The teleportation plaza of the main stadium was an absolute sea of noise and flashing light. Massive containment pillars shot blue beams straight into the sky, stabilizing the newly opened rift.
For the third Trial, the structure of the tournament shifted completely. The traditional team boundaries were broken down, forcing the three major powers of the continent to form mixed units. Each team consisted of exactly six contenders: two from the Edrath Imperial Academy, two from the Vadrant Elven Alliance, and two from the Southern Abyssal Coast Magic Tower. It was a calculated political move, meant to test their ability to coordinate under severe stress before the actual war arrived.
Sora stood in line under his flawless female glamour, adjusting the cuffs of the dark Crimson Vanguard uniform. Beside him was Felix, the hot-headed elite senior from the Vanguard who kept shifting his weight, his hand resting nervously on his training blade.
"Step forward, Team Seven!" an official yelled, gesturing toward the glowing blue sphere at the center of the plaza.
Sora walked forward alongside Felix. Joining them were two elves wearing the green and gold tunics of the Vadrant Alliance, and two robed mages from the Southern Abyssal Coast, their eyes sharp and calculating. The moment all six of them stepped onto the activation platform, the blue light flared violently.
The world vanished in a flash of blinding white.
When the light faded, they weren't in a standard stone dungeon. The scenery upon their entrance was incredibly dramatic and magical. They were standing inside a massive, subterranean cavern that looked like an ancient buried city. The air was a deep, twilight purple, glowing with faint particles of floating dust. Giant, crystallized trees made of solid quartz which grew out of the cavern walls, their branches spreading across the ceiling like a glowing web.
But the initial magical pressure was immense. The moment they landed, a sharp spatial distortion rippled through the air, knocking everyone off balance.
"The teleportation coordinates are unstable!" Felix shouted, stumbling into a stone pillar. "We're scattered from the main entry point!"
"Quiet," Sora said calmly, his dark eyes instantly mapping out the room. "The teleportation sphere purposely dropped us deep inside the cavern. Look around."
As they began advancing down a wide pathway lined with broken stone pillars, one of the two elves quietly sneaked up to Sora's side. Her footsteps didn't make a single sound on the rough stone. She had sharp, elegant features, long blonde hair tied back into a high warrior's ponytail, and bright green eyes that seemed to pierce right through Sora's uniform.
She leaned closer, her voice dropping into a low whisper that barely carried over the sound of the wind. "You... you smell quite familiar, but your mana circuit seems completely irregular. What is your true identity?"
Sora didn't flinch. His expression didn't waver by a single millimeter as he kept his eyes locked on the path ahead.
"Sora Curzon, a human transfer student of the Edrath Academy," Sora replied, his voice completely flat and dripping with a subtle, dry sarcasm. "And you... what is your identity?"
The elven warrior took a visible jab from Sora's dry response. She paused for a moment, her green eyes narrowing before she forced herself to calm down. She let out a soft huff and adjusted the leather strap of her bow.
"I am Lyra Windrunner, third daughter of the Windrunner house," she introduced herself, her tone proud but curious. "I do not usually take any interest in humans, but you have definitely caught my eye. Along with that Crown Prince of yours... the two of you are completely full of wonders."
"Ladies, can we just focus on this trial before anything else?" Felix interrupted from a few steps ahead, his eyes darting toward the dark tunnels up front. "We don't know what kind of monsters are lurking in these shadows."
Sora gave Lyra a final, dismissive glance before walking right past her. "He is right. Let's focus entirely on completing the trial."
Lyra nodded smoothly, falling back into formation. "A reasonable assessment. Let's move."
But even as they walked, she didn't take her green eyes away from Sora's movements for a single second.
A few minutes later, the path blocked off completely. They found themselves standing in front of a massive, ancient stone slab that sealed the entire tunnel. The surface of the stone was covered in glowing, deeply carved strokes of a language that looked entirely different from modern script. A heavy, ancient pressure rolled off the wall, preventing any physical force from breaking through.
"Great, a dead end," Felix muttered, touching the stone. "Anyone here who can actually understand the language written on these walls?"
"I do," a young female mage from the Southern Abyssal Coast stepped forward.
She wore a dark blue robe covered in silver runes, a smug grin plastered across her face. She looked at the wall, then turned to give the Edrath students a highly condescending look.
"I am honestly surprised that none of you all, except for our prestigious institution, were ever taught the ancient languages," she mocked, her eyes lingering heavily on Sora and Felix. "Even the proud, elite soldiers of the Edrath Vanguard seem to be completely at a loss when it comes to basic history."
"You! What did you just say?" Felix snarled, his face flushing red as his hand flew to his sword hilt.
Sora instantly reached out, his hand clamping down firmly on Felix's shoulder, holding the boy back from retaliating. "Calm down, Felix. Don't waste your energy on words."
Felix let out a harsh sigh, forcing his anger down, but the Abyssal mage scoffed even louder at the display, her mocking expression growing wider.
"So, since you are such a genius, what exactly does the stone slab say?" Sora countered, his voice perfectly calm as he stepped up right beside her.
The mage cleared her throat, waving her wooden staff over the glowing lines. "It is obviously a standard riddle of the old era. The first line refers to a flame, and the second line indicates that we must sacrifice a portion of our fire mana into the center groove to unlock the mechanism. It is quite simple, really."
She began channeling a ball of bright orange fire magic at the tip of her staff, preparing to thrust it into the stone.
"That is completely incorrect," Sora chimed in, his voice cutting through the quiet cavern like a knife.
The mage froze, her fire fizzling out as she snapped her head toward him, her face twisting in anger. "Excuse me? I am a top scholar of the Magic Tower! How dare a common soldier tell me—"
"The first stroke of that word's definition does not mean flame," Sora explained calmly, pointing his finger at the top left corner of the slab. "It is an ancient root word for *'luminescence'*, specifically the cold light of the stars. The second stroke directly underneath it means *'reflection'*, not sacrifice. The other character next to it represents *'the tide'*. When you combine all of these specific strokes together with the final sequence at the bottom, it doesn't ask for a fire sacrifice at all."
Everyone in the team, including Lyra and Felix, stared at Sora in absolute silence.
"Then... what does it actually explain?" Felix asked, completely fascinated.
"It explains a ritual of devotion," Sora said softly. "The result of the entire text is the praise of the moon god."
Before the Abyssal mage could open her mouth to call him a liar, Sora stepped directly in front of the massive slab. He closed his eyes, cleared his throat, and began to softly sing a short, melodic phrase in the exact, ancient tongue carved into the stone—a beautiful, echoing praise toward the moon.
*"Kaelis-mor, vae solis-thun,
Zorathis el-vahn, lunas-run.
Mira-thael, ni sora-don,
Aethelis, aethelis, il-sharon."*
The moment the final note left his lips, a brilliant white glow beamed across every single word stroke on the wall. The heavy stone slab trembled, grinding loudly against the cavern floor as it slowly slid upward into the ceiling, revealing a wide, safe passage ahead.
The entire team gasped, their eyes wide with shock as they turned to look at the opening passage, and then back to Sora.
Sora turned his head slightly, his dark eyes locking onto the frozen, red-faced Abyssal mage. "So where's the part that includes fire in here?...So much for being the only educated genius in the group huh?"
With that, Sora walked right past her to proceed through the newly opened passage. Felix let out a loud, mocking laugh, and the other teammates slowly followed behind, offering quiet snickers and mocking glances at the mage as they walked past. Her embarrassment was completely obvious, her face burning red as she clutched her staff in silence.
As they moved deeper into the glowing quartz tunnel, Lyra, the elven warrior, quietly sneaked closer to Sora's side once again.
"How did you know that language?" she whispered, her voice tight and intense. "That is the ancient language of the Moonborn... the mortal enemies of our ancestors. Humans shouldn't even have access to those syntax structures."
Sora didn't even look at her as he kept walking. "We were thoroughly taught about various cultures at the academy. There are also pretty much many ancient tomes about lost races and forbidden magic sitting in our central library. It just takes a highly curious student to actually sit down and learn about them."
Lyra looked at Sora, her green eyes filled with deep skepticism, but after a moment, she simply nodded it off, unable to disprove his logic.
"So what was the meaning of the chant you sang back there?"
"Cold light of the stars, fade the heavy sun,
The silver blood flows, the ancient paths run. Watch over the dark, breathe life into stone, the sovereign of shadows has ascended the throne."
"Mhm, since you clearly know so much about the Moonborns, you should take the lead for the rest of this trial," Lyra suggested, looking sideways at the rest of the group. "I am completely sure everyone else here feels exactly the same way."
The other teammates looked at each other and quickly nodded, giving Sora literal thumbs-up signs of approval—except for the out-bested Abyssal mage, who kept her eyes glued to the floor. Taking the lead had been her entire aim from the start, hoping to show off her superior knowledge to the group, but Sora had effortlessly scooped the entire trust of the unit to himself without even trying. Once again, the foreign factions had to bow to the capability of an Edrath student.
Sora paused for a split second, surprised by the sudden shift in metrics. He hadn't expected the proud elves to actually consider working alongside humans, let alone suggest following a 'human' representing Edrath, their historical rival.
"Thank you for trusting me," Sora said, softening his tone just enough to maintain the harmony of the unit. "But I highly prefer that we all work together as a synchronized team. I might lack in certain combat concepts or physical trap detection down the line, so I will definitely need your help."
Lyra's eyes softened slightly, a genuine smile replacing her sharp gaze. "You are quite humble, Sora. But okay, we will help you wherever we can. After all, this trial is entirely about teamwork."
Sora gave a firm nod, turning his eyes back to the darkening path ahead. With the unit completely aligned under his command, they moved forward into the depths of the trial, ready for whatever the ancient dungeon was about to throw at them.
*****
Sora took the lead, his boots tapping softly against the ancient stone floor. As the team advanced deeper into the subterranean ruins, the environment began to alter its surroundings. The glowing purple runes carved into the walls didn't just flicker anymore—they began actively reacting to his touch. Whenever Sora brushed past a pillar or walked near an ancient archway, the stone would flare with a brilliant, silver luminescence, pulsing in perfect synchronization with his heartbeat.
Then, the auditory anomalies began.
*"...Sora..."*
A faint, echoing whisper drifted through the cold air. It sounded like dozens of voices overlapping, carrying a hollow, ghostly resonance.
*"...The bloodline–... Sora..."*
Sora kept his expression entirely deadpan, his eyes fixed forward, but his ears twitched underneath his hair. He glanced subtly to the side. Felix and the mages from the Magic Tower were completely oblivious, focusing entirely on looking for physical traps. But the two elven students, Lyra and her companion, were walking with their heads tilted, their sharp green eyes locked onto the back of Sora's uniform with intense suspicion. They were clearly tracking the sound.
But as they walked deeper into the central chamber of the dungeon, the faint whispers vanished, replaced by a booming, deep vibration that resonated directly through the stone.
**"The divine vessel has returned."**
The entire dungeon trembled violently. Huge chunks of debris rained down from the quartz ceiling, and the magical pressure in the air spiked so fast that it caused an immediate rift amongst the students, throwing everyone off balance.
"Sora, what is happening?!" Felix shouted over the roaring stone, drawing his training blade as the ground beneath them cracked.
"I don't know!" Sora yelled back, his voice precise and commanding despite the panic rising in his chest. "But everyone should run to the exit passage quickly! The structure is failing!"
No one hesitated. The mages and the elves bolted toward the glowing green portal marking the trial's exit at the end of the hall. Sora remained at the absolute back of the line, simply because he allowed everyone else to run first. But the moment his boots reached the threshold of the exit, an invisible, dense force field blocked his path.
Sora panicked, slamming his hands against the transparent barrier, trying to push his way out, but the raw mana pressured him back with crushing weight.
"Sora!" Felix called out, turning around at the gate and running back to pull him through.
But before Felix could touch him, a violent wave of force pushed the boy back, knocking him flat onto the stone. The entire team felt the massive pressure wave radiating from the barrier.
"Felix, go! Get out first and get some help!" Sora commanded, his breath catching as the ceiling directly above him began to fracture. "Go get Cassian!"
Just then, Sora's voice trailed off completely as the stone framework of the exit began crumbling down, heavy rocks and debris completely blocking the passage from view.
"Felix, let's get out of here... quickly!" Lyra shouted, grabbing the dazed student by his lapels. Felix was dragged out through the portal just as the chamber completely sealed itself shut.
Outside in the main stadium, the portal flared, and Team Seven tumbled onto the grass. They were the first to return. Mathematically, they were the winners of the third Trial, but their pale expressions didn't portray any sense of victory whatsoever. Amidst the roaring cheers of the crowd, the arena monitors quickly noticed the anomaly—one student was completely missing from the roster.
Felix didn't even wait for the medical mages to approach them. Moving at the speed of lightning, he sprinted across the field, bypassed the lower guards, and ran straight to the royal box, throwing the doors open to report directly to the prince.
"Your highness, Sora is trapped in the dungeon!" Felix gasped, his lungs burning from the sprint.
He quickly recited every single detail of what had happened—the glowing walls, and the absolute physical force that had blocked Sora away from the exit.
Cassian sat perfectly still in his high-backed chair. His fingers twitched for a fraction of a second, eyes narrowing as he slowly turned his head to look at Lucien, who stood like a silent monolith behind him.
"Now I have no choice but to clear it myself, do I?" Cassian murmured, his voice drop-dead cold.
"You don't have to, Your Highness," Lucien replied, his voice dropping into a private whisper so the guards and Felix wouldn't hear. "In fact, this is entirely for the better. And I cannot allow you to put your own wellbeing at risk to save someone we clearly warned about the risks of getting in there."
A heavy silence hovered over the royal box for a long moment. Cassian let out a slow, calculated sigh, leaning back into his chair.
"Let's wait for the official trial period to end," Cassian ordered calmly, his face returning to an unbothered mask. "Perhaps the other academy teams will find Sora along the way and bring him back through a secondary exit. Felix, you did an excellent job. Now go get rested, we will take it from here."
"Yes, Your Highness," Felix curtly bowed, still shaken, and left the box to join the rest of the Vanguard.
Once the doors clicked shut, Lucien stepped closer to the prince's chair. "Do you truly think the elf will survive down there?"
"He has to," Cassian said flatly, his eyes tracking the dust floating in the sunlight. And Lucien sighed agreeing. "Well if he doesn't want to stay trapped in there forever. Perhaps his ancient ancestors are simply calling him home, who knows? Hence, why I said this outcome might be for the better. Let him disappear naturally into the history books instead of being captured and executed by the high priests."
Cassian looked up at Lucien, a low, tracking chuckle escaping his chest. "Sir Arden, a holy knight doesn't typically think with such ruthless logic. Have you finally converted from being so corrupted?"
"Your Highness," Lucien whispered wickedly, leaning down just enough so his breath brushed the prince's ear, "—are you not the exact one that systematically tainted this Holy Knight and corrupted me in the first place?"
Cassian sighed, refusing to acknowledge the warmth against his neck as he looked back out at the competition grounds.
"Let's just pray that he is safe. And please focus on the tournament as well, not me." Cassian defensively shifted and Lucien chuckled standing up straight but his hand gently brushing the back of Cassian's head.
"I can try...but that is not a promise."
*****