<p>Here is the full Chapter Six: The Test of Ice and Fire:</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>Chapter Six</p><p>The Test</p><p><br></p><p>The Hollow Flame did not strike with blade or flame.</p><p><br></p><p>It struck with doubt.</p><p><br></p><p>It set a trap not on the battlefield—but in the soul.</p><p><br></p><p>Each sister faced her trial alone, unaware that the other walked the same path.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>---</p><p><br></p><p>Kaelara’s Trial – The Mirror of Doubt</p><p><br></p><p>In the far northern Hollow Vale, Kaelara moved through snowless trees, frost retreating from her touch. The elders had sent her here to face what they called The Still Reflection. A rite of awakening. A reckoning.</p><p><br></p><p>The silence was complete. But inside, her mind was loud.</p><p><br></p><p>She saw visions in the dark bark: her sister with flame in her eyes, her mother reaching out as she died, the cold growing inside her heart.</p><p><br></p><p>And then—herself. Standing opposite her, cloaked in black ice. A reflection… not exact, but twisted.</p><p><br></p><p>The mirror-Kaelara spoke:</p><p><br></p><p>“You are the weaker half. You were left to silence while she took the heat of your mother’s love.”</p><p><br></p><p>Kaelara’s hands trembled. Her breath misted in the dark air.</p><p><br></p><p>“She will betray you. And you will shatter. Just as ice always breaks.”</p><p><br></p><p>But then, a warmth flickered in her chest—not fire, but memory. A pull across the world. A bond older than the void.</p><p><br></p><p>She clenched her fists.</p><p><br></p><p>“I am not afraid of fire.”</p><p><br></p><p>The reflection cracked.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>---</p><p><br></p><p>Seren’s Trial – The Flame of Despair</p><p><br></p><p>In the caves below the Ember Keep, Seren walked alone into the Crucible Pit—where fire did not burn to test strength, but to consume identity.</p><p><br></p><p>She was told this was her proving.</p><p><br></p><p>But the fire spoke differently.</p><p><br></p><p>Visions danced in the smoke: Kaelara turning from her, blaming her. The world frozen over. Elenya screaming in labor. A child of fire, alone in the ashes.</p><p><br></p><p>And then—herself. Not as she was, but crueler. Crowned in flame, surrounded by ruin.</p><p><br></p><p>“You are the destroyer,” the flame hissed. “You were made to burn, not to save. Your power will consume all… including her.”</p><p><br></p><p>Seren dropped to one knee, eyes burning. Her breath came sharp.</p><p><br></p><p>But then—she felt frost.</p><p><br></p><p>A memory of something gentle. A voice, once heard in a dream. A promise she didn’t understand, but trusted.</p><p><br></p><p>She rose.</p><p><br></p><p>“I will not lose her. I will not lose myself.”</p><p><br></p><p>The flames bowed back.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>---</p><p><br></p><p>The Hollow Flame felt both sisters pass the test.</p><p><br></p><p>And for the first time… it grew uncertain.</p><p><br></p><p>The prophecy had begun to shift.</p><p><br></p><p>What was meant to break them had awakened something deeper.</p><p><br></p><p>Not power.</p><p><br></p><p>But purpose.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>---</p><p><br></p>
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