The torch fell.
It wasn't thrown with care, nor with the intention of lighting the place. It was tossed like something useless.
The fire rolled across the cell floor, crackling, until it stopped near the group.
Light exploded all at once.
The darkness recoiled, like a tide forced to retreat.
And then they saw it.
The cell was… normal.
Old stone walls, damp, scarred with cracks and dark stains. The floor was covered in dust, drag marks, and rotting straw. There were no symbols. No fresh blood. No monsters lurking in the shadows.
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
Lux slowly lifted his head, his eyes still red.
"What…?" he whispered.
Merlin looked around, breathing hard.
There were no creatures.
No eyes watching them from the walls.
No twisted shapes hiding in the corners.
Just an empty cell.
The realization was worse than fear.
"All of it…" Sunday murmured. "It was all in our heads."
"No," Nero corrected quietly.
He stood up with effort, ignoring the pain in his body.
"Someone made us see it."
One of the guards laughed.
A short, rough laugh.
"Are you done?" he said with contempt. "Move."
The other guard slammed the cell door open. The metal screeched, shattering the last remains of solemn silence.
"Up," he ordered. "We don't have all night."
Before they could react, gloved hands grabbed them without care.
Lux was yanked up by the arm, making him groan in pain.
Merlin was shoved into the wall before being dragged across the floor, as if he wasn't worth the effort of lifting.
Kōri tried to resist. A blow to her back dropped her to her knees.
Sunday clenched his teeth but said nothing.
Nero was the last.
A guard grabbed him by the collar and threw him out of the cell without ceremony.
"Trash," someone muttered.
The corridor was long, narrow, and poorly lit. Torches lined the walls, casting warped shadows that stretched over them as they were dragged forward. The sound of footsteps mixed with distant echoes—voices, muffled screams.
There were people.
A lot of people.
The murmur grew louder with every step.
Nero lifted his head just enough to see where they were being taken.
A wide space.
Open.
Packed with bodies.
Dozens. Maybe hundreds.
People standing, sitting on the floor, chained, shoved against one another. Exhausted faces. Empty eyes. Some cried silently. Others stared ahead as if they expected nothing anymore.
The air was thick with sweat, fear, and resignation.
"Move," one of the guards ordered.
They were thrown.
Literally.
The group crashed into the crowd. Lux collided with someone and both rolled across the ground. Merlin fell on his side, gasping. Kōri got up almost immediately, searching for the others. Sunday stood with difficulty.
Nero remained on his knees.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then the whispers began.
"Who are they…?"
"Where did they come from?"
"Did you see their eyes…?"
The guards stepped back.
One of them raised a torch.
Held it high.
And extinguished it.
One.
Two.
Three.
All of them.
The fire died.
The darkness returned.
But this time… they weren't alone.
The murmurs turned into confusion. Bodies bumping into each other. Ragged breathing. Nervous footsteps. Someone screamed. Someone else prayed. A child began to cry.
Blackness swallowed everything.
Nero clenched his fist.
There was no whispering voice now.
No laughter.
Only the brutal certainty of something far worse.
This wasn't a cell.
It was a pit.
And they had just been thrown into it.
The darkness lasted only a few seconds longer.
Then a sharp snap cut through the chaos.
A white light ignited at the center of the space, so intense that many shielded their eyes. It wasn't fire. It didn't flicker. It didn't cast normal shadows. It was clean, uniform—almost unnatural.
The crowd froze.
The murmurs died instantly.
From among the people, someone stepped forward.
His steps were calm, confident, as if fear had no permission to touch him. The light seemed to part to give him room. He wore light-colored clothes, far too clean for a place like this, and in one hand he held a cup of dark wine, slowly swirling it with a relaxed motion.
He smiled.
Not a cruel smile.
Not a kind one.
A knowing smile.
"Please," he said calmly. "Do not panic. Yet."
Silence became absolute.
Nero lifted his head, squinting. The white light exposed every face, every wound, every chain. There was nowhere to hide.
The man stopped in front of them.
In front of the group.
He took a small sip of wine and sighed with satisfaction.
"It's always shocking the first time," he remarked. "The darkness, the confusion, the fear… a necessary introduction."
Lux clenched his teeth.
"Who are you…?" he growled.
The man tilted his head slightly, as if appreciating the question.
"My name is Reveli," he said. "And I am the leader of the Brotherhood of the Echo."
A murmur rippled through the crowd—different this time. Not confusion.
Recognition.
Sunday noticed immediately.
"They know him," he whispered.
Reveli smiled a little wider.
"Of course," he replied, as if he had heard him. "My name echoes even where light cannot reach."
He raised his free hand.
The white light intensified slightly.
"From this moment on," he continued, his voice clear and firm, "all of you are under the protection of the Brotherhood."
Some people sighed in relief.
Others tensed even more.
Merlin frowned.
"Protection…" he murmured. "Interesting word for someone who threw us into the dark."
Reveli looked directly at him.
His eyes were clear. Too clear.
"Trials reveal more than cages," he said calmly. "And you… passed."
Nero slowly stood.
The light washed over him fully.
"And the price?" he asked.
Reveli studied him for a moment longer than necessary.
Then he chuckled softly.
"Straight to the point. I like you."
He took a step forward.
"From now on," he declared, "each of you will help the Brotherhood of the Echo achieve its objectives."
The word will landed heavily.
"Objectives like what?" Kōri asked coldly.
Reveli lifted the cup, watching the wine glow in the light.
"Changing the balance," he replied. "Breaking ancient silences. Making certain truths… resonate."
Lux clenched his fists.
"And if we say no?"
Reveli's smile didn't fade.
But something in it changed.
The white light flickered once.
"Then," he said softly, dangerously, "you will return to the darkness."
Silence became unbearable.
Nero felt something settle in his chest.
Not fear.
Understanding.
This wasn't an invitation.
It was forced recruitment.
Reveli turned and began to walk away.
"Rest," he added over his shoulder. "Tomorrow… we begin work."
The white light vanished.
And when the darkness returned this time, no one whispered his name.
…then it was their turn.
There were no words.
Only hands.
About twenty guards surged into the crowd like a tide of iron and leather. They didn't distinguish faces or names. They grabbed bodies.
Like trash.
People were lifted, shoved, dragged apart. Short screams. Ignored pleas. The dull sound of blows when someone moved too slowly.
One by one, they were taken away.
The lights did not return.
The group stayed together by instinct alone.
Until hands closed around them.
Lux was first. Two guards seized his arms and hauled him up.
"Hey—!" he started, before being shoved forward.
Nero reacted instantly, stepping after him.
A blow to his chest stopped him.
"Stay."
Merlin felt someone grab him by the collar. He tried to pull free on reflex… and failed. Without his wand, without flow, his body was just that—a body.
Sunday didn't resist.
Not because he didn't want to.
But because he understood that resistance was exactly what they wanted.
Kōri was last. Three guards for one person. One shoved her, another grabbed her arm, the third pulled her by the hair without any real need.
Nero clenched his teeth.
They were separated.
Different corridors. Opposite directions. Footsteps fading away.
Until only Nero remained.
A guard looked him up and down.
"This one," he said. "Careful."
Nero lifted his gaze.
For the first time, the guard avoided his eyes.
They pushed him forward.
The corridor was narrow, damp, descending. Each step felt like going deeper underground. The sound of doors slamming echoed in the distance, one after another, like a silent countdown.
Finally, they stopped.
A door opened with a heavy creak.
Darkness.
Nero was thrown inside.
The door shut.
The lock echoed like a gunshot.
Silence.
Nero took a deep breath.
No voice.
No laughter.
But now he knew for certain.
The real trial… had just begun.
Lux dragged his body into a corner of the cell.
Not quickly. Not carefully. He simply let the wall stop him.
He slid down, pulling his legs to his chest, his back against the cold stone. His breathing was still uneven, as if his body hadn't yet realized that—for now—no one was attacking him.
Nero sat nearby, resting an arm on his knee.
Sunday was the first to break the silence.
"Alright," he said quietly. "Let's recap before someone starts screaming."
Merlin let out a dry laugh.
"Which part?" he asked. "The voice? The thing that only existed in Lux's head? Or the fact that we were thrown into a crowd like disposable waste?"
Lux didn't lift his head.
"I saw it," he murmured. "Or… something like it."
Kōri crossed her arms.
"No," she said firmly. "You didn't see it. They made you see it."
Lux tightened his grip around himself.
"That doesn't make it better."
Sunday nodded.
"Whoever's in charge knows how to break people," he said. "First isolation. Then fear. Then public humiliation."
Merlin lowered his gaze.
"And they took my wand," he added. "That wasn't an accident."
Nero clenched his fist.
"Everything was intentional," he said. "The darkness. The empty cell. The crowd. Separating us."
"They were measuring us," Kōri continued. "Not as a group. As pieces."
Lux finally looked up.
"And Reveli?" he asked. "That guy with the wine and the light?"
Sunday frowned.
"A leader who introduces himself with theater doesn't want allies," he replied. "He wants obedience."
Silence fell again.
This time it wasn't heavy.
It was exhausted.
Nero leaned back against the wall.
"We don't know where the others are," he said. "We don't know exactly what they want. And we don't know how much of what we saw was real."
Merlin closed his eyes.
"But we know one thing."
The others looked at him.
"This was only the beginning."
No one argued.
Fatigue finally won.
Lux fell asleep first, still curled in his corner. His breathing slowly evened out.
Kōri sat near the door, alert even as her eyes closed.
Sunday leaned against the opposite wall, arms crossed.
Merlin stayed awake a few minutes longer, staring into nothingness… until exhaustion pulled him under.
Nero was the last.
He closed his eyes with a bitter weight in his chest.
Not fear.
Not anger.
Something worse.
The absolute certainty that, no matter what came next…
that had been the worst day of their lives.