Fii's night didn't end there. The Trial of Binding had been just the start of her initiation ceremony.

  After taking a short break to recover from her experience with the Loa, she joined the rest of the tribe for a communal meal around the bonfire. The atmosphere was lively, with villagers of all ages sharing food and stories. Fii found herself surrounded by young kids who peppered her with questions about being a Super.

  Unlike a lot of the adults, they were pretty fluent in Common. A few of them were excited to practice. Fii guessed the adults mostly relied on each other to translate, but the kids were more likely to play with other children from outside of the Kurigali community.

  Even as she told a shortened, sanitized version of the fight with the Adrenomancers, she couldn't shake the lingering sense of disorientation from her encounter with the spirits. Every time her gaze fell on a nearby object—a rock, a plant, even the very earth beneath her feet—it was like seeing it for the first time.

  The sensation of those hundreds of voices, each asking what she was, still echoed in her mind. What were the Loa, exactly? What did they want from her? And more importantly, what did they mean by "more"?

  But her questions had to wait. As the meal was ending, Mambo Naya approached Fii with Barathi. "Are you ready for the next part of the ceremony?" she asked, her eyes glinting in the firelight.

  Fii took a deep breath and nodded. "I think so."

  "Good. Then come with me."

  Mambo Naya led Fii away from the village square and into a small clearing surrounded by trees. In the middle of the clearing stood a large, rectangular hut with an open doorway. Inside, Fii could see a long table covered in various herbs, stones, and other items that looked to her like magical paraphernalia.

  One whiff of the air inside told her what she was in for—hallucinogens.

  "This is where you'll face the Trial of Clarity," Naya explained, gesturing for her to enter the hut. "Through the use of sacred plants, you will venture into the realm of dreams, where the Loa will guide you to a deeper understanding of your connection to our people."

  Fii stepped inside, the heady aroma of herbs and incense immediately assaulting her senses. She coughed, then asked, "What am I supposed to do?"

  Naya followed her in. "Simply consume the sacred plants that are laid out before you and let them guide your vision. We will be waiting outside."

  After mixing the herbs in a bowl, Mambo Naya pressed the bowl into her hands. Fii stared at it, feeling an unsteady sense of anticipation in her stomach.

  If this was how things were normally done, it must be safe, right? Then again, maybe there was a reason they only did this kind of thing once. Some kind of toxicity over several doses, maybe?

  I guess I'll find out.

  Fii glanced up at Mambo Naya and gave her a small, nervous smile. "Well, here goes nothing." She drank the concoction, grimacing at the bitter taste that coated her tongue.

  As Mambo Naya left the hut, closing the door behind her, Fii felt her head begin to swim. The dim light of the candles inside seemed to flicker and dance before her eyes. She swayed slightly on her feet, reaching out a hand to steady herself against the table.

  This felt a hell of a lot stronger than anything she'd done before. Five times stronger, at least. Maybe more.

  Shapes and colors began to distort around her, and Fii could feel her grip on reality start to slip.

  Oh boy, here we go.

  She felt her body give way beneath her, her knees buckling as she fell to the floor. The hut seemed to stretch and warp around her, its walls breathing in and out like living lungs. She closed her eyes, but the kaleidoscope of colors and patterns continued to dance across the back of her eyelids.

  "Just stay still," she whispered to herself. The sound of her own voice was dissonant, stretched and doubled, as though someone else were whispering the same words just behind her. She fought the instinct to move, to fidget or fight against the sensation of sinking, and instead leaned into it.

  And then she was falling.

  Not fast—no rush of wind or stomach-flipping plunge—but a slow, spiraling drift, like a feather caught in an unseen current.

  When she opened her eyes again, the hut was gone. She was standing in an endless void.

  The darkness around her wasn't oppressive but vast, limitless, and strangely comforting. Stars flickered into existence, first as tiny pinpricks of light, then swelling and shifting, drawing impossibly close before flickering out and appearing elsewhere.

  Fii reached out a hand, unsure if it was instinct or desperation. Her fingers brushed against something cold yet yielding—a surface that wasn't quite there. She gasped softly as ripples spread outward from the contact, warping the stars into streaks and bending the space around her hand. When she pulled back, the void snapped back into place, as though she'd disturbed the surface of a still, black pond.

  The more she flexed her power, the more she felt... control? Every ripple she made was more distinct, and every movement of her hand seemed to carve a wake through the void, like she was pushing through water or thick syrup. The darkness yielded to her touch, parting around her and reforming behind her with each movement.

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  What is this place?

  She felt her feet find ground—or something like it. It was soft yet solid, shifting yet firm, as if the very concept of "ground" had been reimagined for this place. Her steps left no footprint, and there was no discernible terrain to traverse. It was just her, walking across an endless, dark expanse under an infinite sky of shifting stars.

  Ahead of her, something shimmered—an outline, faint and translucent, like a mirage caught in a heatwave. Fii froze, squinting at the figure as it shifted and solidified. It was human-shaped, but wrong, its edges frayed and flickering, like an old hologram on the brink of collapse.

  Its face—her face—was barely distinguishable, one side bathed in a soft, warm glow, the other fractured into jagged shards that reflected and refracted the light.

  Fii's breath hitched. She felt an instinctual pull toward the figure, but her legs refused to move. Whether it was fear or awe that kept her rooted in place, she couldn't tell.

  Her chest tightened as she watched it take a step forward, the movement uneven, one side lagging behind the other. The glowing half radiated a calm, grounded presence, its movements fluid and deliberate. The jagged side twitched and stuttered, its steps sharp and discordant, as though fighting against invisible chains.

  The figure stopped at arm's reach, its mismatched halves seeming to study her as much as she was studying it. Then, slowly, it raised a hand—not in threat, but in invitation. One finger, the index finger on the glowing side, pointed directly at Fii's chest.

  She swallowed hard and glanced down, half expecting to see some monstrous deformity in herself that she hadn't noticed before. But there was nothing. Just her, in her paint and ceremonial garments, looking exactly as she had in the village. When she looked back up, the figure remained, its finger still pointing squarely at her.

  "What are you?" Fii asked, her voice barely a whisper. "What do you want from me?"

  The figure tilted its head, the glowing side leaning gently, the jagged side snapping into position a moment too late. When it spoke, its voice wasn't a voice at all but a vibration, a resonance that echoed through the space around her. It wasn't words she understood, but feelings—frustration, yearning, a desperate ache for something just out of reach.

  She frowned, trying to make sense of it. "I—I don't get it."

  The figure extended its glowing hand toward her, and Fii flinched as it touched her forehead. The sensation wasn't warm or cold but an overwhelming pressure, like a tide pulling her under.

  Her vision exploded into fragments.

  She was everywhere and nowhere. Memories, feelings, and sensations swirled around her, disconnected and out of sequence. The first time she'd floated, weightless, using her powers to lift herself above the slum rooftops. The time her body and mind shuddered in pain as Edith's serum washed through her. The warmth of Quinn's embrace. The terror of the Adrenomancers. The thrill of bending gravity to her will, tinged with the hollow sense that something was missing, that she was reaching for a puzzle piece that didn't fit.

  The stars around her blurred and stretched, forming threads of light that wove together into a tapestry—one that shimmered and shifted, never fully complete. The glowing side of the spirit figure stood within the tapestry, its movements slow and deliberate, weaving patterns of light with its hands. The jagged side loomed at the edges, its movements erratic, slashing through the threads and unraveling them as quickly as they were formed.

  Fii felt the pull again, an aching tension in her chest as the two sides struggled against each other. The jagged side turned toward her, its fractured edges sparking with an energy that felt sharp and alien. It pointed to the rift in the tapestry, a jagged tear that pulsed with an energy she recognized but couldn't name.

  "What does it mean?" She tried to blink away the sting in her eyes, but it refused to ease.

  The figure shifted closer, its two halves out of sync, the jagged side pushing and pulling, distorting the space around it. It extended both hands this time, reaching for her, and she braced herself for the contact.

  Fii's eyes snapped open, her body drenched in sweat. She was still lying on the floor of the hut, her heartbeat thundering in her ears. The air felt stiflingly warm, and her body felt raw and exposed, as if she'd been peeled open like a fruit. Her chest heaved as she tried to steady her breathing, her hands trembling as they gripped the woven mat beneath her.

  Naya kneeled beside her, her eyes searching Fii's face with a mixture of concern and curiosity. Behind her, Barathi stood, holding a bowl of what looked like water.

  Fii blinked rapidly, trying to clear her vision and settle the jumble of thoughts in her head. As her focus sharpened, the kaleidoscope of colors and distorted shapes gradually eased.

  "Easy, there," Naya murmured, laying a steadying hand on her shoulder. "Try not to move too quickly. Your mind and body are reacquainting themselves with each other."

  Barathi crouched, offering her the bowl of water. "Drink."

  Fii accepted it with a weak nod, her arms feeling leaden and clumsy. The water was cool and clean, and it soothed the roughness in her throat. She drained the bowl before handing it back to Barathi.

  "What happened?" she asked, her voice cracking. "What was that?"

  Naya's hand remained on her shoulder, gently grounding. "It was your vision. All the initiates experience a vision as part of the ceremony."

  Fii stared at her, her eyes wide. "But... I saw myself. But it wasn't me. Or... it was, but there was something wrong. It was in pain."

  "Visions are the language of the spirit world," Naya said, her voice low and gentle. "They rarely speak to us directly. Instead, they communicate through symbols, feelings, and images. To interpret them correctly requires patience and an open heart."

  Fii shook her head, pressing a hand to her temple. "I... I'm not sure how to interpret any of that."

  Naya's smile was understanding. "Take your time. The vision will continue to reveal itself as you allow it to. Trust in the guidance of the spirits; they will lead you to the answers you seek."

  Barathi extended a hand, helping Fii to her feet. The hut spun lazily around her for a moment before settling back into place. She took a deep breath, steadying herself, and looked at Mambo Naya.

  "So, what's next?"

  Naya's expression softened. "Rest, young one. Rest and reflect. You've undertaken a significant journey tonight—one that requires time and solitude to process. The last trial will be after you've spent more time with us and learned more about who we are and how we live."

  Fii nodded, feeling a wave of exhaustion wash over her. The night had been more than she'd anticipated, and she wasn't sure she had anything left in her. She just wanted to sleep.

  "Okay. I can do that." Her voice sounded small, uncertain.

  "Come," Barathi said, wrapping an arm around her waist to steady her. "Let's get you somewhere you can rest."

  Fii leaned into the support gratefully and let herself be guided out of the hut and back into the village. The fire had dwindled, casting long shadows across the square. The drummers had ceased their rhythmic beating, and the other participants had already dispersed to their homes.

  The village seemed hushed and expectant, as if it, too, was waiting for her to unpack the meaning of her vision.