Three days.
That was all the time he had.
Riven found Elara in the lower hall. She was sitting alone at a long stone table, poking at a bowl of gray soup. She looked up when he sat down.
"You're alive," she said.
"Barely."
"What did the Archivist want?"
"He wanted to tell me I'm weak."
"You are weak."
He looked at her. "Thanks."
"It's not an insult. Everyone is weak at first. The ones who pretend they're not are the ones who die."
She pushed her soup toward him. "Eat. You need energy."
He ate. The soup was bland. Warm, at least.
"Tell me about the Dream Trials," he said.
Elara put down her spoon. "What do you want to know?"
"Everything."
She thought for a moment.
"The first trial is always Aethel. The God of Contracts. His dream is a maze. Not a maze of walls. A maze of choices."
"Choices?"
"Every door you open asks for something. A memory. A fear. A promise. You have to give something to move forward."
"And if you don't?"
"Then you stay. Forever. The Harvesters find your body the next day. Or what's left of it."
Riven felt cold.
"How do you survive?"
"You don't give too much. You find the balance. Enough to move forward, not enough to lose yourself."
She looked at her hands.
"My friend who died. He gave too much. He thought he could handle it. He couldn't."
Riven didn't know what to say. So he didn't say anything.
They sat in silence.
The hall was mostly empty. A few other students at other tables. All quiet. All tired.
One of them was watching him.
A boy. Older. Seventeen, maybe. Broad shoulders. Short brown hair. His face was hard. Not mean. Just... heavy. Like he'd already seen too much.
He stood up. Walked over.
"You're the no-name," he said.
"Riven."
"Kael." He sat down across from him. "You're in the lower dorm with us."
"Yeah."
"You talked to the Archivist."
"Yeah."
"And you're still alive."
"Obviously."
Kael smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. But it wasn't mean either. Just honest.
"That's something," he said. "Most people who talk to him don't come back."
"He didn't seem that dangerous."
"He's not dangerous. He's old. But the things he knows are dangerous. And people want those things."
He leaned closer.
"Theron was watching you. After. He didn't look happy."
Riven's stomach tightened. "He talked to me."
"What did he say?"
"He told me to stay out of his way."
Kael nodded. "That's what he tells everyone. The ones who listen survive. The ones who don't..."
He didn't finish.
"I'm not planning to get in his way," Riven said.
"Good."
"I'm planning to destroy him."
Kael's eyes widened. Then he laughed. A real laugh. Loud. Rough.
"You're crazy," he said.
"Probably."
"I like that."
He stood up.
"Three days until the trial. If you want to survive, meet me in the lower hall tonight. After midnight. I'll show you something."
"What something?"
"A way to train. Without the dreams. Without the fragments. Just... getting ready."
He walked away before Riven could answer.
Elara grabbed Riven's arm. "Don't trust him."
"Why not?"
"Kael works for himself. He helps people, but only if it helps him."
"Everyone here works for themselves."
"That's not true."
"No?"
She looked away. "I'm here to protect my sister."
"Where is she?"
"In the upper dorm. She's stronger than me. Better at the trials."
"So you're not protecting her. She's protecting herself."
Elara's face turned red. "You're an ass."
"Probably."
She stood up. Walked away.
Riven watched her go.
He felt bad. Not guilty. Just... something. He didn't like making people upset. But he also didn't like lying.
And the truth was, everyone here was selfish. Including him.
He sat alone for a while.
The hall got emptier. The torches flickered. The incense smell got stronger.
He looked at the walls.
Black stone. Carved with symbols. Spires. Cracks. Faces.
One of the faces looked like him.
He stood up. Walked closer.
The face was small. Carved into the stone near the floor. Same sharp jaw. Same high cheekbones. But the eyes were different. Empty.
He reached out to touch it.
The stone was warm.
It shouldn't be warm. Stone was cold. Everything here was cold.
He pulled his hand back.
The face was smiling now.
It wasn't smiling before.
Riven stepped back. His heart was beating fast.
You're imagining things, he told himself. You're tired. You didn't sleep. You're seeing things.
But the face was still smiling.
He turned and walked away. Fast.
The corridor was empty. His footsteps echoed.
He didn't look back.
When he got to the lower dorm, Elara was already in bed. Facing the wall.
He didn't say anything. He lay down on his own bed.
Stared at the ceiling.
The face in the wall, he thought. It looked like me. But empty.
He closed his eyes.
The incense smell was everywhere.
He dreamed of nothing again.
But this time, he heard whispering.
Not words. Just sounds. Like someone was trying to speak through water.
He woke up.
The room was dark. Elara was asleep. The other bed was empty.
Kael's bed.
He wasn't there.
Riven remembered. After midnight. Kael wanted to meet him.
He looked at the window. No moon. Just darkness.
He got up. Put on his shoes. Walked to the door.
Elara's voice came from the bed. "Don't go."
"I have to."
"Why?"
"Because I need to survive."
"You won't survive if you trust him."
"I don't trust him. I just need information."
She was quiet for a moment.
"Then be careful," she said. "And come back."
"I'll come back."
He left.
The corridors were darker at night. The torches were still burning, but the flames were smaller. Blue. Cold.
He walked to the lower hall.
Empty.
No Kael.
He waited.
Five minutes. Ten.
Then a sound. Behind him.
He turned.
Kael was standing there. Holding a torch.
"You came," Kael said.
"You said to."
"I also said after midnight. It's almost one. I thought you changed your mind."
"I was watching a face in the wall."
Kael's expression changed. "What face?"
"A small one. Near the floor. It looked like me."
Kael was quiet.
"Those aren't just carvings," he said. "They're students. The ones who became Hollows. Their faces get trapped in the stone."
Riven felt sick.
"The one you saw," Kael said. "It looked like you?"
"Yeah."
"Then you're already marked."
"Marked for what?"
"For becoming a Hollow. The tower knows you. It's watching you."
Riven didn't know what to say.
"Come on," Kael said. "I'll show you how to fight. Maybe that'll keep you human."
He walked toward a side door.
Riven followed.
His hands were shaking again.
But he didn't turn back.