Humans fear many things.
Darkness, insects, animals, the depths of the ocean…
Death, hunger, disease.
But in this age, what people feared most could be summarized in a single word: Monsters.
The first rays of morning light struck the courtyard of the Silver Tower, but the air was still freezing. When Eren breathed out, vapor emerged. The field was silent. Everyone had just woken up, but no one looked sleepy. Tension was heavy.
Four people stood in the middle of the field: Cain, Leila, Milo, and Arlo. Arlo was cold as always. Milo's eyes darted around, as if something was about to happen at any moment. Cain was stretching with his arms wide open. Leila had her hands in her pockets, observing the surroundings.
Eren thought to himself when he saw them: "I'm on the same team as these guys... great. Well, at least breakfast was pretty good."
Leila walked towards Eren. "Three new faces are standing a little further away," she said. "One is a chubby, short boy with broad shoulders, his name is Gus. One has long, snow-white hair and dull eyes, that's Zulu. The other is the boy with the red scarf, pale skin, and an icy expression, Nicholas. Gus used to work at his father's bakery. He made the pancakes."
"Thank you for the information," Eren replied.
"Now, the boy standing in that corner, Shirou, who is blowing bubbles from his pipe, is not from around here, and I think he's trustworthy. Anyway, you can meet the rest yourself. Although the 3rd graders are currently being punished because they don't carry brains in their heads."
The man she called Shirou was twisting his pipe in his mouth and blowing bubbles. The bubbles trembled in the cold air.
Kayra and Raphael were standing on the side. Kayra was looking around as if sniffing the air. Raphael was leaning on his spear, surveying the field. When the field was completely full, the silence deepened.
Then a shadow stirred from the side. Dusk walked out into the center. The man's shadow looked longer than it should. Eren was used to this by now.
Dusk stopped. No one spoke. Dusk's voice was low. "The introduction phase is enough. You've all learned who is who." His eyes scanned everyone in an instant. "Today, we have training duels."
Everyone stirred slightly. Eren's heart quickened.
Dusk continued: "The rules are simple. Protect the stone behind you. If the stone is broken, you lose."
The ground trembled. Suddenly, two platforms made of black rock appeared at both ends of the training field, with a stone on each platform.
Dusk pointed to the first duel with his finger: "Shirou and Cain... against Leila and Eren."
Eren's stomach dropped. Leila came next to him. Even though Eren didn't want to, he felt a little relieved when he got closer to Leila. This annoyed him. Shirou tapped his pipe. Cain cracked his knuckles.
Dusk's voice was heard once more: "Begin."
Shirou was the first to move. His pipe suddenly began to grow, stopping when it was about 1 meter long. He raised his pipe. The vapor coming out of his pipe formed a giant bubble in the air. But this was not normal. A boiling sound was coming from inside it. Eren felt that sound in his bones.
The bubble hung above. Shirou was waiting. Cain, on the other hand, walked forward, seemingly coming towards Eren, but his eyes were on Leila.
Eren thought for a moment: "This guy is aiming for Leila, not me."
Leila did not step forward. She stood behind Eren. The ground suddenly began to heat up. Leila had touched the ground with her fingers. Eren felt the heat in the air. The ground was turning red.
Shirou's giant water bubble trembled slightly. The boiling water began to descend. But the ground was so hot that the water turned into steam as soon as it touched the ground. Suddenly, a dense white mist covered the field.
Cain was waiting for exactly this. He plunged into the steam.
Eren tried to squint his eyes, but the mist was too thick. He couldn't see in front of him. If he could control his special eyes (or observation ability), things might have been easier.
Just then, Leila's hand touched Eren's arm. "Don't move."
Eren's heart raced, but he stopped. Leila's voice was very calm. He could even hear Cain's breathing in the steam. He was moving like a shadow.
Eren held his own breath for a moment. When he looked through the mist, the only thing that was clearly visible was the stone behind them... and a very faint aura was shining on the stone. He was able to control his eyes for the first time.
Eren bent his knees and made a leap. He came out of the steam cloud and came face to face with the stone. Just then, another bubble fell from above. Shirou had not boiled this bubble. It was cold. The force of the impact knocked Eren to the ground.
Eren rolled, breathless. Leila immediately tried to prepare a spell, but... Cain appeared right behind her. Leila reacted, but couldn't catch up. Cain grabbed her by the shoulder and threw her to the ground. He hit the stone with the blunt training sword in his hand. Although Leila reached out her hand to hold the stone, Cain broke it in a single move.
The sound echoed across the field.
Dusk spoke: "First match is over. Winners: Cain and Shirou."
Eren got up from the ground, panting. Shirou blew another bubble from his pipe and popped it over Eren's head; cold water droplets fell. Eren gave him a dirty look.
Cain withdrew the hand he had extended to Leila. "You fought well," he said, but the smirk on his face was very annoying.
Leila stood up, dusting herself off. She did not make eye contact with Eren.
Dusk raised his hand. "Second match. Gus and Nicholas against Arlo and Milo."
Nicholas and Gus walked to the other end of the field. Arlo and Milo crossed over.
Power vibrated around Arlo. Although it had not yet taken its full form, it surrounded him like an invisible layer. Milo was not aggressive, but his eyes scanned everything: the smoke, the snow, the breaths...
Dusk's voice was the same again. "Begin."
Gus twirled the cigarette between his fingers. When the first wisp of smoke came out, the cold air coming from behind Zulu settled over the entire field. Nicholas scattered snowflakes. The ground froze.
Arlo lunged forward. The shield layer collided with Gus's smoke. The particles in the smoke hissed and dispersed on the shield.
Milo stayed behind. His eyes were constantly on the stone. He calculated where the opponents would strike, how they would approach, everything. Nicholas picked up a small sphere of ice from the ground. He breathed on it, and the sphere hardened.
Just as Arlo was about to make a move, Nicholas knelt down and filled the sphere with all his ice energy. Then he threw it. But not directly at Arlo. At the rock behind Arlo. When the ball hit, the stone slid out of place. It came to the edge of the platform. Then it fell to the ground and broke.
Dusk raised his hand. "Winners: Nicholas and Gus."
Milo clenched his teeth in anger. Arlo said nothing, just walked to the side. Nicholas looked up at Dusk. There was not the slightest smile on his face.
The steam over the arena still hadn't dispersed. After Eren's fight ended, people took a breath, but Dusk didn't even care. The man stood at the edge of the stage as if to say, "Next up."
Kayra had just taken a sip of his water when Dusk touched his shoulder.
Dusk: "Get up. We're next."
Kayra barely swallowed the water in his throat. "We?" But he didn't make a sound. If he did, something worse would happen.
Two silhouettes approached from the other side of the arena.
Azel. That classic, "nothing matters" air about him. As if he hadn't come to watch a fight, but a weather report.
To his left was someone else... Kayra paused when he saw him.
Zulu.
Long white hair, vacant eyes, a posture that didn't care about anything. But this boy was not a stranger to Kayra. He was his groupmate during the exam. He was quiet then, and he was quiet now.
Kayra remembered: He had never seen Zulu panic even once during the exam. It was as if nothing that happened affected him.
Dusk leand in slightly:
Dusk: "You'll take Zulu. Leave Azel to me. If you touch Azel, you'll die."
A single sentence echoed in Kayra's mind: "I don't want to fight this man."
But there was no turning back. This was training.
The four people stood in the middle of the arena. The ground was dry, the air was heavy, everyone was silent.
Azel moved his lips:
Azel: "Begin."
Kayra darted forward on reflex. He thought about greeting Zulu, but it would be awkward. The boy wasn't even looking at him.
The moment Kayra swung his fist, the air thickened. It was as if invisible weights were tied to his arms.
Zulu simply raised his hand. He didn't touch. He didn't make contact. He just pushed the air.
Kayra instantly slammed into the ground.
Kayra: "Damn... he didn't do anything like this in the exam..."
Dusk leaned back, stretching his shadow. Half of the stage darkened. The shadow twisted as if it were alive.
Azel raised his hand. With a flick of his finger, Dusk's shadows shattered.
Azel: "You look tired."
Dusk's eyebrow twitched.
Kayra caught his breath and darted forward again. This time, he started circling Zulu with feints.
But Zulu still wasn't looking at him. It was as if he was watching another corner of the arena.
Then suddenly... The air around Zulu collapsed.
Kayra hit the ground for the third time. His knees trembled.
Kayra: "Why didn't you do this in the exam!?"
Zulu shrugged.
Zulu: "...there was no need."
Kayra was going crazy.
Dusk whipped his shadow like a lash. Zulu tilted his head. The shadow hit and dispersed.
Azel still wasn't moving. He was just watching.
Just as Dusk was about to get serious, Azel snapped his two fingers.
All the shadows in the arena locked up. The invisible weight pressing down on Kayra suddenly doubled. Even Zulu's hair seemed to hang in the air.
Azel: "Enough."
They all froze.
Then Azel walked. He didn't even stop as he passed Kayra, just quietly said:
Azel: "You're still not bad for the boy from the exam. But you have a long way to go to reach his level."
Zulu briefly looked at Kayra.
Zulu: "...you were making a lot of noise in the exam too."
Then they continued on their way.
Dusk pulled his shadow back, lifting Kayra by the arm.
Dusk: "You have to see these levels. Otherwise, you'll be deceiving yourself."
Kayra only thought:
"If even someone from the exam team is like this... What level are they?"
Dusk pointed to the field with his hand. "That's all for today."
Just as everyone was preparing to disperse, the sky suddenly darkened. The field trembled. In the distance, the misty forest line outside the academy moved for a moment. Eren noticed this. He felt like something had escaped his eyes.
Shirou's pipe trembled. Leila turned her head. Kayra's breath caught.
Dusk paused for a moment. His face did not change, but his shadow stirred. "Go inside." His tone was unusual. No one questioned it.
When night fell, the scene changed completely.
Moon's Eye Island.
The mist was blood red. A door to a room opened. A vampire entered. Like a giant shadow. He looked like an aged version of Agnes Volid. In fact, he was Rudeus Volid, Agnes Volid's blood and biological father.
Rudeus's voice was muffled. "Who could touch my son from that dump... I can't comprehend it. I want to cut them all down."
The vampire next to him remained calm. "Don't worry, my lord. We left a small gift for them. The werewolf that was captured a long time ago... is now free inside the academy."
Rudeus's eyes darkened. "If that's not enough—"
The vampire bowed. "If it's not enough, I will go myself. I will tear off their heads and offer their blood to you in a goblet."
The room fell silent. And the light seeping from the red mist of Moon's Eye Island painted Rudeus's face with a distorted rage.