House of dragon: new valyria

Viston's Pov

I stepped forward into the next chamber, the door slamming shut behind me. The air was thick with a strange kind of weight—like the very walls were pressing in on me, closing me into something I couldn't escape. I swallowed hard, but the unease in my chest was hard to shake. This felt different from the first trial. The first had been about confronting myself, my fears, my power. But this… this felt more like a game of trust.

The chamber around me was dark at first, but the floor was glowing faintly, guiding me deeper into its heart. I hesitated for a moment, instinctively reaching out to tap into the powers I had so carefully honed, but I quickly pulled back. I had learned something valuable in the previous trial: not everything could be solved by raw power. I needed to use my mind. My resolve.

The walls began to shimmer and shift, as though they were made of liquid silver. Slowly, the room began to take shape, and I was standing in what appeared to be an elaborate courtyard—one I knew all too well. The architecture, the stone, the gardens—it all felt eerily familiar.

I was standing in the heart of my family estate. The place where I had grown up, surrounded by the warmth of my adoptive parents, Anton and the others. The place that had become home to me when I had nothing.

But something was wrong. The air smelled different, colder. The usual hum of life—the sound of laughter, the chatter of the family—was gone. In its place, there was only silence.

Then I heard it. A voice.

"Viston."

I turned sharply, my heart skipping a beat as I saw a figure standing in the distance. It was Anton. But it wasn't Anton, not really. I could see the flicker of something unnatural in his eyes. The way his body was poised, still but tense, as if waiting for me to make the first move.

His lips curled into a faint smile. "You've come far. But the question is, how far are you willing to go?"

I frowned, my pulse quickening. "What do you mean?"

Anton's smile widened, but it wasn't the same smile I knew. It was colder, more detached. "This trial is a test of loyalty, Viston. A test of your ability to make the right choices. You've always seen yourself as part of this family, haven't you? But now… now the question is, will you make the choice that benefits everyone? Or will you choose yourself?"

I took a step back, unease creeping up my spine. This wasn't right. This wasn't the Anton I knew.

"I don't understand. What are you asking me?"

He sighed, shaking his head slowly. "The truth is, you've always had the power to shape the outcome of your destiny, Viston. You've always been the one to hold the reins, even when you didn't realize it. But what will you do when the stakes are high? When choosing your family means sacrificing your soul? Would you make the sacrifice for the greater good?"

The words hung in the air like smoke, heavy and suffocating. I wanted to reach out, to pull the truth from Anton's lips, but I knew this wasn't him. This was something else, something designed to test me. But what was it trying to test?

"You are ready," Anton continued, his voice turning smooth, like silk. "But ready for what? To walk away from everything? To let go of the people who raised you, who loved you?"

The ground beneath my feet trembled as if something was about to break. The courtyard around me began to distort. The stone walls cracked, the familiar flowers withering and turning to ash. The air grew thick with a scent I knew too well—blood.

A vision flashed before my eyes—Anton, lying on the ground, a wound in his chest. I felt my heart seize in my chest as the vision played out, vivid and real. I couldn't breathe, couldn't move. I reached out instinctively, but the vision shattered like glass before me, replaced by another image: a group of people, some familiar, some strangers, tied down and waiting for something. Their faces were full of fear, and I could feel their pain, their desperation, washing over me.

Anton's voice cut through the noise. "What will you do, Viston? The family is at risk. And you are the key to saving them… but it will come at a cost. A heavy cost."

I stumbled backward, my mind racing. The images, the visions—was this some sort of manipulation? The trial was clearly trying to make me question everything I thought I knew about loyalty, about family, about what I was willing to sacrifice.

A cold chill ran down my spine. I was being tested, no doubt. But what was the right choice? Could I really sacrifice my soul, the very essence of who I was, for the family? For Anton?

The images flickered again, this time showing a scene from my past. I saw the faces of my true parents, the ones I had lost. I saw the faces of the children I had once shared a life with, all of them dead. And I heard the voice that haunted my every dream.

"You can't save them, Viston. You can't save anyone."

The world around me swirled with the chaos of my past and present, pulling at the edges of my mind. I could feel the coldness creeping in, the voice of doubt telling me that this was my fate. That I was destined to repeat the mistakes of my past.

But I couldn't give in. I wouldn't.

I closed my eyes, forcing myself to breathe. To focus. I had faced so much already. I had fought my own fears and insecurities. But this trial was different. This was about holding onto who I was, even when everything around me screamed for me to let go.

I had learned that power alone wouldn't get me through the trials. And neither would fear. I had to trust myself.

I opened my eyes, meeting Anton's cold gaze once more. "I choose my family," I said firmly, my voice unwavering.

Anton's face faltered, and for the first time in this trial, I saw a flicker of something genuine. It wasn't Anton, not fully. But it was enough.

"Good," the voice of Anton said, fading into the darkness. "You've passed the trial."

The world around me began to dissolve, the courtyard fading into nothingness. The walls, the flowers, the blood—they all disappeared, leaving me standing in the void. The weight in the air lifted, and I felt a sense of clarity wash over me.

I wasn't just a weapon. I wasn't just a tool. I was Viston.

I took a deep breath, feeling the heavy stillness of the room settle over me. The air was cold now, like the first stirrings of winter. I couldn't tell where I was or even what was real anymore. The trials were not just pushing me to my limits—they were pulling at something deeper inside me, something I had not yet fully understood.

I was shaken, yes, but still determined. This next trial—the Trial of Betrayal—felt different from the previous one. It wasn't about loyalty or deception anymore. It was personal. It was a test of the one thing I feared most: the people I trusted.

I stepped forward into the mist that had begun to swirl around my feet, reaching for the unseen edges of the trial. There were no walls this time, no courtyard, no flickering visions. The space was vast—emptiness stretching as far as I could see.

And then, the silence was broken.

"Viston."

The voice was familiar, unmistakable. It was Anton's voice, but not the one I had heard before. This one held a different kind of authority. A presence that made my skin prickle.

I turned, and there, standing before me in the middle of the void, was Anton—alive, unscathed, looking like nothing had ever changed. The weight in my chest tightened. I was certain something wasn't right, but the part of me that had missed him, that had needed to see him this whole, couldn't shake the feeling that something in the air was different this time.

"You've come far," he said, his eyes intense. "But we both know that the next step is the hardest."

My throat went dry. "What do you mean?"

Anton's smile was wry, almost cruel in its sharpness. "You think you understand loyalty, Viston? You think you've come to terms with it? But you've always been a child, haven't you? I've been guiding you. I've been your father, your protector. I've done everything I could to make sure you didn't fall into the same traps you were born into."

I shook my head, trying to clear the fog that was creeping into my thoughts. Something wasn't right. Anton had always been my rock, my family—everything I had wanted in this life. But now, his words felt cold, distant. Like they were coated in something I couldn't yet understand.

"You're wrong," I said, my voice growing more forceful. "You're my family. You've always been there for me. You've never betrayed me."

Anton's eyes flickered, but only for a moment. "Have I? Have I truly been there for you, Viston? Or have I been manipulating you this entire time, teaching you how to be weak? You've let your emotions rule you, and now it's too late."

My mind raced, trying to process what he was saying. The images of my family—the love we had shared—flashed before me. It felt impossible that anything would jeopardize that bond. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized something had always been off.

"No," I whispered, shaking my head again, refusing to let the doubt settle in. "I don't believe that. You've given me everything I have. You raised me, Anton. You're my father."

Anton's face shifted then, and for the first time, I saw the cold, empty look in his eyes. He stepped forward, and I instinctively took a step back. But something in me knew that I couldn't keep backing away.

"I raised you, yes," he said slowly. "But I also shaped you. You are nothing but a tool to me, Viston. You always have been. Your love, your loyalty—none of that matters. The only thing that matters is your usefulness."

The words struck me like a physical blow. My heart pounded in my chest, as if it were trying to escape. This couldn't be happening. The man I had trusted, the father I had looked up to—he was saying this to me? Was it all a lie?

The space around us warped again, the shadows curling and twisting, becoming like blackened tendrils reaching for me. And suddenly, the air grew thick with a hauntingly familiar presence.

"Viston," a new voice said—one I knew too well, one that I had once heard in my darkest moments. It was my voice, but it wasn't mine.

The figure that stepped into the mist was my reflection, but distorted. My own face looked back at me with a coldness I had never seen before. "It's true, you know. Everything he's said is true. You are weak. You always have been. You've failed your family, you've failed yourself, and you've failed your destiny."

My breath hitched. I stumbled back, my feet heavy as though the very air had become too thick to move through. "No… stop…"

The reflection smiled, a twisted mockery of my own expression. "You think that you have all this power. You think you can change the world. But you're wrong, Viston. You've been a tool. And you always will be. Just like the rest of them."

I closed my eyes tightly, willing the voice to stop. But it wouldn't. It echoed in my mind like a chant, repeating over and over. "You've been nothing but a weapon. A pawn in the game. And now it's time for you to face the truth."

I stumbled backward, my knees threatening to give out under me. I was alone. Alone in a world where my family could no longer be trusted, where even my own reflection had turned against me. The ground beneath me cracked open, and a swirling black pit opened up, drawing everything into it.

"Choose, Viston."

Anton's voice again, but this time it was colder, distant. "The choice is yours. Walk away from everything you've known, and take your place in the world. Or stay in the darkness of your family's lies. What do you truly want?"

The choice—the real test. I had been pushed to the edge, forced to confront everything I thought was true. The people I had loved, the family I had clung to, the very core of my being—it was all falling apart around me.

But in the deepest recesses of my heart, I knew one thing.

"I choose my family," I whispered, the words escaping my lips with all the strength I could muster. "Even if they betray me, even if it's all a lie—I will not walk away. I will fight for them."

The reflection in front of me faltered, its twisted smile faltering before vanishing entirely. The shadows that had closed in on me retreated, leaving only silence in their wake.

Anton's face softened for the briefest moment, a flicker of something resembling pride. "You've passed, Viston. But be warned—the trials are far from over."

The mist began to fade, and the space around me shifted once more. I wasn't alone anymore. But this time, I had learned something important: betrayal, whether from those I loved or myself, would never define who I was.

I was more than my past. I was more than what others made me out to be.

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Word count 2314

Fell q little short from my usual 2500 but heh I tried

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