The First Trial (Isolation)

The ground dropped out from beneath them.

Not like a fall. Not like a slow descent into something deeper.

They simply ceased to exist in one place… and reappeared in another.

Xyro hit the ground hard, his body slamming against rough, uneven stone. A sharp, disorienting ringing filled his ears, his breath catching in his throat as the world spun violently around him.

A new space.

The dim, unnatural twilight of before was gone. Now there were walls. Jagged, uneven, closing in from all sides. The air was thin, dense with an eerie hum that wasn't quite sound but wasn't silence either.

For a second, he thought he was alone.

Then—a soft exhale.

Xyro turned sharply, his grip tightening around his dagger.

Veynn.

She stood a few feet away, completely composed.

Not tense. Not shaken. Not confused.

Like she had expected this.

Her golden eyes swept over the surroundings, her expression unreadable. Then, as if acknowledging his presence was nothing more than an afterthought, she spoke.

"Well. That was dramatic."

Xyro didn't answer. His breath was still evening out, his muscles adjusting to the shift.

He scanned the space again—narrow corridors, twisting pathways leading into darkness. The architecture wasn't normal. The walls weren't symmetrical, and the angles… they weren't right.

A labyrinth.

But not the real one.

This was still the trial.

"Where are the others?" he asked, finally speaking.

Veynn exhaled, tilting her head slightly. "Gone."

Xyro's stomach twisted. He already knew that. But hearing it—confirming it—felt worse.

He didn't like this.

Didn't like that he was trapped in a space with someone he couldn't trust.

But for now… he had no choice.

And Veynn?

She knew it.

Her lips curled into something that wasn't quite a smile.

"Looks like it's just you and me now, Xyro."

And then, the walls shifted.

____________________________________

Zkarn (alone)

He landed on his feet.

Because, of course, he did.

Zkarn straightened, brushing off his coat like he had simply stepped through a door instead of being ripped from reality.

He cracked his neck. Looked around.

"Huh."

It was a strange place.

Not in the obvious way—not in the way the others probably saw their surroundings.

No. This was designed for him.

The world wasn't a maze.

It wasn't a prison.

It was a stage.

And he was the only one standing in it.

Rows of empty seats stretched outward, endless and silent. A grand theater—but without an audience.

Or maybe…

They just hadn't arrived yet.

Zkarn exhaled through his nose, amused. "Interesting choice."

Then—

A voice.

Low, slow, creeping from the shadows behind him.

"Tell me a story."

Zkarn didn't turn.

Didn't need to.

He could feel it.

Something in the dark. Watching. Waiting.

And it wanted him to perform.

_____________________________________

Orris (alone)

Orris opened his eyes.

And nothing happened.

No walls shifted. No shadows moved. No voices whispered.

Nothing changed.

It was a silent, unmoving world.

No wind. No weight in the air.

He took a slow breath.

The sound was too loud.

His exhale—deafening.

Orris frowned, pressing his lips together. Stopped breathing for a moment.

Silence.

But it wasn't empty silence.

It was a silence that listened.

He wasn't alone.

Something was here.

Waiting.

For what?

Orris's stomach twisted as a single thought sank into his mind like a seed planting itself into the earth.

It was waiting for him to speak.

_________________________________________

Xyro & Veynn

The walls were alive.

Not shifting in a physical way, not rearranging like the corridors before.

But breathing. Watching. Reacting.

Xyro could feel it—a presence woven into the very fabric of this space.

And Veynn?

She acted as if she belonged here.

Her footsteps were light, measured, her pace calm as if she was leading him rather than walking beside him.

Xyro watched her carefully, his mind turning over the same question again and again.

How much does she know?

She hadn't panicked when they arrived.

She hadn't even hesitated.

And now, she walked through the corridors with certainty, like someone who had already mapped out the world long before they stepped foot in it.

Xyro kept his voice steady. "You've been here before."

It wasn't a question.

Veynn hummed. "Have I?"

Xyro's fingers twitched. "You aren't lost."

That slow, knowing smirk returned. "Does that bother you?"

He didn't answer.

Because yes. Yes, it did.

Veynn sighed, her tone light, almost amused.

"You don't trust me."

Xyro didn't respond.

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "You should."

His jaw tightened. "Why?"

She stopped. Turned to him fully.

And for the first time, there was no teasing in her expression.

"Because out of the four of us," she murmured, voice lower, softer—"I'm the only one who knows how to survive this place."

Xyro met her gaze, searching for the lie in her eyes.

But there wasn't one.

And that—that scared him more than anything.

Then—

The walls groaned.

The corridor in front of them collapsed inward, blocking their path.

And from the darkness behind them—

Something clicked.

Like teeth.