The second chamber was warr, but not comforting.
It pulsed.
The walls were alive veined with crimson light, breathing in silence. Thalen stepped carefully, Kindle in hand, as the corridor narrowed.
Eventually, it opened into a wide, circular arena with no ceiling only a black sky swirling with silver mist.
The other candidates trickled in behind him. Rheis. Elya. Maika. Twenty-five remained.
Then the voice returned.
> "You survived yourself. Good.
Now survive each other."
The Second Trial: Divide
Without warning, barriers of searing red light erupted between them separating each student into pairs.
Thalen spun. His barrier humd, crackling with energy. Across from him, through the translucent field, stood...
Maika.
She looked just as shocked.
Before they could speak, a pedestal rose between them. Atop it lay a single scroll.
Words burned into the air above it:
> "Only one may move on.
One must make the choice.
One must accept silence."
Thalen froze.
Maika stared at him, jaw clenched.
"I don’t like this," she said.
"It’s a test," Thalen murmured. "It wants us to turn on each other."
The Choice
The scroll unrolled itself, glowing with runes.
> "Write your na to move on.
If both write—both are expelled.
If neither write—both are consud."
A cruel trial.
Thalen’s heart thudded.
He could see her hesitate.
She was strong one of the best. She had helped him train when others mocked him. They had beco friends. Maybe more, once.
But now...
She stepped forward, stopping just short of the pedestal.
"I’m not going to do it," she said.
Thalen’s throat tightened.
"Maika..."
"Write your na," she said, eyes burning. "You’re the one who needs to keep going."
What It ans to Yield
He shook his head. "That’s not fair. You worked just as hard."
She smiled, tired, bitter. "But you believe in sothing more than ."
She wasn’t wrong. Thalen did believe still carried a hunger that others buried beneath fear. But he hadn’t gotten here alone. Not truly.
He looked at the scroll.
Then, slowly, deliberately, he pushed it toward her.
Her eyes widened.
"Thalen"
"You told to write mine. This is writing yours."
"I don’t "
"I’ll survive," he said quietly. "Even if this path ends here."
The Fla Judges
The chamber went still.
Then the scroll burst into fla.
The runes hovered between them, shifting. asuring. Judging.
Two paths shimred briefly in the stone. Then collapsed.
A new one opened behind both of them.
The voice returned quieter this ti.
> "Two who would not betray.
Two who endure.
Accepted."
The barriers fell.
Maika stared at him, stunned. "They changed the rule..."
"No," Thalen whispered. "We did."
The Ones Who Did Not
As they continued deeper, they passed others.
So walked alone, faces dark.
So... did not walk at all.
They passed the shadows of students who had betrayed their partners. Faces carved in fla upon the walls nas scorched into black stone.
Thalen turned away.
Maika did not.
"So of them were better than us," she said.
"But they couldn’t carry anyone but themselves," Thalen replied.
The Nine Watchers
In the silent citadel beyond ti, the Nine watched.
"They broke the Trial of Divide," one of them murmured.
"No," said another, a woman with silver claws and a frost-lined robe. "They passed it in truth."
"She would have let him take her place," the bearlike giant muttered. "And he gave it back."
The central throne remained empty.
But the fla above it flickered once.
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