Aarav had never seen a sky like this before—if it could even be called a sky. Above him stretched a vast expanse of floating stars, swirling galaxies, and shimmering ribbons of time itself. The Axis Vault was a place beyond comprehension—a liminal space where the rules of gravity, matter, and time danced freely. It wasn't just a base; it was alive.
"Your connection to the Axis makes this place react to you," Elios said, as they walked through a wide bridge of crystalline energy. "The Vault shapes itself to the one chosen by the Loop. You're not just here to train, Aarav. You're here to awaken."
Rishi whistled. "Well, I wouldn't mind staying here if the food's good."
Elios chuckled lightly. "There's more than food to consume here—knowledge, power, balance. And danger."
They entered a large chamber—circular and ancient. Strange glyphs pulsed on the walls, written in the language of the multiverse. In the center floated a set of twelve stone rings, each inscribed with one of the Primordial Forces: gravity, electricity, time, matter, mind, entropy, light, sound, energy, magnetism, life, and void.
"These," Elios said, "are the Axis Trials. Each one tests a fragment of who you are—and what you could become. Fail, and the Axis may sever your connection permanently."
Rishi looked at Aarav. "Sounds fun."
Elios turned to them, serious now. "Rishi, your connection is external—granted by proximity and exposure. But Aarav… you are the Loop's creation. The trials are not optional. You must pass at least three to be recognized as a Guardian."
Aarav stepped forward. "Then let's start."
The first ring—Gravity—glowed and expanded into a gate of shifting pressure. Aarav took a breath and walked through.
The instant he entered, he was alone.
The chamber transformed into a black void. He floated weightlessly, until suddenly—CRACK!—the gravity reversed violently. He slammed against an invisible floor, then was thrown upward, sideways, down again. His vision blurred, his body strained.
"You control gravity," a voice echoed in the darkness. "But can you control balance within chaos?"
Aarav tried to push himself up, anchoring his mind. "Focus… pressure… equal force… counterforce…" He whispered the formulas he had remembered from physics books.
The room pulsed.
A platform appeared beneath him, then another above, each responding to his thoughts.
He realized: the trial wasn't about resisting gravity. It was about understanding it.
He began to manipulate the pressure zones, creating a path of gravity flows—ascending steps he could walk across mid-air. As he did, his body adapted. The force obeyed him, danced around him.
A final wave of gravity threatened to crush him—but he pulled it inwards, compacting the pressure into a spinning orb in his hand.
The ring opened. He had passed.
He emerged gasping, sweat running down his face. Rishi gave him a nod. "That looked rough."
Aarav smiled faintly. "Just one down."
The second ring—Electricity—opened next. Rishi stepped toward it.
"I'll take this one."
Elios raised a brow. "You're not required to—"
"I know," Rishi interrupted. "But I want to."
He vanished into the electric sphere.
Inside, Rishi was met by blinding arcs of energy, dancing through a neon-lit chamber. The room responded to his fear, zapping him with sharp bolts. He fell to his knees.
"Electricity is chaos incarnate," a voice hissed. "You channel it, but do you understand it?"
Rishi stood, eyes crackling. "I don't need to control it. I am it."
He closed his eyes and let go.
Instead of resisting the pain, he embraced the current, letting it flow through him like a river. He opened his palms, and twin bolts surged forward, splitting into trees of lightning.
The chamber pulsed, then broke apart. He returned, sparks still dancing across his arms.
"Not bad," he said, grinning.
Aarav smirked. "Show-off."
The third trial was the most ominous: Void.
It didn't glow. It whispered.
Elios placed a hand on Aarav's shoulder. "Are you certain? The Void is the trial of identity. It shows you your worst truths."
Aarav hesitated… then nodded. "I need to know."
He stepped in—and vanished.
He opened his eyes.
He was… eight again.
In his room.
No lightning. No Vault. No powers.
Just silence.
His mother called from the kitchen. "Aarav, breakfast!"
He ran downstairs, confused. Everything was back. Was it all a dream?
His backpack. His comic books. School.
But something was wrong.
Every mirror he passed reflected not himself—but the 17-year-old version. The Guardian.
Time flickered.
"Mom?" he asked one day. "What's Axis 17?"
She didn't respond. Her face glitched—like a broken TV signal.
Then the walls crumbled. The sky split.
The dream world was a cage.
Aarav screamed, falling into the darkness. "Let me out!"
The Void responded: You are the bridge. But you must choose your true self. Child… or Guardian?
He stood, surrounded by the shattered fragments of all his lives—his 8-year-old innocence, his 17-year-old strength, the dreams, the fear.
"I am both," he whispered. "I'm not letting either part of me go."
The shards floated and reassembled into a mirror. His reflection stared back—calm, glowing, powerful.
The Void faded.
He had passed.
He emerged pale, but changed. Rishi caught him before he fell.
"You good?"
Aarav nodded. "I know who I am now."
Elios approached. "You've passed three trials. That is more than most. You are now recognized by the Axis as a Protector."
Suddenly, alarms rang across the Vault. Lights flared red.
A projection shimmered into view—an image of Axis 17.
It was bleeding.
Rifts were opening across multiple universes. From them emerged twisted shadows, spreading like a virus.
Elios frowned. "They've begun the invasion of the lower Axes."
Aarav's voice was calm. "Then we begin our counterattack."