Chapter 25: The Final Trial — Wolfmother’s Ultimate Trap
582words
But I knew one truth better than anyone else:
Mother never loses without leaving a knife behind.
Three days later, the Main Tower issued a public statement:
“Daphne and the Severed Moon are hereby absolved of all charges of rebellion.”
“In the spirit of unity, the Wolfmother proposes one final trial.”
“The victor shall be crowned the new Alpha of the Pack.”
Tai bit into an apple and scoffed.
“Well, that’s the fanciest poisoned wine I’ve ever seen.”
Amy scrolled through the archives, frowning.
“I checked the rules. This ‘Final Trial’—it’s rigged.”
“First, the trial is to be held in the Umbral Mirror Domain—an ancient psychic relic from the earliest wolf clans. It reflects the inner self.”
“Second, the contestant must enter alone.”
“Third… no weapons. No teammates.”
Raccoon grunted. “Translation: it’s a coffin tailored just for you.”
I listened quietly. Then looked up at them.
“I have to go.”
“I know she won’t let me walk out of this trial alive.”
“But if I don’t step in—she’ll choose someone else.”
“Maybe Amy. Maybe Tai, or Koren. Or another nameless girl stripped of choice, like I was.”
“So I’ll go.”
That night, I dreamed again.
Back in the slave pens.
A number tag around my neck.
Mother approached, smiling, fingers stroking my hair with mock tenderness.
“You are my proudest creation.”
I kicked her across the dream.
“Go be proud in hell.”
[Trial Day]
I stepped into the Umbral Mirror Domain.
Silence swallowed me whole.
No sound. No breath.
Only layers of shimmering mirrors that pulsed like disturbed water.
Suddenly, the first vision appeared.
A younger me.
Kneeling before my mother.
She held out a bitter pill.
“You don’t swallow it, I’ll feed it to your sister.”
I took the pill. Swallowed it.
The next vision: my first kill.
A boy who’d stolen scraps of food.
Mother made me do it—as a loyalty test.
My hands had trembled. But I still did it.
From within the memory, her voice echoed:
“See? You’re more ruthless than you think.”
I clenched my fists, walking forward through the storm of reflections.
With every step, shadows of my past spat poison:
“You’re no rebel. You’re a weapon built to obey.”
“You’re just a better liar than the rest.”
“You think you’re free? You’re still crawling when she snaps her fingers.”
I stopped.
Facing a version of myself—blood-streaked, empty-eyed.
I took a breath.
Then said:
“You’re right.”
“I was a monster.”
“But I’m not anymore.”
“Because now—I choose.”
“And I choose not to obey.”
CRACK—!
The mirror shattered in a burst of light.
In my palm, the sigil of the Dark Moon reignited, glowing like a second heartbeat.
And a voice—calm, ancient, powerful—echoed in my mind:
“You have passed the true Trial.”
“The Moon answers your will.”
Outside the mirror realm, Mother stood in the central tower.
Eyes cold. Hands clasped.
Watching.
“Impossible… She broke the mirror?”
“She triggered full resonance?”
The Silverflame commander burst in.
“Commander, should we mobilize? Or… will you act yourself?”
Mother rose from her throne slowly.
Her smile was razor-thin.
“No more pawns.”
“It’s time I face her—myself.”
I stepped out of the Mirror Domain.
Behind me, the Dark Moon hung high in the sky—silent, massive, awakened.
Hundreds waited at the foot of the trial gate.
They looked up—not at a soldier.
Not at a slave.
But at a symbol.
At a girl who had become her own answer.
For the first time…
They saw their future.
