Darkness.
Having been plunged into the world of darkness three times in a row at this point, Valyr patiently waited for the opportunity to expound upon the Intent Seed of the Forger's Flames to begin.
Though, unlike the previous couple of times where he had been directly thrown into the setting, the young man began to feel a faint heat coming from the void.
With the heat being more comforting rather than scorching, Valyr recalled his earlier thoughts of being thrown into a world of flames, sensing that the current Intent Seed was more in-line with the thought.
Of course, he also thought of the possibility of being thrown into a memory related to the Enlightened Forge yet again, with the old man's last words still etched in his mind.
'It would be quite nice if the latter were to happen rather than the former,' thought Valyr to himself.
'After all, from the name of the Intent Seed itself, I would probably be able to gain more from a memory like that.'
With similar thoughts continuing to linger in his mind, Valyr continued to wait through the darkness, with the heat he felt gradually becoming more and more unbearable with time.
Thankfully, by the time a few minutes had passed, the opportunity had finally arrived before him, transporting the young man far away from the scalding darkness he was in earlier.
Whoosh!
With the sights before him becoming more and more blurry as he moved at great speeds, Valyr's movements eventually stopped at the moment he had appeared in quite the unexpected place.
After all, the signs of a forge were nowhere to be found in the sight before him.
Instead, he stood in front of what looked like a ritual place rather than a forge.
"Ooooohhhhm…"
As a long flight of stairs led his vision to what looked to be a giant altar, Valyr watched as people gradually entered the place, walking up the steps as they made a certain sound.
"Oooohhhmm…"
At some point, these people eventually stopped walking up the stairs, instead positioning themselves in areas that put them in near proximity to the giant altar.
Though, as Valyr took note of the clothing the people wore, it seemed that there was more to their positioning than he initially thought.
If anything, it looked like the clothing one wore dictated how close one could be to the giant altar in the center, forming a sort of hierarchy.
Slightly frowning as the people before him began to chant what sounded like gibberish to him, Valyr began to ask himself a couple questions.
'Have I been thrown into some sort of cult?'
'If yes, how does this have something to do with the forger's flames?'
"Ooohhhmm…"
Oblivious to how Valyr looked at the sight before him, the people continued to chant for a bit more, eventually falling into silence as one of the people near the giant altar spoke up.
"Dear brothers and sisters, we have been gathered here today to witness a momentous event in the history of our organization."
Moving a few steps forward from her position, the woman that began to speak made sure that her voice was heard by everyone.
"For many decades, only we who stand around and near the altar have been chosen by the Eternal Flame."
"However, that shall all change today."
At those words, some of the people began to talk with one another regarding the matter, with most of their expressions becoming somewhat animated.
Then again, it did not take long for them to fall silent once again, seeing that the woman that spoke up still had something more to say.
"Today, under the surveillance and guidance of the Eternal Flame, we shall witness the possible induction of another member into our ranks."
"May the Eternal Flame guide the poor soul."
"All praise the Eternal Flame!"
"All praise the Eternal Flame!"
As the people before him continued to speak, with most of them even going so far as to unanimously recite a certain phrase, Valyr began to form an idea as to why the Chambers of Enlightenment had thrown him into the scenario he was currently in.
"I guess the answer to my question will appear once I see the Eternal Flame they're talking about," muttered Valyr as he faintly nodded in understanding.
With everyone around the altar continuing to chant the same phrase over and over, the doors to the place was eventually opened, revealing a young man with dark brown hair that looked to be in his early twenties.
Sporting a somewhat frail frame and a shifty expression, the man looked as if he had malicious intentions in coming to the ritual place.
Yet, at the very moment he stared at the giant altar at the top of the stairs, the man's expression swiftly turned solemn as he began to walk up the steps.
"All praise the Eternal Flame."
With every step he took, the man would chant the phrase the others had spoken before.
Seeing that, the others began to give him a look of approval, nodding as he continued up the steps.
"Light the Eternal Flame!"
By the time the man was around half of the way to reaching the giant altar, the woman that spoke up earlier spoke out once more, causing others around the altar to start moving as a fiery blaze was birthed within the altar.
Fwoosh!
With the flames reaching a height that seemed unimaginable to any normal person, everyone in that place watched as the flames began from a fiery blue before gradually taking on a more orange hue.
Eventually, the flame stopped its transformation by the time it took on a mellow red, the warmth it gave off causing delight among those near it.
Concurrently, the man had arrived in front of the giant altar, staring at the red flame within from up close.
For quite some time, silence enveloped the entirety of the place as the man continued to look at the flame that was housed within the altar.
Though, at some point, the man began to make his move.
"Let us begin." Looking at the woman that spoke up earlier with a nod, the man looked at her with a calm expression.
In response, the woman nodded as she spoke back.
"Let us begin the trial, indeed."
