The fifth pillar stood alone now.
Not physically. The other four still remained within the chamber, dimmed and silent like monuments to buried versions of myself, but the final pillar possessed a presence that eclipsed everything around it so completely that the rest of the Temple faded into irrelevance whenever my eyes settled upon it. Its light no longer pulsed gently like a heartbeat. Instead, it burned steadily, cold and absolute, illuminating the chamber in pale radiance that reminded me uncomfortably of moonlight falling across a grave.
I remained still for several moments after the fourth trial ended, though stillness felt impossible now.
Too much had changed.
The loss of certainty still echoed through my thoughts like fractures spreading beneath ice, while the destruction of my emotional isolation had left me painfully aware of everything around me. The chamber no longer felt like an environment to analyze from a distance. It felt oppressive. Ancient. Watching.
And Nyx…
