Trial of the Shadows

The students hadn't even had time to come to grips with their defeat of the beast when Orthus pushed them into yet another nightmare.

One second, they stood in the arena, frayed, bruised and unable to stay awake. The next — they were on a different planet altogether.

The ground underneath their feet crackled, trembled with the glow of an unnatural fire, fading into an immeasurable blood-red expanse. The atmosphere was heavy, choking, and to breathe was to suck in raw terror.

And then there was the figure.

It was only a dark silhouette draped in billowing black mist, standing directly in front of them. There were no eyes, no face, but too many they knew that made their knees weak.

Leon swallowed hard. "Uh… am I crazy, or does that thing feel like the embodiment of death?"

Hana shuddered. "Nope. Not just you."

Alina gripped her fists and fought to steady her breathing. "What is that thing?"

In the meantime, Orthus Was Living His Best Life.

Leaning back on a floating rock high above the battlefield, arms behind his head, he looked utterly relaxed while his students panicked internally.

"Alright, kids! Welcome to Trial Number Two!" he announced cheerfully. "Today's lesson: Don't Die!"

All the students turned to glare at him.

"SERIOUSLY?! " Leon shouted. "That's the lesson?! "

Orthus smiled, waving his fingers in the air. "Yep! Super simple, right? No overthinking, no fancy spells — just a good old-fashioned game of Run, Scream, and Pray!"

Hana's face paled. "What happens if we lose?"

Orthus shrugged. "Dunno. But I'm pretty sure if that thing touches you, you're erased from existence."

The students gaped at him, horrified.

Alina pointed a quivering finger. "You just threw us here with no heads-up — and you don't even know what happens if we lose?! "

Orthus laughed. "Life's all about surprises! Keeps things fun."

The shadow figure twitched.

And then it moved.

When the shadow shifted, the world around them became hazy, as if the fabric of space itself had warped.

Then—it was gone.

Hana blinked. "Wait—where did it—?"

Behind her, whispers.

She turned—too late.

The shadow was right there.

"OH HELL NO!" she shrieked, but she was dropping to the ground, and a wave of pure black mist sliced through the air just where her head had been.

Leon caught her wrist and yanked her up, and the whole group tore off for their lives.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?! " he yelled, pulling her ahead.

Alina turned back, her face contorted with fear. "IT DOESN'T HAVE A BODY — IT MOVES LIKE A NIGHTMARE!"

The shadow flared — one second behind them, the next next to them, the space separating them shrinking without ever moving.

"CHEATING!" Hana screamed. "IT'S CHEATING!"

Orthus, Watching from Above

From his floating perch, Orthus took out a popcorn bag.

Where he got it? No one knows.

"Ah, nothing like watching students face existential dread," he mused, popping a morsel in his mouth.

Another professor would have covered it. Given them instructions. Helped them strategize.

Orthus?

He leaned in with a smirk.

"OK, let's see who can solve it the fastest."

Leon had his back to the shadow, running, but saw it in the corner of his eye. His mind was racing. It was too fast. Too unpredictable. You cannot run away from it.

Which meant—

He grabbed Alina's arm. "STOP RUNNING."

She nearly tripped. "WHAT? ARE YOU INSANE?! "

"TRUST ME! JUST STOP!"

Alina skidded to a halt and, against her better judgment, Leon turned to face the shadow.

The shadow jolted again — and then pounced.

Leon held his breath.

It passed right through him.

The mist rippled along his body like water shaken by a stone. No pain. No injury.

Just nothing.

Leon exhaled. "...It's not real."

Hana, now still running as if her life depended on it, came to a screeching halt. "WHAT?! "

Leon glared at Orthus. "You threw us into a nightmare simulation, didn't you?

Orthus grinned and clapped. "DING DING DING! WE HAVE A WINNER!"

The students gaped at him.

"WHAT?! " Hana yelled. YOU MEAN I ALMOST PEED MYSELF FOR NOTHING?! "

"Technically," Orthus said, throwing popcorn in the air and catching it in his mouth, "you absolutely almost peed yourself for nothing."

The world around them shimmered with the realization sinking in, and in the same instant, the shadow shed and faded into mist.

The blood-red sky softened. The fissured earth healed itself.

The fear vanished.

And suddenly the students were back in the arena, standing right where they had been before.

All that remained was the mass in their chest, the satisfied dread of what they had just gone through.

Alina clutched her arm. "But it felt real…"

"That's the point," Orthus said, leaping down from his aerial perch. "Magic isn't only about casting flashy attacks and throwing fireballs. It's for an understanding of reality itself. Your mind told you to freak out, so you freaked out. Because he thought he was in danger."

Leon scowled. "So… it was all just an illusion?

"Not simple illusion," Orthus corrected. "A curse-type illusion. One that assaults the mind rather than the body." He smirked. "And guess what? There's a lot of monsters out there that fight like this."

Hana massaged her temples, moaning. "Oh, great. "Like getting eaten isn't bad enough, now we have to worry about psychological trauma too?"

"Yes," Orthus said cheerfully. "Welcome to the wonderful world of magic! It sucks, doesn't it?"

The students were tired — mentally, physically, emotionally.

And yet…

Alina clenched her fists. "We survived. And we learned something."

Leon nodded. "Yeah. We're getting stronger."

"Could've done without the dying of fear part, though," Hana muttered, still annoyed.

Orthus beamed at them. "Great job, everyone! I'd claim only half of you had mental breakdowns! That's progress!"

The students groaned.

"Now," Orthus continued, stretching, "who's ready for lesson three?"

Leon paled. "…Please say it's a nap"

Orthus grinned. "Nope. Surprise dungeon dive!"

The students collectively screeched.