Chapter 125
Ivan's POV
My consciousness plummeted into a pure white void, the silence around me terrifying.
I couldn't feel my body's existence, as if my soul had been stripped away.
Suddenly, the whiteness began to distort.
Lightning wove itself into a mirrored labyrinth, mirror after mirror emerging from the void, each one reflecting different fragments of my life.
In the first mirror, I saw my original pack. It was a sunny afternoon, cubs frolicking on the grass, my mother gently licking my fur.
But the scene suddenly stained crimson—Blood River warriors stormed into our territory, fangs tearing, claws slashing throats. I watched my mother fall in a pool of blood, her eyes wide open, as if trying to look at me one last time.
The wails of my packmates rose and fell, those familiar faces dropping one after another.
"No—" I tried to rush forward, only to find myself trapped outside the mirror, forced to watch the slaughter continue.
The mirror shifted. Scenes of humiliation and despair from my wandering years replayed: being driven away by other packs, scavenging for food in garbage heaps, being mocked as "a homeless mutt."
Those were my painful childhood years, a thorn lodged in my heart that could never be removed.
"These are all in the past! Don't let them consume you!" Zeus's roar exploded in the depths of my consciousness.
But the mirrors refused to release me.
They twisted into Chloe's form. She stood on high ground, looking down at me, her lips curling into a mocking arc. "You're just a rogue wolf, Ivan. You'll never be good enough for me. You think I'd fall for a lowlife who doesn't even have a pack?"
"You're lying!" I roared, wanting to tear this illusion apart.
Tyler's voice came from all directions, dripping with contempt and disdain. "You think inheriting an element will change your status? Pathetic. You're still a lowlife, always will be. How could my daughter possibly want something like you?"
My psychological defenses began to crumble.
Years of suppressed inferiority, rage, and despair surged like a tidal wave, threatening to drown me. I endured tremendous pain, feeling my soul being torn apart.
Just when I was about to break, warmth flowed through from the other end of the mate bond.
It was Chloe—the real Chloe. Her warmth, her steadfastness, her love pierced through the fog of illusions, pulling me back from the edge of the abyss.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
These bone-deep painful illusions were all part of the trial.
The real Chloe had never mocked me. She had chosen me, marked me. She was my mate.
When I opened my eyes, the mirrored labyrinth began to dissipate. Thunder condensed into two paths that appeared before me.
The left path was calm and peaceful, paved with smooth stone slabs, looking safe and comfortable. I knew choosing it would preserve my life, allow me to exit the trial and return to Chloe's side—though still a cripple, still unable to protect her.
The right path crackled with lightning, violent electricity leaping across its surface, radiating an aura of destruction.
That path led to the unknown, a nine-in-ten chance of death, but there lay the power I needed.
Without hesitation, I chose the right path.
To gain the power to protect my beloved, even if it meant being shattered to pieces, I would not hesitate.
Lightning instantly engulfed me.
Agony—unimaginable agony swept through my entire being. My soul was torn apart by countless bolts of lightning, then reassembled, torn apart again, reassembled again. Each tearing made me feel like I was hovering on the edge of death, each reassembly like the torment of rebirth.
But within the agony, I saw Lightning's memories.
It had once been the guardian of Thunder Canyon. It had witnessed wolves felling forests, polluting rivers, destroying ecosystems, filled with rage yet powerless to stop it.
It longed to find a pure heart, a soul truly willing to protect rather than plunder.
I understood. Elemental power had never existed for conquest, but for protection.
"I will become the new guardian," I promised Flashwing. "I will use this power to protect those I love, protect this land, protect all lives that need protecting."
The lightning element began to merge with Zeus. The black wolf spirit was enveloped in electric light, the originally violent energy gradually becoming gentle, as if it had found its home. Zeus let out a satisfied growl, his body beginning to expand, muscles coursing with electricity.
I felt power surging within me—no longer external, violent, uncontrollable force, but power that truly belonged to me.
Lightning was no longer an enemy, but a companion, a weapon, a guardian.
My consciousness gradually cleared. I knew the trial wasn't over yet, but I had taken the most crucial step.
As long as I persevered, as long as I didn't give up, I could return to Chloe's side and use this power to protect her, protect our future.
The lightning grew brighter and brighter, nearly consuming everything.
But I was no longer afraid, because I knew that at the end of the brilliance lay rebirth.