The figure vanished into the fog.
Kael waited. One minute. Two. Five.
He counted his heartbeats. Only when the rhythm was steady did he move.
He slid down the tree trunk like a shadow detaching itself from the wall. His boots touched the moss without a sound. He didn't breathe through his nose. He breathed through his mouth, slow and shallow.
The test isn't the beasts, Kael thought. It's the people.
Beasts hunted for food. Humans hunted for sport.
Kael moved deeper into the forest. He avoided the main paths. Those were kill zones. Ambush points. He stuck to the ridges, where the ground was rocky and hard to track.
The fog grew thicker. Visibility dropped to ten meters.
Snap.
Kael froze.
Not the wind. Not a beast.
Voices.
He crouched behind a fallen log. Peered through the gaps in the bark.
Twenty meters away, a clearing opened up. Three students stood there. Robes of deep purple. House Nightbane. They held weapons drawn.
Surrounded them were two students. Smaller. Terrified. Robes of pale blue. House Solmara. Healers. Not fighters.
"Hand over your rations," one Nightbane student said. His voice was bored. Like this was routine. "And your identification chips."
"We... we need those," one Solmara student stammered.
"Not our problem," the Nightbane student said. He stepped forward. Raised his blade. "You should have picked a better team."
Kael watched.
Intervention risks exposure, he analyzed. But letting them die violates the code.
Uncle Marcus said: Protect the weak. Uncle Lucien said: Protect yourself.
Balance.
Kael scanned the ground. Loose stones. Dry leaves. A hollow tree trunk nearby.
He reached into his pouch. Pulled out a single pebble. Rough. Heavy.
He channeled a tiny thread of Aether. Not enough to glow. Just enough to guide the trajectory.
Calculate wind. Calculate distance. Calculate impact.
He flicked his wrist.
The pebble flew. Silent. Invisible in the fog.
It struck the hollow tree trunk ten meters to the left of the clearing.
Thud.
The sound echoed like a heavy footstep.
The Nightbane students spun around. Weapons raised.
"What was that?" one hissed.
"Beast?" another whispered.
The leader frowned. He looked at the Solmara students. Then at the dark trees.
"Leave them," he ordered. "Not worth getting hunted."
They retreated quickly. Vanishing into the mist.
The Solmara students stood frozen for a moment. Then they ran. They didn't look back. They didn't thank their savior. They just survived.
Kael stepped out from behind the log.
Good, he thought. No witnesses. No traces.
He continued moving.
The forest was changing. The air felt heavier. The scent of blood was stronger now. Not fresh. Old.
He found a patch of disturbed earth. Claw marks on a tree. Deep. Three inches into the wood.
Feral Beast, Kael noted. Large. Claw type. Probably a Shadow Claw.
Rank 3 or 4.
He touched the marks. The wood was still warm.
It was here recently.
Kael looked up. The sky was darkening. Night would fall soon. And night in the Illusion Forest wasn't just dark. It was alive.
He needed shelter. High ground. Defensible.
He spotted a cliff face ahead. Overhung with roots. A small cave mouth hidden beneath the vegetation.
Perfect.
He moved toward it.
But as he stepped over a patch of ferns, his instinct screamed.
Stop.
He froze.
Below his boot, barely visible, was a tripwire. Thin. Made of human hair. Connected to a small charm on the ground.
A trap.
Kael lifted his foot. Slowly. Placed it down elsewhere.
Someone is hunting hunters, he realized.
He looked around. The shadows seemed to stretch toward him. Watching.
He wasn't the only one hiding in the dark.
Somewhere out there, something was waiting. Something smarter than a beast. Something patient.
Kael smiled. Just a curve of the lips.
Let it wait.
I have all night.
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