Chapter 36: The First Trials - Dawn of the Hidden Garden
The world was broken and bruised around them.
Smoke coiled lazily into the starlit sky, carrying the sharp scent of burnt earth and crushed flowers.
In the center of the ruined shrine, Riku knelt by the unconscious Hollowed boy, his breath ragged.
He could still feel the aftershocks in his chest — not from the magic, but from the emotions.
The terror. The pain.
The desperate, clinging hope.
The others stood in a rough circle around him — battered, bloodied, but alive.
Airi wiped her forehead with a trembling hand, her petals drooping like exhausted soldiers.
Kaoru leaned heavily on his spear, eyes scanning the darkened woods.
Toma sat hunched over, cradling his bruised arm but refusing to complain.
Sera was the only one still moving smoothly, her gaze hard as stone.
"The Shadeborn retreated," she said.
"For now."
Her voice cut through the thick silence.
"But they'll be back."
Riku gently lifted the Hollowed boy, surprising everyone by cradling him in his arms.
"We can't leave him here," he said.
Airi bit her lip.
"Are you sure it's safe?"
"He's not the enemy," Riku said firmly.
"He's proof. Proof that even in the worst darkness, there's still a way back."
The others exchanged glances.
It wasn't logical.
It wasn't strategic.
But it was Riku.
And somehow, that made it enough.
---
They moved quickly, slipping into the forest before dawn could paint them as targets.
Sera led the way, guiding them through hidden paths that twisted deeper and deeper into the heart of the wilds.
Hours blurred together.
The forest grew thicker, older — the trees enormous and ancient, their roots like gnarled hands.
Strange flowers glowed faintly in the undergrowth, lighting their way.
The Hollowed boy stirred sometimes, whimpering in his sleep, but Riku soothed him with whispered words.
The others walked in weary silence, each lost in thought.
Finally, just as the sky began to lighten, they reached it:
A clearing surrounded by towering silver trees.
In its center stood a stone gate, cracked with age but humming with unseen power.
Sera stopped before it.
"We're here," she said.
"The Hidden Garden."
---
The Hidden Garden.
It wasn't really a garden — not like anything Riku had ever seen.
It was a sanctuary — an ancient place where the first Bloom-bearers had trained, hidden from the eyes of the world.
Even now, magic shimmered in the air like mist.
Old symbols were carved into the stones, half-swallowed by creeping ivy.
Pools of crystal water reflected the rising sun, and strange birds sang from high branches.
It was beautiful — and it was waiting.
Sera turned to face them.
"Here, you will face your first trial," she said.
Her voice was solemn, reverent.
"Here, you will be judged."
---
Airi groaned softly, swaying on her feet.
"Can't we... sleep first?" she mumbled.
Kaoru gave a rough chuckle.
"Seconded."
Sera smiled — a rare, genuine smile.
"You'll have time to rest. But not much. The Garden does not wait forever."
She gestured toward a cluster of vine-covered alcoves near the edge of the clearing.
"Rest. Heal. When the bell tolls, your trial will begin."
Without another word, she turned and disappeared through a stone archway, leaving them alone.
---
Later...
Riku sat by a small pool, his legs crossed, the Hollowed boy resting beside him.
The others were scattered around — Kaoru and Toma snoring under a tree, Airi curled up like a cat on a bed of moss.
The air was peaceful, almost sacred.
Riku stared into the water, his reflection rippling with every breath.
He thought about the Shadeborn.
About the darkness in the boy's eyes.
About the pendant that still hung from the boy's neck.
A twin to his own.
What did it mean?
Was his brother... somewhere out there?
Alive?
Lost?
Riku's fists clenched.
"I'll find you," he whispered.
"Whatever it takes."
A soft voice interrupted his thoughts.
"You carry a heavy burden, young Bloom."
Riku looked up sharply.
An old woman stood before him, draped in a robe woven from living vines.
Her eyes were milky white, but somehow she seemed to see more clearly than anyone.
"Who are you?" Riku asked, rising to his feet.
The woman smiled.
"I am the Keeper," she said.
"The Garden's guardian."
She knelt beside the Hollowed boy, touching his forehead with gentle fingers.
"A wounded soul," she murmured.
"But not beyond saving."
She looked up at Riku.
"And neither are you."
Riku swallowed.
"What do you mean?"
The Keeper rose, her movements graceful despite her age.
"The trials ahead will test more than your strength," she said.
"They will test your heart."
She gestured toward the deeper woods.
"If you are to lead... you must first know yourself."
Riku nodded slowly.
He didn't fully understand — but he felt the truth of her words.
And he knew:
He would not fail.
Not again.
---
DONG.
The bell tolled — low and deep, vibrating through the very ground.
The Hidden Garden stirred.
The others woke instantly, all traces of exhaustion swept away by adrenaline.
Sera reappeared, her staff gleaming.
"It's time," she said.
"Follow me."
Without hesitation, Riku rose, lifting the Hollowed boy carefully.
"No," Sera said gently.
"He stays."
Riku hesitated.
"But—"
"The Garden will protect him," the Keeper said.
Riku looked at the sleeping boy, then nodded.
Slowly, he set him down on a bed of flowers, tucking the boy's pendant under his shirt.
"I'll be back," he promised softly.
Then he turned and followed the others toward the ancient gate.
Toward the trials.
Toward whatever future waited beyond.
---
Inside the Gate.
The moment they stepped through, the world changed.
The air grew thick, heavy with the scent of old magic.
The trees loomed taller, their bark etched with moving, shifting patterns.
The ground was carpeted with strange, soft moss that muffled their footsteps.
No birds sang here.
No wind stirred the leaves.
It was silent.
Waiting.
Testing.
Ahead, a stone path split into four narrow trails.
Each trail glowed faintly — a different color.
Sera turned to them.
"Each of you must walk your own path," she said.
"You will face your greatest fear.
Your deepest regret.
Your strongest desire."
"Only by confronting yourselves can you awaken your true Bloom."
She smiled faintly.
"And only then will you be ready."
Riku's heart pounded.
Alone?
Face his greatest fear?
He clenched his fists.
He had no choice.
He stepped toward the path that shimmered blue — the color of trust.
Without looking back, he walked forward.
And the Garden swallowed him whole.
---
Riku's Trial:
The world twisted around him — spinning, folding.
When it settled, he stood in a place he knew too well:
His childhood home.
But it was wrong.
The walls were cracked.
The lights flickered.
And in the center of the living room sat his mother — pale, thin, her face hidden by her hair.
"Mom?" Riku whispered.
The woman looked up.
Her eyes were empty sockets, weeping black tears.
"You left me," she hissed.
"You abandoned us."
Riku stumbled back.
"No! I didn't — I tried—!"
The world around him darkened.
Shadows rose from the floor — familiar faces twisted by sorrow and anger.
Toma.
Kaoru.
Airi.
Even the Hollowed boy.
"You failed us," they whispered.
"You always fail."
Riku fell to his knees, covering his ears.
"I didn't! I'm trying! I'm—"
A hand touched his shoulder.
Soft. Warm.
He looked up — and saw his brother.
Whole. Smiling.
"You don't have to do it alone, little bro," his brother said.
"You never did."
The shadows recoiled, shrieking.
Riku rose slowly, gripping his pendant.
"No more running," he said.
"No more fear."
He closed his eyes.
And when he opened them — the darkness shattered.
---
He stood once again in the Garden —
stronger.
Wiser.
The pendant around his neck glowed softly, resonating with the Garden's magic.
He had passed the first trial.
But it was only the beginning.
Somewhere beyond the trees, his friends fought their own battles.
And ahead, deeper into the Hidden Garden, a greater trial waited.
The true awakening of the Bloom.
And beyond that —
War.