The Ruin Zone went silent.
Not the normal kind of silence—the kind where wind stops and sound fades.
This silence pressed.
It weighed down on the chest, crawled beneath the skin, and made even breathing feel like a mistake.
Kayden Arin felt it first.
His steps slowed, fingers curling unconsciously as his senses sharpened.
The system inside him stirred violently, like a restrained predator slamming against invisible bars.
[High-Level Threat Detected]
[Environmental Authority Increasing]
Rayden Wolfe frowned, lightning crackling faintly around his fingertips.
"…This is bad," he muttered.
Liora Ashwyn's face had gone pale. Her Mind & Spirit perception stretched outward, then recoiled instantly, as if burned.
"We shouldn't be here," she said quietly.
"This isn't a hunting ground. This is… a boundary."
The ruins ahead shifted.
Stone slid against stone.
Ancient mechanisms groaned.
Kayden's heartbeat slowed—not from calm, but from control. His mind echoed with Leonhart's voice, firm and unyielding.
Do not use your power.
Even if it tells you what to do.
Especially then.
The ground split open.
And something rose.
It wasn't a beast.
It wasn't corrupted flesh.
It was designed.
A towering construct of ancient stone and reinforced crystal emerged from beneath the ruins, symbols igniting across its surface in cold blue light.
Each rune pulsed in perfect rhythm, stabilized and absolute.
Its eyes opened.
Not glowing wildly.
Not raging.
They assessed.
[Ruin Guardian Detected]
[Classification: Rank IV]
[Threat Level: Fatal]
[Recommended Action: Immediate System Activation]
Kayden's jaw tightened.
No.
Rayden took a step back, staring upward.
"You've got to be kidding me."
Liora swallowed. "That… that's not meant for first-years."
The Guardian moved.
One step.
The ground cracked outward in a perfect circle.
Rayden reacted instantly, lightning exploding from his body as he hurled a bolt straight at the Guardian's chest.
The strike landed—
And dispersed.
The Guardian didn't even stagger.
"…Oh," Rayden said faintly. "That's unfair."
The Battle Begins
"Scatter!" Liora shouted.
Kayden moved before thought, dragging Rayden sideways as a massive stone arm slammed down where they had been standing.
The impact shook the ruins.
Liora's mind arts flared, invisible pressure distorting space around the Guardian's joints, slowing its movement by fractions of a second.
Rayden capitalized instantly.
Lightning erupted again, chaining across the Guardian's runes. Sparks flew. Symbols flickered.
"It can be damaged!" Rayden shouted.
Kayden didn't answer.
He was already moving—dodging, redirecting, guiding attacks away. He fought like a Body Forger without enhancement, relying purely on timing, positioning, and the system's whispered warnings he refused to act on.
[Trajectory Prediction Available]
[Execution Denied by Host]
The Guardian adapted.
Its movements shifted.
Faster.
More precise.
A stone fist clipped Kayden's shoulder, sending him skidding across broken ground.
Pain flared.
Rayden roared, lightning surging wildly as he struck again and again.
Liora's breathing grew shallow.
Her mental barriers strained, cracks forming as she pushed beyond safe limits.
"This thing's not slowing!" she cried.
"No kidding!" Rayden snapped. "Any brilliant ideas?"
Kayden stood slowly, dusting blood from his sleeve.
"Don't stop moving," he said calmly.
Rayden stared at him. "That's your plan?!"
"It's working," Kayden replied.
Barely.
High above, within Starcrest Academy's observation chamber, tension coiled like a living thing.
"They've encountered a Rank IV," an instructor said sharply. "That sector wasn't supposed to awaken yet."
Principal Aria Nightfall stood motionless, eyes locked onto Kayden's projection.
Her fingers tightened.
Activate, she thought unconsciously.
Please activate.
The system inside Kayden surged violently.
[Evolution Trigger: Forced Override Available]
Kayden clenched his fists.
Leonhart's voice echoed again.
Try not listening.
Kayden shut the system out.
Rayden slammed into the ground hard, lightning flickering erratically around his body.
"Rayden!" Liora screamed.
She dropped to one knee, blood trickling from her nose as her mind arts faltered.
Kayden intercepted another crushing blow—but his legs buckled this time.
They were losing.
The Guardian raised its arm.
Energy condensed.
Aria leaned forward.
"This is it," someone whispered.
Rayden's Awakening
"No."
Rayden's voice was low.
Feral.
He pushed himself up, teeth clenched, rage and frustration colliding violently within his core.
"I'm not losing here."
Lightning exploded outward.
Not as bolts.
As presence.
Electric arcs wrapped around his body, aura manifesting visibly for the first time. The ground beneath his feet scorched black as thunder roared overhead.
Rayden threw his head back and roared.
The Guardian paused.
For the first time—
It hesitated.
Rayden stepped forward, lightning screaming with every movement.
Liora stared in disbelief.
"He… awakened."
Kayden watched silently.
The system inside him pulsed—excited.
He ignored it.
The Guardian raised its arm again.
Then—
Light engulfed everything.
Spatial distortion snapped into place.
The world twisted.
And vanished.
Kayden stumbled forward—
And nearly tripped over smooth stone flooring.
Rayden skidded to a halt, lightning still flickering wildly around his body.
Liora collapsed onto her back, gasping.
"…Where are we?" Rayden demanded.
Kayden looked around calmly.
White stone. Training formations. Protective arrays.
"The school," Liora said weakly. "We've been pulled out."
Rayden turned slowly.
His eyes locked onto Kayden.
Lightning crackled.
"You," Rayden growled. "You used the emergency talisman."
Kayden met his gaze, unfazed.
"Do we have any other options?"
Rayden took a step forward.
Lightning flared.
"Oh, I'll give you options."
Liora groaned. "You two are really doing this now?"
Students scattered as pressure surged.
Rayden raised his fist—
Authority Falls
"Enough."
The word landed like a hammer.
Three figures stepped forward.
Senior students.
Third-years.
Each radiating controlled power that crushed Rayden's lightning instantly.
The leader adjusted his coat calmly.
"First-years," he said flatly. "This isn't a battlefield."
Rayden froze, teeth grinding.
Kayden tilted his head slightly.
Liora sighed in relief.
The senior glanced at them all.
"…You survived a Rank IV," he added. "Try not to die arguing about it."
Rayden scoffed.
Kayden smiled faintly.
The Trial was over.
But the consequences—
Were just beginning.