The sun dipped low over the Crystal Empire, casting a warm orange glow across the castle walls and training grounds. The once-lively courtyard now sat quiet—sweat-drenched, grass-torn, and eerily peaceful after the grueling hours of training.
Kaida sat on a stone bench beneath a high archway, clutching a flask of water like it was holy. His entire body ached, his arms and legs felt like wet noodles, and his brain still throbbed from Temu’s shouting.
He was not in the mood for conversation.
Unfortunately, the universe had other plans.
Alric plopped down beside him with a loud sigh, throwing an arm around Kaida’s shoulders like they were lifelong friends. “Not bad, runt. You made it through your first training without vomiting. That’s a win.”
Kaida grumbled. “…I almost did. Twice.”
“‘Almost’ doesn’t count,” Alric said, tossing him a crooked grin. “Besides, Temu only counts it if you pass out and vomit. Trust me. I learned the hard way.”
Kaida didn’t respond.
A few feet away, Seraphina twirled a stick between her fingers, then pretended it was a flute, playing a dramatic silent tune. “I dub today… ‘The Day of Screaming Calves and Broken Dreams.’”
“Third time this month,” Lorien muttered, scribbling into a notebook. “I’m starting a chart.”
“You and your charts,” Seraphina teased, flopping down beside him.
He pushed up his glasses, cheeks slightly red. “They’re statistically accurate.”
Kaida shifted uncomfortably. The casual banter, the bonding—it all felt like a group he hadn’t signed up to be part of.
He stood to leave, but paused when a soft voice spoke behind him.
“You don’t have to stay.”
Kaida turned.
Lysara stood nearby, a towel draped over her shoulders, her sapphire eyes warm but calm. “If you need space… or if this all feels like too much… no one here will blame you for stepping away.”
Kaida looked down at his hands. Dirt clung to his palms, his knuckles were still raw from push-ups on stone. He thought of Olivia—her voice, her laughter. His chest tightened.
“I didn’t ask to be here,” he muttered. “I didn’t ask for any of this.”
“I know,” Lysara said gently. “None of us did. Even the ones born into it.”
There was no judgment in her tone, only understanding.
She smiled faintly. “Whatever you decide… you deserve to make that choice.”
Kaida didn’t say anything.
He turned and walked away.
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Later That Night…
Kaida sat alone in his room, the moonlight pouring through the arched balcony window. He leaned on the edge of the bed, elbows on knees, staring blankly at the floor.
Lysara’s words echoed in his head.
“Whatever you decide…”
“You deserve to make that choice.”
He gritted his teeth.
“But what choice do I even have?”
His thoughts spiraled. The weight of a world he didn’t understand pressing down like stone. Olivia’s face flashed in his mind. Kumuna, Tsubaki, Mishell. Were they even alive? Was he the only one pulled into this nightmare?
He didn’t know.
He hated not knowing.
He squeezed his eyes shut.
Then—
DING.
Kaida’s eyes snapped open.
A familiar screen shimmered into view in the air before him—bright, clean, game-like.
Only this time… he hadn’t summoned it.
The screen flashed red. A message blinked across it in bold white letters:
MANDATORY CHALLENGE INITIATED
Kaida’s pulse quickened.
CHALLENGE TYPE: SURVIVAL
OBJECTIVE: SURVIVE UNTIL CONDITIONS ARE MET.
A countdown began.
60 seconds.
His breath caught.
He stumbled back from the bed.
“What the hell is this?!”
No answer.
The screen flashed again—this time, one final word burned across it in glowing red text:
SURVIVE.
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