Chapter Fifteen: The Garden of Balance

The courtyard of the Imperial Arboretum had been transformed overnight.

Once a quiet sanctuary of koi ponds and plum trees, it was now a breathtaking arena of contradiction. One half teemed with lush greenery, the air heavy with blossoms and birdsong. The other half was a wasteland of charred earth and jagged stone, where sulfur fog coiled and nothing lived.

Between the two halves ran a narrow bridge of glass, suspended above an endless void.

Ren stood at the edge of the arena, Kaede beside him, both dressed in ceremonial Trial garb black and silver, with the twin crescent crests over their hearts.

An Imperial Seer floated above the bridge, their many eyes closed.

“The Third Trial begins now,” the Seer intoned. “You face the Trial of Balance. Here, force alone will fail. Strategy will crumble without harmony. To move forward, you must walk where neither side holds dominion.”

Ren narrowed his eyes. “The center path.”

Kaede studied the terrain. “Which means they’ll push us to the extremes.”

Across from them, the other four contestants emerged:

Lord Isshin, the noble heir with a blade of flame and a heart full of wrath.

Mirae, the wind dancer who smiled with knives.

Brother Kyo, the monk who never spoke, but whose staff whispered prayers of force.

And Rai, the youngest, who had no visible weapon only a flute made of obsidian.

The Seer’s eyes opened.

“Only three may cross the bridge. The rest must fall.”

The glass path shimmered.

Then the bell tolled.

 The Trial had begun.

Chaos erupted immediately.

Isshin unleashed a wave of fire, searing through the green half of the arena. Kaede rolled beneath it, slicing through burning vines. Mirae darted across the charred ground, wind swirling at her feet, dancing toward the bridge.

Ren blocked Brother Kyo’s blow, their clash shattering stone. “We can’t win by brute force!” he shouted.

Kaede backflipped onto a twisted tree and leapt into the air. “Then balance it!”

They began to shift Ren drawing enemies into the wasteland, Kaede moving fluidly between the edges, guiding combatants into traps of their own making.

But it was Rai who reached the bridge first.

He stood in the center, playing his flute.

The air shimmered.

 A melody of balance.

Suddenly, the two halves of the arena began to pulse. Vines surged into ash, and firestorms broke into the forest. The border blurred. The line between life and ruin began to disappear.

Ren stumbled. Kaede landed beside him.

“What’s he doing?” she asked.

Ren’s eyes widened. “He’s playing the center.”

The bridge glowed brighter responding to the harmony Rai was creating.

But the others were still fighting. Mirae lunged at Rai, only to be blown back by a pulse of light. Isshin bellowed, flame roaring until Brother Kyo silenced him with a single chant, freezing him in mid-step.

Kaede looked to Ren. “We need to stop the fight.”

Ren nodded. Together, they stepped onto the bridge Kaede with fire, Ren with shadow and joined Rai’s melody with their own rhythm.

Kaede swung her blade in wide arcs, deflecting spells not striking, only guiding.

Ren drew lines in the air with his fingers sigils that calmed, not cursed.

And slowly…

The Trial accepted them.

One by one, the others faltered. Mirae bowed. Kyo kneeled.

Only Isshin raged until he exhausted himself and collapsed.

When the melody ended, the bridge was whole again.

And on it stood the three victors:

Kaede. Ren. Rai.

Later that night, As the twins caught their breath in their private quarters, a small slip of parchment slid under the door.

Kaede picked it up and unfolded it.

In neat handwriting, it read:

 They will use the Trials to hollow you out. The next one is the Forge. Beware the vessel. The cult is watching.