The announcement came without warning.
One moment, Karl was halfway to his elemental theory class. The next, the sky cracked—not physically, but magically—as an illusionary banner spread across the entire academy dome like a divine curtain being drawn:
"Team Trials: Phase One Begins Now."
Students stopped mid-stride. Some gasped. Others, like Kael, simply groaned and tossed their books to the side like they'd seen it coming.
"Already? No prep?" Kael muttered, jogging up beside Karl.
"I thought we had at least two more weeks of peaceful suffering."
Nyra appeared from the other direction, out of breath, holding her notebook upside down.
"Trial what? I haven't even figured out where the East Courtyard is!"
Karl didn't reply. He didn't need to.
The Veil mark on his chest had already begun pulsing. Slow. Rhythmic. Expectant.
Something about this wasn't sudden.
Not really.
Crystals embedded in each student's uniform flared to life, glowing with four distinct colors: red, blue, green, and gold. House emblems hovered above each tower.
Then a fifth color.
Violet.
Only one.
Karl's crystal didn't just glow. It vibrated.
Instructor Delrin's voice echoed from every crystal at once:
"Your teams are not based on elemental affinity, rank, or combat track. They are based on resonance."
A pause.
"You may not choose. The Veil already has."
Karl's legs moved on instinct toward the violet beacon near the Trial Gate. He wasn't alone.
Standing beneath the silver-violet crest were three others.
Kael. His fist was clenched, but his face was calm. Controlled.
Nyra. Dagger already drawn, resting across her shoulder, chewing something that smelled like peppermint and danger.
And the last—
Nareth Veyr.
The mysterious new student. Snow-pale hair. Eyes that gleamed like they already knew the answers to questions you hadn't asked.
Nyra tilted her head.
"Oh look. The Enigma Collective."
Kael snorted.
"At least no one here's loud."
Nareth spoke softly, stepping forward.
"Interesting."
His eyes met Karl's.
"This team has two who are watched."
Karl didn't blink.
"By who?"
"Not who," Nareth said, walking past him. "What."
Instructor Calen appeared, as if summoned by tension itself.
"Team Silver," she said, glancing at each of them in turn. "The undefined. The unstable. The unpredictable."
Nyra raised her hand. "Should we get team shirts or…?"
Calen ignored her.
She tossed each of them a stone etched with pulsating runes.
"Your trial begins in the Wildgrowth Forest. Reach the end together, conscious and standing. If one of you falls… the test ends."
Kael frowned. "That's it?"
"No." Calen pointed at the stones.
"The deeper you go, the more the forest adapts. Magic flares, traps shift, and enemies… learn."
A pulse of pressure fell over them like a curtain.
And then—
The world blinked.
They were no longer in the academy.
The Trial Forest was alive in the way ancient ruins breathe. Trees twisted upward, forming archways over shifting ground. Roots coiled and uncoiled like sleeping serpents. The air buzzed with unseen enchantments.
Every breath tasted like earth and energy.
Kael scanned their surroundings.
"There's no map."
"No path either," Nyra added. "Just good vibes and moss."
Karl remained still. His mark pulsed once.
Not warning.
Recognition.
They walked for minutes that felt like hours. The deeper they went, the more the terrain changed — trees began whispering, leaves reflecting memories instead of light.
And then—
The forest responded.
A rift opened in the ground. Mist poured upward. A creature emerged — limbs of bark and bone, body stitched from fragmented spirit threads.
It wasn't just alive.
It was aware.
It looked at Karl first.
Not with eyes.
With understanding.
Kael lunged forward instinctively, fist glowing.
"Let me—"
"Wait—" Karl shouted. **"It's reactive—!"
Too late.
Kael's blow landed.
The creature split.
Then again.
One became two. Then three.
Nyra tossed enchanted throwing stars — they passed harmlessly through the shadows.
"I vote we panic!"
Nareth stepped calmly between them and muttered a phrase in an unknown tongue — the monsters paused.
But only for a breath.
Karl reached in.
Not too deep. Not yet. But deep enough.
Raiven stirred.
The Veil mark lit. A ring of frost and violet flame burst from his feet, catching the closest shade in a spiral of pressure and silence.
It froze. Then fractured.
The other two recoiled — before sinking back into the mist.
Everyone breathed hard.
Kael stared at Karl.
"…Okay, new rule. You make the plans."
Nyra coughed. "I still vote panic. But quieter panic."
Nareth didn't speak.
But he smiled.
Slightly.
As they moved forward, the forest twisted behind them — closing the path they'd entered from.
And far above the canopy, something watched.
Not a warden.
Not an instructor.
Something older.
Something waiting.