The Temple of Tumaru stretched on endlessly—an infinite cathedral of stars, steel, and time-forged stone. Every pillar carried the weight of an era, every step echoed with forgotten truths.
As Jin and Velka walked down the starlit corridor, the crystalline fog thinned. A grand obsidian gate shimmered before them, covered in celestial sigils. A glowing inscription appeared mid-air, revealing itself letter by letter in archaic script.
"Welcome, Bearer of Chronos and Child of Starlight. You have entered the Trials of Tumaru. This temple contains two thousand missions, each a reflection of trials faced by gods, titans, and beings of forgotten chaos. Survive 100, and the temple shall offer you any resource your soul desires."
Velka raised an eyebrow, her voice sharp but intrigued. "Any resource?"
Jin stared ahead. "It's a tempting reward… but more than that, this place wants to sharpen us."
Their eyes met. There was less tension between them now—Velka no longer just a proud and mocking war princess, and Jin no longer the untouchable manipulator. After what they'd endured in the Dragon Realm, something had shifted.
Velka gave a small smile, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "Then let's start slicing."
Mission One: The Trial of the Unseen Flame
"Mission One – Survive the Flame of the Unseen. Defeat what you cannot see. Endure what does not burn the body—but burns the soul."
A new chamber opened. The moment they stepped inside, all light vanished.
Pitch black.
There was no floor—only the sensation of floating. The silence was suffocating.
Then, whispers began. A thousand voices. No—Jin realized—they were his voice. His regrets, doubts, memories.
"You let Lia die." "You killed your father." "You used Kaelros. Abandoned Lysander." "You were never a hero. Just a monster who smiled well."
Velka screamed somewhere in the dark. "No—no, I didn't mean to—! I was only trying to protect—"
Jin clenched his fists. "It's a psychic flame…"
He reached into his own mind. "Erebus. Chronos. Lend me silence."
Suddenly, time slowed. Not in the world—but in his soul.
The voices weakened.
He turned toward Velka's echo. "Velka! It's not real! It's burning your spirit through guilt!"
She didn't answer.
Jin drew in his breath, clenched his fist, and snapped his fingers.
His Shadow Domain expanded—Black tendrils formed a dome around Velka's position, smothering the psychic fire with nothingness.
She collapsed into his arms.
"Y-You came for me…" she whispered, trembling. "I heard my sister… my dead sister's voice. I almost…"
Jin met her eyes. "Don't let guilt be a leash. You're stronger than that."
A moment of silence passed between them. And then, the room shattered.
The light returned.
They were standing in a circular chamber once more. A golden sigil formed above them.
Mission One: Complete.
Velka leaned her head against Jin's shoulder for a second. "Thank you… for pulling me out."
Jin gave a small nod, but didn't push her away. "Let's move."
Mission Two: Dance of the Hollow Sentinels
"Mission Two – Enter the Colosseum of Echoes. Defeat the Hollow Sentinels. Ten warriors of ancient times who possess perfect memory of combat. Each learns your moves with every second that passes."
The doors to the next trial opened with a hiss.
A massive arena revealed itself, surrounded by mirrored walls and black stars overhead. Ten armored figures emerged—faceless, shifting forms clad in ethereal steel. They bore no souls, but their weapons shimmered with the knowledge of a thousand battles.
Velka conjured her blade, now imbued with starlight. "Let's make this a dance."
Jin summoned Chrono Edge, his father's weapon, a blade that distorted time with every swing.
The first Hollow Sentinel lunged.
Its blade moved before Jin did.
Too fast. It had already calculated his opening stance.
Jin parried, but a second Sentinel slashed from the side—Velka intercepted it mid-air, her sword releasing a burst of light
"They evolve. Every second they fight you, they grow sharper," Jin murmured.
"Then let's not give them the time."
Ten seconds in — Jin created a loop in time around his own body, flickering like afterimages across the arena, making it impossible for the Sentinels to pinpoint his actual body.
Velka, meanwhile, activated a rare spell that Overlords used.
"O dying star, collapse upon thyself—let memory reset!"
Her body began flashing between positions—rewinding just before being struck, over and over, rewriting her movements each time.
Together, they fought the Sentinel.
Jin struck low.
Velka struck high.
One Sentinel crumbled.
Then another.
But the remaining eight adapted.
One adapted too well—and stabbed Jin in the side, drawing blood.
He grunted and dropped low, shouting, "Velka—blind them!"
Velka raised her blade toward the mirrored sky. "Lunar Prism: Starfall!"
A cascade of blinding light rained down.
The sentinels paused—momentarily disrupted.
That's when Jin dashed forward with Chrono Edge, slicing through time itself—and cleaving three more Sentinels into fragments.
Five left.
Together, back to back, their breath heavy, Jin and Velka fought as one.
In the final blow, Velka leapt from Jin's knee like a springboard, and he hurled her upward with a pulse of time-stretched force—she spun in the air and bisected the last Sentinel in one perfect arc.
The arena fell silent.
A second golden sigil appeared.
Mission Two: Complete.
They stood panting in the center of the colosseum. Velka wiped blood from her lip, grinning despite her exhaustion. "Not bad for a first date."
Jin gave her a deadpan look. "That was a battle to the death."
Velka winked. "Even better."
As they exited the chamber, their shadows faded beneath the silver moonlight of the temple. Behind them, the doors closed with a whisper.
Only 98 more trials remained.
And their bond—once built on sarcasm and secrets—was starting to feel like something real.