I saw her again.
I had already warned her once. Back on orientation day, there was something about her that made the red thread on my finger burn. But I ignored it. I told myself it was nothing.
Yet here she was, standing at the University gate, the same faint red thread glinting from my ring finger to hers. That cursed connection I tried so hard to deny.
I'd even tried to frighten her before--throwing a stone with a letter to her house. I thought she'd run. I thought she wouldn't dare come here. She's weak, I told myself. Too full of human emotions. She wouldn't last.
But I was wrong.
Now she was here in the Hall of Veil, ready for the test. Her fear rolled off her in waves, her confusion too. She didn't know what she'd walked into.
Newcomers and the students who'd failed the third part of the exam last year were all gathered here.
I didn't even want to be part of these university tests anymore.The test was nothing new to me. I had already clawed my way past it years ago.
But I had no choice. As a third-year, a high-level power achiever, I was expected to take part.
She looked at me.
I glared back and narrowed my own eyes and let my hatred show... showing her how much I hated her. Or at least… how much I wanted to hate her.
Deep down, I knew the truth...I couldn't. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't hate her. Maybe it was the red thread binding us.
I didn't want to be connected to a weak, emotion-filled human. I wanted to break the bond. And I knew how:
if one of us died, or if the bond-breaking ritual succeeded, the thread would be gone.
Today could be my chance.
She wouldn't survive the third part of the test-the Willing Magic Power. The Hall never allowed the weak to live. I knew this. I should be happy.
But I wasn't.
My jaw clenched. I didn't want to see her face, didn't want to feel this pull.
Then Professor Leo's voice cut through my thoughts.
"Kael, Ryuk, Ruan bring Mr. and Mrs. Walters here to start the test."
We were to escort one of the heads of HLA University and his wife. They always dressed like a king and queen of the world, moving with that same cold arrogance.
But I hated them.
I hate him....
Because I knew he was partly responsible for my father's death. Responsible for why I was here at all.....like a chained beast.
As we brought them forward, I caught a flicker on her face---irritation, a tiny shadow of something as she pressed her left thumb to her ring finger.
Maybe she felt something there.
A chill raced through me.
Could she sense the bond?
No…
she was weak. She couldn't see it, couldn't know the curse tying us together. And that fact--at least--relieved me.
I don't want her to know this bond exists.
The thread on my own finger pulsed again, mocking me with its burn.
I forced myself to look away.
---
"Welcome, students," Mrs. Alfredo's voice rang across the Hall, smooth and commanding. Her long gown brushed the floor like flowing silver water. "The Trial begins today. There will be three steps. Only those who endure will remain in this academy."
Murmurs spread among the newcomers, their nervous whispers bouncing off the high walls.
"The first step—" she raised a hand, and a wooden structure appeared on the magic screen, towering high with endless rope ladders swaying in phantom wind, "--is to climb the Stair of Burden. A wooden staircase of more than two hundred steps, bound only by rope. One mistake, and you fall."
A few gasps rose. I smirked coldly. Weaklings would drop like flies.
"The second step," she continued, her voice sharper, "is the QnA. Fail to answer, and you will be rejected"
And then, her lips curved faintly, almost cruelly and said the third step- is Jump of From a high cliff, to prove willing magical powers...
I knew here, Only those who can use their power will survive.. . And she mentioned also "at the edge of that palace, there will be someone to watching you"..
My name wasn't spoken, but I knew...
It would be me.
My eyes drifted back to her. She was staring at the glowing screen, green eyes wide, fear reflecting in them.
I hated the way I noticed her eyes.
Mrs. Alfredo's words ended with her as usual quotes "Remember: the Hall sees. The Hall chooses.", and chaos of whispers filled the hall again. Her so-called friends--one girl with blue hair and a nerdy-looking boy with glasses--were beside her. They leaned close, whispered something, then turned away ...
And just like that, they abandoned her.
She was left standing alone in the crowd, shoulders trembling.
Her lips pressed tight, her chin tilted upward, and I caught the shimmer of tears at the corner of her eyes. But she didn't let them fall.
Not one drop.
She was shivering, but she refused to break.
I should be happy. This stage… she couldn't survive it. She couldn't even climb two hundred wooden steps with her shaky limbs. She would fall. She would fail.
I should be laughing inside.
But instead… my teeth ground together.
Why?
Why the hell wasn't I happy?
My hand twitched toward my ring finger, the cursed thread burning hotter, tugging me toward her even as my heart screamed to pull away.
Break it. I just want to break this f**k**g bond. I just want to breathe without this chain.
My eyes lingered on her trembling figure a second too long.
And then--
"Begin!" Mrs. Alfredo's voice cut through the air, sharp as a blade.
The first test had started.
And all I could think was--
would she fall?
By the time the first two steps began, I was stationed at the third--the Jump of Will platform high above the training grounds. From here the Hall looked like a labyrinth suspended in the sky....
Students came one by one. Some passed. Some fell screaming. Some clung to the edge until guards hauled them back, shaking and defeated.
But my mind wasn't here.
It was on her.
I glanced down at my ring finger again, searching for any change. If she were near, I could feel her, sense her. But now? Nothing. No warmth. No pulse.
Maybe she had failed already.
Maybe she was gone.
I exhaled, a strange ache opening in my chest. Why did the thought of her failing make me feel...empty?
I shouldn't care.
"Kael."
Ryuk's voice snapped me back. He strode over, a stack of enchanted papers in his hand. "Here's the Q&A passing report. You're supposed to hand this to Professor after the round ends."
I took the papers without looking at them.
Ryuk leaned closer, smirking. "Interesting girl on this list. Not manifested yet, but she's got guts. Challenged one of the professors in the Q&A. Almost sounded like she knew she belonged here."
Something inside me shifted. "What?"
"She's unmanifested," Ryuk repeated. "Weakling. Prof only passed her because he wants to see her fall. Likes a show."
His words stabbed me deeper than I expected.
I felt anger rise--hot, sharp. Anger I shouldn't feel.
I should be happy at this news. She has no power. She will die. The Hall will eat her alive.
But instead… an image flickered in my mind. Her falling. Her body broken. The red thread snapping.
And the thought made my chest tighten until I couldn't breathe.
No!!
No, this shouldn't be happening.
I'm angry. I'm miserable. What is happening to me?
I don't want this.
I want the damnn bond gone.
Break it. Break it. Break it....
The words became a chant in my head.
And then the thread on my finger pulsed again...hard enough to sting.
My eyes snapped up.
And there she was.
She was stepping out onto the sky path, legs trembling but moving forward. The platform stretched before her like a giant badminton racket hung in the clouds--narrow, swaying, treacherous.
Her hands were clenched at her sides, her face pale but determined.
And for a heartbeat, the world stopped around me.
She was really here...
Her green eyes flickered upward for the briefest second and in that instant, it felt as though she was looking straight at me. Straight through me.
The thread on my ring finger burned, hot and relentless.
I should want her to fall. I should want this to end.
But instead, all I could think was---
If she falls, will the thread drag me down with her?