"Seems they want us in deep waters quickly. Survival realm. Full month. You go in with what you carry. No help. No instructors."
"No rules?" Kael asked.
Riven smirked. "Plenty of those. They just won't matter much once you're inside."
---
That evening, Kael was summoned to the office of Captain Selai.
He stepped into a chamber that felt more like a sanctuary than a war room. The walls were lined with ancient scrolls and soul-carved relics. Selai herself stood by the window, her gaze distant.
"Sit," she said softly.
Kael obeyed.
"You've come far," she began. "But not far enough. And you're still hiding."
He didn't answer.
"The Proving Grounds will change that," Selai continued. "One way or another. You'll be pushed. Tested. Alone. But not unobserved."
Kael raised a brow.
"There are eyes in the shadows. Old ones. Watching for something… or someone."
Kael stiffened.
"Are you ready?" she asked.
"I don't know," he said honestly.
"Good. Stay uncertain. Stay alert. That's how people survive the Proving Grounds. And sometimes… that's how they ascend."
---
Morning came with the cry of engines.
The students assembled at the eastern edge of the Academy. Vast skyships hovered like sleeping titans, their metallic hulls gleaming in the rising sun.
Kael scanned the group. Riven was there, arms folded. Dorn stood like a statue. Lira's hair whipped in the wind, eyes focused ahead.
Then, the main boarding ramp lowered.
A cloaked figure stepped aboard—tall, imposing, crimson-lined. No one could see their face.
Whispers stirred.
"Is that an instructor?"
"They didn't announce anyone..."
"Maybe someone from the Empire?"
Kael's eyes narrowed.
He didn't recognize them. Not yet. But something about their presence felt... familiar.
He stepped onto the ship without a word.
The real trial had begun.