The next few days kept up the same routine; waking up early, heading to the river for breakfast, meeting up with Nightwing, heading over to the trial cavern to greet the Elder, doing my trial as well as I can, heading back with Nightwing's help and sleeping off the fatigue for a lot of the remaining day. Obviously there's stuff after I wake up, I don't just sleep into the next day. But my evenings are a little less structured and more varied, so...

I've lost count of how long I've been here, but I'm guessing around a month, maybe? I don't know, I didn't exactly try to keep track to begin with, so... nevermind.

I've also been continuously impressing the Elder and Nightwing, who keeps going slack-jawed at my results of every trial. Apparently I'm still in the overachiever range, even if my time in the cavern never feels that long. It's gotten more challenging, but not massively so. It's very much doable. I'm honestly kinda surprised that I'm doing so well. The trials aren't nearly as hard as I expected. Most of it is the same stuff I do for training, though, like blind flying through the forests and stuff, so maybe I have a little extra experience.

"Ready for today's trial, Vexelle?" Nightwing asks me as we walk. We've gotten quite close over this time period since we spend most of our time together. He's a good friend.

"Of course I am," I smile. "How many more do I have before I've completed them all, by the way?" "Actually, this'll be your last one," Nightwing replies. "Pretty cool, right?"

I pause. "Really? Huh..." "Something wrong?" He asks me. "No, it's just that... once I'm done here, I'll have to leave," I point out. "And I've grown to quite like it here."

"Oh." I'm surprised by the strong disappointment in Nightwing's aura. "Well you could always stay, couldn't you?"

"I've got work back at Skylander Academy," I remind him. "And my other job."

"Other job?" He asks curiously. "Doesn't matter," I shrug, not caring to elaborate. "Point is, I can't stay forever, Nightwing. I'll gladly visit if I'm able to come back, though."

"You're always welcome here," Nightwing nods. He seems a bit happier now, though the disappointment is still lingering in his aura.

Before I can puzzle out what's going on with him, we reach the cavern, the Elder already awaiting us. Nightwing and I bow to him as usual. "Rise, young ones. Vexelle, are you ready for the trial?" He asks me. "I am," I confirm. He nods and opens the door, granting me entrance.

"I must warn you, young one; this will be your greatest challenge yet. This isn't a normal trial. You will be faced with what you fear most."

I pause. That was what I had to say to access the Core of Light. I already know exactly what I'm about to face. "Are you sure you can do this?" Nightwing asks me gently. Not in an 'I know you'll never be able to do it because you're weak' way, but an 'I know this can be too much for most people and I don't want it to be too much for you' way.

I nod slowly. "I'll give it a try. The worst case scenario is that I need another try, right?" The Elder smiles slightly and nods in agreement. "That is true. Good luck, young one."

I nod and enter the cavern. "It's just an illusion, it's just an illusion..." I murmur to myself, so quietly even I can barely hear it. The place goes dark as the door seals shut, then I see it as the light returns; bodies littering the ground.

I back away slowly, eyes flicking between the fallen Skylanders and cadets and my closest friends. Even Nightwing is here, cold and unmoving.

I feel something grab my tail and yelp in fright, quickly spinning around. It's Adrian, pale and clammy, with his light green eyes boring straight into my darker ones.

"Please... s-spare... Freya..." he begs, croaked voice hardly above a whisper. Tears form in my eyes. Even in his last moments - despite this being an illusion of my own mind, of course - he only thought of protecting Freya. Exactly what I'd expect of him, which makes this so much more realistic and heart-wrenching to me. I'm struggling to keep any form of composure now, for a moment forgetting this isn't real.

When Adrian collapses again, breathing a final, shaky breath, body devoid of all aura like the others here, I break. My aura shines visibly, a mix of fear and guilt.

I look down at them all one by one. It's so hard to see, but I know I need to. It's just an illusion, I repeat in my head like a mantra. It's just an illusion, it's just an illusion...

I note how shaky my own breathing is, so I try to control it. I breathe slowly, steadily, until I can calm my rapidly beating heart. I already know none of it is real. Come on, I'm an Aura Dragon, I've spent my whole life learning to control my emotions!

And controlling my emotions is exactly what I need to do here.

I attempt to give aura to the others, emitting still cyan waves. I watch their auras closely, wondering if this'll actually work. It doesn't seem to, so I stop before I waste too much aura.

I try to think about what else I need to do here, but I realise something.

When I came in here, the Elder had me thinking about my worst fear. And all this is an illusion from my mind. So what if...?

Before I can do anything, Adrian grabs at me again, as if the magic itself doesn't want me to do this. "Please..."

"I'm sorry." I shake him off. "But you're not even real."

With a final burst of aura, I shatter the illusion.