The morning sun had only just tickled the horizon when I received the summons: gather at the Great Plaza in twenty minutes. No explanation—just the urgency in Lilith's flame-shaped sigil beating against the Covenant Circlet's gem. I rose from my cot in the East Wing dormitory with my heart already racing.
Outside, the Academy was stirring to life: students rubbed sleep from their eyes, professors exchanged guarded glances, and the gilded gates swung open to reveal a sky etched in soft dawn hues. A chorus of frost-lilies and flame-roses lined the path, their petals twitching in the morning breeze as though whispering secrets.
I met Seraphina, Yuria, Valmira, Astraea, and Zephira at the plaza's edge. Each wore an expression equal parts anticipation and resolve. At the plaza's center stood the ancient brazier—the same basin that had hosted nearly every trial—but today it gleamed with a new purpose: the Gate of Embers.
