Chapter 59 – Astra’s Trial: The Mirror of a Thousand Eyes

Astra stepped into a chamber of pure obsidian.

No ceiling. No floor. Just reflections. Everywhere.

Countless mirrors, suspended midair, rotated slowly in silence. Each one shimmered faintly with an inner light, and in every single one—Astra was watching herself.

But each reflection was different.

Some were younger. Some older. Some dressed in her current armor, others cloaked in dark robes she had never worn.

[System Notice: Trial of Truth – Commencing.]
[Subject: Astra Valen – Level 42 | Role: Phantom Arcanist]

A low hum vibrated through the chamber as the mirrors suddenly spoke—not with voices, but thoughts.

“You pretended to be their ally.”
“You lied to them. Again.”
“Ren still doesn’t know the truth.”
“You wanted Nyx to win once, didn’t you?”

Her breath caught in her throat.

“No… that’s not who I am anymore.”

A mirror floated closer. It showed her face—smiling, but her eyes were cold. Calculating.

“You infiltrated the Abyss years ago. You gave them maps. You—”

“I had to. To survive. To gather intel. To stop them!”

But another mirror spun around, showing a moment she’d buried deep: Astra, kneeling before Nyx, accepting a black sigil on her palm.

Her voice cracked.

“That wasn’t loyalty. That was desperation…”

“But you kept it hidden.”

She closed her eyes. “I thought if I could just buy time… I could undo everything.”

Suddenly, the mirrors shattered—except one.

This one showed Astra standing alone, on a battlefield full of her dead allies.

Behind her, Ren and Kael lay motionless.

And her voice, cold and twisted, spoke from the mirror:

“All your secrets… will destroy them.”

“Unless you finally tell the truth.”

She stared at the reflection, jaw tight. “Then I will.”

Her hand burned—the black sigil glowing.

Astra raised her arm… and ripped it out of her own skin with a scream, casting the mark into the void.

The chamber went silent.

[Trial 6 Completed.]
[Deception Purged. Alignment Shift: Neutral → True.]
[New Skill Unlocked: Spell of Unshackled Truth]

Astra stood in the ruins of the mirrored world, eyes shining with clarity—and tears.

“Ren… when we meet again, you’ll know everything.”

Next: Chapter 60 – Oris’s Trial: The Blade Remembers