIR CANNOT CARRY ALL.
Malachor selected twelve.
The rest drowned.
Aiden’s breath caught.
The vision shattered.
He looked toward Malachor.
“You left them.” “They were constructs.” “You still chose.” “The trial required it.” Aiden stepped toward him.
“No.
The trial told you that you couldn’t save everyone.” Malachor’s eyes narrowed.
“That is what leadership is.” Aiden felt something cold settle in his stomach.
Malachor continued.
“A ruler decides what may be preserved and what must be sacrificed.” Behind him, a small feathered beast cried out as the water reached its throat.
Aiden moved immediately.
He grabbed it and lifted it onto his shoulder.
The Primordial Chimera growled.
AIDEN.
“What?” THE HALL WILL PUNISH YOU.
“For helping it?” FOR REFUSING THE TRIAL.
Aiden picked up another injured creature.
“Then it has a bad trial.” Marcus stared at him.
“You are arguing with an ancient succession system.” “Yes.” “Of course you are.” Sophia crouched beside the serpent child.
Her shadows lifted the injured cub trapped in its coils.
“We have dozens.” Theodore looked toward the rising water.
“And not much time.” The trial timer above the platform appeared.
Ten minutes.
Malachor’s voice remained cold.
“You cannot save them all.” Aiden glanced toward him.
“I’ve heard that sentence before.” “This is not idealism.” “No.” Aiden carefully placed the smaller creature on his back.
“This is stubbornness.” Theodore smiled.
“A far more reliable trait.” Marcus sighed.
“Fine.” He sheathed his sword.
Then picked up two beasts at once.
One immediately bit his shoulder guard.
Marcus stared at it.
“You are welcome.” The creature bit harder.
Sophia almost smiled.
The water rose.
Aiden scanned the platform.
There were too many.
At least forty.
Some could walk.
Others could not.
Aiden shouted.
“If you can move, climb toward the center!” Several creatures reacted to his voice.
Not all.
He felt the Primordial Chimera’s presence pressing outward.
“They recognize you.” OF COURSE.
“Then help.” Silence.
Aiden’s frustration flared.
“They think you’re their father.” THEY ARE MEMORIES.
“They still think they’re dying.” The Primordial Chimera went still.
Aiden lowered his voice.
“If you can hear them, so can they.” The ancient creature resisted.
Then its presence changed.
A deep call moved through Aiden’s soul.
Not words.
A sound.
Low.
Warm.
Commanding.
Every young beast on the platform froze.
Their ears lifted.
Wings stopped trembling.
Golden eyes turned toward Aiden.
The young Aurelius stared at him.
Then stood.
The Primordial Chimera spoke through him.
COME.
The response was immediate.
The beasts began moving.
Those able to walk helped those that could not.
Larger children lowered their bodies so smaller ones could climb onto their backs.
A horned cub dragged an injured winged creature through the water.
The pack reorganized itself.
Sophia stared.
“They understand hierarchy.” “Family,” Aiden corrected.
Malachor’s expression hardened.
“Do not romanticize instinct.” Aiden looked toward him.
“You’re standing alone.” For the first time, Malachor had no reply.
The water reached Aiden’s knees.
Theodore glanced at the walls.
“No exit.” Sophia examined the golden patterns beneath the surface.
“There must be another condition.” Marcus looked upward.
The message remained.
CHOOSE WHO SURVIVES Aiden stared at the words.
“Maybe it doesn’t mean choose who dies.” Sophia looked toward him.
“What?” “Every trial so far has been worded to make us think one way.” The first had told them to advance through opposition.
The obvious solution had been to reach the end.
Wrong.
They had broken the trial itself.
Aiden looked around.
“What if ‘choose who survives’ means we choose everyone?” The hall pulsed.
Malachor laughed.
“You believe you are the first to think of that?” Aiden turned.
“You tried?” “No.” “Then how would you know?” Malachor’s jaw tightened.
Theodore raised one brow.
“That sounded suspiciously like a challenge.” Malachor stepped onto the platform.
The black water rippled around his legs.
Several young beasts recoiled.
Aiden noticed.
Not because Malachor was unfamiliar.
Because they remembered him.
The Firstborn saw it too.
Something flickered in his face.
A young creature with red feathers stared at him.
“Brother?” Malachor stopped.
The word struck harder than any blade.
The creature limped toward him.
One leg dragged uselessly.
“Brother…
you came back.” Malachor took a step backward.
Aiden watched carefully.
“Who is that?” The Primordial Chimera answered.
SERAPH.
The name carried grief.
Aiden’s gaze moved between them.
“What happened to him?” No answer.
Seraph reached Malachor.
The young beast pressed its head against his leg.
“You said you would return.” Malachor’s claws trembled.
“I did.” “You took a long time.” Malachor looked down.
For several seconds, the ancient monster looked less like a tyrant and more like someone trapped inside a memory.
Then Seraph asked the question.
“Did we win?” Malachor froze.
The Primordial Chimera’s emotion crashed through Aiden.
Pain.
Not Aiden’s.
Not the Chimera’s alone.
Shared.
Malachor’s voice became quiet.
“No.” Seraph tilted its head.
“Then we fight again.” The Firstborn looked away.
The water climbed to his waist.
Aiden finally understood.
“This isn’t only testing leadership.” Theodore looked toward him.
“What is it testing?” “Regret.” Malachor’s head snapped toward him.
Aiden continued.
“The first time Malachor passed, he chose who survived because he believed that was what an heir should do.” The Primordial Chimera remained silent.
Aiden looked toward the throne beyond the platform.
“But maybe the trial was never asking for the right answer.” Sophia understood.
“It was recording the answer.” The golden text changed.
PAST DECISION DETECTED MALACHOR: TWELVE PRESERVED A second line appeared.
THIRTY-SEVEN ABANDONED The young creatures began screaming again.
Malachor’s eyes widened.
Aiden looked at him.
“You didn’t pass.” Malachor’s face twisted.
“I was named heir.” “That doesn’t mean you passed.” The hall shook.
A third line appeared.
FIRSTBORN RESPONSE: ACCEPTABLE Not superior.
Not victorious.
Acceptable.
Malachor stared at the word.
The Primordial Chimera whispered through Aiden.
I THOUGHT IT WAS ENOUGH.
Aiden felt the truth.
The Chimera had accepted Malachor’s choice.
Maybe even praised him for it.
That had shaped everything afterward.
Aiden’s anger shifted.
Not gone.
Redirected.
“You taught him that.” The Primordial Chimera did not deny it.
Malachor looked toward Aiden.
“Do not speak as though you understand.” “I understand enough.” “You grew among fragile humans.
You have never commanded a species hunted across worlds.” “No.” Aiden adjusted the young Aurelius on his shoulder.
“But I know what it feels like to be one of the people nobody chooses.” The words came quietly.
Classless.
Rankless.
Worthless.
He remembered the Awakening Hall.
The laughter.
The pity.
The way adults had already decided what his future was worth.
Aiden looked around at the young beasts.
“I’m not doing that to them.” The water reached his chest.
Timer: six minutes.
Marcus looked around.
“So what is the plan?” Aiden inhaled.
He had no plan.
But the hall had mechanisms.
Rules.
A core.
The first trial had taught him something important.
Ancient did not mean perfect.
He closed his eyes.
“Adaptive Body.” No notification appeared.
Aiden focused.
Not on weapons.
Not on enemies.
On weight.
Forty creatures.
Water pressure.
Balance.
Load distribution.
His body responded.
Pain spread through his spine.
The Primordial Chimera growled.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
“Carrying them.” THAT IS NOT AN ADAPTATION.
“Then make it one.” His muscles tightened.
Bones shifted.
Not larger.
Denser.
His back broadened slightly.
Black scales spread across his shoulders.
A second pair of small bone ridges emerged along his spine, giving the beasts more places to grip.
Pain nearly dropped him.
Environmental Requirement Detected.
Function Requested: Multi-target Transport.
Adaptive Response Initiated.
Skeletal Reinforcement: Minor.
Load Distribution Adjustment acquired.
Aiden gasped.
Marcus stared.
“You’re adapting to carrying them?” “Apparently.” “That may be the strangest thing you’ve done.” “Give me an hour.” Aiden crouched.
“Put the smallest ones on me.” Sophia used shadows to lift them.
Three.
Five.
Seven.
Theodore helped secure injured creatures between the ridges along Aiden’s back.
Aiden nearly collapsed.
His muscles screamed.
The Adaptive Body adjusted again.
Marcus took as many as he could.
Sophia formed broad shadow platforms for others.
Theodore allowed two cubs to cling to his shoulders while carrying another beneath one arm.
Still too many.
Aiden looked toward Malachor.
The Firstborn stood surrounded by water.
Seraph remained beside him.
“Help us.” Malachor stared.
Aiden repeated it.
“You want the throne?
Fine.
Prove you deserve it.” Malachor’s face became cold.
“You ask me to repeat a mistake.” “No.” Aiden looked toward Seraph.
“I’m asking you not to repeat one.” The timer reached four minutes.
The water rose to Aiden’s neck.
Young Aurelius cried out.
Malachor closed his eyes.
The Firstborn’s armor shifted.
His body expanded.
Two additional arms emerged.
Then two more.
Eight arms.
His back widened.
Pale armor flattened into broad plates.
The terrifying war form disappeared, replaced by something built for support rather than killing.
Aiden stared.
Malachor looked irritated.
“Do not misunderstand.” He lifted six young beasts from the water.
“I refuse to lose to a human in my own hall.” Theodore smiled.
“Whatever helps you sleep.” Malachor glared.
The pack moved.
Toward where?
Aiden still did not know.
There was no exit.
The water covered nearly the entire platform.
Sophia pointed toward the throne.
“The golden channels!” The channels carrying energy from the platform toward the throne had risen above the water.
Narrow stone ridges.
A path.
Aiden stepped onto one.
The ridge reacted.
Golden light spread beneath his feet.
The creatures on his back became lighter.
“Go!” Marcus followed.
Sophia guided her shadow platforms onto another ridge.
Theodore balanced carefully.
Malachor stepped onto the final channel.
The water surged.
Dark shapes moved beneath the surface.
Aiden looked down.
Huge jaws opened.
The young beasts screamed.
The trial was not finished.
Creatures formed from black water erupted around them.
Aiden could not fight.
His hands were supporting the cubs clinging to his body.
Marcus tried to draw his sword.
A child slipped from his shoulder.
He grabbed it instead.
Theodore kicked one water-beast away.
Sophia’s shadows weakened beneath the load.
Malachor looked toward the attacking creatures.
His killing form tried to return.
Aiden shouted.
“Don’t!” Malachor snarled.
“They will kill us.” “Then protect them.” The words struck something.
Malachor hesitated.
Seraph clung to his shoulder.
The Firstborn slowly extended two empty arms.
Pale armor unfolded from them.
Not claws.
Shields.
Wide curved plates formed along his forearms.
A water-beast slammed into him.
Malachor held.
Another attacked.
He blocked.
A third.
He shielded the children behind him.
The Primordial Chimera whispered.
HE NEVER USED THAT FORM.
Aiden smiled despite the pain.
“Maybe he should have.” They moved forward.
Three minutes.
Two.
The golden ridges converged near the center.
The water rose to Aiden’s mouth.
His adapted body could carry the weight.
It could not breathe underwater.
A small winged beast slipped.
Aiden caught it.
His head went beneath the surface.
Cold invaded everything.
His lungs burned.
The young Aurelius climbed higher and pulled at his hair.
Aiden pushed upward.
His face broke the surface.
One minute.
Thirty seconds.
The ridge ended.
Nothing beyond it.
Aiden stared.
“No.” The throne stood across a gap of black water.
Too far.
Sophia’s shadows could not carry everyone.
Marcus could not jump while loaded.
Theodore would never make it.
Malachor looked toward the gap.
“We choose.” Aiden shook his head.
“No.” “We cannot cross with all of them.” “Then we don’t cross.” Twenty seconds.
Malachor turned.
“What?” Aiden looked upward.
CHOOSE WHO SURVIVES He finally understood.
Not escape.
Not cross.
Choose.
He wrapped one arm around the young Aurelius.
The other around a horned cub.
“I choose all of them.” Marcus stared.
Sophia stopped moving.
Theodore smiled.
Malachor’s eyes widened.
Ten seconds.
Aiden shouted at the hall.
“Do you hear me?” The water reached his nose.
“I choose everyone!” Five.
Four.
Three.
Nothing happened.
Malachor cursed.
Aiden held the cubs tighter.
Two.
One.
The timer vanished.
The black water disappeared.
Every young creature remained suspended for a heartbeat.
Then golden light exploded across the hall.
Aiden fell onto dry stone.
The cubs around him transformed into particles of light.
Young Aurelius looked up one final time.
“Father?” The Primordial Chimera answered through Aiden.
I AM HERE.
The cub smiled.
Then vanished.
Seraph disappeared from Malachor’s arms.
The Firstborn remained frozen.
Golden words appeared above them.
SECOND TRIAL COMPLETED A pause.
Then— AIDEN CROSS: FORTY-NINE PRESERVED MALACHOR: FORTY-NINE PRESERVED Another line formed.
PACK ABANDONED: ZERO The hall shook.
The throne emitted a deep sound.
Then came the final judgment.
SUPERIOR RESULT RECORDED NEW PRINCIPLE RECOGNIZED Aiden looked upward.
The last words burned brighter than the others.
A SOVEREIGN DOES NOT CHOOSE WHO IS WORTH SAVING.
A SOVEREIGN MAKES THE IMPOSSIBLE CARRY LESS WEIGHT.
The Primordial Chimera said nothing.
Malachor stared at the empty place where Seraph had stood.
His claws slowly closed.
For the first time, Aiden saw something break behind the Firstborn’s eyes.
Not power.
Certainty.
The third platform activated.
Unlike the others, it remained empty.
No monsters.
No weapons.
No water.
Only a circular floor of white stone.
Aiden stepped toward it.
The Primordial Chimera suddenly screamed.
STOP.
Aiden froze.
The white stone cracked.
Something black moved underneath.
Not water.
Not shadow.
A face.
Human.
Aiden’s face.
The copy opened its eyes.
They were completely black.
Golden words appeared above the final trial.
THIRD TRIAL: THE SELF WITHOUT A CHAIN The copy smiled.
Then the Primordial Chimera vanished from Aiden’s soul.
For the first time since his awakening, Aiden was completely alone.