The passage through the purple portal was not a gentle transition. It was like being projected through a tunnel of shattered mirrors, where the sense of gravity and direction vanished for an eternal instant. When Hayjin's feet finally touched the ground, the sound they produced was not that of trampled grass, but a crystalline chime sharp and harmonious.
"Are we... whole?" Hayjin gasped, clutching his stomach to quell the nausea.
"We're whole," Zhilian replied, her voice sounding strangely amplified, as if she were in a cathedral.
When they looked up, the sight before their eyes took their breath away. They were not in a damp cave or a stone labyrinth, but in the heart of a giant abandoned city. It was a metropolis of colossal proportions, with towers soaring toward a perpetually twilight sky, streaked with veins of indigo and silver. But there was another, more incredible feature: the entire city was infested or rather, adorned by colossal blue crystals.
These crystals grew everywhere: they sprouted from cracks in the marble floors, wrapped around palace columns like mineral vines, and hung from balconies like stalactites of pure light. They emitted a low hum, a constant frequency that seemed to vibrate the very air.
"Incredible..." Hayjin whispered, approaching one of these formations sprouting from what must have once been a fountain. The crystal was translucent, and inside, currents of energy like electric clouds seemed to flow. "It's as if someone froze the city inside a piece of glass."
Zhilian stood motionless for a moment, captivated by the blue reflection dancing on her brilliant outfit. Then, she shook her head forcefully, composing herself. "It's beautiful, Hayjin, but let's not be enchanted. Remember what Adeline said: this place is a mirror organism. Beauty here is just bait for those who let their guard down. Let's stay focused on the mission. We need to find the object, and the problem is we don't have the slightest idea where it is in this ocean of ruins."
"Yeah, yeah, message received," Hayjin replied, though he continued to observe the environment with a scientific curiosity he couldn't tame. "But admit it: these crystals are a fascinating geological anomaly. What is this stuff? Mana-charged quartz?"
Zhilian smiled slightly, starting to walk along what seemed to be a main avenue, her eyes scanning every dark corner. "We call them Aether Tears. They are the backbone of the world economy, Hayjin. These crystals aren't just pretty; they contain pure mana in a solid, stable, and easily extractable form. Every kingdom in Exilia gathers as many as it can. They are our most precious currency."
"Currency?" Hayjin asked, following her and trying to mentally map the city's structure.
"Exactly. Thanks to the Tears, Exilia doesn't just trade internally. These crystals allow us to deal with the kingdoms of the other continents of Alius. They are used to power the airships of the North, the magical irrigation systems of the arid Southern lands, and even the defensive barriers of the Eastern city-states. Without them, global trade in Alius wouldn't be so extensive, and we would have no communication with the other continents."
Hayjin remained silent for a moment, reflecting on those words. Solid mana as the basis for international trade, he thought to himself. In his world, the economy was based on debt, oil, and pieces of paper or digital bits that often had no real intrinsic value. Here, the very energy of the world was crystallized and used to advance civilization. This place definitely works better than my world, he concluded bitterly in his mind. At least here you can see the value, and it shines with a magnificent light.
"Look up there," Zhilian pointed to a suspension bridge connecting two towers hundreds of meters high. "If the object is important, it will be at a high point or buried under the command center. We need to find a way to climb without attracting too much attention from external threats."
They walked cautiously, the sound of their footsteps muffled by the millennial dust covering the streets. Hayjin, however, felt a strange itch at the base of his neck. It wasn't mana; it was that sixth sense every "analyst" develops when they feel a variable is out of place a very familiar sensation.
"Zhilian," he whispered, instinctively stroking the hilt of his resonance sword. "Don't turn around, but I feel like someone is watching us a bit too intensely."
"I feel it too," she replied, slowing her pace and moving a hand toward a wind bolt ready to be unleashed. "The silence is too clean. In an abandoned city, there should be collapses, the sound of debris... here, everything is motionless."
They were not wrong.
From the shadows of the porticos, half-hidden behind the massive blue crystal formations, several figures had begun to move with silent and lethal coordination. They were wrapped in tattered gray tunics and heavy hoods that concealed their features. They emitted no detectable heartbeat, nor did they emanate obvious mana flows; they were like wraiths integrated into the landscape.
One of them, perched on a balcony right above them, gripped a blade made of black crystal between his fingers, his eyes glowing with a glassy light under the shadow of his hood. They followed the two intruders with millennial patience, waiting for the moment when their wonder would turn into fatal distraction.
"Keep walking, Hayjin," Zhilian murmured through grit teeth, without turning. "But be ready for a possible escape route. We are not alone."
"Oh, I noticed," he replied, his eyes darting between the blue reflections. "I just hope these guys aren't who I think they are, because I doubt they'll let us go that easily."
As the purple portal swallowed Zhilian and Hayjin, the blue rift closed behind Atlas and Evelyn, catapulting them into a diametrically opposite reality. If the city of Opes was characterized by a cold and specular light, the place where the two representatives of Doeken found themselves seemed like the beating heart of a primordial volcano, yet devoid of physical heat.
They found themselves at the start of a corridor so vast it defied the laws of architecture. The walls, the ceiling, and even the floor were composed of a translucent material that resembled granite but was entirely veined and topped by gigantic red crystals. It wasn't the ruby red of jewelry, but a dense, dark crimson that seemed to pulse at a slow rhythm, as if the entire structure were the artery of a forgotten god.
Atlas Altavilla took a step forward, and the sound of his iron boot produced a deep echo that propagated for miles along the infinite corridor. He stood still, hand still on the hilt of his greatsword, his gaze captivated by the crimson reflections playing across his white cloak.
"By the ancestors of Doeken..." Atlas whispered, his voice tinged with a almost childlike wonder that clashed with his imposing stature. "Evelyn, look at this place. The chronicles spoke of Mirror Dimensions, but this... this is a masterpiece. These crystals look like they were forged from the very blood of the earth."
Evelyn didn't even turn to look at him. She was already several steps ahead, her ash-blond tunic sliding silently over the smooth floor. Her posture was rigid, her hands joined in front of her as if she were in prayer, but her pale blue eyes scanned every single mineral facet for a threat.
"Atlas," she called him back, her tone cold and sharp as a sheet of ice. "We are here for an exam, not an academic field trip to the mining sector. I would ask you to pay attention to the trial instead of admiring the scenery like a tourist on his first trip abroad."
Atlas gave a start, almost as if he had been struck by an invisible slap. He recovered immediately, an embarrassed and sunny smile lighting up his face as he quickened his pace to reach her. "You're right, Evelyn. My apologies. It's just... well, it's hard not to be struck by it. But you're right: head in the game, sword ready."
They walked in silence for a few minutes, surrounded only by the red reverberation that seemed to saturate the air. There were no side doors, no forks in the road. Only that single, interminable straight path that seemed to lead to nowhere.
"Can you perceive exactly where we are?" Atlas asked, lowering his voice and peering into the darkness at the end of the corridor. "This linearity makes me uneasy. It feels like a trap set for those in too much of a hurry."
Evelyn closed her eyes for an instant, expanding her magical senses into the surrounding environment. "I perceive an enormous mana presence, Atlas. It is everywhere, but it is static. It's as if the dungeon is holding its breath. For now, I don't see any deviations, so it's useless to look for exits that don't exist. The only logical option is to continue along the only path available. If this place is a labyrinth, it has decided to start in a very direct way."
As they moved forward, tension began to set in. To break the weight of that scarlet silence, Atlas decided to touch upon a subject that had evidently been buzzing in his head since the garden of Opes.
"Evelyn," he began, trying to maintain a casual tone but with a hint of mischievous curiosity. "What do you honestly think of those two? I mean... Princess Zhilian and that stranger, Hayjin. Do you think they can really be a threat to us in this trial?"
Evelyn didn't answer immediately. Her boots produced a steady, almost hypnotic clicking.
"Zhilian is... notable," Atlas continued, taking her silence as an invitation to proceed. "I mean, her light powers aren't bad at all, and if I must admit... her beauty is almost as blinding as her spells. She has that fire of the royal bloodline of Opes, that pride that almost makes you forget how stubborn they are. But that kid... Hayjin. He's just a nuisance. An arrogant person without powers who thinks he can compensate for the lack of mana with some... cheap sword. I don't understand what she sees in someone like that."
Evelyn stopped abruptly. She turned toward Atlas, and the intensity of her gaze silenced him instantly.
"Atlas," she said, her voice vibrating with a quiet authority. "I have warned you many times. Never denigrate anyone, even when they are your enemy. Especially when they are your enemy. Contempt is the leading cause of death among knights who are too sure of themselves."
Atlas looked down, clenching his teeth. "Yes, my princess. But you'll admit that..."
"I will admit that Zhilian has immense potential," Evelyn interrupted her, resuming her walk with her gaze fixed forward. "But you're right about one thing: she is still green. Her strength is tied to her emotions; if she loses control, her magic becomes unstable. She is powerful, yes, but she hasn't yet learned to govern the storm she has inside."
She paused briefly, and Atlas noticed her eyebrows contract slightly, a sign of rare uncertainty.
"As for Hayjin, however..." Evelyn hesitated, and her voice became almost a whisper. "I feel a strange sensation about him. It's not mana, no. It's something different. When I look at him, I don't see a weak boy. I see... someone, rather... something... worse than the demons that infest Exilia. There is a void around him that my magic cannot map correctly. Don't underestimate him, Atlas. Those who have nothing to lose and everything to prove are often the most lethal enemies one can encounter and he's worse than a demon, yet without mana."
Atlas remained silent, reflecting on his princess's words while the shadows of the red crystals seemed to stretch toward them like reaching fingers. "A demon without mana, huh? Well, we'll see if his arrogance withstands my sacred sword."
They continued to advance into the crimson darkness, unaware that, just like in the city of blue crystal, something ancient was beginning to wake up, drawn by the heartbeat of those who carried the ambition of a crown.
The palace garden, now that the portals had stabilized into a low hum, had returned to being a place of apparent quiet, though the air still vibrated from the enormous amount of mana released. The Sages of Opes had retreated to a corner of the terrace to discuss in low voices, leaving Adeline and Rhaegalur alone before the two dimensional rifts.
Adeline sighed, finally relaxing the rigid and solemn posture she had maintained before the candidates. She massaged her temples, letting a more human and tired expression cross her face. She turned to the imposing figure of the dark-haired man standing beside her.
"You know, Rhae... every time we open these dungeons, I feel like I'm sending children to play in the middle of a forest fire," she began, using an incredibly informal tone, devoid of any title or protocol.
Rhaegalur crossed his muscular arms over his chest, a small smirk curling his lips. "Children? That girl from Doeken seems to have already planned everything down to the smallest detail haha, and Zhilian... well, Zhilian is as hard-headed as my scales. I'd say the fire should worry about them, not the other way around."
Adeline hinted at a slight, almost imperceptible smile. "Always the optimist. How are you, my old friend? It's been a century since the last time we had a drink together without some conflict getting in the way."
"I'm fine, Adeline. As fine as a millennial being forced to babysit such... small humans can be," Rhaegalur replied with a shrug. "My bones don't creak yet, if that's what you want to know."
The leader of the Association turned serious again, her gaze fixed on the purple portal where Hayjin had vanished. "Let's talk about serious things. How is it going with the boy? With Hayjin."
Rhaegalur gave a visible start. His vertical pupils narrowed, and he turned to her with an expression of genuine astonishment. "What do you care about the boy? We didn't make any official introductions that included his origins; you barely know him." Then, a flash of understanding crossed his face, and his eyes darted toward the Sages at the end of the garden. "It was those old men from Opes, wasn't it? Arkon and Varek really don't know how to hold their tongues when it comes to spreading poison."
Adeline nodded slowly. "The Sages are worried, Rhaegalur. They sent me detailed reports on a 'stranger' traveling under your protection. They described every move of his, every impertinent joke. They wanted me to exclude him from the exam even before it began."
Rhaegalur growled softly. "They should have figured you wouldn't do it."
"For now," Adeline specified, meeting the dragon's golden gaze, "I will turn a blind eye to the fact that we know absolutely nothing about his past or how he got here. Your word still carries immense weight for Opes, but certainly not for the Association, if you want to know. But listen to me well, Rhae: if that boy should prove to be a threat, if his presence should destabilize the balance of Opes or, worse, if he should carry dangerous information outside these walls... we will be forced to take drastic measures. And you know that when the Association decides to eliminate an anomaly, it doesn't do so gently."
The atmosphere between the two turned icy. Rhaegalur did not look away. "It won't happen, Adeline. You can rest easy. That boy is... different. He doesn't have the darkness of the criminals and assassins you're used to meeting. He's just a young man trying to make sense of a world he doesn't understand, using the only thing he has left: his head."
He took a step forward, towering over the woman. "Everything will be fine. I take full responsibility. If Hayjin were to make an unforgivable mistake, if he were to become a danger... I will be the one to fix it myself. My life against his. Is that enough of a guarantee for you?"
Adeline stared at him for a long time, looking for a crack in his determination. She found none. "It is enough. But I hope for both of your sakes it never comes to that."
Just as the tension seemed to ease, the sound of rapid, breathless footsteps echoed along the stone path leading to the gardens. A small, agile figure appeared in the distance, running at breakneck speed through the flowering hedges.
It was Wren.