Trial of Terra
The earth trembled beneath them. Not from an enemy’s attack, not from magic cast by an outsider—this was something deeper. Older.
This was Terra itself responding.
Reiko and Syaoran stood at the center of the ancient ruins, their breath steady despite the pressure weighing down on them. The very land pulsed in time with their heartbeats, as if testing them.
Clow watched from a distance, eyes narrowed. “This is not an external force,” he murmured. “Terra is awakening… through them.”
Yue stood beside him, arms crossed. “Then this is their trial alone.”
Endymion and his guardians stood back, tense but knowing they could not interfere.
Reiko and Syaoran didn’t need to speak. They could feel it—an instinctual pull, something raw and untamed rising from the very core of the Earth. It was them.
The ground cracked open beneath them, light pouring through the fissures. The Earth Gem, crystallized from their power, pulsed at their feet, reacting.
A voice—not a person, not a being, but something vast and knowing—rippled through their minds.
"You are Terra's first heirs. But will you claim its will as your own?"
The power surged. The trial had begun.
A Test of Control
The energy pulled at them, separating their forms, pushing them apart—but they fought it.
Syaoran braced himself as a wave of raw earth magic crashed toward him. He didn’t flinch. Instead, he reached deep within, calling the Earth Gem’s power, redirecting the force instead of resisting it.
Reiko met her own challenge—a storm of golden-green light twisting around her, trying to break her focus. But she had fought too hard, too long, to lose control now. She grounded herself, letting the power move through her, not against her.
The Earth Gem pulsed between them, responding, resonating. They weren’t fighting Terra’s will—they were its will.
Reiko extended a hand. Syaoran reached for her.
Their fingers brushed—
And the Earth Gem shattered apart, only to reform anew—stronger, purer. A perfect crystallization of their bond.
The tremors ceased. The golden-green glow faded into them, accepted, no longer a test but a part of who they were.
They had passed.
A Witness to Change
Clow exhaled, lowering his hands. “It’s done.”
Yue’s gaze softened as he watched Syaoran regain his breath, his connection to Reiko stronger than ever.
Endymion stepped forward. He could feel it—the shift in them, the balance they had achieved. He gripped the Golden Crystal at his chest, feeling its warmth, its steady presence helping him stabilize his own power.
Reiko turned to him, eyes glowing faintly. “Your turn,” she said, a knowing smile on her lips.
Endymion let out a short breath, shaking his head. “Somehow, I knew you’d say that.”
The trial was over. But their journey had only just begun.