Elias burst into the ninth floor, in front of his door. Behind him, stone slammed into stone, and dust rose; the sound was so loud he could not hear or think, and he fell to his knees and simply breathed.
Lyssa was beside him, and she placed her hand on his shoulder, and she was speaking, but Elias could hardly understand her words.
Rhys emerged from the shadow of his door, his face was pale and his hands shaking, but Elias could see a bright light in the depths of his eyes; like him, Rhys had enjoyed this encounter.
"Phew… You made it," Rhys said as he scratched his head. "It would be quite funny if you die on your first test, even though such a thing is not rare… I would still hate to see it happen to you."
Elias could not answer him, since his body seemed to have shut down. After a few seconds, he raised his head and looked at both of his teachers.
