Chapter 184: Chapter 184: The Ultimate Test

The chamber that greeted them was unlike any they had encountered before. It was vast, so vast that the walls and ceiling seemed to dissolve into the surrounding light, leaving the space feeling infinite. The floor beneath them was smooth and reflective, like a mirror, making it impossible to discern where they were truly standing.

At the far end of the chamber stood a massive throne, carved from the same stone as the mountain, but infused with both light and shadow. On it sat a figure draped in robes that shimmered with an ever-changing play of darkness and light. The figure's face was obscured, hidden beneath a hood, but the power emanating from it was palpable, a force that seemed to vibrate through the air and into their very bones.

The group halted at the threshold of the chamber, sensing the magnitude of what lay ahead. Elara's hand tightened around the Heartstone, its light steady but subdued, as if it, too, recognized the gravity of the moment.