Chapter 25
The elemental maze dissolved behind them as the last shimmering gate closed with a thunderous clang. Stone and magic folded back into the arena floor, vanishing like a dream never meant to linger.
Team Aflety stood at the heart of the arena, breaths heavy, their silhouettes cast long under the glow of floating crystals.
Their names now hovered on the leaderboard in silver light:
Team A – Aflety Magic Academy: 92 Points. Rank: 1st
Cheers erupted from the stands, but inside the resting chamber, silence loomed like fog.
Evan sat on a bench, one hand clutching a bloodstained cloth. Not his blood—but his beast's.
Nex lay coiled at his feet, breathing shallowly. His scales were scuffed and cracked from blocking a last-minute mana strike that would've pierced Evan's chest.
"You idiot…" Evan whispered. "You didn't have to take that hit."
"I'm your beast," Nex replied faintly in his mind. "Of course I did."
Evan tightened his jaw, memories flooding in—of a life where he had no one to protect him. A life where the word 'bond' was just fiction.
But now…
Now he had someone who leapt into danger for him. A creature born of divinity, loyal not because of orders, but because it chose him.
Silva approached quietly and sat beside him. She didn't say anything at first. Just offered a healing vial and a nod.
"He'll be fine," she murmured. "I've seen worse in the Beast Taming Division. You've got a rare partner, Evan."
"He's not a partner," Evan muttered, still looking down.
Silva frowned. "What do you mean?"
"He's… family."
There was silence between them for a long while. The kind of silence filled with meaning, the kind that comes when words can't quite carry the weight of a feeling.
⸻
Elsewhere in the chamber
Lilith sat on a crystal bench, her expression unreadable. Her fingers were curled over a page of a book she wasn't reading.
Cassia noticed.
"Are you going to tell him?" she asked softly.
Lilith looked up.
"Tell him what?"
"That you love him. That you've loved him since you were five. That he's the only one who makes your undead heart flutter."
Lilith rolled her eyes. "You sound like one of those trash romance novels my maids read."
Cassia smirked. "I'm observant, not romantic."
Lilith glanced across the room. Evan was still crouched beside Nex, unaware of the conversation. There was a strange warmth in her eyes. Longing… and pain.
"I could tell him," Lilith said, voice quieter now. "But he doesn't see me that way. Not yet. Maybe not ever."
Cassia arched an eyebrow. "You're the heiress of one of the most powerful vampire houses in the empire. You could have anyone."
"I don't want anyone." Lilith's voice cracked ever so slightly. "I want him. Even if he's still haunted by whoever he lost in his past."
Cassia didn't respond. She simply leaned back, watching the flickering runes above. She wasn't good with feelings—but even she understood what unspoken love looked like.
⸻
Gareth, meanwhile, was being Gareth.
"You should've seen the guy's face when I smashed that earth shield like a cracker," he said, waving his arms with wild enthusiasm. "Boom! Crumble! He just stood there like—'what just happened?!'"
Silva, now bandaging her wrist, glanced up dryly. "We saw. You nearly got us all killed in the process."
"But we didn't die! That's the point of a good fight—make it flashy!"
Evan gave a small, involuntary chuckle from across the chamber.
Gareth turned to him. "Hey, see? Evan agrees. Tell her I'm a genius."
Evan shook his head, the smallest of smiles tugging at his lips. "You're an idiot."
"Same thing!"
Lilith let out a small giggle—something rare and surprisingly sweet for someone usually so composed. The mood in the chamber began to lift, like morning sun burning away lingering mist.
⸻
Then came the summons.
The runes in the chamber flared gold. A voice echoed out, formal and commanding.
"All teams, prepare. Second Trial begins in two hours. Rest and recover. The true test has not yet begun."
Cassia stood, dusting off her cloak. "They're really not giving us a break."
"Good," Evan said softly, standing to his full height. His eyes glinted with resolve. "We don't need one."
He turned to the team.
"This next trial… they'll aim for us. We're on top now, which means they'll want to knock us down."
Lilith walked over to stand at his side. "Then we remind them why Aflety is the crown of the Empire."
Gareth grinned. "Dibs on punching someone again."
Silva rolled her eyes. "Dibs on saving your reckless ass again."
Cassia didn't say anything, but there was a flicker of anticipation in her eyes.
And Nex? The small Basilisk lifted his head from Evan's boots, his golden eyes glowing faintly.
"Let them come," he whispered. "We are not done growing yet."
Evan reached down and gently picked him up, cradling him against his chest.
"No," Evan murmured, voice full of quiet fire. "We're just getting started."
⸻
Perfect—let's continue with:
⸻
The announcement of the Second Trial hung in the air like storm clouds over the arena.
Unlike the previous challenge, this one wasn't physical terrain or puzzle-like structure. It was a trial of spirit and bond—something no spell could directly defend against.
The Gauntlet of Spirits.
The team had just enough time to rest and recover in the sanctum below the coliseum, where soft green healing lights floated through the corridors. Clerics and beast healers wandered among the competing students, tending to wounds both physical and spiritual.
Evan stood near one of the wide balcony windows overlooking the enchanted waterfall behind Aflety. He held Nex in his arms—bandaged, drowsy but healing. Nex's eyes blinked slowly as the water reflected tiny prisms of sunlight.
"You don't need to come in with me," Evan said softly. "Not if you're not ready."
Nex's tail flicked.
"Don't be stupid. I'm not letting you walk into a spirit trial alone."
Evan exhaled, a ghost of a smile on his lips.
Lilith approached him, her usual composure replaced with quiet tension.
"Evan," she said. "They say the Gauntlet forces us to relive… what haunts us."
"I know."
"I'm not afraid of it," she added quickly, then paused. "But I don't want you to suffer through it alone."
He looked at her—not just her face, but the expression behind her crimson eyes. Lilith's voice had always carried power, but right now, there was a rare softness that made Evan falter.
He looked away.
"I've lived through worse than whatever ghosts they summon," he muttered.
Lilith reached out and gently touched his arm. "You don't always have to be strong."
He didn't answer.
Chapter End.
______