Chapter 56 – Trial of the Ancients

The battlefield was silent.

Ren, Ryze, Aelira, and Kael stood at the edge of something far greater than any of them had ever faced. The First Monarch hovered above the earth, radiating an aura so ancient it felt like time itself bent around them.

[System Notification: Trial of the Ancients Initiated.]
[Participants: Ren Kisaragi, Ryze Arcturon, Aelira, Kael]
[Location: Temporal Bastion – Nexus Layer]

The ground cracked beneath their feet as reality distorted. A blinding light enveloped them—and in an instant, they were transported.

The air was thick with history.

They stood inside a grand chamber—floating platforms spiraled in the air, relics of forgotten battles hung suspended in stasis. Etched across the walls were glowing runes—symbols of monarchs who came before, long since buried in the sands of time.

Ren’s breath caught.

“This is… the Nexus?”

A voice echoed, not from the First Monarch, but the very chamber itself.

“To ascend, you must understand the weight of power. You must face those who bore the crown before you… and fell.”

Suddenly, four spectral figures emerged—each wearing a different crown.

One cloaked in blue flame.

One wielding chains made of celestial steel.

One with wings of glass and blood.

And the last… a shadowy version of Ren himself.

[Trial 1: Ember King – Flame of Rebellion]
[Trial 2: Chain Empress – Bindings of Fate]
[Trial 3: Seraph of Mirrors – Reflection of Sin]
[Trial 4: The False Ren – Monarch of Regret]

Kael swallowed hard. “This… is insane.”

Aelira’s voice trembled. “We’re not just fighting enemies. We’re fighting legacies.”

Ren stepped forward, his eyes locked on the shadow version of himself.

“…Then I’ll burn every legacy down if I have to.”

[Trial Commencing in 10… 9… 8…]

The room began to quake.

Each of them would face a different trial—alone.

Ren turned to his friends one last time.

“Whatever happens… we finish this together.”

The countdown ended.

And the past awakened.

Next: Chapter 57 – Monarch of Regret vs. Ren Kisaragi