The third pillar stood apart from the others in a way that was difficult to explain logically, because its shape was no different, its light no brighter, and yet the moment my attention settled on it, I felt something inside the Temple change. The air became still in a manner that surpassed silence, as though even motion itself had paused to observe what would happen next, and the vast chamber around us seemed to recede into the background until only the pillar remained clear within my vision.
Nyx noticed it too.
I could tell from the way her breathing slowed and from the subtle tension in her shoulders that she understood this trial would not resemble the previous two. The first had attacked memory. The second had challenged control. Both had demanded sacrifices that carved away pieces of what made me who I was, yet neither had touched the one thing I guarded most carefully.
Purpose.
Not ambition.
Not desire.
