Almost 2 months had passed and the ' The Descent' had come closer, But the morning haze that clung low to the ground as all of us gathered outside, the chill biting just enough to sting our lungs. Kael had risen before the sun, as always, and Crim dragged me out with one solid kick to the ribs. Had not changed.
"You wanted to be stronger, didn't you?" she said, arms crossed as I staggered to my feet.
My muscles still ached from yesterday's sparring. But the pain felt more distant now, almost like my body had begun to... enjoy it. Crave it, even. I couldn't explain it, but I had could fell my body improving by the, sure it wasn't an easy process nor is it a short one but it is something I need. My senses felt sharper. Every movement, every dodge, every strike—it was starting to make more sense than ever before.
Training with Kael was relentless. He never smiled, never praised. He just watched. Analyzing. Judging. Occasionally adjusting my stance or throwing a wooden blade with near-fatal precision. Crim, on the other hand, wasn't so quiet. Even while fighting she cannot stop herself from talking.
"Stop hesitating, Aurie!"
I ducked her strike, feeling her blade pass an inch from my cheek. I countered without thinking—twist, step, lunge. Our blades locked it felt like we were about to be in a stalemate, but I pushed harder. Too hard. Crim lost her balance and fell to the ground, gasping.
Kael's voice cut through the air. "Enough."
I blinked, not realizing how close my blade was to her throat. My hands were trembling. Trying to catch my breath and take hold of the situation.
Crim sat up slowly, staring at me. Not angry. Not scared. Just... unsettled.
That night, I sat by the river, washing the sweat and dust from my face. The moon hung low and shining bright as ever no matter what happened, distorted in the water's surface. Then I saw them—my eyes.
But also not mine, they felt like they were mine but they didn't seem real....
The reflection staring back was darker. Sharper. Inhumane. But I couldn't stop looking it even though it looked like they didn't belong to me.
I stepped back in fright, nearly slipping. When I went to look again, they were normal. Just tired. Just human. I thought it was because I was tired and I hadn't slept so I decided to head back to the cabin.
But just I got to the cabin, Kael and Crim stood outside beneath the canopy of stars.
"I think something's wrong with him," Crim muttered.
Kael didn't answer right away. His arms were folded, gaze fixed on the woods.
"He's getting used to this stuff quite quick huh," she went on. "Kael, you should that's not normal for a boy that age! Not even close. When we fight, it's like something else takes over. His dumb brown eyes... they don't look at me, they look through me. Like he's not trying to win—he's trying to erase me."
Kael exhaled through his nose. "I've seen it too but I don't think he is trying to do anything rash he thinks of you as someone he has to beat no matter what ."
Crim's voice dropped to a whisper. "Do you think it's... related to the Descent?"
"Could be," he said. "Or worse only fate could tell Amethyst, only fate ." He said as he yawned and stretched to relax his muscles.
They didn't speak again for a long while. Only the rustle of wind and the howl of something distant filled the silence.
As I got back I went right to bed not listening what Kael and Crim were talking about but as I slept, I dreamed of black skies and white flames.
And no eyes to see me, yet I still felt someone watching me.
Something old.
Something..... waiting.
As I dreamed, Kael and Crim continued talking beneath the moonlit quiet of the forest.
"Amethyst," Kael spoke softly, something nearly gentle in the way he pronounced her name. "Do me one favor. No matter how strange or dumb he becomes… stick with him, okay?"
Crim blinked in surprise. Kael never requested anything—least of all like this. The Kael she was familiar with barked commands, not favors.
A beat passed. Then, unexpectedly, she laughed—really laughed. A soft tear rolled down her cheek, but she didn't bother wiping it away.
"Well," she said with a grin, "I've been living with an idiot half my life. What's one more?"
Still chuckling, she opened the cabin door and disappeared inside.
Kael was now left alone, the only companion his sword. A low hum resonated from its scabbard—but this time, the pitch was different.
"You'd best come out, Zakura, and if I've said it once I've said it a million times, don't be creeping up on conversations," he grumbled, raking the back of his head in annoyance.
A voice replied, far away but firm. "I won't make an appearance this time. But I will tell you this—don't push them so hard. I warned you, Kael. They're not like you."
And with that, the voice dissolved into the air like smoke.
Kael's gaze wandered to the stars overhead, thoughts growing black.
"Either both of them die… one slithers out alive… or—if we're lucky—they both make it."
He breathed slowly. Auren's improvement replayed in his head—the boy who would shake after having killed one demon, now calmly dealing with four or five without flinching. It was good. No question.
But unnatural.
"Yes," Zakura breathed once more, her voice barely audible to the wind, "Disturbing. But also… so much better than how you used to be."
Kael did not answer.
He simply continued gazing up at the sky. Pondering which stars would be visible at the completion of the Trials.
The morning was quieter than it had been in weeks. No barking orders, no sparring clatter, no snide remarks hurled mid-punch. Just the soft groan of wood and the whish of wind through pine. Crim stood at the edge of the clearing, cinching the straps on her pack. I sat on the cabin steps, playing with the bracelet Kael had given me—obsidian-black, threaded with a metallic vein that hummed faintly with warmth.
Kael came out of the cabin last, a map tucked under his arm, his face inscrutable. For once, his characteristic stoicism had a peculiar weight to it. Not heavy with sorrow—something older, more difficult to define.
As I sheathed by blade after cleaning it thoroughly to make sure that rust wouldn't built up on it while we traveled to far from town
He gave the map to Crim first. "This will lead you to the trial location. You have to go through the Sytheran Marshlands and stay clear of the Hollow Peaks. Use your brains. Stay on the shaded paths, not the glaring ones."
Crim nodded, her lips set. "We'll be okay."
Then he turned to me. I rose, suddenly uncertain what to say.
"I've highlighted a couple of safe points," he said, pushing the map into my hands. "If something goes wrong, press the bracelets. They'll take you to the closest squad contact, provided they're not already deceased."
"…That's reassuring," I grumbled.
Kael let a ghost of a smile, but it was gone in an instant. "You're not prepared."
My stomach clenched. "Then why are you letting us go?"
"Because no one's ever ready smartass." His gaze landed on mine. "Trust me neither was I the first time I went.."
Crim cocked an eyebrow. "That sounds like hypocrisy."
"It's truth," Kael replied. "You'll go into something cruel. Don't attempt to be brave. Be smart."
We just stood there for a second. I glanced down at the map, over at Crim—then back at Kael. "Why aren't you coming?"
He gazed up at the sky as though he might see the words there. "I've already taken the tests. Decades ago. I was fourteen when I did it, and they nearly didn't let me escape from it—because nobody that age was supposed to live." He hesitated. "They made an exception, but it wasn't mercy. It was fear."
Crim scowled. "y so you are just telling that you're telling me you're cursed. Makes sense"
Kael smiled . "No. I'm telling you I've done what I can and maybe I can do more but now its your turn, and I am NOT cursed and its doesn't make sense either! "
He pulled a little polished shard out of his cloak—half-broken, the other half inscribed with a strange glyph. "Take this as well," he said, pushing it into my hand. "It's quite old. It was a gift when I went for the trials myself. It shines in the presence of something unnatural. If it shines red—run."
"Wait, you're giving me your good luck charm? But also you are telling us to cheated in the Slayer Trails?!" I asked.
Kael frowned. "No. I'm giving you my burden. Try not to lose it. And no its not cheating it means thinking ahead of time."
Crim stared at him for a long moment. "You really believe in us, don't you?"
Kael said nothing for a moment. Then, simply, "I believe in what you might become."
She nodded, but I saw the flicker in her eyes. For all her bluster, even Crim was nervous.
We turned to leave. The dirt path stretched beyond the trees like the spine of some forgotten beast, winding into forest mist and rising hills.
"Crim," Kael called.
She glanced back.
He folded his arms. "Stay with him. No matter how weird or stupid he gets."
Crim blinked—then burst into laughter, waving him off with mock exasperation. "I've been stuck with idiots all my life. What's one more?"
Kael's lips curled into a twitch. "That's the spirit."
And then we were walking, the cabin growing small in our wake, the silence closing in. My feet were leaden, but my heart pounded even. The Slayer Trials loomed—two hopefuls equipped with hope, intuition, and barely more knowledge than needed to live.
Whatever came next, there was no going back now.
But being called an idiot is still annoying.