"Lady Kaliana is a mortal with Asvarian blood, hence she is stronger, faster and her senses are more keen than that of an average mortal." Neveah replied after thinking over it.

"And Lady Misha?" Lord Skiren asked when Neveah said nothing more.

"I have never met the Lady of Onyx Scales and so I cannot say." Neveah replied blankly, all she knew of Lady Misha was the bits and pieces she had picked up from here or there, including from Lord Skiren himself.

How could she even know what race Lady Misha was of?

"Ah, this is true. Decades have already passed since that event. It is hard to keep track of the passing of time down here." Lord Skiren said with a nod of understanding.

’That event?’ Neveah unconsciously wondered but quicly shook off the thought.

Whatever it was, it had never been a concern of hers and now, it no longer mattered altogether.

"The Lady of Onyx Scales was born of the witches. Hence, she also displayed abilities that were far above that of an average human and being a wolf shifter, you are the same." Lord Skiren continued.

"Witches?" Neveah asked in surprise.

Neveah had thought species like witches and vampires were far beyond the sea, in those territories dominated by the wolf shifters where Neveah herself came from.

Neveah had not realized there were also witches in this part of the world.

"What has this to do with the merging of fire?" Neveah asked in confusion, she still could not understand the point Lord Skiren was trying to make.

"As a being born with abilities that makes one stronger and faster than most, when one is faced with difficulties, it is a natural instinct to make use of this advantage."

"You, Neveah are a wolf shifter. In the course of the trial, you have sustained harm and even experienced fear, did it never occur to you that your wolf side could give you an advantage?" Lord Skiren asked.

"I...I am not sure. If there was an advantage, it was not obvious to me... I simply did not shift because I did not see the need to." Neveah replied uncertainly.

"Yet I have made it clear to you prior to the beginning of the trial that your efforts would be a waste if you did not arrive at the heart of the cave in a given amount of time."

"A time duration I did not make known to you, did it not occur to you that the aid of your wolf side would help you overcome the traps even faster?" Lord Skiren asked again.

Neveah quietly thought over it, there were indeed times that her wolf could have come to the surface and made things far more easier, but Neveah had never even considered it.

Neveah was not certain if it was because she did not shift so often and so she was still more dependent on her human form or if it was something else. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"In the first cave, you noticed the deep fall and the thin path across, did you not notice also that your wolf side could have easily cleared that jump without a need to walk the path?" Lord Skiren asked with a raised brow.

"Well... I knew that..." Neveah realized after a moment of quiet.

She did know her wolf could have easily jumped over to the other side, she just did not consider that option regardless.

"Moving on, you sensed the arrow mechanism the very moment it began moving, hence I assume you knew exactly where the mechanism was." Lord Skiren stated.

"Yes... The mechanism was embedded into the left wall in the guise of a torch holder." Neveah replied.

"There was a dagger in your possession and from what I have seen, you are well aware of how to use it."

"Your keen senses gave you the advantage, hurling a dagger at the mechanism would have destroyed it completely. Could you have achieved this?" Lord Skiren asked.

"Yes." Neveah replied honestly.

"Why then did you chose to face the arrows instead?" Lord Skiren asked.

"I... I’m not sure." Neveah murmured in response.

The temperature of the cavern which had calmed at Lord Skiren’s arrival steadily rose up again and Neveah found it difficult to think clearly under such an extreme temperature.

It was only as Lord Skiren directly confronted her that Neveah realized she unconsciously knew all of that, she had just brushed it off for reasons she also could not figure out.

"All along, you chose to face each trap head on when you could have easily avoided them. Why is this?" Lord Skiren asked again.

"That was the point of the trial, was it not? If I do not face them, that defeats the point of the trial." Neveah said with a frown.

"A natural reaction would be to chose the easiest way out, this is the common fault of most riders and the reason you are different." Lord Skiren said.

"What is that to mean?" Neveah asked with a raised brow.

"You are unfazed at the idea of pain, you do not detest it. Instead you welcome it and confront it head on. A rider ho fears pain cannot face the first merging."

"Beyond that, you understand that the true purpose of the trial is to prove your ability. Pain is the the most familiar feeling to a rider on the King’s guard, and you know this better than your peers did."

"Above all, the greatest purpose of the King’s guard is sacrifice, the willingness to sacrifice your own safety for your King. One who chooses the easy way out knows nothing of sacrifice, young rider. " Lord Skiren finished.

Neveah pursed her lips slightly, she had not understood the depth of the trials at all, she had believed overcoming the traps was all there was.

But the actual test lay in her every choice, and every path she chose as opposed to another...that was the true trial.

"What am I to do now?" Neveah asked quietly.

"The merging of fire." Lord Skiren said, gesturing at the the few steps that led down into the main floor of the cavern.

The floor of the cavern moved aside from the middle and a pool of liquid fire was revealed.

It was fire, there was no doubt about it. The scorching heat it exuded and the crackling sound made it clear this was indeed liquid fire, yet it was not like any fire Neveah had ever seen before.

This fire was a strange dark green shade, it did not even seem like fire at all but it surely was.

"Green fire burns hot, and refines the body from within. Step in or forfeit the trial." Lord Skiren instructed.

"If I fail to bear through the pain, what happens then?" Neveah asked slowly.

"The green fire is fed by your pain, if you succumb to it, it will only burn hotter." Lord Skiren replied.

"Do you truly believe I am prepared to face this...at this moment?" Neveah asked again.

"There are no certainties...this can only be known at the end of the merging." Lord Skiren said with a casual shrug.

"That means... I could die?" Neveah asked to be certain.

"The fire cannot kill you, but the pain can." Lord Skiren gave a honest answer.

"I see..." Neveah murmured to herself.

Neveah hesitated for only a moment before she took off her belt as well as her dagger.

With slow strides, Neveah descended the steps down to the pool and sucking in a deep breath, she stepped in.

The pain was immediate, the very moment the green liquid touched Neveah’s boots, Neveah knew without a doubt she had stepped right into fire.

Now Neveah was no dragon and neither of her forms were resistant to flames and so she felt the burn right down to her bones, the skin of her feet sizzled beneath her boots.

The rider suit was fire resistant, but Neveah was not and the flames did burn, mercilessly.

Neveah gritted her teeth against the pain and continued into the green flame... the fire was ruthless but Neveah’s will was even more ruthless.

Pain unlike anything Neveah had ever felt before burned through her veins, the flames licked up at Neveah’s exposed skin and somehow got beneath her clothing.

Neveah could swear she even felt the fire rushing into her veins and with every step forward, the pain grew unbearable.

Neveah’s lips trembled, a sob was caught in her throat and her teeth were gritted to fight the pain.

Every pain limit Neveah believed she had was stretched thin, still Neveah pressed on.

First the liquid fire got up to her waist level and as she moved in deeper, it rose steadily, burning it’s path up from her waist till she was chest deep in flames and then shoulder deep.

And it was as Neveah’s shoulders submerged that her limit reached it’s end, a scream of pain tore out of Neveah’s throat, echoing throughout the Ever-Burn cave.