Kael swallowed hard.
"What's next?"
Jake turned toward the exit.
"The one that decides," he said, "whether you deserve Rin—or not."
The arena lights dimmed behind them.
And Kael followed.
The elevator doors opened at the end of the corridor. The polished steel reflected Kael's exhausted face. Jake stepped inside first. Kael hesitated for half a second but then he joined.
Jake placed his palm against the scanner.
A soft blue glow traced his handprint.
And then he pressed 1.
The doors closed with a muted hiss, and the elevator began to rise.
Kael leaned back against the wall and hung his arms loosely on his left side. The adrenaline from the fight was drained away, and leaving behind a dull and hollow fatigue. His body was feeling borrowed—like it wasn't fully his anymore.
"What exactly is Rin?" Kael asked quietly.
Jake didn't look at him. "You'll find it out on your own when the time will come."
"That's not an answer."
Jake's reflection stared back at him through the steel doors. "It's the only one that matters."
The elevator slowed.
Ding.
The doors opened on a circular hallway lined with white panels and glowing blue lines etched into the floor. The air felt different here, it was cleaner, heavier and almost charged.
Jake stepped out and headed toward a large sealed door which was at the end of the hall. And above it, the hovering letters were glowing in the air:
RESONANCE TRIAL CHAMBER
"Which test am I going to give?" he asked.
Jake stopped in front of the door. "It is a test where people like you stop being a question… and become an answer."
Then Jake opened the door.
The room inside was massive and silent.
At the center there was a cylindrical structure made-up of reinforced glass and metal which was tall enough to hold a human, it was a Rin Amplification Chamber.
Cables and conduits were spread outward from its base and connecting to consoles and monitors positioned all around the room. And symbols and data scrolled across holographic screens in languages Kael couldn't recognize.
And an examiner stood, waiting near the chamber, it was a middle-aged man with sharp eyes and a neutral expression.
Jake placed a hand briefly on Kael's shoulder.
"This is where I leave you," he said.
Kael looked up at him. "You're not staying?"
"No," Jake replied. "This part isn't about survival."
He turned to the examiner. "He's yours."
And then, without any other word, Jake turned and exited through a side door.
Kael watched him going, he sensed that something uneasy was feeling in his chest.
But then the examiner approached, calmly.
"My name is Examiner Holt," he said. "This is the Resonance Trial."
Kael glanced at the chamber. "And what does it do?"
Holt gestured toward it. "We inject a specialized serum designed to lower conscious resistance and force your body into a controlled sleep. During that time, the chamber will amplify any dormant Rin within you."
Kael frowned. "And if I don't have Rin?"
Holt didn't hesitate. "Then nothing happens."
"And if I do?"
Holt's eyes narrowed slightly. "Then the chamber will react. And so will you."
Kael swallowed. "How long?"
"Thirty minutes," Holt replied. "You'll fall asleep immediately and when you wake up, the test will be over."
Kael looked at the glass cylinder again.
For some reason, it felt like staring into a coffin to him.
"…Alright," he said.
OBSERVATION ROOM – Adjacent Chamber
Jake entered in the darkened viewing room next door. A wide reinforced glass wall built to overlook the Resonance Trial Chamber, and was giving a clear view of Kael and the machinery.
But someone was already there.
It was Lieutenant Rubin Pearson who was sat in one of the observation chairs, fingers interlaced, eyes fixed on the chamber below.
He didn't turn.
"So," Rubin said calmly, "So this is him."
Jake stopped a few steps behind him. "Yes."
Rubin leaned back slightly. "The boy who survived a newborn's manifestation of Wrath."
Jake said nothing.
Rubin glanced at him. "You're unusually quiet, Lieutenant."
"Why do you want to see the result," Jake replied. "You better go, Lieutenant."
Rubin chuckled softly. "Oh, because I don't want to miss this for the sake of my."
He tapped a finger against the armrest. "Do you realize how rare is this, don't you? A weak non-normal human brought in without extraction clearance, placed directly into Resonance."
"Plus, it was bought by a fuckingly cursed bet maker," Rubin continued with a heavy tone.
"He earned it."Jake's jaw tightened and said calmly ."And I'm sorry again."
"Earned it?" Rubin echoed, amused. "He bled into it."
Jake's eyes hardened. "Same thing."
Rubin turned his head slightly, studying Jake now. "You're invested."
Jake met his gaze. "I'm responsible."
Rubin laughter. "Responsible my foot, but that's what really worries me. And plus I know what you said to the director."
He turned back to the glass. "And if he fails… the council will demand answers from you."
"But what if he didn't fail?" Jake asked.
Rubin's voice went cold. "Then the mistake goes to the whole Aerin."
Silence settled between them.
RESONANCE TRIAL CHAMBER
Kael was laying in the chamber and then he was sealed in the chamber as the door closed by examiner Holt.
And then a needle descended from above.
Holt's voice came through a speaker. "This will only sting."
The injection pierced Kael's arm.
Cold fire surged through his veins.
His vision became blurry, instantly. His limbs felt distant, heavy and unresponsive.
And then Kael fell asleep.
Monitors beside the chamber displayed Kael's vitals.
Heart rate: Normal
Breathing: Stable
Neural activity: Within baseline
Nothing unusual.
But when Kael opened his eyes.
He wasn't in the chamber.
He wasn't anywhere.
He looked up and saw a stretched black sky which was endless and empty. And beneath him, there was an ocean of blood, stretching infinitely in every direction. There was no surface or perhaps he wasn't able to see. The blood beneath him was reflecting like a red mirror.
But then he realized that he wasn't standing.
He was floating.
He tried to move his body, but he wasn't able to move. His arms weren't responding. So tired to scream, but he couldn't.
Suddenly the air felt heavy, suffocating and pressing against his chest.
And then the gravity returned.
Kael fell down, straight into the crimson ocean.
OBSERVATION ROOM
After 35 minutes-
The monitors still remained steady.
"There's no change," Rubin murmured. "Vitals are normal."
Jake stared at the glass, he was feeling unease creeping into his chest.
"…Something's wrong," he said quietly.
Inside the chamber, Kael's body was still not moving, and he wasn't awake yet.