With that, the test continued with the remaining participants taking their turns. Nothing too dramatic followed—most awakened the common yellow light, and a few managed to reach blue, which was already considered impressive in this small village.
Midway through, Aren finally showed up.
Tanya nearly exploded on the spot, dragging him by the ear and scolding him in front of everyone. It took Alaric’s firm intervention—literally placing a hand on her shoulder and holding her back—for her to calm down.
Eventually, he was allowed up on the platform. He placed his hand on the orb, and, after a brief mont, a solid green glow burst forth. It wasn’t spectacular, but still respectable. Aren looked happy—he raised his hand and gave the crowd a little bow as they clapped.
But Kael narrowed his eyes. There was sothing off.
Aren’s shoulders were tense. Even as he smiled, sothing felt... forced. Nervous. It wasn’t like him at all.
Kael thought back. As a child, Aren had broken his arm once while climbing a tree. He had still laughed all the way ho. That was Aren—cheerful, calm, always the joker. But now?
Sothing was wrong.
Kael folded his arms, his gaze locked on his friend. Why do you look scared?
***
Soon, about half an hour later, the test finally ca to an end. The village head stood tall on the platform and gave a concluding speech, praising everyone for their courage and welcoming them all to the evening’s feast.
As the crowd slowly scattered toward the celebration area, Kael slipped through the people and made his way to Aren. The boy was standing silently, his arms crossed, eyes blank.
Kael nudged him lightly on the arm. "Aren, what’s up?"
Startled, Aren blinked like he had just returned from another world. "Oh, Kael... I’m fine," he said quickly, his voice not matching the smile he tried to pull up. "It seems you awakened the purple light. Congrats."
Kael narrowed his eyes slightly. "You okay? You seem weirdly off. Sothing bothering you?"
Aren lowered his gaze, then slowly looked back up at Kael. His voice dropped to a whisper. "Co with ."
Without another word, he grabbed Kael by the wrist and pulled him to the side. Once there, Aren looked around to make sure no one was close. "Kael... I found sothing."
Kael’s heart began to race. "What?"
Aren hesitated for a mont, his voice shaky. "You rember the ruin? The creature we encountered... the hanging girl, that weird energy?"
Kael nodded, the images still flashing vividly in his mind.
Aren continued, barely above a whisper, "I sensed the sa energy," he said, his voice trembling. "Kael... right here... in front of the shop at the village center."
Kael’s eyes widened in an instant. "Wait... are you talking about that old herbal shop? The one you were sneaking glances at earlier?"
Aren blinked, surprised that Kael had noticed. "Yes!" he nodded, then squinted. "Wait—how did you know I was looking at that?"
Kael chuckled and nudged him with his elbow. "You dickhead, if you’re going to play detective, at least learn how to hide properly. You were crouched behind a box, in broad daylight, glancing around like you had stolen soone’s underwear."
Aren flushed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Okay, okay, maybe I was a little obvious..."
Kael stepped closer, his tone dropping to a whisper. "But what did you sense, exactly?"
Aren’s smile faded as the mory returned. "Exactly the sa," he said slowly. "That pressure. That unnatural stillness. Like the world paused for a second and sothing unseen turned its eyes on . It wasn’t just in my head. It was there. I—I think sothing has followed us back."
Kael frowned, now clearly unsettled. "Did you tell anyone else?"
"No," Aren shook his head. "Not even my parents. Who would believe ? Everyone’s celebrating, and I didn’t want to ruin the feast."
Kael turned his head toward the village center. From here, he could still hear the distant laughter, music, and clinking of glasses. The people were celebrating, unaware of the threat that might be hiding just a few feet from them.
"We need to check that shop. If sothing’s lurking there, we need to know."
Aren’s mouth opened in protest but shut again when he saw the look in Kael’s eyes. "Kael," he whispered, "if sothing really did follow us back, if it’s here, then this might be dan—"
Kael cut him off with a calm tone, "Then we make sure it doesn’t follow anyone else."
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