Magnetic Hell

Day 8

Kiah was used to the tedious routine — brutal exercises, sleepless nights, and constant exhaustion. She had accepted the fact that this was her life now. But it didn't make it any easier.

The other day, they had to climb three vertical walls with unstable footholds.

"Speak, and fall. Stealth is key to being a rebel." Warden Gregory had barked.

Each wall was rigged with sensitive audio sensors. Any noise — breathing too loud, the tap of a boot — would cause loose panels to retract, sending the climber crashing into the freezing river below.

Kiah fell five times before finally learning to scale them in silence.

Another exercise was the Gauntlet.

"Pain is the teacher."

They had to sprint through a narrow trench rigged with AI-controlled turrets, sound-blasting drones, and pressure plates that triggered knee-level shock traps.

Five Initiates fainted before the exercise came to an end.

Today's test was no less cruel.

The venue was one of the abandoned business buildings in Duskworn.

Kiah's uniform clung to her like a second skin, drenched with sweat once more. Her knees ached, her arms trembled — but she forced herself to stay perfectly still.

Her hands were spread wide. Frown lines etched on her face, but Kiah couldn't move even though she felt like collapsing.

She couldn't dare.

She had been in this position for the past fifty minutes, and she had ten more minutes before she could catch a break. The break wouldn't be long because she had another exercise in front of her, but she would do anything for a moment of repose.

Currently, she was balanced on one leg on a narrow, suspended bar high above a sparking floor. There were magnetic pulses in the room that distorted the equilibrium.

They wore magnetic boots to keep them attached to the bar. But the magnetic boots could randomly deactivate at any moment. One wrong move meant tumbling into the electric chaos below them.

Plus, falling from the bar meant you had to start over from the beginning. It didn't matter if you were only a minute from the finish mark.

And this was only part one.

Just ahead, a cluster of ropes hung from the ceiling, swaying lightly in the air. After the bar, they had to hang from a rope for twenty full minutes. But they were slick with grease. If you slipped, you'd start at the bar again.

There was no room for mistakes.

Kiah's gaze flicked briefly to the timer on her wrist. Everyone had a watch to time their progress. Fail, and it automatically resets to zero.

She had lost her balance twice now. She couldn't risk falling again.

'Five minutes. Just five more.'

She swallowed hard, blinking sweat from her lashes. Around her, several bars already sat empty. Some were already on the next exercise, and a few had fallen or quit, too drained to continue.

But giving up came at a cost.

You forfeited dinner. Your performance rank drops, which may result in being sidelined from missions in the future. You are stuck with petty chores like cleaning floors and serving meals.

No matter how brutal the test became, Kiah refused to give up.

She had to get stronger, strong enough to escape the godforsaken world behind. If that meant dragging her body and sanity to the limit, she'd do it without hesitation. For her mother, for home, she would endure anything.

Around her, the other initiates swayed like broken scarecrows on their bars, looking half dead. Many were pale like her, and a few were turning purple. Their muscles twitched involuntarily. They were all in a lot of pain.

Keeping one position for an hour was no easy feat.

"Ah!"

A scream echoed through the silence.

One of the girls lost her grip on the rope and hit the floor, getting zapped in the process. Kiah recognized her. She was one of the arrogant four who had mocked them relentlessly.

No one moved

The girl trembled on the ground, clutching her shoulder as tears spilled down her flushed cheeks.

"I-I can't do this anymore…"

From the far end of the room, Warden Gregory's sharp voice rang out.

"Get back to the bar."

His tone held no sympathy.

The girl glanced up, glaring at him.

"Isn't this too much? You're going to get us all killed. What are you, a sadist? You enjoy watching us suffer, don't you? You probably couldn't even pass these exercises yourself, you prick!"

Suddenly, the temperature in the room seemed to drop.

Warden Gregory stood slowly, eyes glinting under the flickering lights. His footsteps echoed as he walked toward her — straight through the sparking floor, unaffected by the jolts of electricity that would've sent any of them screaming.

Kiah shuddered in her place.

She'd been unfortunate to receive one of those sparks ten minutes into the drill when she lost her footing. The pain was instant and searing. And it bruised like being stung by a jellyfish.

Yet, Gregory strolled through it like it were a walk in the park.

The power of a Warden was terrifying indeed.

Kiah's eyes flashed with greed.

She wanted it.

Gregory stopped in front of the trembling girl. He gave her a withering look and spoke, his voice low and cold.

"Do you think the world outside this organization will go easy on you?"

Silence.

"Answer me, kid!"

The girl flinched. Then she clenched her fists and gave him a defiant look.

"How is this pointless drill supposed to do me any good? All you do is bark out orders—"

"You cry about pain? This is nothing. Out there, some monsters won't hesitate to rip you apart. Mercenaries who will end you for bumping into them. You'll beg for mercy — just like you're doing now — but no one will come."

He looked her dead in the eye.

"You have an opportunity that people died for. If you can't survive a training drill, you won't survive reality. We need fighters, not quitters. Get. Out."

The girl's expression crumpled. With a final glare, she scrambled to her feet and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

A heavy silence settled over the room once more.

'Someone finally broke,' she thought solemnly.

Her timer blinked. The hour was up.

Kiah staggered off the bar and headed for one of the ropes. She gave it a firm tug, and with a soft mechanical whir, it retracted upward, lifting her up from the ground.

She held on tightly, even though it was nearly impossible to maintain her grip. But slipping would mean starting over.

She quickly looped the rope around her wrists twice, locking it in place with the weight of her arms. It wasn't a perfect knot, but it gave her just enough friction to hold on without exhausting her muscles quickly.

And it worked.

Finally stable, she let out a long breath and closed her eyes. Her entire body throbbed with fatigue, but she forced herself to stay alert. Just twenty minutes more.

And then, at last, the rope lowered again.

Her boots touched the ground. She had completed the exercise.

Kiah didn't cheer. She didn't smile. She simply unwrapped the rope from her wrists with trembling fingers and staggered out of the room.

After all this, she needed a hot shower.