Kael walked out of the wine shop. The night was cool, and the village was quiet. Trees moved in the wind, and an owl made a sound in the distance. Moonlight lit the cobblestone streets, making shadows. His house was close, a small one-story building near the village edge. He passed gardens and workshops. The air smelled like pine and dirt. Kael felt nervous about talking to his dad but knew he had to do it. He stopped at his front door and took a breath. The door creaked as he opened it. Inside, the house was warm. A fire burned in the fireplace, and there was a faint smell of pipe smoke. His dad sat in a chair by the fire, reading a newspaper. He had gray hair and broad shoulders. The firelight made his face look tired. He didn’t look up right away, focused on the paper. Kael walked across the room. The floor creaked under his shoes. He stood by his dad, watching him read. His dad had blue eyes, like Kael’s. His dad looked up and put the newspaper down. “You’re late,” he said. K

The queue to register for the Shadow Corps stretched farther than Kael had anticipated. When he’d first thought about coming here, he imagined a smaller crowd—maybe a few others from nearby villages, some drifters looking for work. But what he found was something different entirely. People had come from far and wide. He hadn’t expected the King's Academy to be this crowded. He stood still for a while, watching the endless stream of applicants, feeling a little out of place in the middle of it all. The sun hung heavily above the courtyard, and the stone walls around him trapped the heat. The dull hum of voices blended into a background noise that barely changed. “Well, good luck with this lad. I hope to see you around,” Sir Fred said, giving Kael a brief hug before climbing into the carriage and setting off without another word. Now alone, Kael bent down and picked up his travel bag. The straps were worn, and the leather was starting to crack. Still, it held. He walked to the end of

Kael leaned forward, blood now dripping from his nose. Using his ability always left side effects, and this time was no different. He didn’t have full control over it yet, and it took a toll on his body. He bent over slightly, the blood still running as he wiped at it with the back of his hand. Not wanting to waste time, he moved forward. He stumbled as his balance shifted, and everything looked less steady. His vision was slightly unclear, but he kept walking. This was likely his best opportunity. He approached the wolf again and pushed his dagger into its throat. It went in deep enough to do damage. The wolf’s neck was thick, but the dagger passed through. The moment time returned to its normal pace, the wolf dropped to the ground. It didn’t get back up. Its body twitched briefly, but then it stopped moving completely. Kael could hear himself breathing hard, the sound louder now that the fight was over. He took a step back and then sat down, unable to remain standing. His side ach

Kael leaned against the inn’s wall, his arms crossed as he waited for the break to end. He had washed his face, cleaned his arm where he’d been cut, and tried not to think about the next trial. The inn was very quiet. Most people were either still outside or somewhere else. He darted his eyes around to see if he could find Kyna or Gale, but they were nowhere in sight.After drinking a glass of water, he stood up and headed back to the compound. The streets were mostly empty. A few participants who were equally quiet walked ahead of him. No one was talking. Everyone knew there was one more trial, and no one wanted to waste a single atom of energy.By the time Kael returned to the training grounds, most of the others were already gathered. A guard handed him a sealed letter. It bore the royal crest and had his name written on it in plain black ink.Kael opened the envelope. Inside was a sheet of parchment.> Final Trial:Each participant will enter the Labyrinth Grounds. The objective i

Kael blinked again. The distortion in his vision didn’t go away. His ears rang with that same persistent, high-pitched hum. No one else reacted to it. His hands trembled slightly at his sides. The edge of the gate in front of him bent subtly to the left, as though warped by heat, then corrected itself a heartbeat later.He knew this feeling.It was the same dragging sensation he’d felt during the first trial. And again, deep in the Labyrinth. A pull which was subtle at first now stretched across the full span of his perception. It was like wading through a corridor filled with water while the rest of the world moved freely above the surface.His breathing slowed. He pressed his palm flat against the cold wall beside him. The stone was rough beneath his skin, grounding, but only just. The simulation remained sharp and solid for everyone else. To him, it now felt misaligned…something in the environment didn’t quite sit right.Behind him, there came a faint thud. Reyna dropped from the r