The vibrant hum of the mana in the grand hall began to fluctuate as students started to emerge from the glowing archways, looking a mix of exhilarated and slightly frazzled. A girl with sparking hair stumbled out of the orange maze, laughing breathlessly. A boy covered in shimmering red dust grinned as he exited the crystal labyrinth. The air filled with excited chatter and relieved sighs.
Kaelen and Rhea stood near the entrance of the green, vine-covered maze, their initial excitement fading into worry. Their eyes were glued to the shifting green tendrils, but Elara hadn't appeared.
"She's been in there a long time," Rhea said, her usual playful tone edged with concern. She nervously twisted a strand of her still slightly static-y hair. "Everyone else is out now... except for..." She trailed off, her gaze flicking towards Anya, who still sat motionless in her chair across the hall.
Anya's silver eyes remained fixed on the entrance of the green maze. Her face was utterly still, giving no hint of what she might be thinking or feeling. To Kaelen and Rhea, it was unsettling.
"Why is she just... staring?" Kaelen murmured, his brow furrowed. "It's like she's not even noticing everyone else coming out."Rhea shivered a little. "It's creepy, Kel. She's like a statue. Do you think... maybe she got stuck in her own maze?"
Kaelen shook his head slowly. "No... she came out ages ago. ProfessorEldrune congratulated her. She just... went and sat down there." He watched Anya intently. "It's like she's waiting for something... or someone."
Back at the maze entrance, the green vines shifted again, but still, Elara didn't appear. Kaelen took a step forward, his worry growing. "Maybe we should say something to ProfessorEldrune..."
"Wait," Rhea said, grabbing his arm. Her eyes were also fixed on the green entrance, a knot of anxiety tightening in her chest. "Something's not right." The sounds of celebration from the other students seemed to fade as their shared concern for Elara intensified, the stillness of Anya's watchful gaze adding an unspoken layer of unease to the scene.
"What do you think's taking her so long?" Kaelen asked, his voice tight with worry as he kept his gaze fixed on the swirling green entrance of the mana maze. He nervously tapped his foot against the stone floor.
Rhea hugged herself tightly, her usual bouncy energy completely gone. She kept glancing at the green entrance, her lower lip slightly trembling. "Maybe... maybe the green mana is trickier than it looks?" Her voice was small. "It felt kind of… alive, you know? What if it's like... like trying to find your way through a forest that keeps moving and grabbing at you?" She shuddered.
Kaelen stopped tapping his foot and looked at her, his own worry mirrored in her expression. "But Elara's usually so good with plants, even magical ones. You'd think she'd have a... a way with it."
Rhea bit her lip. "Yeah, but 'having a way' doesn't always mean it's easy," she said, her brow furrowed with concern. She started to fidget with the hem of her robe. "Think about those thorny vines in the enchanted garden. Pretty, but try to get through them without getting all scratched up! What if the mana vines are like that, but… grabby?"
Kaelen sighed, running a hand through his hair again. "Maybe there's a puzzle in there that needs a different kind of thinking? Something that you have to really feel to understand, not just see?"
"Or maybe..." Rhea's voice was barely a whisper now, and she hugged herself even tighter. Her eyes darted back to the green entrance. "Maybe... maybe something happened? What if she got stuck? What if the mana got… angry, or something? Those vines looked really twisty." Her voice trembled slightly, and she took a shaky breath. "Oh, Kel... I hope she's okay."
Kaelen was now pacing alongside Rhea, both their gazes fixed on the silent, swirling green entrance of the mana maze. The earlier triumphant feeling of completing their own trials had completely vanished, replaced by a shared knot of anxiety for their friend.
"It's just taking too long," Kaelen murmured, his voice tight. He kept clenching and unclenching his fists. "What if those vines… what if they tightened or something?"
Rhea hugged herself tighter, her knuckles white. Her usual bright eyes were now clouded with worry, and she kept shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "Maybe… maybe she found something really interesting in there? Some super rare glowing flower that she just had to examine?" But even as she said it, her voice lacked its usual playful lilt.
Suddenly, both of their frantic movements stilled. Across the hall, Anya, who had been sitting with that unnerving stillness, slowly closed her eyes.
It wasn't a blink, or a tired closing. It was a deliberate, almost reverent descent of her eyelids. Her long, dark lashes, like delicate raven feathers, brushed against the pale skin of her cheeks. A subtle stillness seemed to deepen around her, as if the very air held its breath. The soft glow of the ambient mana in the hall seemed to catch on the delicate curve of her cheekbone, highlighting the almost ethereal calmness of her expression.
Her silver eyes, which had been so intensely focused on the green maze, were now hidden, creating an air of profound mystery. It was as if a veil had gently fallen, drawing her into an inner world.It was a stillness that somehow felt significant, though neither Kaelen nor Rhea could explain why.
Kaelen's jaw was tight as he stared at the unmoving green vines. "It's just not right," he repeated, his voice low and strained. He kept shifting his weight, a restless energy buzzing beneath his worry.
Neither of them even registered the quiet stillness that had fallen over Anya as she closed her eyes. Their focus was solely on the silent green archway, their anxiety growing with each passing moment.
Then, a sound pierced the hushed hall – a choked sob, followed by another, louder cry. It was Elara's voice, raw with terror.
The green vines at the maze entrance thrashed violently, and Elara stumbled out, her face contorted with fear, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her cries were heart-wrenching, so intense that the scattered conversations of the other students abruptly ceased. All eyes turned to the distraught girl.
Kaelen and Rhea's own worry instantly intensified tenfold. Seeing Elara like this was far worse than just her taking a long time.
Her breathing was ragged, and her eyes darted around the hall as if she were still being chased by something unseen. Her appearance wasn't one of someone who had simply navigated a difficult magical challenge. Her robes were slightly askew, and there was a small, swollen lump on the side of her head, a trickle of blood matting the hair around it. It looked as though she had been running blindly, desperate to escape something within the maze, and had fallen hard.
"Elara!" Kaelen cried, rushing towards her, his own fear spiking at the sight of her distress.
Rhea was right behind him, her face pale with alarm. "Elara, what happened? What's wrong?" Her voice trembled as she reached out a hand towards her friend, her own worry now a tangible weight in the air. The sight of Elara's intense terror and the small, bleeding wound sent a fresh wave of dread through them both.
The raw sound of Elara's cries hung heavy in the air, drawing every eye in the hall. It even seemed to momentarily eclipse the soft hum of the remaining mana mazes.
Slowly, almost imperceptibly, Anya's dark lashes lifted. Her silver eyes, when they opened, held the same unnerving calmness they had before. They flickered briefly towards Elara, taking in her terrified state and the small wound on her head, then her gaze drifted back to the entrance of the green mana maze. There was no shock, no immediate concern in her expression – just a quiet observation, as if she were noting a particularly interesting magical phenomenon.
The contrast between Anya's serene stillness and Elara's intense distress was stark and unsettling, drawing even more attention to the crying girl.
ProfessorEldrune, who had been congratulating a student who had just emerged from the purple maze, turned sharply at the sound of Elara's cries. A look of genuine worry etched itself onto her usually composed face as she saw Elara's state. She hurried towards her, her voice filled with concern.
"Elara! What happened, child? What did you encounter in the Mana Maze?" ProfessorEldrune's voice, though firm, held a clear note of alarm as she approached the trembling girl. The other students, their own relief at finishing their trials forgotten, watched with wide, concerned eyes, the festive atmosphere of the hall completely evaporated by Elara's obvious terror. Kaelen and Rhea reached Elara first, their faces pale with worry, but all attention, including their own, was now fixed on the distraught girl and the professor's urgent question.
ProfessorEldrune knelt beside Elara, her brow furrowed with concern. "Elara, dear, can you tell me what happened in the green mana maze? You seemed so…terrified."
Elara's breath hitched, and her eyes darted around the hall, still wide with a lingering fear. Her voice trembled as she began to speak, clutching her arms tightly. "I… I was doing fine, Professor. It was… lovely. The flowers glowed with such pretty light, and the vines… they felt friendly, like they were whispering secrets. It was… it was nice. It felt like a place I understood." A small, shaky smile touched her lips. "I was even thinking this was my favorite maze."
She paused, her eyes clouding over with a fresh wave of terror. "Then… then the mist came. It just… rolled in front of me, so thick and cold. For a second, I got scared, but… but I remembered what Kaelen said, about being strong. So I… I tried to be brave. I told myself it was just mist."
Her voice dropped to a whisper, her eyes wide with remembered horror. "And then… then I saw him. In the mist. A boy… his face…" She swallowed hard, tears welling up again. "He looked… he looked like a ghost. All pale and… broken. And his clothes… they were covered… covered in blood. There was blood on his face too…" She squeezed her eyes shut, as if trying to block out the image.
"He… he looked like he had been hurt really, really badly," she continued, her voice trembling uncontrollably. "He… he looked dead. And he looked right at me, Professor. His eyes… they were so sad and… angry. And he said…" Her voice cracked. "He said… 'Go back. Go back from where you came. Never… never enter this school again if you don't want to die.'"
Elara's body shook with sobs, and she buried her face in her hands. "I… I got so scared. His voice… it was cold and… and full of… of something awful. I just… I just ran. I didn't even think. I just wanted to get away. I ran and ran, even though I couldn't see where I was going. And then… then I tripped. I hit my head… and everything went black." She took a shuddering breath. "When I woke up… I just… I just had to get out." Her voice was choked with tears. "I was so, so scared."
A wave of hushed gasps rippled through the grand hall as Elara finished her terrifying account. The earlier relief and excitement vanished, replaced by wide, fearful eyes and nervous whispers among the participants. The air, which had been buzzing with mana just moments before, now felt heavy with a chilling unease.
Rhea's hands flew to her mouth, her bright eyes wide with horror. She looked at Kaelen, her face a mirror of his own growing dread. "A… a ghost? Blood? What was that thing?" Her voice trembled.
Kaelen's knuckles were white as he clenched his fists. He kept glancing at the entrance of the green maze, the image of Elara's terrified face burned into his mind. "That… that wasn't just a challenge. That was… something else."
ProfessorEldrune, who had been listening intently, her expression was now a carefully controlled mask. There was a flicker in her eyes, a hint of something – recognition? Worry? Or perhaps something concealed – before she regained her composure.
With a decisive nod, she raised her hand, and a swirling vortex of emerald light appeared above her head. From within the vortex, a series of shimmering, musical notes descended, each one a different color of the rainbow. As the notes landed in the air around her, they solidified into a flock of tiny, iridescent butterflies that fluttered around her head, their wings leaving trails of sparkling dust.
ProfessorEldrune murmured a few words in the ancient, rustling language, and one of the golden butterflies detached itself from the flock and zipped towards a far archway, disappearing in a flash of light.
Turning her attention back to Elara, ProfessorEldrune's voice was firm but gentle. "There, there, dear one. You were very brave. The Lumina Healers are ready."
((The Lumina Healers are beings made of pure, soft blue light that appear in Aetherium when someone is injured or in need of comfort, especially after a difficult or frightening experience.
What they are: They aren't exactly people or animals, but rather seem to be manifestations of gentle, healing magic. They have a soft, glowing appearance and move with a calm, serene grace. They don't usually speak in words, but their presence and actions are very reassuring.
What they do:Their main purpose is to provide comfort and transport those who are hurt or distressed to a place where they can receive proper care, like the school's infirmary. They create a feeling of safety and peace around them. When they are near someone injured, a soft, warm light often emanates from them, which seems to have a calming effect. They carry the injured person on a stretcher made of what looks like woven moonlight, which glows gently. Sometimes, a soft, soothing melody, like the tinkling of tiny bells, accompanies them.
When they are called: The Lumina Healers are typically called upon by someone in authority, like ProfessorEldrune, when a student or participant has been physically hurt or is emotionally traumatized and needs immediate, gentle care and transport. It's like they are the magical emergency responders of Aetherium, specializing in soothing and safely moving those in need.))
The two figures made of soft blue light glided back into the hall, their movements as silent and serene as before. The moonlit stretcher floated beside them, its gentle luminescence a stark contrast to the fear in Elara's eyes. They gently guided Elara back onto the stretcher, and as they lifted her, the soft, bell-like melody filled the air once more. Elara, still trembling and occasionally letting out a small sob, kept her wide, frightened eyes fixed on Kaelen and Rhea as the Lumina Healers floated her towards the shimmering archway, their forms gradually fading into the magical light.
Once Elara was gone, ProfessorEldrune turned to the remaining participants, her gaze steady. "That was… unexpected. The upcoming trial is now paused. Please wait in the "Great Hall's antechamber". We will provide further instructions there in due course."
Kaelen and Rhea watched the archway where Elara had disappeared, their faces etched with worry. The image of her terror, and the brief, controlled expression on ProfessorEldrune's face, left a heavy, unsettling feeling in the air as they reluctantly moved towards the designated waiting area. The whispers of Zenith suddenly felt a lot more ominous.
The shimmering exit where Elara vanished still hung in the air, a silent question mark. What was that terrifying vision in the green maze? Why did ProfessorEldrune seem so strangely composed? And what secrets did the ancient walls of Aetherium truly hold? As Kaelen and Rhea exchanged worried glances, a chilling realization settled upon them: the trials were far from over, and the whispers of Zenith might be warnings they couldn't afford to ignore. What darkness lurked beneath the magical beauty of Aetherium, and would their friend ever truly be safe again?