After the headmaster disappeared from view, Nora stood up straight and spoke in his usual firm voice.
"Now," he announced, "we will proceed to the place where your trial will begin. Follow me."
He stepped down from the podium and started walking toward an older, secluded part of the academy grounds. The group followed in a tight formation, their footsteps echoing faintly against the stone paths.
Kael walked somewhere in the middle, subconsciously scanning the others. No one spoke. The only sounds were the rhythmic shuffle of boots and the distant call of a morning bird, which seemed out of place amid the rising tension.
After about ten minutes, they reached the old building. Its structure was worn yet imposing, with ivy creeping up the weathered walls. Its iron doors stood shut, their surfaces etched with ancient symbols that shimmered faintly in the light.
Nora turned to face them. His eyes swept over the twenty students, measuring their resolve.
"Are you ready?" he asked.
No one answered. A few exchanged nervous glances, and someone swallowed audibly. Kael simply nodded, his throat dry.
Nora turned toward the massive doors and raised his voice.
"Open the gate."
With a deep, resonant groan, the doors slowly parted. A draft of cold, still air poured out, carrying with it the faint scents of damp stone and something older—like a breath from a forgotten world.
Kael's heartbeat quickened. It's finally starting.
...
The heavy doors closed behind them with a deep, echoing thud that reverberated through the chamber like the toll of a distant bell. The room was shrouded in darkness, the air thick and still. Only faint traces of ancient symbols glimmered along the walls, like fading constellations carved into stone.
"That," said Professor Nora in a calm but resonant voice, "is a gate room. In the past, these chambers were common. Now, this is the only one still functioning."
The students looked around, shifting uneasily. The darkness didn't feel empty; it felt as if it were waiting.
"The Word of Space," Nora continued, stepping forward deliberately, "is unlike any of the others. It is the only word that cannot be nullified by Motarith. But it is harmless in itself. It can't be used to wound or kill. Only to transport. It is a word of passage, not power."
His gaze swept over the students, measuring their faces. "It's a shame," he added softly, almost to himself. "Of all the words, this was the most practical and benevolent. And yet, like so many things, it was lost to time.
A murmur of half curiosity and half apprehension passed through the group.
Nora turned back to them sharply, his voice firm again. "The teleportation will begin shortly. Stand still. Do not move. Close your eyes and count to ten. When you open them, you will be at the heart of the labyrinth. From that moment on, you are on your own," he said, pausing.
He let the silence stretch for a few seconds, meeting each student's gaze one by one. When he reached Kael, there was no hint of comfort in his expression. Only expectation.
"Good luck," he said simply.
The air in the room shifted. It thickened like a storm gathering in stillness. A low hum rose from the walls and resonated in their bones. The symbols carved into the stone brightened, forming streams of light that curved upward and wove into a dome above them.
Kael took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and began to count.
One...two...three...
The hum deepened into a low, resonant pulse, as if the room itself had a heartbeat. The ground seemed to vanish beneath him.
Nine... ten.
He opened his eyes. The world was no longer the same.
His breath caught in his throat. He stood in a vast, open space surrounded by towering gray walls. The walls were so high that their tops were swallowed by mist, as if reaching into the heavens. The ground beneath his feet was covered in fine, cold, white sand. The air was unnaturally still and clear, yet wrapped in a thin veil of fog that curled and drifted like living smoke.
The labyrinth awaited him.