Within the academy grounds, a growing tension hung in the air. It was not panic, no, but a latent stress, a feeling of imminent disorder that seeped into every corner of the corridors. Those responsible for ensuring the proper beginning of the second test for all the Awakened were rushing in every direction, their faces tight with nerves.
In a private chamber, four youths had just begun their trial. Before what was supposed to be the Fragment for their test, a brown-skinned man stood motionless, brows furrowed. Yet something was wrong. The Fragment did not seem locked… and the four youths had vanished.
That man was none other than Lord Karim, a high-ranking Manifested.
His usually calm gaze revealed, for the first time in a long while, a deep disturbance. A fraction of a second passed, then, without warning, his body vanished. A single blink would have been enough to miss his departure.
He had left the room at terrifying speed.
Farther away, in a vast hall where a crowd had already begun to gather, Lady Clara stood at the center. Her blonde hair reflected the cold light of the torches, and her expression was no different from the one Lord Karim had worn moments earlier: tense, disbelieving.
She lifted her eyes toward the high windows, through which a pale glow filtered, and sighed. At that moment, Lord Karim burst into the room, followed by three other Manifested, each surrounded by an aura of silent authority.
Their footsteps echoed against the stone floor, heavy and hurried. They had come from the four corners of the kingdoms.
The first, a powerful black-skinned woman, wore heavy armor marked with the symbol of a mountain and a hammer. Her closely shaved hair emphasized the harshness of her gaze. She was a Manifested from the Kingdom of Kar'Thum.
Beside her stood a brown-skinned man whose eyes were covered by a thick strip of cloth, his hair short and disordered. On his simple green garment, the emblem of a translucent blue woman glowed faintly: a representative of the Kingdom of Sylvanea.
The last, more ordinary in appearance, had short brown hair and matching eyes. His blue uniform bore a stylized wave, the distinct symbol of the Kingdom of Navis Colossum.
When they saw Lady Clara, their faces hardened. All of them understood that something grave had just happened.
Lady Clara, visibly at the end of her patience, ran a hand over her face before murmuring wearily:
– « Someone introduced an unstable Fragment into the academy… All two hundred and forty Awakened who were supposed to take their test today have been transported inside it. »
A heavy silence fell over the room.
The Manifested from Kar'Thum clenched her fists, her armor creaking faintly with the tension.
– « They were barely one meter away from their Fragment! What kind of unstable Fragment can disrupt a connection and take control from that distance?! »
The man from Navis Colossum frowned and answered coldly:
– « How did such a powerful unstable Fragment enter the academy without anyone noticing? I said it before… the former Headmaster should have remained in his position. A Sublimated would have sensed such an anomaly immediately. »
Lord Karim, his features taut, brought a hand to his head.
– « No… my prince… they're all going to die… »
A murmur of dismay spread through the room. The fog of doubt was slowly settling into their minds.
Meanwhile...
[You have entered an unstable Fragment.
Number of participants: 240
Here is your current Status:
Name: Kenzo
Rank: Unconscious
Bodily Awakening: [Serpent+]
Prana Awakened : [2/800]
Heart: Awakened
Corrupted Prana: [6/1000]
Power: None, please ingest a power
Blessing: [Touched by the Unique], [The Lastborn]
Gift: [Chimera+]
The trial toward Transfiguration is about to begin.]
The words rang through the air like an irrevocable sentence.
Kenzo felt his stomach tighten.
– « Wait… whaaat?! An unstable Fragment?! »
His body was pulled away, just like during his first test.
Vertigo seized him brutally, gravity itself seeming to twist around him. Then, little by little, sensation returned. He could feel the ground beneath his feet… damp earth, cold, almost alive.
When he opened his eyes, a forest stretched before him. But it was nothing like the one from his first test.
The trees here were colossal, their trunks twisted, their bark covered with thick, dark moss. The ground was a tangle of knotted roots, and the air was so heavy it seemed to seep with fog. The sky, a uniform gray, let no light pass through.
An ancient, almost hostile atmosphere emanated from the place.
But before he could even think about why he was here—and more importantly, why he was here with two hundred and forty other people—he felt something around his wrists.
He lowered his eyes, and his face darkened.
– « Don't tell me… »
His hands were chained. Thick, cold chains coiled around his wrists, attached to a stake driven deep into the ground.
– « Again???? Why am I always chained up in every test?! »
He let out an annoyed sigh, then a tight smile stretched across his lips.
– « Is this my fate or something? To be a prisoner in every trial? »
But this time, he had prepared for it.
– « This time, I came prepared. »
With a precise motion, he dislocated his thumb. The pain made him grit his teeth, but he managed to free one hand, then did the same with the other.
– « Good thing I asked Yareth how to do it… » he murmured with satisfaction.
He quickly checked himself.
– « Good. My body hasn't changed. »
Indeed, unlike his first test, he seemed to be in his own body. No transformation, no grotesque mutation. His thin, slightly more toned frame was the one he knew. Nothing unusual.
He looked down: his clothes were in rags, a gray top and bottom, torn and filthy. And he was barefoot.
He turned his head and noticed a massive tree behind him. More chains were attached to it… but no other people. Only whitened bones.
An icy shiver ran down his spine.
– « Alright… I think I was about to become something's meal… »
A gust of wind passed through, freezing cold. Instinctively, his whole body tensed.
The wind carried a smell… metallic. The kind of smell left behind after slaughter.
He turned sharply, eyes fixed on the forest. Something was approaching. He did not know what, but he could feel it.
His heart began to race.
This time, he was alone.
No William, no Yareth. Just him.
The silence was suffocating. No birdsong, no rustling of animals. Nothing.
Then, between the massive trunks, he saw something.
A fog.
At first it was thin, almost harmless, creeping low along the ground, barely rising thirty centimeters. But it was advancing, inexorable, like an invisible predator.
– « I'm not going to stick around to find out what that is… I need to find somewhere safe first. »
Without waiting any longer, Kenzo started running in the opposite direction. His bare feet struck the damp earth, splashing mud. Short of breath, he threw quick glances behind him.
The fog was following him. Slowly, but surely.
Every step seemed to push him deeper into that nightmarish forest. The roots seemed to want to hold him back, the branches clawed at his face, as if nature itself were trying to slow him down.