Two more weeks passed. Syn trained obsessively. Every spare minute he spent on the field, trying to recreate the vision. Trying to understand what the Threshold meant. But the shadow remained silent. The vision did not return.
His progress in controlling his Aspect remained minimal. He could summon tiny skeleton figures, hold them for a few seconds. He could see traces of the past on objects if he concentrated hard enough. But nothing more.
Other students were progressing faster. Erik Solaris learned to throw fireballs the size of a fist. Ayra could completely dissolve into shadow for several seconds. Even Lira, despite her weakness and fear, continued to develop her Healing Gate.
Syn was behind. And he knew it.
In the sixth week, Instructor Varen gathered all the students in the main hall.
«In two weeks, the first trial will take place,» he announced. «You will be sent to a controlled zone of the Wastelands. Your task: survive twenty-four hours and return with a trophy. Those who do not return will be considered dead. Those who return empty-handed will be expelled.»
Silence. Then an explosion of whispers. The students glanced at each other, faces pale.
Varen raised a hand, demanding silence.
«This is not a training mission. This is reality. In the Wastelands, you will face Creatures, maybe Ghouls. Your task is to kill one and bring back its core. This will prove you are ready to become Adepts.»
Erik Solaris stepped forward.
«What if we form groups?»
Varen looked at him coldly.
«Permitted. But each person needs a trophy. If there are five in a group, you must kill five creatures. Otherwise, someone returns empty-handed.»
Erik nodded and stepped back.
Varen continued:
«You have two weeks to prepare. Use them wisely. Train. Learn to work as a team. Or don't. Your choice. But remember: the Wastelands do not forgive mistakes.»
He turned and left the hall.
The students began to disperse, breaking into groups. Erik Solaris immediately gathered several people around him. Children of clans, strong, confident. They began discussing strategy.
Syn stood apart, watching. No one approached him. He was an anomaly. A weak link. No one wanted to risk taking him on their team.
"Fine. Then I'll go alone."
The thought was insane. Alone against the Wastelands. Without experience, without full control over his Aspect. His chances of survival were minimal.
But he had no choice.
«Syn.»
He turned around. Lira stood behind him, wringing her hands.
«Do you… do you want to team up?»
Syn looked at her. She was weak. Her Aspect was useful for healing but useless in a fight. Taking her with him meant dooming her to death.
But in her eyes, he saw desperation. No one else would take her. She was alone. Like him.
«Can you fight?»
Lira shook her head.
«No. But I can heal wounds. If you get hurt, I can help.»
Syn thought it over. Healing was useful. If he got wounded in the Wastelands, it could save him.
«Alright. We're together.»
Lira exhaled in relief.
«Thank you.»
They moved aside. Syn scanned the hall. Most had already formed groups of three or four. A few individuals remained. Lone wolves or those no one wanted.
Ayra stood against a wall, arms crossed over her chest. She hadn't approached anyone. Syn walked over to her.
«You're alone?»
Ayra gave him a quick glance.
«I don't need a team.»
«Even if it increases your chances of survival?»
She smirked.
«A team is a weakness. You have to rely on others. And they can fail you.»
«Or save your life.»
Ayra was silent for a moment. Then nodded.
«Fine. But if you slow me down, I'll leave.»
«Agreed.»
The three of them stood together. Syn, Lira, Ayra. A strange team. A weak Shadow Aspect, a healer girl with no combat skills, and a loner who trusted no one.
But it was better than nothing.
For the next two weeks, Syn trained like a man possessed. He practiced sword strikes until his hands stopped shaking. Studied maps of the Wastelands issued from the library. Learned to recognize creature tracks, their weak points.
Lira trained with him. Her healing grew stronger. Now she could heal a deep cut in a minute. But her physical endurance remained low. Syn made her run, do push-ups, strengthen her body.
Ayra trained separately. She was secretive, closed-off. But Syn saw her during night training. She moved like a ghost, dissolving into shadows, appearing in unexpected places. Her control over her Aspect was at a level most students couldn't reach.
"She's stronger than she seems."
The day before the trial, Syn returned to the training field. Night. Silence. He stood before a dummy and closed his eyes.
"One last attempt. I must understand."
He focused on the Brand. Coldness spread through his body. The shadow stirred.
"Show me the Threshold."
Nothing.
"Show me!"
The Brand flared. Pain pierced his neck. Syn fell to his knees, gasping. Dark spots swam before his eyes.
And through the pain, he heard a voice.
«You are not ready yet, Keeper. The Threshold will open when you pay the price.»
«What price?» Syn rasped.
«Blood. Death. Loss. The Threshold demands a sacrifice.»
The voice disappeared. The pain receded. Syn remained on his knees, breathing heavily.
"A sacrifice."
He rose and looked at his hands. They were trembling.
"Tomorrow, I'll find out what sacrifice the Threshold demands."
The morning of the trial began with fog. Thick, grey, shrouding the Institute. The students were assembled in the courtyard before dawn. Sixty-three souls. Some looked confident. Others were pale with fear.
Instructor Varen stood before them, several resonators in black uniforms beside him. All were at least Masters.
«Today, you will be sent to the Wastelands,» Varen began. «The zone is controlled but not safe. Creatures and Ghouls inhabit it. Your task is to kill a creature and bring back its core. You have twenty-four hours. In a day, a portal back will open here. Those who do not return on time will remain there forever.»
He pointed to the large gates behind him. They began to open slowly, revealing a shimmering portal. A round arch of glowing metal, inside of which a dark vortex swirled.
«Enter in groups. The portal will transport you to different points in the zone. After that, you're on your own.»
The first group, Erik Solaris and his team, stepped forward. They entered the portal and vanished.
Groups entered one after another. Finally, it was Syn's turn.
He, Lira, and Ayra stood before the portal. Syn looked at the girls.
«Ready?»
Lira nodded, gripping her staff. Ayra silently checked her knives.
Syn took a breath and stepped into the portal.
The world around him disappeared.
Darkness. Cold. A sensation of falling. Then a sharp impact, and he fell onto hard ground.
Syn got up and looked around. They stood at the edge of a forest. The trees around them were distorted, trunks twisted, branches reaching in wrong directions. The sky overhead was red, as always, but here it seemed darker, heavier.
The air smelled of rot and metal.
Lira and Ayra appeared beside him a few seconds later. Lira was gasping, clutching her stomach. Ayra immediately drew her knives and scanned the surroundings.
«Where are we?» Lira whispered.
Syn took out the map they'd been given before departure. Studied the surrounding terrain. Compared it to the map.
«Western sector. The Forest of Distortions. This is where Creatures live. Weak but fast.»
«So we got lucky,» said Ayra. «Could have been worse.»
Syn folded the map and put it away.
«Find a creature. Kill it. Take the core. Survive until tomorrow. Simple.»
«Nothing in the Wastelands is simple,» Ayra muttered.
They moved forward, deeper into the forest. The trees stood densely, barely letting in light. Dry twigs and something soft, like moss, crunched underfoot.
Syn led the group, sword at the ready. Ayra followed, soundlessly, dissolving into the shadows between the trees. Lira brought up the rear, gripping her staff with both hands.
About twenty minutes passed. The forest was quiet. Too quiet. No birds. No insects. Only the wind rustling through distorted leaves.
Syn stopped. Raised a hand, signaling the others to freeze.
«Something's wrong,» he whispered.
Ayra nodded.
«Too quiet. That means…»
A twig cracked to the left. Syn spun around sharply.
A Creature emerged from behind a tree.
It was the size of a large dog. Body covered in black, shiny scales. Four legs with long claws. An elongated head, no eyes, only a mouth full of sharp teeth.
The Creature froze, turning its head from side to side. It couldn't see them, but it could sense them.
Syn slowly raised his sword. Ayra dissolved into shadow. Lira pressed herself against a tree, trying not to breathe.
The Creature took a step forward. Then another. It was heading straight for Lira.
Syn moved. Quickly, silently. Flanked the Creature and struck.
The sword sank into the creature's side. The Creature shrieked and turned, trying to bite. Syn jumped back, pulling out the sword. Black blood spurted onto the ground.
The Creature charged at him. Fast. Too fast. Syn raised his shield, but the blow was strong. He was thrown back, hitting a tree with his back.
The Creature jumped again. Syn rolled to the side. Claws gouged the earth, leaving deep furrows.
Ayra appeared from the shadows. She drove a knife into the Creature's neck. The beast shrieked, jerked, but Ayra held on. She struck again, and again.
The Creature collapsed to the ground, twitching. Then went still.
Syn got up, breathing heavily. Looked at Ayra. She wiped her knife on the corpse.
«First one,» she said.
Syn approached the Creature. Took out his knife and cut open the creature's chest. Inside, among the black innards, a small crystal glowed. The core.
He pulled it out and held it up to the light. The crystal was the size of a nut, glowing with a dull red light.
«One down,» Syn said. «Two more to go.»
Lira approached, pale but alive.
«I… I didn't do anything.»
«You didn't get in the way,» Syn replied. «That's already good.»
They moved on.
But the forest began to change.
The trees grew blacker. The air thicker. And somewhere in the distance, a howl sounded.
Long, drawn-out, full of hunger.
Syn tightened his grip on the sword.
«Run.»
They ran. But the howl grew closer.
And Syn understood.
They weren't the only hunters here.
Here, they were also being hunted.