The cart continued moving through the night and into the early morning of the next day. They stopped only twice for short breaks—to give the horses water and to eat a quick bite. Kaizen remained silent throughout the journey, observing the road as it gradually changed. The dense forest faded away, replaced by rough land filled with small hills and jagged rocks. The air grew drier, and the wind carried the faint scent of distant smoke.
Finally, as the sun rose slightly into the sky, the cart stopped in front of an old stone building nestled in a narrow valley surrounded by high hills. From the outside, the structure appeared abandoned—its walls cracked, its windows covered with worn wooden planks. But Kaizen noticed the small details: the heavy iron door, stronger than it needed to be, and the ground before the entrance, strangely undisturbed—as if the place was carefully kept hidden.
Elias stepped down first, then gestured for Kaizen to follow.
"This place is your first station. Do not ask its name. Do not try to know its location. Just do what is asked of you."
They entered the building. Inside, it was completely different from what the exterior suggested. The floor was clean, the walls lined with smooth stone, and at the center was a wide hall lit by hanging oil lamps. Four men stood silently in the corners, their faces expressionless.
In the middle of the hall stood another man. He was taller than Elias, thin, with short gray hair and cold, ash-colored eyes. He wore a simple gray robe similar to Elias's.
"Severus," Elias said with clear respect. "This is the one I selected."
Severus looked at Kaizen for a long time, as if examining him from within. He did not extend his hand. He did not smile.
"Your name?"
"Kaizen."
"Kaizen… from the iron mine. Former slave. Killed a man with a single blow on the road. Stole a message without being seen. Silent. Observant. That is what I was told about you."
Severus paused briefly, then continued in a calm but sharp voice:
"You are now in the phase of suffocation. Here, there are no full names, no past to be acknowledged. You will be tested physically and mentally. You will be forced to confront your weakness. Every mistake will cost you dearly. Not always with death… but sometimes with something worse."
He gestured toward a side door.
"Go in. You will find a small room. Water and food are there. Sleep for a while. In three hours, the first test begins."
Kaizen entered the room. It was very small, containing a simple wooden bed, a bowl of water, and a piece of bread with dried meat. He lay down. The bed was hard, but far better than my floor. He did not sleep deeply—only in short, fragmented intervals filled with images of mine, Mark's body, and the sound of Silas's whip.
Exactly three hours later, the door opened. Two silent men entered and took Kaizen to another, larger hall. It was nearly empty except for an iron pillar in the center bound with thick ropes, and several strange tools hanging on the walls.
Severus stood in the corner, watching.
"The first test: endurance. Your hands will be tied to the pillar. You will remain like that for six hours without food or water. You will not be beaten, and no one will harm you physically. The test is in your mind. If you scream, if you beg, if you ask for mercy… you fail. If you endure in silence… you pass."
The two men bound Kaizen's wrists tightly to the pillar. The ropes dug into his skin. They stepped back, then left the hall. Severus watched for a few minutes, then exited as well, leaving Kaizen alone.
Time began to pass.
At first, the pain was mild—just pressure on his wrists. Then his arms began to ache. Then his shoulders. Then his back. Standing in the same position caused his legs to swell and burn. Thirst came after two hours. His throat dried, his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth.
But the worst was inside his head.
Thoughts began to attack him. He remembered the mine. Mark. Rin bleeding. Draven trembling. He questioned why he was doing this. Wondered if it was all a mistake. Wondered if Severus and Elias were lying—testing him only to kill him in the end.
The more the pain grew, the louder the thoughts became.
He felt a strong urge to scream. To ask for water. To beg for the test to end.
But he bit his lip until it bled… and stayed silent.
By the fourth hour, his body began to tremble. Sweat poured down despite the cold. His vision blurred. The walls of the hall seemed to close in around him. He felt true suffocation—not of air, but of will.
By the fifth hour, a dangerous moment came. He felt a sudden urge to cry. He had not cried in years—but the tears were close. He shut his eyes tightly, breathing slowly, repeating one phrase in his mind over and over:
"Everything has a price. Every mistake is punished. Silence is the weapon."
At the end of the sixth hour, the door opened. Severus entered with two men. They cut the ropes. Kaizen collapsed to his knees, his arms hanging uselessly, his body shaking.
Severus looked down at him.
"You did not scream. You did not beg. You did not ask for mercy. You passed the first test."
He handed him a cup of water. Kaizen drank slowly, feeling it burn down his dry throat.
"But the real test has not begun yet," Severus continued. "This was only the beginning of suffocation. In the coming days, you will be tested again and again—your body, your mind, your will. We will break you… to see what remains."
Kaizen rose with difficulty. He looked at Severus, his eyes still cold despite exhaustion.
"I will endure," he said in a hoarse voice. "Until the end."
Severus gave a faint, harsh smile.
"We will see. Many have said that before you… and then disappeared."
Kaizen was taken back to his small room. He lay on the bed, his body aching everywhere. But he did not close his eyes immediately.
He was thinking.
He understood that this was the true beginning.
He was no longer in the mine.
No longer dust.
He was now in the phase of shaping.
The phase of suffocation.
And the ash was burning slowly within him…
but it had not ignited yet.