I'm back
The words linger in my head for a moment as the train keeps moving.
The pillars stay in view through the window. They rise over the city like they always have, planted at the corners of Central Rivenden as if the ground itself pushed them up. Even from this distance they're impossible to miss.
The train rolls closer.
Buildings begin to fill the horizon beneath them. Roads spread outward in thin lines that slowly widen into proper streets. The closer we get, the more movement I can see.
People.
Carriages.
Crowds shifting between blocks of stone buildings.
Central Rivenden.
The train keeps rolling.
Then something snaps lightly across my skin.
I glance down instinctively.
Blue lightning flickers around my arm.
Thin strands of it crawl across my shoulders and chest like they're tracing the shape of my body. It lasts less than a second before the color shifts.
The blue fades.
Green light replaces it.
It spreads across my torso, faint and steady, then dissolves into the air like smoke.
Across from me Aiken lifts her hands slightly.
The same thing happens to her.
Blue lightning first.
Then green.
The glow fades.
She lowers her hands again.
"Oh right," I say quietly.
She looks at me.
"You forgot?"
"Yeah."
I lean back slightly in the seat.
Central Rivenden doesn't have walls.
It never needed them.
Instead, the entire capital sits inside a massive barrier.
A Matter system that surrounds the city completely. It scans every person who enters, reads their core, and marks them based on who they are.
Protection.
Control.
Security.
Green means regular citizens.
I glance down at my arm again even though the glow is already gone.
Blue is reserved for Ethereal Knights.
The people who protect the kingdom.
Purple belongs to licensed hunters. Independent fighters approved to take certain contracts across the continent.
Red means someone's been arrested within Rivenden before.
The barrier doesn't stop them from entering again.
It just makes sure everyone knows exactly who they are.
And then there's black.
Black means someone dangerous enough that every kingdom knows their name.
Most wanted.
The kind of person who doesn't stay inside the barrier very long before someone finds them.
I've never actually seen someone turn black.
The train keeps moving.
Outside the window the city keeps getting closer.
A few people in the car barely react to the scan. Others glance down at their hands briefly before going back to whatever they were doing.
Most travelers are used to it.
The train begins to slow.
The hum beneath our feet changes pitch.
People stand up immediately.
Seats creak.
Bags shift.
Aiken grabs her bag and stands.
"Come on."
I stand as well, adjusting the strap of my sword.
The aisle fills quickly with people trying to get off.
The train glides into the station a minute later.
Central Rivenden Station is huge.
Multiple platforms stretch across a wide stone complex with metal roofing arching overhead. Other trains sit on neighboring tracks. Workers move cargo across carts while travelers push past each other in every direction.
The moment the doors open, noise floods in.
Voices.
Boots against stone.
Metal clanking somewhere farther down the platform.
Aiken steps off first and I follow behind her.
The crowd presses forward immediately.
People from all over the continent are here. You can tell just by looking at them. Different clothes. Different armor styles. Different accents cutting through the air.
Some of them carry practice weapons.
Some carry real ones.
Others look like they've never held a blade in their lives.
Aiken steps slightly to the side so we're not blocking anyone getting off.
I adjust my strap once.
Then I hear chains.
I glance back toward the train.
Three Ethereal Knights are escorting a group of people out of the rear car.
Their hands are bound with glowing restraints.
Matter cuffs.
They suppress the user's ability to channel their core.
Eight of them.
Cloth masks still tied around their faces.
Some are limping.
One of them has dried blood down the side of his neck.
Aiken notices too.
She watches them for a second.
"Looks like someone tried to rob the train," she says.
"Yep."
The Knights guide them forward through the crowd.
One of the bandits lifts his head.
His eyes move across the platform.
Then they stop on me.
For a second he just stares.
Recognition hits him immediately.
"You—!"
His voice jumps louder than he meant it to.
"That kid—!"
One of the Knights jerks the chain hard.
"Keep moving."
The bandit fights the pull for a second.
"That's him!" he shouts, pointing. "He's the one who—"
The Knight tightens the restraints.
The glow around the cuffs flares brighter.
The bandit stumbles forward.
"Quiet." They drag him along with the others.
The shouting fades quickly as they disappear deeper into the station.
Aiken slowly turns her head toward me.
She nudges my arm with her elbow.
"What did you do."
I shrug.
"Nothing."
She studies my face for a second.
Then she exhales quietly through her nose.
"Sure."
She adjusts the strap on her shoulder.
"Come on."
We move with the crowd leaving the station.
The moment we step outside, the city opens up.
Central Rivenden is loud.
Not chaotic.
Just busy.
Stone streets stretch in multiple directions from the station plaza. Buildings rise several stories high along both sides of the roads. Shops line the ground floors with banners hanging over their entrances.
People move everywhere.
Carriages roll through the wider roads.
Street vendors shout prices to anyone who slows down long enough to listen.
Knights patrol certain intersections.
The entire place feels alive.
I slow slightly as we walk.
"I don't remember it being like this."
Aiken glances back at me.
"You were nine."
"Still."
The city stretches farther than I remember.
New streets branch off older ones.
New districts built onto the sides of existing blocks.
More people.
More businesses.
Aiken walks beside me, weaving us through the crowd without stopping.
"A few years ago King Kyosho started expanding the city," she says.
I look around again.
"Expanding?"
"Yeah."
She gestures loosely toward the surrounding streets.
"He wanted Central Rivenden to be easier for outsiders to visit. Trade routes, tourism, travelers from other kingdoms."
I watch a group of merchants push a cart down the road.
Different clothes.
Different language.
Different weapons hanging from their belts.
"That explains the crowd."
"Exactly."
We turn down another street.
The noise shifts slightly as the buildings grow taller and closer together.
"You still remember where the registration building is?" I ask.
Aiken gives me a look.
"I lived here longer than you did."
"Fair."
She nods ahead.
"Let's hurry and get you signed up."
We keep walking.
The streets grow busier the closer we get to the central districts.
More fighters start appearing in the crowd.
Some wearing armor.
Some carrying weapons openly.
Others walking with the kind of posture that tells you they know how to fight even if they're dressed like civilians.
Everyone here for the same reason.
The Trials.
A few minutes later the building comes into view.
Stone.
Wide entrance.
I stand there for a moment, looking at the line.
It stretches farther than I expected.
People fill the street in a slow curve that bends around the corner of the building before disappearing behind a row of shops. Some stand quietly with their arms crossed. Others shift from foot to foot like they've been waiting longer than they planned.
Aiken studies it beside me.
"Yeah," she says after a second. "That looks about right."
I adjust the strap of my sword slightly.
"How long do you think that'll take?"
She leans forward a little, watching the way the line moves near the entrance.
"Depends how fast they process people."
"That helpful, huh."
Her eyes move along the crowd again.
"They usually move quickly."
The line shifts forward a few steps.
People shuffle ahead.
"Still might take a bit," she adds.
I nod.
We step forward and join the back.
The noise of the city sits behind us now, but the street outside the registration building has its own energy.
Voices overlap quietly.
Metal scrapes against stone somewhere nearby.
Someone coughs.
A few participants stand off to the side stretching their arms and shoulders like they're about to start a race.
I lean lightly against the wall beside us and watch. Most of the people here look around my age.
Fifteen.
Sixteen.
But that's about where the similarities end. Some of them carry themselves like fighters.
Broad shoulders.
Steady posture.
Eyes constantly scanning the crowd.
Others look… less prepared.
A kid a few spots ahead of us drags a whetstone slowly across the edge of a short blade. The rasp of metal against stone repeats every few seconds. He's focused enough that he barely notices the people around him.
Farther down the line someone is pacing.
Back and forth.
Back and forth.
He cracks his knuckles occasionally before pacing again.
A small group behind him whisper to each other.
One of them laughs loudly.
Too loudly.
The other two glance around immediately like they're hoping no one noticed.
Aiken follows my gaze. "Already sizing people up?"
"Just watching."
She nods once.
The boy sharpening his blade wipes the edge carefully with a cloth before sliding it back into its sheath.
Another participant nearby stands with his palm open in front of him.
Matter flickers weakly above his hand.
It sputters once.
Fades.
He tries again.
The energy forms slightly stronger this time before breaking apart.
His shoulders tense with frustration.
Aiken watches him for a moment.
"First time using it under pressure," she says.
"You can tell?"
"He's forcing it."
The kid tries again.
The same result.
Matter flickers.
Breaks.
He sighs and lowers his hand.
"Some of these people have been training their whole lives for this," Aiken continues quietly.
"Private instructors. Combat schools. Some of them even train under Knights if their families have connections."
I glance toward a tall guy farther down the line who stands completely still.
Arms folded.
Watching everything.
"You think most of them are ready?" I ask.
"For the trials?"
"Yeah."
She tilts her head slightly.
"Some."
"And the rest?"
"They'll find out."
The line shifts again.
We move a few steps closer to the building.
I glance up toward the entrance.
Two Ethereal Knights stand near the doors directing people through in small groups.
Participants enter.
Names recorded.
Matter scanned.
Then they leave through the opposite side of the hall.
Efficient.
Aiken crosses her arms loosely.
"You know how many people signed up last year?"
I shake my head.
"About five hundred."
I look back at the line behind us.
"This looks like more than that."
"It is."
The line moves again.
We step forward.
"How many actually passed?" I ask.
She doesn't answer right away.
Instead she watches a pair of participants arguing quietly farther down the street.
Then she says, "Not many." Her mouth twitches slightly. "The first trial usually eliminates a lot of people."
"How?"
"You'll see."
A voice behind me speaks.
"That blade's custom."
I glance over my shoulder.
A tall guy stands a few places behind us.
Lean build.
Dark hair tied loosely behind his head.
His eyes are fixed on the sword strapped across my back.
"Three slots," he adds.
I nod once.
"Yeah."
He studies it another second.
"Phenomenon channels?"
"Something like that."
He exhales quietly.
"Nice weapon."
"Thanks."
That's the end of that conversation.
I turn back toward the front of the line.
Aiken nudges my arm slightly.
"You attract attention."
"It's the sword."
"That too."
The line moves again.
This time we're close enough to see clearly inside the building.
The registration hall looks bigger than I expected.
Several long desks stretch across the interior.
Participants move between them while Ethereal Knights guide the flow of people.
Everything is organized.
No confusion.
No shouting.
Just steady movement.
One participant finishes at a desk and walks away while another steps forward immediately.
Name recorded.
Matter scanned.
Next.
Aiken nods toward the entrance. "They move people through quickly."
We step closer, now we're near the doors.
The Knight at the entrance gestures toward us. "Next group."
We move inside. The air feels cooler immediately. Stone floors stretch across the hall while rows of desks run the length of the room. Several clerks sit behind them writing names down while scanning devices sit beside stacks of papers.
Voices echo slightly beneath the high ceiling.
A participant to our left argues briefly with a clerk about something written on a form before a Knight steps closer.
The argument ends quickly.
Aiken leans toward me slightly. "Just answer what they ask."
"That was the plan."
We step up to one of the desks.
The Knight behind it finishes writing something before looking up.
"Name."
"Kin Noro."
He writes it down.
"Age."
"Fifteen."
"Kingdom."
"Rivenden."
His eyes lift briefly at that.
Then he nods and reaches for a small metal device.
"Matter scan."
I place my hand on the surface he gestures toward.
The device hums softly.
A thin line of light runs across my palm.
For a moment it pauses.
The Scanner flashes silver briefly before flashing a dark blue.
The Knight glances at the small display.
Then back at me.
His expression doesn't change.
He writes something down.
"Registered."
He slides a small metal tag across the desk.
"Keep that with you."
I pick it up.
Cold metal.
Lightweight.
"Next."
We step away from the desk.
Aiken nods toward the exit.
"See?"
"Quick."
"Now you're officially part of the chaos."
I glance down at the tag in my hand before slipping it into my pocket.
I take another look back at the Knight as he scans someone else's matter. The scanner flashing red immediately.
Outside, the street is still full of participants waiting in line.
Aiken adjusts the strap on her bag.
"I've got something I need to take care of," she says.
I look at her.
"Now?"
"Yeah."
She studies my face for a second.
"You'll be fine."
I shrug.
She steps away from the wall. "Stay nearby."
"Don't take too long."
She glances back at me and winks.
I stay where I am for a minute after Aiken disappears into the crowd.
The street outside the registration building hasn't slowed down at all.
If anything it feels even busier now.
Participants keep arriving from different directions, some walking alone with their heads down, others traveling in small groups that break apart the moment they reach the area outside the building.
Most of them look around my age.
Fifteen.
Sixteen.
Some stand quietly watching the entrance where the registration line feeds into the building. Others lean against walls or sit on crates while they talk to whoever they came with.
Everyone's waiting.
I shift my shoulder against the stone wall and fold my arms loosely.
The metal tag they gave me presses faintly against the inside of my pocket.
Registered.
That part was easy.
The rest probably won't be.
Across the street two boys are arguing quietly while a third stands between them trying to keep the conversation from getting louder.
"I'm telling you," the taller one says, "the first trial has to involve combat. It's a knight academy. What else would they test first?"
"That doesn't make sense," the other boy replies. "If they throw hundreds of people into a fight immediately, half the participants would end up injured before the trials even get started."
"That might be the point."
"No it wouldn't."
The third boy sighs.
"You both sound like you're guessing."
They go quiet after that.
A few feet away someone is practicing short bursts of Matter in their palm. Each flash lasts less than a second before fading.
I watch it for a moment.
The output isn't bad.
But the control is uneven.
A voice beside me speaks.
"He's forcing it."
I glance over.
A boy stands a few feet away leaning against the same wall.
Short brown hair.
Brown eyes.
Relaxed posture.
He looks about my age, maybe a little taller, but the way he carries himself is noticeably different from most people here.
Everyone else looks tense.
Prepared.
Trying to look ready.
This guy looks comfortable.
Like he showed up already expecting things to go his way.
He notices me looking.
"You were watching it too," he says.
"Yeah."
He nods toward the participant practicing Matter.
"Too much power, not enough control. He's pushing the output harder than his core can stabilize it."
"You can tell from here?"
He shrugs slightly.
"It's not subtle."
He pushes himself off the wall and walks a step closer, extending a hand casually.
"Jaki Pierce."
I shake it.
"Kin."
His grip is firm but relaxed.
He glances around the street slowly.
"There are a lot more participants than I expected," he says. "When I heard the Ascension Trials were happening this year I assumed the number would be high, but this is ridiculous."
I look down the street.
The line curves around the corner and disappears completely.
"Yeah," I say. "It's bigger than I thought too."
Jaki studies the crowd.
"You ever notice how people behave when they're about to compete with each other?"
I glance at him.
"What do you mean."
He nods toward the group of boys from earlier.
"They're loud because they're nervous."
He gestures toward another participant sitting on a crate tightening the straps on his boots for the third time.
"That one's trying to convince himself he's prepared."
Then he nods toward the girl practicing Matter again.
"And that one is focused enough that she probably forgot anyone else is here."
I follow his gaze. "You do this often?"
"Watch people?"
"Yeah."
He smiles slightly. "Only when I'm curious."
I glance back at him. "You curious about everyone here?"
"About half of them."
"What about the other half?"
"They're easy to read." The confidence in his voice isn't forced.
He just says it like it's obvious.
I study him for a second. "You've been training a while."
"Yeah."
"Where."
"A few places."
That answer doesn't give me much.
He tilts his head slightly. "What about you."
"What about me."
"You don't look like someone who just decided to sign up last week."
"I didn't."
He nods once.
"Where you from?"
"Central Rivenden."
That makes him pause.
"You grew up here?"
"Yeah."
"But you said that like it was past tense."
"Because it is."
I shift my shoulder against the wall.
"I left about six years ago."
"Six years?" he repeats.
"Yeah."
"What made you leave?"
"Family moved."
He studies me for a moment.
Then nods slowly.
"So you're coming back to compete in the Ascension Trials after being gone for six years."
"That's the idea."
Jaki exhales quietly and glances around the street again.
"Well," he says, "that probably makes this more interesting for you than it is for everyone else."
"How so."
"Because everyone here is arriving for the first time."
He gestures toward the city around us.
"But you're coming back."
I don't respond right away.
He watches the crowd again.
"You nervous?" he asks.
"Not really."
He looks amused.
"That's a strange answer."
"Why."
"Because most people here are terrified."
I glance toward the two boys who were arguing earlier.
They've stopped talking completely now.
Both staring toward the registration building like they're waiting for something to happen.
"You nervous?" I ask him.
Jaki smiles slightly.
"No."
"Why not."
He shrugs. "Because worrying about something before it happens doesn't actually help you when it does."
That answer comes too easily.
Like he's thought about it before.
The street continues buzzing with quiet conversation.
More participants arrive.
Some glance around like they're looking for someone they know.
Others head straight for the line.
I lean my head lightly against the wall.
"When do you think it starts?" Jaki asks.
"No idea."
"They just teleport us somewhere?"
"Maybe."
He nods slowly.
"That would be efficient."
A few more minutes pass.
The waiting stretches.
Then—
The sound hits.
It starts deep.
Low enough that for a split second I think it's something underground.
Then it grows.
Fast.
A massive blaring tone erupts across the city.
People react instantly.
Hands fly to ears.
Conversations cut off mid-sentence.
"What the hell—"
"I can't—"
"Is that the—"
The sound grows louder.
Sharper.
I press my hands over my ears.
It barely helps.
The noise vibrates through the street beneath my boots.
Through the walls.
Through my chest.
Jaki bends forward slightly beside me.
"Well," he shouts over the sound, "I'm guessing that's the start."
The tone continues rising.
For a moment it feels like it's cutting straight through my head.
Then—
It stops.
Instantly.
Silence crashes down over everything.
I open my eyes.
The street is gone.
The wall behind my back disappears.
The sky disappears.
Everything disappears.
Stone stretches beneath my boots.
A massive chamber surrounds us.
For a moment no one speaks.
Then voices explode everywhere.
"Where are we?"
"Did we just teleport?"
"This has to be the trial!"
Participants stand packed across the giant room in every direction.
Hundreds of them.
No—
More.
Jaki looks around slowly.
"Well," he says calmly, "that was fast."
I turn slowly, trying to take in the scale of the room.
The chamber is enormous.
Square.
The ceiling rises so high it almost fades into shadow.
Smooth stone walls surround the entire space.
No doors.
No windows.
Just open space.
And participants.
At least a thousand of them.
All around our age.
Fifteen.
Sixteen.
People push through the crowd trying to see what's at the center of the room.
I follow their gaze.
A raised circular platform stands in the middle of the chamber.
Wide.
Solid.
Jaki notices it too.
"That's definitely important."
"You think."
"Yeah."
Someone behind us speaks.
"Maybe we have to reach it."
Another participant answers.
"Or defend it."
A third voice says,
"Or maybe it's just where they explain the trial."
Jaki folds his arms loosely.
"They're letting everyone panic first."
"What do you mean."
"They could've explained already."
He glances up toward the high stone walls surrounding the chamber.
"But they didn't."
I follow his gaze.
Balconies run along the upper walls.
Empty.
Watching positions.
"They're observing," he says.
"Seeing how people react before anything even starts.
The noise in the chamber slowly dies down.
Not because anyone tells us to be quiet.
Because everyone starts noticing the same thing.
The balconies.
Stone ledges run along the upper walls of the chamber. They sit high above the floor, built into the structure like observation points.
A few participants near the front start pointing upward.
"Hey."
"Someone's up there."
I follow their gaze.
For a moment the balcony looks empty.
Then a figure steps forward.
Tall.
Calm.
Standing right at the edge of the stone ledge.
The reaction in the room is immediate.
People start whispering.
"…Tenfold."
The word spreads quickly.
Tenfold.
Every head in the chamber turns toward the balcony.
The figure stands there for a moment, looking down at the crowd.
A thousand participants.
Then he speaks.
"This is the First Trial."
His voice carries easily across the entire chamber.
Not loud.
Just controlled.
The kind of voice that doesn't need to force itself to be heard.
Conversations stop instantly.
No one interrupts.
No one even shifts.
Jaki lets out a small breath beside me.
"Well," he says quietly, "that answers that."
The Tenfold member continues.
"You have all completed registration for the Ascension Trials."
His gaze moves slowly across the room.
"You have traveled here from across the continent of Tristerria."
Some people straighten slightly when he says that.
"You believe yourselves capable of becoming Ethereal Knights."
He pauses.
Then continues calmly.
"We will now begin determining whether that belief is correct."
A faint murmur spreads through the crowd.
He raises a hand slightly.
The murmurs stop.
"The First Trial is called the Shifting Field."
The stone beneath my boots vibrates faintly.
At first I think I imagined it.
Then the vibration grows stronger.
I look down.
Thin seams begin appearing across the stone floor.
Lines spreading outward in a massive grid.
The entire chamber floor divides into enormous square platforms.
People nearby notice it too.
"The ground—"
"It's moving—"
Several sections of stone sink slightly while others rise a few inches.
The shifting spreads outward across the chamber.
The Tenfold member gestures toward the center of the room.
The circular platform.
"The objective is simple."
His voice remains steady.
"The first five hundred participants to reach the center platform will pass the First Trial."
The reaction is immediate.
"What?"
"Five hundred?"
"There's way more people than that!"
Participants begin turning in every direction, suddenly aware of the distance between themselves and the center.
Jaki tilts his head slightly.
"That's actually a pretty clean way to cut the numbers."
"You like it?" I ask.
"It's efficient."
The Tenfold member continues speaking.
"Participants who do not reach the center platform will be removed from the trial."
Removed.
The word spreads through the crowd quickly.
Some people relax slightly hearing that.
Others look even more tense.
Because now the reality is clear.
Half of the participants in this room are about to fail.
The Tenfold member raises a finger.
"This trial measures three things."
He holds up a second finger.
"Movement."
A third.
"Decision making."
Then he lowers his hand.
"And control of your Matter."
The platforms beneath us shift again.
More noticeably this time.
One section of floor near the edge of the chamber suddenly drops nearly two meters.
Several participants jump backward to avoid falling.
The Tenfold member doesn't react.
"The platforms will move."
Another section slides sideways several meters.
"The terrain will change."
The shifting spreads across the chamber like a wave.
Stone grinding against stone.
Large platforms rising and lowering unpredictably.
"And the environment will adapt to your presence."
Jaki exhales quietly.
"That part sounds interesting."
I keep my eyes on the center platform.
It sits nearly forty meters away from us.
Too far to just sprint directly.
Especially with the ground already moving.
The Tenfold member finishes.
"Reach the center platform."
He pauses.
Then says calmly,
"Or fail."
The chamber falls silent again.
A thousand participants standing on shifting stone.
Everyone measuring distance.
Planning.
Waiting.
The Tenfold member looks down at all of us.
Then he says one word.
"Begin."
For half a second—
No one moves.
Then the entire room explodes into motion.
Participants sprint toward the center from every direction.
The platforms shift violently beneath their feet.
Some leap forward.
Others hesitate.
One participant near the front misjudges the movement of a rising platform and stumbles backward as it lifts beneath him.
Another jumps across a gap that opens suddenly between two sections of stone.
Jaki watches the chaos for a second.
Then he looks at me.
"Well," he says calmly.
"I guess we should get moving."
The platform beneath us shifts sideways.
The distance between us and the next section of stone begins widening.
Jaki steps forward to the edge of the platform.
He glances at the timing of the movement.
Then looks back at me briefly.
"You coming?"
The gap widens another meter.
The center platform sits across a shifting maze of rising and falling stone.
Hundreds of participants already racing toward it.
I tighten my grip on the strap of my sword.
Then step forward beside him.
"Yeah," I say.
"Let's go."