The heavy iron door of the tower quarters clicked shut, sealing out the noise of the capital.
Finally. Silence.
Lysandra walked to the center of the room and stopped. Her posture usually composed and guarded, slumped all at once. Her shoulders drooped, and she let out a breath.
She didn't look like a princess who had just survived the trial of flesh. She looked like a girl who had just realized that death was just a breath's distance away.
Joshua leaned against the doorframe, the adrenaline in his own veins turning into exhaustion.
"So," he started uncertain "What just happened?"
Lysandra walked past him to a small table near the window, pouring a glass of water with a hand that trembled.
"You haven't the faintest of ideas," she whispered. She downed the drink in one go. "You've interested an Overseer. Do you know what they are?"
"Powerful, scary, probably can float, and makes everyone kneel?" Joshua guessed, limping over to a chair. "I have a rough idea. Your father seemed terrified of it."
"Terrified?" She spun around, eyes wide. "My father fears no army. He has fought wars that lasted decades. But that… thing?"
She gripped the empty glass tight enough to whiten her knuckles.
"Overseers are the founders of the demon continent. They watch over all the decisions the royal court makes. Their power is in a realm we cannot even come close to touching."
She looked him in the eye.
"But they visited… you"
Joshua swallowed. "And I talked back to it."
"You did." A hysterical, short laugh escaped her. "You and Tonic. The only two beings in the history of this continent crazy enough to threaten an Overseer to its face."
"Well, he singled me out…" Joshua muttered.
He reached out, taking the glass from her hand before she could crush it. He poured water into it and handed it back. It was a small gesture.
"Have another drink," he said softly. "We somehow survived today. You owe yourself a breather."
"As do you."
Lysandra took the water, her eyes searching his face. The red in her irises had softened, losing that predatory edge.
"You're too kind to a woman who wanted your life just days ago," she murmured.
"You know, for someone trying to convince me you're a monster, you're really bad at it."
The temperature in the room dropped several degrees.
"A noble sentiment."
The voice came from everywhere and nowhere. Joshua's blood went cold. Lysandra's mana blade materialized without hesitation—an involuntary response.
They searched the chambers frantically, but there was no one there.
Then, like reality folding in on itself, a figure stepped out of the shadows near the far wall. Not through a door, or through use of magic. He simply existed where he hadn't a moment before.
Tonic.
But this wasn't the casual demon from the alley. This was something ancient wearing a familiar face. His orange eyes held depths that spoke of eons.
"Tonic," Lysandra called out confused, her voice tight with recognition and wariness. "That entrance... how long have you been watching us?"
"Long enough to know you're both rattled after today," he said, his usual playful tone absent. "And not long enough to be rude about it."
"The Overseer called you Warden," Joshua said carefully. "I think we are owed some answers."
Tonic's expression grew serious, the casual mask slipping entirely.
"The Warden is what I became when I bound myself to this realm," he said, each word measured. "Darius rules the demons, Joshua. I protect the balance itself. When entities like Overseers forget their place..." He gestured slightly with a tap on his sheath, and the room warped briefly before snapping back into place. "I remind them."
The casual display of power made Joshua's system practically vibrate with warnings.
"It wasn't just a reminder," Lysandra breathed. "You were prepared to fight it."
"If necessary." Tonic's orange eyes fixed on Joshua. "Which brings us to why you're still breathing, Prince."
The weight of Tonic's attention settled on Joshua's shoulders.
"The Overseer has developed an... interest in you. That's unprecedented. And dangerous." Tonic began pacing, each step deliberate. "There's something about your power that even I haven't fully grasped yet. Something that lets you grow beyond normal limitations."
[Uh oh Joshua! I think this Tonic guy is catching on to me!]
Not now.
"But that's tomorrow's problem," Tonic continued. "Tonight, you need to understand what you're walking into."
He stopped pacing, fixing them both with a stare that felt like judgment.
"The Trial of Memory," Lysandra said. "We face our past."
"Face it?" Tonic's laugh was hollow. "Princess, you're going to become it again."
The room went silent.
"The Trial doesn't show you memories," Tonic explained, his voice taking on the weight of absolute certainty. "It drops your current consciousness into your past body at the moment of your greatest trauma. You'll have your adult mind, but you'll be trapped in your child's weakness. Your child's helplessness."
Lysandra's face went pale. "The village," she whispered.
"And you'll feel every sensation. Every emotion. Every moment of powerlessness, exactly as it was." Tonic's eyes found Joshua. "The beatings. The disappointment. The moment you realized your own family considered you expendable."
Joshua's throat tightened.
"But here's the crucial part," Tonic's voice dropped to barely above a whisper. "At the moment of greatest pain, the Trial will offer you an escape. A way to change it. To fix what went wrong."
"That... that doesn't sound so bad," Lysandra managed.
"It's a trap." Tonic's words hit like a physical blow. "The escape is an illusion. Accept it, and your mind stays lost in the fantasy while your real body dies."
The silence that followed was deafening.
"How do you know all this?" Joshua asked. "Lysandra said no one talks about the trials beyond the Flesh."
Something flickered across Tonic's face—grief, perhaps, or regret.
"Because I've seen what happens to those who take the offered mercy," he said quietly. "Bodies breathing but empty. Minds lost in dreams of what could have been."
He straightened, the ancient weariness falling away.
"Survive the memory. Feel the pain. But do not let them convince you the lie is better than the truth."
Without waiting for questions, Tonic turned toward the wall where he'd appeared.
"Best of luck," he said, and reality folded around him until he was gone.
The room felt larger without his presence—and somehow more fragile.
"Relive it..." Lysandra stared at the spot where Tonic had vanished. Her face was pale. "I have to... be there again?"
"Well, I already knew this wouldn't be easy... but Tonic really made it sound terrifying." His posture sagged in defeat. "Another reason I won't sleep tonight."
"I agree. This will quite the challenge," Lysandra said, turning toward the balcony. "I need... air."
She stepped out into the night.
Joshua watched her go, then sighed, rubbing his temples.
Okay. If I'm going to survive mental torture, I need to make sure my body doesn't give out on me.
"System," he whispered. "Help me not die tomorrow."
[Crimson here! Finally! I thought you'd never ask! You probably want to take a second look at your inventory.]
The blue screen popped up instantly, practically vibrating with excitement.
[You earned a LEGENDARY item, Joshua! Do you know the drop rate on this? Neither do I, but it's low! Super low!]
[OPENING REWARD CACHE...]
A heavy, dark object materialized in Joshua's hand.
It was a necklace, with an otherworldly appearance. The shape was a jagged shard of crystallized blood, encased in black iron that blinked with a slow rhythm. It felt warm to the touch.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[ITEM: Soul-Forged Blood Catalyst]
[Rank: Legendary]
[Type: Accessory / Artifact]
… EFFECT UNLOCKED!!
[Passive Effect - Blood Bank:] Stores excess vitality and mana. Instead of using your own veins for Hemokinesis, you can draw from the Catalyst. (Current Capacity: 0/5000)
[Active Ability - Sanguine Construct:] Allows the user to solidify blood into a permanent weapon that does not degrade over time.
Joshua stared at it.
"A reservoir," he breathed. "It's a blood reservoir."
This changed everything. His biggest weakness was that every spell brought him closer to death. With this... he could fight without bleeding himself dry.
[Equip it! Equip it!]
He placed the chain around his neck. The crystal settled against his chest, humming. Immediately, he felt a pull—a small, steady drain on his HP, filling the crystal.
[Vitality: 100% -> 95%][Catalyst Charge: 5%]
"Perfect," he muttered.
[You also have a lot more skill points! Want to spend them?]
"Not yet," Joshua said, closing the window. "Tonic's warning about adaptability... I need to see what we're facing first. Save them for when I know what kind of hell we're walking into."
[Smart! Strategic thinking wins the day!]
"Right." Joshua sighed. "For now, I probably should check on my wife."
He walked toward the balcony doors.
The night air was cold, biting at his exposed skin, but Lysandra didn't seem to notice. She stood gripping the stone railing, looking out over the Demon Capital.
From this high up, the city was beautiful. Rivers of blue mana flowed like canals, and the jagged architecture glowed with reflected moonlight from the lunar lamps lining the city. It was peaceful.
It was hard to believe so many demons down there wanted him dead yesterday.
Joshua stood beside her. He didn't speak for a long time.
Finally, Lysandra broke the silence.
"I've been thinking about what Tonic said. About being trapped in our past selves." Her grip on the railing tightened. "About feeling that helplessness again."
She turned to face Joshua, uncertainty resting on her face.
"When I made the decision to keep you alive, to accept you as my husband candidate... I told myself it was because you showed strength. Potential. The type of partner to grow but not interfere with my goals." Her voice grew quieter. "But standing here now, knowing what we have to face..."
"What are you saying?"
Lysandra met his eyes directly.
"I'm saying you deserve to know the truth, Joshua. About the trials. About the real reason for this pact between our kingdoms." She took a shaky breath. "And about why I really chose to spare you that first day."
The weight of her words hung between them.
"Then tell me," he said simply.