Morning came to Durnfield with Kel still burning.
The flames had continued through the night, moving calmly over his unconscious body without damaging his skin, clothing or the bed beneath him. Harven had remained nearby for most of it, occasionally checking Kel's Internal and Soul Qi but otherwise refusing to interfere.
The healers didn't understand how he could be so calm.
Luno understood even less.
He had stayed until Spark finally ordered him out of the infirmary shortly before sunrise.
Now he stood beneath the old tree near Durnfield's training ground, staring toward the northern forest while the swarm moved around him.
Spark hovered in front of his face.
Go.
Luno frowned.
"That's it?"
Yes.
"Yesterday you made me crawl through dirt, eat something I still don't want identified and train blindfolded until I couldn't feel my legs."
Eyes closed.
"Same thing."
No.
Luno sighed.
He had spent weeks learning Spark's strange philosophy.
Think like a bug.
Live like a bug.
Eat like a bug.
Understand the hive before trying to command it.
Spark had already forced Luno to experience the world closer to the way insects did. He had learned to pay attention to vibrations, temperature, wind, predators, hunger and the countless tiny signals he'd ignored his entire life.
Apparently that had only been preparation.
Luno looked toward the Durnfield Forest.
"You want me in there."
Yes.
"For how long?"
Until you're ready.
"Ready for what?"
Spark turned toward the trees.
To survive without being Luno.
Luno stared.
"I'm pretty sure that's called dying."
Spark ignored him.
The Durnfield Forest wasn't somewhere teenagers entered alone for fun. The outer sections were manageable, but deeper inside lived Qi-beasts, venomous creatures and predators that had spent generations adapting to the environmental Qi around them.
Harven had warned young guards about wandering too far inside.
Spark apparently considered that an invitation.
Luno looked toward the swarm.
"What can I bring?"
Us.
"Food?"
Find it.
"Blanket?"
No.
"Knife?"
No.
Luno pointed toward Spark.
"You know Harven wouldn't approve of this."
Gentle.
Luno closed his eyes.
"I really need you to stop calling Captain Harven gentle."
Spark flew closer.
You understand how insects move.
Luno opened his eyes.
You are beginning to understand how we sense.
The swarm gathered around them.
But you still think survival means being stronger than what hunts you.
Luno frowned.
"Usually helps."
Human thinking.
Spark flew toward the forest.
Insects survive things they cannot defeat.
Luno watched him.
Hide.
Several insects vanished into the grass.
Wait.
Others became completely still.
Adapt.
The swarm changed formation.
Escape.
Half disappeared into the trees.
Then hundreds gathered around Luno again.
And when one cannot survive alone, the hive answers.
Luno felt their presences through his Soul Qi.
That connection had become stronger over the past few weeks.
He wasn't controlling hundreds of individual creatures anymore.
He was beginning to feel the collective.
Spark stopped at the edge of the forest.
You want to lead the hive.
Luno shook his head.
"Work with it."
Spark paused.
Good.
That single word surprised Luno more than any insult would've.
He smiled.
"Was that a compliment?"
No.
"There it is."
Spark entered the forest.
Luno looked back toward Durnfield.
Kel was there.
Still unconscious.
Still undergoing an awakening Luno didn't understand.
Luno wanted to stay.
But sitting beside Kel wouldn't make Kel wake faster.
And when Kel did wake, Luno didn't want things to go back to the way they had been during the fight with Drako.
He had saved civilians.
Harven had made sure he understood that.
He had done his job.
But next time, after everyone was safe, Luno wanted enough strength to turn around.
Enough strength to go back for Kel.
Luno faced the forest.
"This time, I stand beside him."
Spark's voice came from somewhere among the trees.
Then survive.
Luno entered.
The forest swallowed him.
Far across the Badlands, Dyrain arrived in Transmorra.
Keyla met him inside the Running Rebels compound.
She folded her arms as he approached.
"Took you long enough."
Dyrain stopped in front of her.
"You sent me a report involving Drako, Abyssal beings, refined Ether, Harven and three of my students nearly dying."
Keyla raised an eyebrow.
"Three?"
"Roku and Solara are mine."
Dyrain started walking again.
"And after everything I've heard about Kel, I'm counting Harven's boy until somebody tells me not to."
Keyla smiled.
"Harven might."
"He can try."
They crossed the compound together.
The refined Ether remained exactly where Keyla had placed it, locked inside the secure chamber beneath the compound with additional guards posted nearby. Nobody had opened the case.
Dyrain intended to keep it that way.
The Ether bothered him.
Drako's warning bothered him more.
But neither was the first thing he addressed.
He found Roku and Solara training in the rear courtyard.
Solara moved through Foss Flow Wing Chun while a narrow stream of Water Qi followed her arms. The element was still unstable, but she could maintain it longer than before.
Roku moved opposite her.
His Shadow Soul Qi reacted alongside his Wing Chun, rising defensively around incoming strikes and occasionally shifting the angle of his attacks through nearby shadows.
Dyrain watched for several exchanges.
Then he spoke.
"Stop."
Both teenagers froze.
Roku turned.
"Dyrain?"
Solara lowered her hands.
"When did you get here?"
"Long enough."
Dyrain walked toward them.
"Drako nearly killed both of you."
Solara's expression changed.
"He nearly killed Kel."
Dyrain nodded.
"And what did you learn?"
Neither answered immediately.
Roku finally spoke.
"That being talented doesn't mean anything against two hundred years of experience."
Dyrain smiled slightly.
"Good."
Solara looked toward the water around her hand.
"I learned redirecting strength only works if I can keep up with what's coming."
"Better."
Dyrain stopped in front of them.
"Drako did both of you a favor."
Roku frowned.
"Didn't feel like one."
"The useful lessons usually don't."
Dyrain looked at Roku's shadow.
"You're trying to remove conscious thought from your Shadow Qi."
Roku nodded.
"I want it reacting with me."
"Good."
Dyrain turned toward Solara.
"And you're adding Water Qi to Foss Flow."
"Basic Water Qi."
"Why?"
"Because they work similarly. Foss Flow redirects instead of meeting force directly. Water naturally moves around resistance."
Dyrain nodded.
"Good idea."
Solara waited.
Dyrain smiled.
"You're both doing it wrong."
Roku sighed.
"There it is."
Dyrain pointed toward Roku.
"You still treat your shadow like a weapon you're commanding."
Then toward Solara.
"And you keep asking water to follow movements you already know."
Solara folded her arms.
"So what do you suggest?"
"Tests."
Roku immediately looked suspicious.
Dyrain's smile widened.
"Later."
He stepped back.
"First, I'm putting on a tournament."
Solara blinked.
"A tournament?"
"For the Badlands."
That got their attention.
Dyrain continued.
"Running Rebel branches reach settlements across this land. Some train young fighters directly. Others know clans, villages and independent warriors who have teenagers worth watching."
Roku understood.
"You want them all here."
"Not all."
Dyrain shook his head.
"The ones worth testing."
Solara studied him.
"Why?"
Dyrain's expression became more serious.
"Because I want to know what the Badlands actually has."
He looked between them.
"Power is easy to notice. I'm interested in everything else."
Dyrain counted them off.
"Who adapts when their first plan fails. Who protects somebody else when winning would be easier. Who panics. Who thinks. Who has great Qi but terrible discipline. Who has less power and still finds a way to beat somebody stronger."
Roku immediately thought of Drako.
Dyrain noticed.
"Exactly."
Solara asked,
"And we're entering?"
Dyrain laughed.
"You're asking like there's a choice."
Roku sighed.
"I knew it."
"The tournament will be held under the Running Rebels banner. Badlands teenagers. Fighters your age."
Dyrain looked directly at them.
"I want both of you in it."
Solara nodded slowly.
"Who else?"
Dyrain turned toward the courtyard exit.
"That's why I'm going to Durnfield."
Both reacted.
Roku stepped forward.
"Kel?"
"And Luno."
Dyrain answered the second name immediately.
Roku paused.
Dyrain noticed.
"Don't make the mistake of thinking Kel is the only interesting kid Harven has."
Solara remembered Luno leading the civilians away while everything collapsed around them.
Dyrain continued.
"I've heard enough about what Luno's doing with those insects to want to see it myself."
He glanced toward the road beyond the compound.
"Kel fought Drako and lived long enough to interest him. Luno got civilians home and apparently has a living hive doing things it shouldn't be capable of doing."
Dyrain smiled.
"I want both."
Solara's expression softened.
"Kel hasn't woken up."
"I know."
Dyrain's expression became more serious.
"That's another reason I'm going."
Roku frowned.
"Harven told you what's happening?"
"Harven tells people exactly as much as Harven wants them to know."
Roku nodded.
"Sounds right."
Dyrain turned back toward them.
"But before I leave, you two get your tests."
Roku sighed.
"I was hoping you forgot."
"I don't forget suffering."
Solara stared at him.
"That's a concerning sentence."
Dyrain pointed toward Roku.
"There's an old cave system outside Transmorra."
Roku's expression changed.
"No."
"You don't even know the test."
"It's a cave and I'm the shadow user. I know where this is going."
Dyrain smiled.
"Deep enough that natural light disappears."
Roku folded his arms.
"How long?"
"Seven days."
Solara tried not to laugh.
Dyrain continued.
"No lamps. No fire. You bring food and water, because I'm training you, not killing you."
Roku looked slightly relieved.
"Reasonable."
"You're still staying in complete darkness for a week."
"Less reasonable."
Dyrain stepped closer.
"You've spent your entire life seeing shadows because light defines them."
Roku listened.
"Your Shadow Qi doesn't come from the environment. It's part of your Soul."
Dyrain tapped Roku's chest.
"So go somewhere light doesn't exist and figure out what your shadow is when nothing outside you creates it."
Roku looked down at his feet.
His shadow rested beneath him.
He understood.
Dyrain turned toward Solara.
She stopped smiling.
"There's a lake west of Transmorra."
Solara sighed.
"Of course there is."
"Deep."
"Of course."
"You'll train there."
Solara raised an eyebrow.
"Underwater?"
"Yes."
"For seven days?"
Dyrain stared at her.
"No. You need air."
Roku laughed.
Solara glared at him.
Dyrain continued.
"You'll dive. Stay beneath the surface as long as your body and Qi safely allow. Learn. Surface. Recover. Repeat."
Solara looked toward the basin she'd been using.
Dyrain nodded toward the water.
"You're trying to make water imitate Foss Flow."
Solara frowned.
"Because they complement each other."
"They do."
Dyrain's expression became serious.
"But you're thinking backward."
Solara waited.
"Don't teach water Foss Flow."
Dyrain pointed toward the western horizon.
"Let water teach you why Foss Flow works."
That landed differently.
Solara slowly nodded.
"When?"
"Today."
Roku looked toward Dyrain.
"You're leaving for Durnfield while we're doing this?"
"Tomorrow morning."
Solara asked,
"How long will you be gone?"
"As long as Harven makes the conversation."
Roku smiled.
"So several years."
Dyrain almost laughed.
"Get your supplies."
By afternoon, Roku stood before the cave entrance with enough food and water for seven days.
Solara stood beside the lake west of Transmorra, staring into dark water that seemed much less appealing now that she knew she had to enter it repeatedly.
And Dyrain prepared for the road to Durnfield.
His tournament could wait a little longer.
First, he wanted to see what Drako had done to Kel.
Then he wanted to see what was happening to Luno.
Inside the Fireborne Realm, Kel had problems of his own.
He stood beneath a burning sky while the stranger from the night before walked toward a distant ridge.
Kel followed several steps behind him.
"You still haven't told me your name."
The man kept walking.
"You still haven't earned it."
Kel frowned.
"That's stupid."
"Probably."
"Then tell me."
"No."
Kel sighed.
He was starting to dislike how much this man reminded him of Harven.
Beyond the ridge, something enormous roared.
Kel stopped.
His Soul Qi reacted immediately.
Danger.
The stranger continued walking.
Kel stared after him.
"You're walking toward that."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Your first test."
Kel looked toward the ridge.
Another roar shook the black stone beneath his feet.
"What exactly are you testing?"
The stranger finally stopped.
He looked back at Kel.
"Instinct."
Kel frowned.
"I have good instincts."
"You survived Drako."
Kel smiled slightly.
"Exactly."
The stranger's expression didn't change.
"You survived because Drako decided you were interesting."
Kel's smile disappeared.
The man turned toward him.
"You learned while fighting him. That's good."
Fire drifted around his feet.
"But you still think too much like someone who's been taught."
Kel didn't understand.
"Harven taught you."
Kel's eyes narrowed.
"Dyrain taught you."
Kel became still.
The stranger continued.
"Boxing gave your body structure. Internal Qi gave that structure power. Your Soul is beginning to let you feel danger before it happens."
Kel stared at him.
"How do you know them?"
The man smiled.
"Wrong question."
"Feels like a pretty good question."
The ground shook again.
The stranger looked toward the ridge.
"Today I find out what's left when none of those lessons can give you the answer."
Kel slowly looked toward the sound.
"What am I fighting?"
The stranger started walking.
"Something you can't beat."
Kel stared after him.
"Then what's the point?"
The man stopped.
For the first time, his expression became completely serious.
"Survival."
Kel's smile vanished.
The stranger continued toward the ridge.
"Humans love turning survival into a simple question."
Kel followed cautiously.
"Are you strong enough?"
The roar came again.
Closer.
The man looked at Kel.
"That's usually the wrong question."
They reached the top of the ridge.
Kel looked down.
His stomach dropped.
Something massive moved through the flames below.
The stranger stepped aside.
"Your test isn't to defeat it."
Kel watched the creature rise.
"Then what is it?"
The man's answer came calmly.
"Figure out why you're still alive when it's over."
Back in the Badlands, Luno disappeared deeper into a forest where strength alone wouldn't keep him alive.
Roku stepped into a cave where light could no longer define his shadows.
Solara entered water deep enough to make her respect every breath.
Dyrain prepared to travel to Durnfield and invite two more teenagers into the tournament he intended to use to test the Badlands' next generation.
And in the Fireborne Realm, Kel faced something his ancestor had already told him he couldn't defeat.
None of them were being taught another technique.
They were being placed somewhere their techniques weren't enough.
Because the next stage of their growth wouldn't come from repeating what they already knew.
They had to find out what remained when that stopped working.
End of Chapter 49 — The Tests That Break You