Five years had reshaped Arkweld's children into something harder, sharper, and far less innocent than the day their Systems awakened.
Those who could not endure had been removed early, reassigned to menial sectors where failing meant nothing more than wasted potential.
Those who survived remained inside the Cadet Regime, the state's unforgiving machine designed to carve talent out of bone and will.
The training complex sprawled across the industrial district like a living iron beast.Steam hissed from vents along the walls.Rotating gears powered obstacles that could crush a careless cadet.Mana wires glowed faintly overhead, webbing the ceiling like veins filled with light.
Elias Ward walked through the fog-thick courtyard with a quiet, unreadable expression.
He wore the standard reinforced cadet uniform.Nothing special. Nothing remarkable.He moved with the discipline of someone who understood that attention was a resource you should never spend carelessly.
And yet people still noticed him.
Not because he tried.Because something in his presence drew eyes.His stillness carried weight.His silence felt deliberate.His gaze was too controlled for a boy of fifteen.
Most cadets whispered behind his back.They thought he was strange.Arrogant.Emotionless.
It didn't matter.Their opinions were noise.
He pushed open the heavy door to the sensory hall and stepped inside.A soft notification slid across his vision, invisible to all but him.
Echo Absorption: DormantNo spiritual fragments stored
It had been weeks since he last used the skill.That would change soon enough.
"Ward."
The voice hit like gravel ground through steel.
Elias turned as Captain Bram Solen approached, towering over him.The man's mechanical gauntlets hissed as mana steamed from their vents.He was an instructor feared by every cadet—an executioner disguised as a teacher.
"You're late," Bram said.
"I was reviewing last cycle's combat logs," Elias replied.
"Reviewing? With that pathetic class of yours?"Bram scoffed."Torch Bearer? What are you planning to do, boy? Light the enemy so they can see you die?"
A few nearby cadets stifled laughter.Elias's expression didn't shift even a fraction.
Bram jerked his chin toward the inner chamber."Inside. Your assigned group is waiting. Today is a three-way assessment."
Elias paused.
A three-way meant teams pitted against each other.One would succeed.Two would fail.
The Cadet Regime called it evaluation.Veterans called it organized pruning.
Elias entered the chamber.
Steam curled along the floor as cadets gathered in clusters, glaring or whispering.Faces he recognized stood among them.
Jarek Thorne.Larger, louder, more aggressive than ever.A bully who mistook brute strength for dominance.
Linne Ashford.Pale and brilliant, her eyes glimmering as if she were dissecting the world with every blink.
Belon Rask.Smiling now, as always, with a softness that never reached his eyes.
Elias paid them no mind.
His attention shifted when another figure stepped forward.
Aria Valestride.
Her silver-white hair was tied neatly behind her head.Her posture was flawless, almost elegant in its precision.She radiated a cold calm that the others lacked—not born from arrogance, but from discipline drilled into the marrow.
She wasn't loud.She wasn't cruel.She simply existed like a blade unsheathed.
Their eyes met for a fraction of a moment.Her gaze held no warmth, only quiet calculation.Then she turned away.
Bram clapped his gauntlets together.The resulting shockwave rattled every metal plate in the room.
"Today's assessment is simple," he said."Three groups. Three objectives. Only one group earns advancement."
A murmur swept the cadets.
Only one group meant the other two would be stripped from the elite track.Some would be reassigned.Some would be discarded.
Bram pointed at Elias.
"Ward. You're group leader."
The room stirred.A few cadets muttered in disbelief.
"He's useless.""Why him?""He's a weak class.""This is insane."
Bram ignored every complaint.
"Your partners are Aria Valestride and Jarek Thorne."
Silence followed.
Aria's expression did not change.Jarek grinned like a wolf.
The perfect mixture.An analyst.A brute.And Elias—who wore mediocrity like armor.
Bram motioned toward the massive doors at the far end of the room.They groaned open, releasing thick mist and the scent of concentrated mana.
A Rift simulation chamber.
Not real monsters.But close enough to kill careless cadets.
"Your objective," Bram said, "is to clear the chamber. Work together or fall alone. Your performance determines if you remain in this program."
Aria walked forward without hesitation.Jarek followed, cracking his knuckles.
Elias stepped last.
As he crossed into the chamber, his System responded.
Rift simulation detectedSpiritual entities presentEcho Absorption potential: High
The doors sealed behind them, drowning out the sounds of the outer hall.
Darkness settled.Mist swirled.Mana thickened in the air.
Elias exhaled slowly.
Training began now.Growth began now.Opportunity began now.
He lifted his head, feeling the familiar pull of a world shaped for battle.
And for the first time in that long, disciplined silence he carried inside himself, something like a smile touched his lips.