As Instructor Marius explained the fear stage, Zane's mind wandered for a moment. 'Is there something I'm missing here?' he thought, his brow furrowing slightly. The illusions sounded tough, but he hadn't faced any of that—just the quiet stairs and his own thoughts.
"Zane, please continue," Instructor Marius said, his voice calm and encouraging, nodding for him to go on.
Zane took a deep breath, rolling his shoulders to shake off the lingering tiredness from the trial. "Okay, moving on to the third stage—the stairs themselves," he said, his tone relaxed, like he was chatting with friends around a table. "Before we even started the trial, Instructor Marius gave us some helpful clues in that incantation he used. Remember? 'Up is down, left is right, sight distorted, worlds inverted.' It was like a little puzzle right from the beginning. So, to really go down the stairs, you had to climb up instead. That's pretty much the key to that part—don't trust what you see."
"Wait, it's that straightforward?" a trainee in the middle group chimed in, rubbing his head with a sheepish grin. He was one of the folks who hadn't brought back an orb, his hands empty and his face showing the strain of the endless climb. "No wonder I couldn't find anything. I kept going down forever—I thought I was losing my mind with all those steps!"
Zane nodded understandingly, giving a small smile. "Yeah, it can feel overwhelming. But once you connect it to the incantation, it clicks." He paused, making sure everyone was following, then went on. "Now, the fourth stage is about the two altars you find—one with a blue orb and the other with a red one. When you pick them both up, they swap colors right in your hands. The trick is to take the red orb, no matter which altar it started on or what color it looked like at first. And that's my take on the whole thing."
A trainee from the blue-orb group raised his voice, sounding a bit confused rather than angry. "But weren't we supposed to bring back the blue orb, not the red one?" The others around him nodded, clutching their blue orbs a little tighter, their faces a mix of worry and curiosity.
Zane turned toward him, his expression patient, like he was helping out a buddy. "That's a fair question. But think back to the clues in Instructor Marius's incantation—it was all about not trusting what you see. 'Sight distorted, left is right'—that means blue could really be red. If all we needed was the blue orb, why even have a second altar there? It was there to test if we'd follow the hints and pick the opposite. Does that make sense?"
Some trainees furrowed their brows, mulling it over, while others just looked thoughtful, wondering what this meant for their own choices. In the middle group, one trainee leaned over to his neighbor, his voice low but carrying a hint of envy. "Look at those guys arguing about which orb is better—what about us? We didn't even bring one back. Feels kinda unfair, doesn't it?"
Instructor Marius nodded approvingly, a small smile breaking through his usual serious look. "That's a very impressive deduction, Zane. You can step back now." Zane walked back to his spot on the left, trying to ignore the sharp looks from some of the other trainees—they seemed more frustrated than friendly, but he shrugged it off.
Onilia turned to him as he stood beside her, her eyes wide with genuine admiration. "You surprise me every time, Zane. That was really smart."
Zane glanced at her, then back at Marius, his voice quiet but firm. "Thanks, but the test isn't over yet, Onilia."
"What do you mean—" Onilia started, but before she could finish, Instructor Marius spoke up again, his tone shifting to something more serious.
"The test is over," Marius announced, his voice steady but with a darker edge. "I asked you to bring back a blue crystal orb, not a red one. No matter what happened or what you saw in there, anyone who brought a red orb has failed."
The words hung in the air like a sudden chill. "What?" Nenis blurted out, stepping forward, her face a mix of surprise and frustration. She wasn't one to accept a loss lightly, especially if it felt like a trick. "But the red orb was blue before it changed colors. That means we were supposed to bring the one that turned red—it was the real test!" Even though she didn't say it out loud, seeing Zane with a red orb had made her feel more confident in her choice, like it was a sure win. But now, even the clever Zane had gotten it wrong?
Marius shook his head, his expression unchanging. "It doesn't matter. The simple fact is, you're holding a red orb, and that means you've failed. That's all there is to it."
From the blue-orb group, a trainee piped up, his voice nervous but hopeful. "Wait, does that mean we passed?" He glanced around at his group, a tentative smile forming.
"Yeah, finally some good news for us," another added, looking over at Zane and the red-orb holders with a relieved grin. "Tough break for those folks, huh?"
Onilia stood close, her face a mix of confusion and hope, while Nenis's sharp eyes burned into Zane, her usual cool exterior cracking with frustration.
"Do something, smartass," Nenis said, her voice low but urgent, cutting through the murmurs. She stepped closer, her red orb glinting in her hand, her brows furrowed. Onilia glanced at her, then at Zane, her own red orb clutched tightly. She didn't fully get the test's twists, but hearing Zane called wrong wasn't something she could accept. "Zane, come on, do one of your tricks," Nenis pressed, her tone softer now, almost pleading, though it clearly pained her to admit she needed help. "I know you've got a way to turn this around. We're all in this together."
Zane's sharp eyes met hers, catching the flicker of desperation beneath her usual confidence. It was the first time Nenis had ever spoken to him directly, and he could tell losing wasn't in her nature.
'She's desperate,' he thought, a faint smile tugging at his lips. 'Might as well make this interesting.'
"Nenis, right?" he said, his voice calm and teasing, like they were old friends. "It's true I might have a way, but I'm just a loser anyway. Why should I bother?"
Nenis's eyes narrowed, her jaw tightening. "Didn't you hear him?" she said, gesturing toward Marius. "The last hundred trainees get cut from the Master's training. You want to be one of them?"
Zane shrugged, leaning back slightly, his hand rolling the red orb casually. "Not my problem. And besides, I finished first, and I also broke the record; I'm sure there's a reward for bringing back an orb too, so I don't think I'll get eliminated."
Nenis's face flushed, her voice dropping to a hiss. "Are you still mad about last time? Is that why you're acting like this?" She was talking about the time she'd objected when Onilia picked a room for Zane, dismissing him as some nobody from a backwater planet.
Zane raised an eyebrow, his tone light but sharp. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Hey, look," a trainee nearby whispered, nudging his friend, his blue orb glinting. "Nenis and Zane are arguing. Bet he's just bluffing to look cool."
Nenis exhaled sharply, realizing Zane was playing her, waiting for her to give in. "Fine," she said, her voice tight but resigned. "What do you want?"
Zane's smile widened, just a fraction. 'Now you're speaking my language,' he thought. "If I get us out of this, you owe me a favor. That's my condition."
Nenis hesitated, her eyes flicking to her red orb, then back to Zane. "Fine, I accept," she said, her voice clipped but firm.
Onilia, who'd been listening quietly, leaned closer, her eyes wide with hope. "Zane, do you really have a way?" she asked, her voice soft, almost nervous.
Before Zane could answer, Instructor Marius continued, his voice booming across the plain. "Since all the people on my left have failed—"
Zane raised his hand, cutting him off, the red orb catching the crimson light of Zoic's sky. "Hold on," he said, his tone polite but firm.
Marius's eyes narrowed, irritation flashing across his face. "What is it again, Zane?" he asked, his voice heavy with annoyance.
A trainee clutching a blue orb muttered under his breath, "Yeah, you jerk, just shut up and fail already." His fingers tightened around his orb, his nerves fraying.
Nenis's thoughts were sharper, her gaze locked on Zane. 'Clever jerk, playing me in a tight spot like this. You better have a real solution, or I'll wring you like a wet cloth.'
Zane stepped forward, his posture relaxed but his eyes sharp, scanning Marius and the crowd. "I have to disagree that red is the wrong answer," he said, his voice steady, drawing gasps and murmurs from the trainees. He raised the red orb, its glow bright against the red sky. "This orb? It's blue."
Nenis muttered under her breath, "Is he crazy?"
Marius's brow furrowed, his tone darkening. "What? What trick are you trying to pull, Zane? That's clearly a red crystal orb."
"It's red right now, sure," Zane said, his voice calm but confident, like he was explaining something obvious. "But that's only because we're still under the incantation you used earlier."
Marius tilted his head, his eyes narrowing further. "What makes you think you're under an incantation?" he asked, his voice low, almost challenging. The trainees leaned in, some nervous, others hopeful, hanging on every word.
Zane gestured to the plain, his movements slow and deliberate. "The rock I sat on? It wasn't here when we first arrived. And look at the ground—our steps leave no footprints, no dust, nothing. On a cracked, dry plain like this, that's not normal." He paused, letting the words sink in, his sharp eyes catching the trainees' glances at the ground, their faces shifting as they noticed the lack of marks. "We're still in your spell—'sight distorted, worlds inverted.' The red orb looks red because you want us to think we failed. But lift the incantation, and it's blue."
The plain fell silent, the red-tinted sky casting long shadows as the trainees processed Zane's words. Onilia's eyes widened, hope flickering, while Nenis's frown softened, her mind racing. The blue-orb holders clutched their orbs tighter, doubt creeping in. Marius stared at Zane, his expression unreadable, but a spark of something—admiration, maybe?—flickered in his eyes.