Light punched through the darkness.
J hit the marble floor flat on his back, the impact knocking the wind out of him. He gasped like a fish dragged onto a dock, coughing until his chest burned.
When he managed to sit up, he realized he was back in the plaza.
The silver sky rippled overhead, unchanged, but the atmosphere had shifted. Clumps of survivors had formed across the massive circle, huddled in groups of tens and twenties. The raw panic had dulled, replaced with shaky voices, tear-streaked faces, and frantic chatter.
They were comparing scars.
"....I fought this thing, like a wolf but with fire coming out of its mouth. Nearly cooked me alive!" A man bragged, holding up an arm blackened with burns. He grinned despite the pain, proud of his survival.
A woman nearby described her test: "It was a maze. Voices chasing me, riddles everywhere. I don't know how I made it out." Her hands still shook as she spoke.
Another man laughed bitterly. "Mine was a duel. Sword against sword. Damn thing nearly took my head off."
Everywhere J looked, people were boasting, commiserating, or collapsing into silent shock.
J rubbed his sore back and muttered, "And here I thought bridge-jumping was extreme sports."
He scanned the crowd. Maya sat cross-legged at the edge, hugging her knees. Her face was pale, but when she noticed him looking, she gave a small, relieved smile. He winked back automatically.
Erik stood nearby, arms crossed, silent. His face gave nothing away, but the tension in his jawline said his trial hadn't been a picnic either.
Ravi, though, was pacing in circles, arms flailing. "Rigged! It was rigged! I was supposed to die, I know it, I know it! It's not fair, none of this is fair!" His voice cracked with hysteria.
A few people stared at him. Most ignored him.
J dusted himself off and strolled toward the group, hands in pockets. He didn't say a word until Ravi spun and pointed at him.
"You!" Ravi's eyes were bloodshot. "You think this is all funny, huh? Laughing like an idiot while the rest of us almost died?"
J tilted his head, smile already sliding into place. "Well… yeah. That's my job."
"Then what about you, huh?" someone else shouted from the crowd. "What was your trial?"
All eyes turned.
J scratched the back of his neck, letting the silence stretch. Then, casually, he said:
"…I lost a card game."
The plaza went dead quiet for a second. Then the laughter started.
It rolled across the crowd like a wave—disbelieving, hysterical laughter. People clutched their sides. Even those who had been weeping a moment ago snorted through their tears.
"You serious?" one man gasped.
"A card game?" another barked, wiping his eyes.
Ravi doubled over, shrieking with laughter. "You pathetic clown! We're out there fighting monsters and you're playing poker?"
J bowed with a flourish. "Yes, yes. Thank you, thank you. Professional gambler, part-time idiot. I accept tips in cash or snacks."
More laughter.
Then the voice came.
Smooth, deep, everywhere and nowhere.
> "Welcome, chosen fragments of humankind."
"Your Trials are complete. Your worth has been measured."
"Your Traits have been granted."
"Survive and Conquer to Ascend. Or be forgotten."
The runes on the floor flared white, and above each survivor's head, symbols appeared — glowing sigils that twisted and settled into words. The plaza erupted in murmur as gasps filled the air.
People shouted their powers. Some wept with joy. Others screamed when the light turned red and their marks burned into skin.
J turned his head just in time to see a woman near him collapse, clutching her chest. Another man, his arms crackling with faint lightning, laughed hysterically.
J whistled low. "Guess someone got the deluxe package."
The symbol above his head flickered gold, then red, then black like a bad connection.
He felt a pulse deep inside, something strange and heavy, like a coin flipping endlessly.
Then the voice hesitated. Stuttered.
"Trait detected… classification: Unknown."
"Name: Fortune's Fool."
"Effect: ???"
A ripple of laughter passed through those nearby. A girl with short hair and trembling hands called out, "Seriously? Fortune's Fool? What, are you supposed to juggle death?"
J just grinned, brushing dust off his sleeve. "Probably. Let's hope I get dental with that."
The symbol above him distorted briefly and a faint jester's mask smiling appeared before fading into his skin.
But inside, his smile didn't reach his eyes.
He remembered the card that had dissolved in his palm. The voice that had stuttered. The rank it had whispered.
???
His grin stretched wider. If they think I'm weak, that's fine. Let them laugh.Better underestimated than feared. Better ignored than targeted.
A few paces away, Maya gasped as her rune flared bright blue.The light poured into her chest like water, and for a heartbeat, she felt everything.
Terror. Relief. Rage. Hope.
A thousand emotions that weren't hers slammed into her all at once.She staggered, clutching her head, nearly collapsing.
"Trait: Empath – The Heart Listener."
"You feel what others hide. You cannot be lied to… but you cannot stop caring."
She fell to her knees, trembling, as laughter and fear tangled in her senses. Every heartbeat around her was too loud. Every breath too full.
She gasped for air, pressing her hands to her chest until the chaos dimmed to whispers.
When she looked up, her eyes shimmered faint blue, reflecting the glow of those around her.
The crowd moved away instinctively, people didn't like being seen that deeply.
Erik Vaughn stood near the edge of the plaza, silent as stone. His rune flared silver-gray, steady and unblinking.He didn't move. Didn't speak.
The light grew heavier, pulling at him and then a weight pressed down on him from all directions. The ground cracked under his boots.
"Trait: Gravemark – The Weight of Will."
"You bear the strength of all things unmoving. Your body answers to resolve, not gravity."
He exhaled slowly. The heaviness faded. A faint dust of light rolled down his arms and vanished.
Someone nearby snorted. "Great. Human paperweight."
Erik ignored it, flexing his hand, feeling the subtle pull between muscle and stone.
He muttered, barely audible, "Weight of will, huh? Fine. I've carried worse."
Then came Ravi.
He stood a few steps behind J, looking around with wide eyes, desperate to see something, anything that made him special.
When the golden light finally flared over him, he threw his hands up like a man catching salvation.
His palms began to glow faintly at first, then brighter, soft gold bleeding through his skin.
He gasped. "Yes! Yes! I can feel it!"
The voice whispered:
"Trait: Glowmark – The Fading Light."
"Your hands may illuminate the dark. Your courage decides how long they shine."
The glow dimmed slightly, flickering.
Ravi blinked at his hands, confused. "That's... it?"
Someone nearby snorted. "We'll call you when it gets dark, flashlight."
The laughter spread. Ravi forced a smile, voice shaking. "It'll—it'll evolve! You'll see!"
But the glow had already begun to fade.
J watched him for a moment, lips twitching. "On the bright side," he said, "you'll never get lost in dark."
Ravi didn't answer. He just kept rubbing his palms together, as if trying to make the light come back.
Above the chaos, the voice spoke one final time, louder than thunder:
"Your strength reflects your choices.
The first Trial was survival.
The next is conquest."
The plaza shook.
Everyone froze as the runes beneath their feet flared bright again, humming with energy.
A new voice spoke louder, sharper and it echoed across the silver sky.
"First Trials complete. Transition to Layer One commencing."
The marble beneath them trembled. Cracks spiderwebbed across the plaza floor. People screamed as chunks of stone dropped away into the abyss.
"What's happening?!" Maya shouted, scrambling to her feet.
"Next level," J muttered, hands shoved in his pockets, eyes narrowing. "Round two of hell."
A ring of light burst under his feet. The ground gave way.
J sighed, tilting his head to the silver sky with a crooked grin. "Well, sweety… guess the clown show goes on."
And the plaza crumbled, dropping them all into the void.
End