The first specter lunged, clawed hand stretching toward Kieran's throat. The frost in his hands surged forward this time, jagged and unrelenting. It wrapped around the ghostly form in a cold, bright bite, freezing it mid-motion. The specter twisted violently, its humanoid silhouette cracking and fracturing before dispersing into frozen fog.
But the victory was short-lived. Three more figures clawed their way out of the void, their shapes growing sharper, more menacing. Faces rippled across their surfaces like warped reflections on still water, their mouths moving in a soundless chorus. Kieran's chest tightened. These weren't just threats; they were echoes of those who had failed before him. Some dark corner of his mind dared wonder if these had once been students like him, swallowed whole by trials they could not escape.
The frost within him flared, its icy tendrils twisting tighter around his core. Kieran flexed his fingers, grappling to control magic that felt both alive and alien. He recalled the figure he'd seen in the frozen lake, their calm precision a beacon in the chaos. But the memory was fleeting, distant, like starlight beyond his reach.
A specter darted forward, faster than the others, quick as a blade slicing through air. Kieran scrambled left, his boots skidding on the frost-slicked bridge. His thrusting palm conjured a spray of sharp frost shards, piercing the specter until it disintegrated, scattering into the emptiness below.
The void beneath the bridge churned ominously, its silence a living, crawling thing. The bridge itself groaned, thin cracks spreading outward like a frozen spider's web. Kieran glanced down and immediately regretted it. The abyss seemed endless, full of motion and deception, its black void coiling with unease. His breath hitched, panic stabbing at his resolve.
He forced his gaze upward just as another specter loomed close, its form shifting unpredictably, dissolving and reappearing like restless smoke. He swung his arm defensively as it attacked, frost coiling around his forearm just in time to block its talons. The impact sent a jolting pain through his injured body, his burned shoulder ablaze and the claw wound screaming in protest. His footing faltered, sliding him perilously close to the bridge's edge.
"No!" Kieran growled, forcing himself forward. The air in his lungs burned like shattered glass as he inhaled deeply and steadied his trembling legs. Two more specters circled menacingly, their every movement a deliberate threat. The frost surged again, molding itself into a jagged, uneven spear in his hands.
Driven by instinct, Kieran lunged and thrust the spear upward. The icy weapon struck true, piercing the advancing specter's chest. It froze in place for a suspended moment before fracturing into a burst of cold mist. Exhaustion was pulling harder now, but Kieran stumbled back to the bridge's center, trembling as the icy spear in his grip shattered and dissolved.
Above, the glacial monolith pulsed violently, flooding the cavern with a ghostly green glow. The throbbing sound swallowed the space, vibrating through Kieran's bones. Runes etched into the monolith's surface began to shift, their jagged shapes burning with faint light. The air thickened as if responding to the growing energy.
The frost inside him writhed, threading deeper into his veins as if it was not magic, but something older, something primordial. It clung to him like a parasite and protector both, a power he didn't ask for but couldn't survive without.
Even as the specters vanished, Kieran could feel the trial pressing down on him. It wasn't personal; the trial wasn't designed to break him specifically. It was a gauntlet, impartial and unyielding, created to test everyone who dared stand where he stood now.
Kieran inhaled sharply and stepped toward the monolith. Its runes burned brighter as he approached, their shifting shapes stinging his eyes. The frost within his body twisted violently as if fighting against something unseen. The monolith groaned beneath its crystalline weight and hissed into his mind.
"It was never yours," the words whispered, cold and cutting.
Kieran froze, pain blossoming in his veins as the frost seized his muscles. The cavern trembled, cracks spiderwebbing through the bridge beneath him. His breath came in sharp gasps as he gritted his teeth and forced his body to move again, his every step an act of defiance.
Somewhere ahead, his answer or his ruin awaited.