Chapter 8: Shadows Beneath the Academy
The morning air was thick with tension. A solemn mist curled across the sprawling marble courtyards of Aflety Academy as all candidates gathered before the grand plaza. This was the final test—one not of raw power, but of coordination, insight, and adaptability.
Dean Gawain stood before them, his robes embroidered with golden threads that shimmered in the dawn.
"For the final entrance trial," he declared, voice resonant, "you will enter the Hall of Echoes, our ancient simulated dungeon realm. Inside, you will be assigned to randomized teams. Your objective: survive, adapt, and reach the core chamber. Only those who complete the trial as a team will pass."
A murmur rippled through the crowd.
Random teams?
Evan's eyes narrowed slightly. He didn't like surprises.
Team #3
A golden light swirled around his feet.
When it cleared, a panel floated before him:
TEAM #3
– Evan Rochel
– Lilith Laistrygones
– Gareth Ironfang
– Silva Elowen
His gaze shifted.
Of course.
The academy wanted sparks.
They were testing more than teamwork—they were testing rivalries.
Gareth barked a laugh nearby. "Oh, this will be interesting. Just don't get in my way, noble boy."
Lilith, on the other hand, stepped forward calmly, brushing an invisible speck from Evan's shoulder.
"Wherever you go," she said in a cool whisper, "I follow."
Silva gave a quiet nod but said nothing. Her eyes, as always, held secrets.
Into the Echoes
The Hall of Echoes wasn't a typical dungeon.
It was alive—a fusion of illusion magic, real beasts, spatial distortion, and mana spirits born from the academy's founding days.
As the team stepped in, the world twisted.
Mountains unfurled above. Trees bent and breathed. A chasm howled in the distance.
And shadows moved before the wind.
"We move north," Silva said, pointing to a rising ridge. "There's a mana pulse coming from that direction."
"I don't take orders from druids," Gareth grunted.
"You do if you want to pass," Evan replied, voice like steel.
Tension flared—but was broken when a rumble echoed beneath the earth.
From below, bone-scaled beasts erupted—relic creatures fused with elemental cores. These weren't part of normal entrance exams.
"Those things—!" Lilith's voice rose. "They have corrupted mana!"
Evan froze.
His eyes narrowed.
He recognized the scent.
The Black Nest.
The fight was brutal.
Nex shot forward like a whip of shadow and sapphire, coiling around a corrupted beast and shattering its core with a pulse of water-infused venom.
Silva summoned Thornborn to entangle two more, but even her vines withered against the necrotic backlash.
Lilith's fangs bared—her beast, Crimson Veil, manifested behind her in a swirl of bat-like wings and cursed mist.
And Gareth?
He roared with fury, striking with wild flame. No tactics—just strength.
But it wasn't enough.
One of the beasts lunged for Silva's exposed side.
Evan moved.
Instantly.
He didn't think—he reacted.
Nex surged in a blur, intercepting the beast mid-air and driving his tail like a spear through its skull.
Blood misted. Silva turned in shock.
"You…"
Evan shook his head, panting.
"We're a team," he said. "Even if only for today."
She looked at him—truly looked—and something softened.
A flicker of trust.
Or the beginning of it.
The Core Chamber
Hours passed before they reached the center.
They were bloodied. Tired. But alive.
The final room opened to reveal a serene garden—floating islands, glowing waterfalls, and ancient runes carved into the walls.
There was no monster.
Just a single stone pedestal.
And on it—
A mirror.
As each of them stepped forward, it shimmered and showed not reflections—but fears.
Gareth saw his father's disapproving glare.
Silva saw the face of someone she failed to save.
Lilith saw Evan—walking away from her, again and again.
And Evan…
He saw a boy.
Bleeding.
Alone in a hospital bed.
Earth memories.
The past he couldn't speak of.
His fists clenched. Nex nudged his hand, offering silent comfort.
Then, the mirror shattered—dissolving into mist.
Trial complete.
Later that evening, back in their temporary dorms, Evan sat alone under the moonlight.
Nex lay curled at his side, faintly glowing.
"You saw it too, didn't you?" Evan murmured. "That corruption wasn't part of the test. The Black Nest planted something."
Nex hissed quietly, eyes glimmering with serpentine awareness.
"I'll need to be ready."
There was a knock on his door.
He turned.
Lilith stood there, dressed in a black-and-silver robe, hair down.
"I saw your mirror," she said softly.
His expression froze.
"I didn't mean to—" she continued, stepping inside, "—but it showed me more than I expected. You weren't just hurt. You were broken."
He stayed quiet.
She reached out, touching his hand.
"You don't have to carry that alone."
He pulled away.
"I do."
And she understood.
Even if it hurt.
Epilogue – A Message in Shadows
Deep within the academy's forbidden chambers, masked instructors reviewed the mirror trial footage.
"He resists divine memory erosion," one said.
"He retains the memories of his former life," another whispered. "And the Basilisk—its soul is merging too rapidly."
A third voice entered the conversation.
"Then… we must accelerate the plan."
A shadowed figure stepped forward.
Shade Cardinal.
"The serpent awakens. But when it opens its second eye—he will either become our greatest weapon…"
"…or the only threat left to erase."
[End of Chapter 8 ]