Morning came with no alarm.
Just voices.
Soft at first, then rising as the slavers moved through the corridors, ordering everyone out. Varik sat up slowly, ribs pulling under the bandages but not nearly as bad as they should've been, he was basica fully healed.
Junia brushed past him, already tying her boots.
"Today's the day," she muttered.
Rhem gave a small grunt of agreement while adjusting the tattered hood of his coat. He looked uneasy yet excited.
They all knew what today meant.
The hall they gathered in was the same as yesterday's inspection — cleared out, cold, lit harshly by electric torches. Nearly a hundred and forty bodies trickled in until the space buzzed with quiet tension.
Grel stood at the front.
And beside him, as expected, was the buyer.
His presence settled the room instantly. No need for shouting. No need for threats. Just a weight that bent the air around him.
Grel finally spoke.
"All captives will separate. Those who decline the trial—go left. Those who will take the trial—right."
A ripple went through the hall. Whispers. Shuffling. Fear. Hope.
Varik inhaled slowly.
He already knew where he was going.
Junia moved to the right without hesitation. Rhem followed.
Varik walked after them.
Halfway across the room, he glanced behind him.
Elara stood still.
Expression unreadable.
Then she stepped left.
A quiet ache tugged at Varik's chest — brief, but sharp.
By the end of it:
63 stood on the left.
74 on the right.
Those who remained on the left looked uneasy but resigned — older men, injured workers, mothers with children, people too afraid or too tired to risk their lives again.
Those on the right…
They didn't look brave.
Just desperate.
Varik among them.
Junia muttered, "Huh. More than I expected."
Rhem murmured, "I guess there are more fools in this camp than I thought, us included."
Junia let out a chuckle
Varik stayed quiet.
But internally he thought —
"This isn't freedom."
"Just another leash."
"But it's the only path I have left."
And the only path that might lead him to Lux.
When the room finally settled, the buyer stepped forward.
"Those who chose to stay," he said, turning slightly toward the left group, "you will be reassigned to private ownership. Your conditions will vary depending on your new masters. You will be escorted shortly."
No dramatics.
No apology.
Then he faced the right group.
"Those who chose the trial… there is no returning to the other line. From this moment on, you belong to the Pathfinder Corps' jurisdiction."
The newly titled candidates stiffened.
"You will have two months of preparation. Training. Conditioning. Education. You will be moved to a military facility within the Inner City. There, you will be shaped into candidates worthy of the preliminary test."
Whispers spread immediately—
"Just what kind of test will this be?"
"Inner City…?"
"Two months—can that even help?"
A slaver barked at everyone to quiet down.
The buyer continued, unbothered.
"If you pass the preliminary trial, you will be formally sponsored by the government. You will be granted status, purpose, and provisions. You will not be nobles. You will not be free citizens. But you will no longer be slaves. Depending on your performance those of you who survive might even be granted special treatment."
The reactions varied.
A few smiled through tears.
Some stood straighter.
Others looked unsure.
Varik only felt a strange mix of resolve and revulsion.
Better than being owned by someone who sees me as property.
Better than doing nothing while Lux disappears into the world.
Elara approached before they were separated completely.
She stopped in front of Varik, arms crossed tightly over her chest. Her black eyes met his grey ones with something like conflict.
"You didn't need to take the blame that day," she said quietly.
Varik shrugged a little. "Didn't think about it."
"The kid who looks like he always has something on his mind didn't think about something? Yeah, right," Elara said joyfully.
He didn't argue.
Elara exhaled, looking away for a moment. When she looked back, her expression had softened — barely, but enough for him to notice.
Then she reached out her hand.
"Thank you kid," she said while ruffling his hair.
He nodded. "Be careful where you end up."
"I should be saying that to you," she replied.
Junia watched the exchange with raised brows. Rhem simply gave Elara a respectful nod.
Elara began to walk away before she stopped and turned back to the three.
"I know you three may as well be strangers seeing as you've known each other for barely a few months and Varik even less so but…"
She paused for a brief moment.
"I want you three to take care of each other," she said with a small smile on her face as she turned her back, now parting ways.
When Elara finally stepped away to join the others being resold, Varik felt something settle uncomfortably in his chest. A quiet weight he wasn't sure he could feel again after losing his family.
But there was no more time.
Slavers opened the massive doors at the far end of the hall.
Snow and cold wind blew in—
but what stood outside overshadowed the weather entirely.
A colossal steel transport machine, humming with deep mechanical life.
Four segmented carriages, each plated in reinforced alloy.
Eight wheels per carriage—towering, thick, wrapped in insulated treads meant to crush ice rather than slip on it.
Pneumatic joints connected each section, allowing it to flex across uneven terrain.
The front cabin was sloped and armored like the head of a beast, with narrow viewing slits and mounted lamps cutting through the blizzard.
Steam pulsed from vents along the sides.
Frost clung thick to its metal skin.
Junia let out a low whistle. "Looks like a train and a tank had a giant, angry baby."
Rhem added ," I never thought I'd live to see the day I'd enter one of these. I'd love to take a look at the schematics."
Varik said nothing.
He stared at the colossal machine with a mix of awe and apprehension.
"Candidates. Welcome to the Baiulus," he ordered. "Your new journey begins now."
Varik stepped forward with the rest.
Not because he trusted the path.
Not because he believed in anything the man promised.
But because somewhere beyond the walls of this frozen city—
his brother was still alive.
And Varik was done waiting.