The morning mist clung to the mountain, veiling the sect grounds in pale silver. Bells tolled three times, sharp and urgent, summoning the new initiates to the outer courtyard.
Kaelen joined the stream of youths, his steps measured, his eyes half-lidded. Joren was already at the front, chin lifted, his jade serpent gleaming faintly at his shoulder. Whispers followed him like a tide.
"They say he broke a training dummy clean in half."
"His serpent's venom is already potent enough to corrode metal."
"He'll be an inner disciple within a year."
Joren caught Kaelen's eye and smirked, the curve of his lips sharp as a blade.
The instructor's voice cut through the chatter. "Today you will undergo your first trial. Beyond the southern cliffs lies the Shrouded Ravine. A nest of feral beasts dwells there. Your task is simple: bring back the beast cores of three kills. Do so within a day, or be marked as failures."
Excitement rippled through the crowd. Feral beasts meant danger, but also resources—cores, fangs, hides. A chance to prove strength.
The instructor's gaze swept over them. "You will go in groups of three. No one fights alone. Teamwork is the foundation of survival."
The pairings were quickly assigned. Kaelen found himself grouped with two others: a broad-shouldered boy named Thalen, and a timid girl with braided hair, Mira. Neither looked pleased.
"The grey snake?" Thalen muttered. "We're doomed."
Mira bit her lip, eyes darting between them.
Kaelen said nothing.
—
The ravine was a scar across the land, its depths filled with tangled roots and mist that clung like breath. Growls echoed faintly through the trees.
The initiates spread out cautiously, spirits flickering into existence beside them. Joren strode at the head of his group, jade serpent glowing with power. His companions flanked him, eager to ride his momentum.
They clashed with the first feral beasts—a pack of spectral wolves with glowing eyes. Joren's serpent struck like lightning, fangs sinking into one beast's throat. Venom spread, and the wolf collapsed, twitching. Cheers rose from his teammates.
"Brilliant!"
"Even faster than the instructor's demo!"
Joren laughed, soaking in the praise, his eyes flicking briefly to where Kaelen stood further back among the shadows.
—
Kaelen's group moved more cautiously. Thalen cursed every few steps, eager to strike something, while Mira trembled at every sound.
When the first beast lunged—a horned boar with tusks like jagged knives—Thalen charged, roaring. His bear spirit manifested in a shimmer of brown, smashing against the boar with brute strength. The clash shook the ground, dust rising in clouds.
Mira squeaked and backed away, her rabbit spirit barely flickering into view.
The boar gored forward, tusks catching Thalen's side. He cried out, blood spraying.
Kaelen stepped forward smoothly. His grey serpent slithered into being, faint and unimpressive to any who looked casually. But within his Soul Palace, its scales gleamed brighter with each shed husk.
The serpent struck low, unseen in the dust. It coiled around the boar's leg, constricting, its faint body tightening. For a moment, it seemed like nothing more than mist. Then the boar faltered, its stride broken.
"Now," Kaelen said softly.
Thalen, panting and furious, drove his bear spirit down with renewed force. The boar collapsed under the blow, its core spilling from the cracked skull.
Thalen whooped. "Ha! My strength crushed it!"
Mira clapped weakly, relief flooding her face. Neither noticed the faint glimmer in Kaelen's serpent's eyes as it shed another fragment of husk within the Soul Palace.
Pain seared through Kaelen's chest, but he swallowed it down, face impassive. He bent, picked up the beast core, and placed it in Mira's trembling hands.
"You should keep this one," he said.
Her eyes widened. "I—I didn't do anything…"
"You will," Kaelen replied.
—
As they pressed deeper, more beasts came: a shrieking crow-phantom with talons like blades, a shadow-lizard that melted into the stone, a stag whose antlers shone like crystal.
Thalen hurled himself at each foe recklessly, roaring, bleeding, triumphing by brute force. Mira darted in when safe, timid but eager to prove herself.
And Kaelen… watched.
Every clash was an opportunity. His Insight revealed the beasts' meridian flows, the flicker of Qi through their bodies, the flaws in their movements. He learned more from a single strike than most initiates would in weeks. His serpent coiled silently, absorbing fragments of each battle, shedding husk after husk in the dark.
His teammates cursed him for hanging back, mocked his faint serpent, but when the danger grew overwhelming, it was always Kaelen's subtle interference—the trip of a coil, the binding of a limb—that gave them the opening to win.
They did not notice. But he did.
—
By dusk, the initiates straggled back to the courtyard. Joren led the way, serpent coiled proudly at his side, six beast cores in his pouch. Cheers greeted him, elders nodding in satisfaction.
"Prodigy!"
"The sect's future!"
Joren basked in the adoration, his gaze sweeping toward Kaelen with a smirk.
Kaelen's group followed later, tired and silent. Thalen clutched two cores, Mira one. Kaelen carried none.
"Pathetic," someone scoffed. "Not even a single kill."
"He hides behind his teammates."
"Waste of space."
The instructor recorded the results. Joren was hailed as top rank for the day, his jade serpent radiant in the setting sun.
Kaelen stood in the shadows, gaze steady. The laughter, the disdain—they washed over him.
Inside, the serpent writhed, its husk nearly gone. Silver scales gleamed bright in the darkness of his Soul Palace, eyes opening with cold light.
The pain wracked Kaelen's body, sharp enough to stagger him. He bore it, face blank.
Joren raised a fist, his teammates cheering. "The sect will remember my name!"
Kaelen lowered his head, concealing the faint curl of his lips.
Let him shine. Let them all. In shadow, my fangs sharpen. When the husk breaks, they will choke on the hiss of the serpent they mocked.