For decades, the Trial of Black Flame was spoken of only in hushed tones—an initiation so dangerous, only the most exceptional students ever faced it. But now, at just ten years old, Kael, Mikaho, and three others had been summoned.
"They're calling it early?" Mikaho asked, her brows furrowed.
Kael nodded, sharpening his wooden sword. "Seems like the demons are getting bolder. The Academy doesn't want to wait."
"But we're not even halfway through training."
"Exactly why they want to see who's ready now… and who'll die first on the battlefield."
That morning, the five recruits gathered at the South Gate of the academy, where Master Rago stood with a scroll in hand and a torch that burned with black flame.
"Each of you will enter the Hollow Grove," he said, his voice echoing. "Inside, you will face manifestations drawn from your own fears. Survive till sunrise, and return with proof."
"What kind of proof?" asked Fynn, a skinny kid with quick feet and quicker jokes.
Rago lit the scroll with the black torch. The flames climbed unnaturally fast.
"You'll know… if you're still alive."
The gate creaked open. A cold, unnatural fog poured out.
Inside the Hollow Grove
Kael walked alone through trees twisted like frozen screams. The forest whispered — not with wind, but voices. His voice. His father's voice.
"Why do you fight, Kael? There's nothing left for you. Go home. Just give up…"
Kael gritted his teeth. "You're not real."
"Neither are your dreams."
Then came the sound of footsteps. Fast. Chaotic. Then laughter.
Fynn.
He emerged from behind a tree, waving a severed vine.
"This thing tried to eat me!" he shouted, still grinning. "Also, I think I stepped on a ghost."
Kael couldn't help but let out a sharp breath of a laugh.
"Quiet," he whispered. "They're watching us."
"Who?"
Before Kael could reply—a screech cut through the woods. One that wasn't an illusion.
Elsewhere
Mikaho faced her own trial.
She stood before a demon in the form of her father, eyes hollow, arms outstretched.
"You left me to die, Mikaho... why?"
She dropped to her knees, trembling.
"I didn't… I was only five…"
The demon approached slowly.
"You could've saved me."
Tears filled her eyes — but then a hand gripped her shoulder.
A firm, warm hand.
Ashen?
She turned—but no one was there.
And yet… she stood up.
"I'm not a child anymore."
With one swing of her blade, the illusion shattered into ash.
Dawn
Of the five, only three returned.
Kael, Mikaho, and Fynn — all bloodied, bruised, and forever changed.
Master Rago nodded once, then turned away. "You're not ready. But you're not failures either."
Then, from the trees, a figure stepped out.
Ashen.
He walked slowly toward Kael, inspected the scratch across his cheek, then said:
"You let your fear follow you like a leash. Next time, choke it instead."
Kael nodded.
He didn't say thank you.
He understood that wasn't Ashen's way.
That night, the three survivors sat around the dorm fire.
Fynn tossed a small root into the flames. "Guess we're officially badass now, huh?"
Kael stared into the fire. "No. We're just lucky."
Mikaho nodded. "Luck runs out. We need to become more."
The fire crackled.
Outside, a crow cried.
And far beneath the island… something ancient stirred awake.
Next Episode PreviewA hidden room. A forbidden scroll. And a memory Kael was never supposed to see.