I, The Villainess, Will Seduce All The Heroines Instead
Chapter 166: The Trial (22)

Chapter 166: The Trial (22)

[Novel editing]

The Reflection lunged again, faster this time, her chains lashing forward like liquid starlight. The void around them seemed to shrink with every strike, forcing Verena and her team into tighter spaces. Each chain was not just an attack—it was a projection of Verena’s doubts, sharp and cruel, aiming directly for her weak points.

"You carry them like trophies!" the Reflection spat, her voice cutting through the void. "They’ll only drag you under when you finally break!"

Verena gritted her teeth and sidestepped a whip of light, barely avoiding the strike as it shattered the platform behind her into astral dust. Her mimicry threads danced in response, intercepting some of the chains mid-air, replicating their rhythm but twisting their trajectory away.

"I carry them because they’re my team!" she shouted back, voice echoing defiantly. "You think I’m weak because I care? You think I regret fighting for them? You don’t know anything about what kept me alive this far!"

Isolde’s spear whirled in wide arcs, slicing through several incoming strikes. Sparks of celestial energy flew like fireworks as her movements carved through the storm. "I’ll handle defense—focus on breaking her core!"

Vivienne, still clutching Verena’s sleeve, sent another wave of Dreamtide magic rippling into the space. The illusionary haze thickened, distorting the Reflection’s precision. The chains faltered for a brief moment, their speed slowing as if trapped in syrupy currents of emotion.

"I-It’s working!" Vivienne gasped, eyes wide with hope. "She’s vulnerable!"

The Reflection let out a frustrated hiss, her cold façade starting to crack. "Pathetic... Do you think tricks like that will save you from yourself?"

But Verena saw it now—underneath the Reflection’s bravado was a desperate attempt to maintain control. The chains weren’t infinite. The void was not as endless as it seemed. This was just another labyrinth, another test meant to suffocate her under her own expectations.

"I’m done suffocating," Verena whispered to herself. "I’ve fought through too much bullshit to lose to my own anxieties."

Her mimicry threads flared as she fused them with Saphira’s synchronized Zodiacal Mimicry. The constellation glyphs spun around her hands—borrowed traces of Leo’s burning will and Aries’ unrelenting charge intertwining into a spiraling lance of brilliant energy.

The Reflection’s eyes widened. "Impossible—!"

"Guess I am a little more than you thought." Verena charged forward, her spear of mimicry slicing through the chains one by one, unraveling their grip on her like cutting puppet strings.

The Reflection retaliated, summoning a final barrage of star-chains to intercept her. But Isolde was already there, her spear thrusting upward like a comet breaking through the heavens. She pierced through the Reflection’s defense, shattering several chains and leaving a clear path for Verena to strike.

"Now!" Isolde shouted.

Verena didn’t hesitate.

She leapt, twisting mid-air as her mimicry lance extended. The Reflection screamed, raising a final barrier of swirling constellations, but Verena’s attack tore through it, dispersing the stars like scattering embers.

With a crack of light, the lance struck true—right through the Reflection’s chest.

The duplicate gasped, her form flickering as if dissolving into mist. "...You... won’t escape... yourself... forever..."

Verena landed, panting, as the Reflection’s form burst into countless shards of starlight, vanishing into the void.

Silence followed.

For a brief moment, everything stilled—the chains gone, the platforms stable, the void less suffocating. A soft bell-like chime echoed across the chamber as the system flickered to life again.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

Trial Three Complete: Nexus of Threads Cleared.

Zodiacal Affinity Stabilized.

Synchronization Progress: +15%

Emotional Burden Purged: +10% Mental Resilience.

A glowing doorway appeared ahead, gently rotating like an astral clock.

Vivienne stumbled forward, gripping Verena’s arm with both hands as if afraid she’d vanish. "Y-You did it..."

Isolde simply offered a satisfied nod. "I expected nothing less."

Verena wiped sweat from her brow, her breathing slowing. "I... almost lost it for a moment there."

"Almost," Isolde agreed, smirking. "But you didn’t."

Vivienne blinked up at her. "You’re amazing..."

Verena laughed weakly, suddenly aware of how completely drained she was. "I’m amazing at being a complete mess."

Yet as tired as she was, a strange sense of peace washed over her. That gnawing sense of falling behind, of drowning—if only for now—had lifted.

They approached the glowing portal together, the light pulling them toward the next stage. Though exhaustion clung to her bones, Verena felt lighter.

Another wall overcome.

Another weight off her chest.

But she also knew: this wasn’t the final trial. The hardest parts were still ahead.

Still... she allowed herself one small smile.

"I can breathe again," she whispered.

As they stepped through the astral portal, light rippling around their bodies like warm water, the trio emerged into a space that could only be described as a suspended dream.

Trial Four was... oddly serene.

A vast meadow stretched before them, floating on sky-blue clouds that undulated like the surface of an ocean. Wildflowers sparkled with constellations in their petals. Gentle wind stirred the grass, which shimmered like stardust in the breeze. There was no sky overhead—only an endless canvas of swirling galaxies and slow-moving stars. Time here felt... paused. Waiting.

Verena immediately tensed. "It’s too calm. I don’t like it."

Isolde was already scanning the surroundings, her spear angled low. "Agreed. Tranquility is always the setup for a disaster."

Vivienne, on the other hand, looked like she belonged here. Her hair fluttered softly as she twirled once in the field. "It’s so pretty! It feels like my magic."

"Which is why it’s probably about to emotionally slap us," Verena muttered.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

TRIAL FOUR: THE GARDEN OF CONSTELLAR MEMORY

Objective: Confront a memory you’ve hidden from yourself.

Time Limit: 1 hour.

Failure Condition: Emotional Collapse.

"Oh, come on," Verena groaned. "Can we have one challenge that doesn’t threaten our sanity?"

Vivienne blinked. "So we have to find our worst memory and just... relive it?"

Isolde tilted her head. "Worse. We have to admit we’ve buried it. That means it’ll sneak up on us."

The field shimmered, and suddenly the three of them were separated by walls of light, the meadow fracturing into three personal paths.

Verena spun. "Hey!" But her voice was absorbed into the shimmering air.

The path before her twisted, the grass shifting into cobblestone. An eerie silence fell. Her heart picked up pace. She didn’t like this. It was too much like the feeling of opening an old email you forgot existed.

She walked. Each step felt heavier, like gravity increasing. Then she heard it.

Laughter.

Soft. Familiar.

It echoed from ahead—a memory, distorted like a song underwater.

Then, like a spotlight cutting through fog, she saw a figure sitting on the edge of a broken fountain.

A younger version of herself.

Thirteen. Wearing her old academy uniform. Looking up at the sky with hopeful eyes.

Verena froze.

"This is the part," the system whispered in her ear, "where you let her die."

The image of her younger self turned, looking directly at her.

"Why did you stop dreaming?" the girl asked.

Verena swallowed. Her chest felt tight.

"Because it hurt too much."

The girl stood. Her eyes darkened. "You promised me we’d become something beautiful."

"I became something strong," Verena shot back, fists clenched.

"But not beautiful," the girl whispered. "You lost me the moment you stopped believing in softness."

Verena closed her eyes. That wasn’t true. Was it?

The field trembled.

From the side, a hand touched hers.

Vivienne.

She was shimmering at the edge of Verena’s fractured world, her Dreamtide magic gently weaving through the walls.

"You okay?" she asked, voice soft.

Verena couldn’t answer. Her throat closed up. But the tears began to fall.

Vivienne hugged her.

"It’s okay to miss who you were. You don’t have to kill her to be strong."

The younger Verena faded slowly, smiling with bittersweet grace. And with that, the field returned to starlit peace.

[SYSTEM UPDATE]

Memory Confrontation Complete. Emotional Stability +25%. Synchronization: 85%.

Verena breathed.

For the first time in a long while, she let herself mourn.

Then she stood.

"Okay," she said, wiping her face. "Next trial. Let’s go."

Here’s a 120-word continuation:

The air grew colder as Verena stepped deeper into the chamber of Trial Four. The flickering torches dimmed behind her, swallowed by the creeping fog that curled at her ankles like spectral fingers. She could hear whispers—faint echoes of her own doubts murmured back at her from the stone walls.

Vivienne clung tightly to her sleeve, her usual dreamy daze now sharpened by anxiety. "Verena... do you hear that?"

"Yeah," Verena muttered, drawing a dagger. "They want us to turn back."

But she wouldn’t. Not now. Not when she’d come this far. Even if the whispers knew her fears, her shame, her worst regrets—she’d face them all.

She had no choice but to keep walking forward.

Each step forward felt like wading through syrup, heavy with resistance. Shadows slithered just out of reach, shaping into old faces—some pleading, some accusing. Verena tightened her grip on Vivienne’s hand. "Don’t let go," she said firmly. "No matter what we see... none of it is real. Just keep moving."

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