People fear many things. The dark. Insects. Animals. The depths of the ocean. Death, hunger, sickness. But in this age, the thing people feared most could be summed up in a single word: Creatures.
After the Island — Night
The room was small.
One bed, a small window, a torch on the wall. When Eren came in he dropped his pack on the floor, didn't open it, sat on the bed. He stayed like that for a while.
One week.
Before the island, Luna and Sahra. On the island, Mira. Vampires, slaad, the skeleton, Agnes. Azrael's torn robe, his split eyebrow.
The skeleton. The state Azrael was in. Some things you can only watch.
He lay down. Closed his eyes.
Sleep came immediately.
When morning light came through the window Eren was already awake.
He stared at the ceiling for a while. Then got up, washed his face, checked his weapons. A habit something left over from the island, an inability to leave things unchecked.
When he stepped into the corridor Kayra was there.
Leaning against the wall, arms crossed, eyes on the far end of the corridor. She turned when she saw Eren. Said nothing.
Eren said nothing either.
They walked together.
The Academy looked different in the early morning.
Before the island it had been big, cold, heavy the weight of a place where thousands of people had walked for years. But now it was different. More real. The corridors were the same, the stone walls were the same, but Eren looked at them differently. Before the island this place had been a destination. He didn't know now if it was home but it was no longer a dream, that much was certain.
When they stepped into the garden the others were already there.
Raphael was sitting on a bench with his eyes closed, face turned to the sun. Mira was beside him, checking her bow. Rowan had settled on the edge of the fountain, holding his staff with both hands, looking at the water.
Dean wasn't there.
"Where is he?" Eren asked.
Raphael opened one eye. "Don't know. Haven't seen him since this morning. When I did see him he was talking about someone called Sae. Probably a relative Sae Guilliman. After Dean disappeared I spotted this Sae guy too, looks like Dean, same hair color. A bit shorter. He was looking for Dean. Oryn said he last saw this Sae in the training ground Dean's probably with him."
Eren turned to Raphael. "If you know the way, let's go to the training ground."
They found Sae Guilliman before noon.
In the Academy's training ground, on the wide stone floor, he was standing across from Dean. Eren didn't understand at first who it was green-haired, a little shorter than Dean, his noble clothes immaculate and perfectly placed. He had a bearing to him, shoulders straight, hands behind his back.
Dean was saying something to him. His voice was low, not reaching here.
"Is that Dean's older brother?" Kayra asked.
"Guilliman family." Raphael looked. "Same face."
Sae turned as if he had heard, though he couldn't have. Just a reflex, scanning his surroundings. Eren, Kayra, Raphael and a few steps behind them Orin, Talia, Mira, Rowan. He looked at all of them, counted them, turned back to Dean and continued.
Dean said something. Hard, brief.
Sae answered. Shorter.
Then Dean drew his sword.
Nobody had expected it sudden, real, a sword coming out of the scabbard at full speed. Dean moved forward, the blade came down straight, clean, at exact shoulder height.
Sae raised his hand.
The blade went into his palm. Stopped.
There was no sound. Metal should have torn through flesh and shattered bone, but it had stopped. Sae's hand was holding the sword, the blade in the center of his palm, having gone no further.
Then Sae began to close his hand.
The sword shattered.
That was the only sound metal breaking, sharp and brief. Dean was left holding the hilt, the blade on the ground. Sae opened his hand, looked at the broken edge, let it drop.
Nobody spoke.
Dean was holding the hilt. Nothing was in his face no anger, no surprise. Just flatness. But his eyes were different.
Sae turned. He walked toward the Academy, without stopping, without looking at anyone.
Dean stood there for a while. Then he turned too, but the other direction, out of the garden. He didn't make eye contact with anyone.
Eren looked at the broken sword. It was lying on the ground.
What just happened.
No answer. But everyone had seen it.
By evening the main hall was full.
The candidates were seated in rows — not all of them, the survivors. Eren looked around, noticed the gaps. Nobody from Team 8. Other absences too.
In front of the stage there was a long table. The team captains were seated Azrael Solarius on the left, Thorian Flint beside him. Eren was seeing Thorian this close for the first time. His red hair was long, wavy, falling freely to his shoulders. He was in noble clothing but his sleeves were rolled up. There was nothing on the table in front of him he was simply sitting and looking at the room.
Azrael's left eyebrow was still purple. If you looked carefully the shoulder beneath his torn robe was bandaged. His face was level, same as always, but Eren saw what Kayra had seen.
He's carrying something.
Azrael stood up. His voice spread through the hall without effort.
"You completed the exam." He paused. "Not all of you. But those here completed it." He looked at the table, then turned back to the candidates. "Today you will not choose your path. Your path will choose you."
The curtain at the far end of the main hall opened.
The crystal was there.
Enormous, colorless, a crystal reaching toward the ceiling — nothing inside, just transparent, pure, heavy. It refracted light but didn't reflect it. Standing before it you felt a depth inside, a weight.
"This crystal holds the soul of every hunter who has given their life since Safe Haven's founding." Azrael's voice was level. "Who they were, what they learned, which path they walked. When you touch it, that knowledge evaluates you and directs you to the path you must follow." He paused. "One at a time."
The first candidates stepped forward one by one.
A girl touched the crystal — it glowed orange, pumpkin-colored, light spreading from inside out. Pumpkins. The next one blue — Headless Reapers. Then green, purple, red.
When Rowan's turn came Eren was watching.
Rowan touched the crystal. For a second nothing happened — then it glowed orange, soft, pumpkin-colored.
Pumpkins.
Rowan pulled his hand back, looked at the crystal, nodded. As if it were what he'd expected.
Mira touched it. Orange. Pumpkins.
Talia touched it. Turquoise — pure, bright, sea-colored. Beasts.
Vess touched it. Red. Spiced Reapers.
Brom touched it. Blue. Headless Reapers.
Lena touched it. Green. Witches.
Oryn touched it. The crystal turned to a rainbow at once — every color at the same time, alternating, not stopping. Oryn smiled. Tricksters.
Orin stepped up. Touched the crystal.
It went dark.
Pure black, inside out — not swallowing light, taking it in. Shadows.
Orin pulled his hand back. He looked at the crystal. Nothing in his face — no surprise, no disappointment. Just acceptance.
Dean touched it. Yellow glowed — golden yellow, warm, sharp. Lanterns.
Dean looked at the crystal. One second. He pulled his hand back, turned, went to his place.
Raphael's turn came. He reached out, touched — it went dark. Shadows.
Raphael laughed. "Of course."
Kayra touched it. Dark. Shadows.
Eren was last.
He approached the crystal. There was a depth inside it — that weight, that silence. He reached out.
Touched it.
The crystal went dark.
But this time it was different. Not just black — there was something inside the black, very faint, almost invisible. A darkness where the light itself had ceased to exist. Normal darkness still reflects some light. This reflected none.
It lasted one second. Then it returned to normal — black, pure, Shadows.
Nobody noticed.
Azrael noticed.
His eyes were on Eren. Something passed through him — quick, controlled. Then he turned.
Someone was waiting for them in the corridor.
He wasn't tall but he had presence — purplish shadows under his eyes, a face that looked perpetually tired, a black coat over it all. His shadow sat strangely on the floor, independent of the angle, as if it shaped itself however it wanted. "I am Dusk Hover, vice-captain of the Shadow team. I am your commander and teacher, and within Shadows I am the highest authority after Captain Azel."
"Shadows." His voice was flat. "Four of you."
Eren, Kayra, Raphael, Orin.
Dusk turned. He walked. No explanation.
They followed.
The Silver Tower was at the highest point of the Academy.
The stairs were long, spiral, narrow. Climbing them, Raphael ran out of breath, Orin said nothing. Kayra looked at the door above with every step. Eren counted — fifty-three steps.
The door opened.
The room was large. Round, stone walls, windows on every side. Below, the city was visible at night — lamps, streets, the barrier in the distance. In the center a table, a few chairs. Weapons leaning against the walls, books, maps.
And sitting across from the table was someone.
Black hair, long, pushed back loosely. Large build, muscular, a black coat. A long, dirty, unkempt beard on his face. His eyes were on the table — looking at something, whether it was maps or something else was unclear.
He didn't look at them.
A silence followed.
Then the man raised his head. His eyes moved across all four — Orin, Raphael, Kayra, Eren. Didn't linger on any of them. Counted, assessed, finished.
He turned.
He looked at the table again.
The silence continued.
Raphael was about to say something — he opened his mouth.
The man spoke.
"Sit down."
His voice was low. He gave the order without raising it. Two words and it was enough.
All four of them sat down.