The Shadow Corridor felt increasingly heavy.
The air did not change. Yet the pressure within was like something slowly pressing against Kael's chest from inside.
The tall silhouette at the end of the corridor no longer moved.
It merely stood.
Watching.
All small shadows along the corridor remained still, like spectators waiting for something to begin.
Lyra stared at that projection with tense eyes.
"That is no ordinary creature."
Kael answered calmly.
"I concluded that."
The voice inside his head emerged again.
Closer now.
"Interesting."
"You do not tremble."
Kael looked at that silhouette.
"Should I?"
Several seconds of silence.
Then the voice spoke again.
"Most humans would collapse merely from seeing my shadow."
Lyra gritted her teeth.
"Kael... don't play with something that doesn't even have a body in this world."
But Kael remained standing.
The silhouette finally moved one step.
The Shadow Corridor trembled slightly.
The mist around it gathered like ocean currents pulled by the moon.
The voice spoke again.
"I will give you a small trial."
"If you fail..."
It paused for a moment.
"I will erase your existence from the Veil."
Lyra immediately whispered harshly.
"That is no empty threat."
Kael answered flatly.
"I didn't think it was a joke."
Suddenly—
the mist in the corridor changed.
Walls disappeared.
Floors faded.
The world around Kael shattered like glass.
Instantly he stood elsewhere.
A silent city street.
Gray sky.
Tall damaged buildings.
Small fires burned in several street corners.
Kael recognized that place.
The city where he lived.
But this city... was destroyed.
The voice spoke again.
"The first trial."
"Tell me something."
Thin mist moved in the air.
Several human figures appeared in the distance.
But they did not move.
Like statues.
The voice continued.
"If you knew that this future might happen..."
"What would you do?"
Kael looked around.
Collapsed buildings.
Sky cracked like a mirror.
The Veil symbol glowed faintly on his hand.
He understood now.
This was not merely illusion.
This was a test of intention.
Lyra was not here.
The Shadow Corridor was gone.
Only him.
And the possible future.
The voice spoke again.
"Some people try to save the world."
"Some try to flee."
"Some try to exploit the destruction."
Several seconds passed.
"Answer me."
"Which do you belong to?"
Kael stared at the burning city.
He walked several steps on that empty street.
His shoes stepped on glass shards.
Then he stopped.
And answered in a calm voice.
"I am not interested in saving the world."
The mist in the air moved slightly.
The voice sounded more interested now.
"Continue."
Kael looked at the cracked sky.
"I am also not interested in fleeing."
He looked at the symbol on his hand.
"And I am not foolish enough to try to master destruction."
Several seconds of silence.
Then Kael said one more sentence.
"I only want to know... why this world fell apart."
The mist stopped moving.
For the first time...
the voice was truly silent.
Several seconds passed.
Ten seconds.
Twenty.
Then the voice laughed lightly.
Not mocking laughter.
More like something finding something unexpected.
"Interesting."
The illusion world began to crack.
Collapsed buildings vanished.
The shattered sky faded.
Kael stood again in the Shadow Corridor.
Lyra was beside him once more.
The large silhouette was still at the end of the corridor.
But now the aura around it changed slightly.
The voice spoke once more.
"Very well."
"You passed the first trial."
Lyra looked at Kael in surprise.
"You... passed?"
The book in her hand suddenly opened.
The page wrote quickly.
Black ink almost dripped from the paper.
Kael read that writing.
"The second observer has marked you."
Several seconds later the second sentence emerged.
And this time even Lyra looked truly worried.
The writing said:
"The next trial will come sooner than you think."