NOVEL WEB Chapter 14: Ch 13
Chapter 13: Trial of Memories
The arena around Tara flickered and dissolved into nothingness. The once-dominant terrain crumbled away, leaving her standing in the center of an abyss. The air grew thick, the ground unstable, and the very atmosphere trembled with an ancient energy. The familiar battle cries and the scent of dust and blood were replaced by an eerie stillness. Then, without warning, the arena faded entirely, swallowed by an endless darkness.
Tara stumbled, her hands instinctively reaching out to steady herself, but the darkness closed in. The ground was gone, replaced by a dense mist that spiraled around her, clouding her vision. The symbols on the cave walls began to glow, shifting slowly, their forms flickering like forgotten memories, pulling her deeper into the trial.
She stood at the entrance to a vast cavern, its walls pulsating with strange energy, casting shadows that danced like ghosts. Tara felt her breath catch in her throat, her pulse quickening as she realized what this place was. This was no ordinary cave. It was a prison for her memories, for everything she had buried deep inside. A path she had to walk—one she was dreading.
The mist twisted, and the first memory struck. The air around her shimmered, and suddenly Tara was standing on the cold, sterile deck of a massive galactic ship. The hum of engines, the faint beeping of alarms—she was back on the Odyssey, the ship that had once been her home. Her parents had been aboard this ship when the war began. She could hear the screams of soldiers, the crackle of comms as chaos erupted around them. This wasn't a battlefield on a distant planet; this was a fight for survival in the void of space.
The war had started unexpectedly, a vicious alien race attacking the colonies of Blue Star, the planet Tara had once called home. The Odyssey had been one of the first ships to respond. Tara was a child, running through the corridors of the ship, helpless as she heard the sounds of battle above her.
"Mom, Dad—!" She called out, but her voice was drowned in the cacophony of explosions. The ship shook violently beneath her feet, throwing her off balance. The memory twisted, warping as the ship's hull cracked open, and Tara could feel the heat of fire, smell the burning metal.
Her parents—her brave, kind parents—had been in the command center when the alien forces breached the ship. The explosion that tore through the ship echoed through her very being, and Tara was thrown backward, feeling the heat of the blast, the overwhelming feeling of loss.
Tara's breath hitched in her throat. No, no! This isn't real! she thought, but the memory pulled her deeper. She tried to resist, tried to pull herself away, but the weight of her grief pressed harder, suffocating her.
And then, just as the loss threatened to consume her, the memory wavered, and she was dragged into another one.
This time, Tara found herself back on the surface of Blue Star, standing amidst the ruins of a once-bustling city. The sky was tinged with purple and orange, and the distant horizon was dotted with the wreckage of ships. Her friends—her real friends, not the people she had left behind—were beside her. They had been exploring the dangerous dungeons beneath the city, seeking knowledge, but they had been too reckless.
As they ventured deeper into the dark, alien labyrinth, Tara's best friend—someone she had trusted more than anyone—betrayed them. The friend, once the leader of their group, had abandoned them, leading them straight into the claws of the alien creatures that lay hidden in the deep.
She could hear the echoes of their screams, the sound of her friends falling one by one. Tara, in a desperate attempt to save them, had fought back, but it was too late. She was the only one who emerged alive, the weight of their deaths heavy on her shoulders. The betrayal, the guilt, the helplessness—it all came crashing down on her as the memory unfolded again.
Tara gritted her teeth. I should have seen it coming. I should've stopped them. Her heart pounded as her former friend's face twisted in her mind, mocking her. I was too weak, she thought bitterly. I couldn't save them.
But before the suffocating guilt could fully drown her, the memory warped again. A new image flickered in her mind—the study where she had spent hours with her uncle. The smell of old books and the soft hum of the tech in the room filled her senses. Tara was younger, standing beside her uncle as he poured over a strange, ancient symbol.
"This is the key, Tara," her uncle's voice echoed through the cavern, pulling her closer. "Everything you need to find me is in these symbols."
The memory sharpened, and Tara reached out, her hand brushing against the map. The symbol her uncle had shown her was the same one that had been in the notes she had found. It clicked in her mind. The path to her uncle, the answers she had been searching for, had always been in front of her.
But just as she was about to grasp this revelation, the memory twisted again. This time, Tara was standing before her father, his cold gaze piercing through her.
"You've failed us, Tara," he said, his voice cutting through her like a blade. "You couldn't even save yourself, let alone your friends."
The harsh words tore through her, ripping open old wounds. She could feel the sting of failure, the deep-seated belief that she had always been too weak, too incapable. I'm not enough, she thought, her chest tightening with sorrow.
But then, something inside her shifted. She wasn't that frightened girl anymore. Tara's hands clenched into fists, and her breath steadied. No, I'm not weak. I've grown. I've survived. I've changed.
She focused, drawing on her powers, and as the wind began to whip around her, she shattered the memory of her father, pushing it away with a force of will. The cave trembled as the memory cracked like glass, and Tara felt herself drawn into another.
Her former friend's twisted smile haunted her, mocking her weakness. Tara's anger flared, and with a wave of her hand, fire erupted from her palms, consuming the specter in a blaze of fury. "You don't control me anymore," she shouted, her voice filled with defiance. "You never will again."
The specter shrieked and vanished in the flames, leaving Tara standing tall, her heart pounding with the raw power she had unleashed. But she was far from finished.
The cave trembled once more, and the final memory appeared—her uncle's face, his smile warm and reassuring. He was standing in front of her, waving, as though nothing had ever changed.
Tara's breath caught. It was him—the man she had been searching for, the one who had always guided her. His smile was a beacon of hope, and it melted away the shadows that had haunted her for so long. The memories—the guilt, the grief, the fear—began to fade, like a fog lifting from her mind.
And with that, the darkness of the cave receded, leaving Tara standing in the light, breathing deeply, her heart finally at peace.
Her uncle's voice echoed softly in her mind, "You've grown, Tara. You're ready."
The mist cleared, and Tara stood alone, no longer weighed down by her past. The path forward was open, and she was ready to take the next trial.