The morning was unusually cold. I stood by the window, watching the empty training field. My fingers still remembered yesterday's sensation, as if something moved under the skin when I destroyed the air golem.

  But now my thoughts returned to that day. To the tournament. To that chaos.

  Only four days had passed since the demon attack on the academy. Four days since magic disappeared for several hours, leaving everyone helpless. Four days since Eva's death and the deaths of several professors.

  I still remembered the moment when the magical stabilization node began to collapse. Remembered how the arena's eastern wall exploded. Remembered the screams from the stands when the structure began falling on spectators.

  In that moment I didn't think. Just ran where people screamed for help.

  Junior students were buried under debris. I hauled stones with bare hands until I reached them. Three were alive, though badly injured. The fourth... I was too late.

  When I finally returned to the arena, the fight was over. Gray fog was dispersing. And bodies lay across the entire arena.

  Professor Thorgrim—skull smashed against the stone wall. Professor Mirei—pierced clean through by some spike. Allarid, Keiran, three more teachers I knew by sight.

  And students. Too many students.

  Eva lay in the middle of the arena, arms spread as if reaching for something. A fist-sized hole gaped in her chest. Eyes open, staring at the sky.

  While I stared at this scene wondering what happened here, guards ran up and kicked me back to the academy.

  Elliot sat silently beside Eva. Empty gaze, no screams, not the slightest movement.

  "Where were you? Where were you when she was dying?"

  I didn't know what to answer. Saving others? It sounded like an excuse.

  The official version reported a "natural disaster" and "magical anomaly." But I saw that creature before I ran to the stands. Four arms, seams on its body, a ring of energy behind its back. This wasn't a natural disaster.

  And then it simply vanished. As suddenly as it appeared. The gray fog dispersed, magic returned to the others, but the demon was gone. As if it had never appeared.

  The tournament venue was now closed. No one was allowed there, everyone kept in the academy.

  After the tournament, Elliot changed. Not just grew sad—changed fundamentally. Became quiet, distant. Avoided conversations. Yesterday I tried to talk to him. Went to his room, sat on the edge of the bed.

  "How are you?"

  He lay facing the wall, not turning.

  "Fine."

  "Elliot, I understand this is hard for you, but..."

  His voice was level, but something frightening sounded in it.

  "You don't understand. You didn't see her die. You were busy saving others."

  He finally turned to me. Face gaunt, eyes red from lack of sleep.

  "You know what? Alice sent you a letter. Take it."

  He held out a sealed envelope.

  "I don't need it. Actually, I don't need anything."

  Elliot turned back to the wall.

  "You can go. I want to sleep."

  But I knew he wasn't sleeping. I still hadn't read Alice's letter. Shoved it in my pocket and forgot. Too much was happening.

  The warden's voice yanked me from my thoughts.

  "Сaers, Professor Tyler is calling for you. Immediately."

  I hadn't even heard him enter.

  "Coming."

  The academy corridors were empty, everyone at morning lectures. I walked quickly, but my thoughts seemed to slow. After the tournament, something changed not only inside me but in the academy itself. Too many strange decisions, too much haste.

  Professor Tyler didn't raise his head when I entered. His hands shuffled through papers—too quickly, too nervously.

  "Sit."

  Something was wrong. I felt it physically: tension in the air, like before a storm.

  He finally spoke after a couple minutes, looking somewhere above my head.

  "Your class is being sent on field training."

  "Where?"

  "Training ground near the Northern Ridge. Two days' journey from here."

  I blinked. Northern Ridge? This wasn't at all the place he'd mentioned before—there were no otherworlder complexes there.

  "Professor, our team is barely managing after... after the tournament. We're not ready for..."

  "This isn't my decision, Сaers. After what happened at the tournament, the administration considers your class... problematic. Your methods in the first stage raised many questions. This is the best compromise I could get for you—instead of disbanding the class."

  He pulled a scroll with the academy seal from a desk drawer and handed it to me.

  "Here's a map and mission details. Upon arrival you'll be met by a caretaker. I would like to accompany you... But I'm being detained here. Sudden urgent business."

  I understood what business. I took the scroll, feeling its unnatural weight.

  "When do we leave?"

  "Tomorrow at dawn. Prepare the team today."

  I stood but hesitated at the door.

  "Professor, you spoke about transformation inside me..."

  He jerked his hand up, interrupting.

  "Not here."

  His voice became a whisper.

  "Be careful, Сaers. Eyes and ears are everywhere."

  Those words haunted me all the way to the dormitory. Something was wrong with this assignment. With this rush. With the professor's forced detachment.

  The team gathered in my room, maintaining tense silence. Val by the window demonstratively leafed through a book, not looking at the others. Mira studied the map from the scroll. Aris nervously shifted in the closet's shadow. Tara sorted flasks on the table. Kyle stood leaning against the wall, arms crossed on his chest.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  I pointed to a mark near the pass.

  "So, we're being sent to the Northern Ridge. The training ground is here. Official version: training with golems, practicing team coordination."

  Mira looked up from the map.

  "And the unofficial version?"

  "Don't know yet. Most likely they want to remove us far from the incident. And the new director surely has his eye on our class."

  Val snapped the book shut.

  "We're being sent who knows where, where there haven't been demon clearances. And all this without an experienced mentor, with a 'captain' who let everything slide during the tournament. What could possibly go wrong?"

  Tara was surprised.

  "The professor isn't going?"

  I shook my head.

  "No. He's being detained at the academy."

  "Perfect. No experience, no support, no competent commander."

  "If someone considers themselves a better leader, go ahead! Will you take responsibility, Val?"

  He snorted but said nothing. No, no one was rushing to take command.

  "That's what I thought. Now about preparation. Tara, you need to prepare healing and enhancement potions."

  "I have few ingredients. The academy restricted distribution. And not just ingredients. After the tournament something strange is happening with magic. Potions turn out unstable."

  Another oddity?

  Kyle checked weapons.

  "Kyle, check weapons and protective gear. Mira, study the map and possible routes. Aris, you'll be our eyes. Reconnaissance, observation."

  Aris looked up in surprise, gratitude flashing in his eyes.

  Val continued speaking with mockery, but not as aggressively as before the tournament.

  "And me?"

  I looked at him intently.

  "You'll be my deputy. If something happens to me, command passes to you."

  Everyone stared at me. Val blinked, momentarily losing his arrogance.

  "Is this a joke?"

  "No. You're the only one with enough experience and composure. If something happens to me—you can lead the group out."

  Val squinted, trying to understand the catch.

  "We leave tomorrow at dawn. Take only necessities. Extra weight will slow us."

  When everyone dispersed, Mira lingered, collecting maps.

  "Interesting move with Val. Making an enemy an ally?"

  "Trying to. Think it won't work?"

  She shrugged.

  "Don't know. But if I were you, I'd fear not Val."

  "Then who?"

  Mira raised her eyes, and for the first time I noticed how piercing her gaze was.

  "Yourself, Сaers. What happened yesterday with the golem... I've never seen anything like it."

  I froze.

  "What exactly did you see?"

  "Your hand. For a moment it became... different. Darker. Longer. Like it belonged to someone else."

  Mira collected the maps and headed for the exit.

  "And one more thing. Why is the academy sending specifically us? Why not the Chosen class? They're more experienced and stronger."

  Her question echoed in the empty room after the door closed. I didn't know the answer. Or I knew but was afraid to admit it to myself.

  That night I dreamed of caves again. But now I wasn't just wandering dark corridors—I knew where I was going. To the center. To something ancient that waited for me. Deep in the earth's depths. It called to me, using my name.

  Not Luten.

  Another name. The one I'd forgotten.

  Preparations passed too quickly. As if we had no time to realize where we were heading.

  The academy allocated minimal equipment: backpacks, sleeping bags, weapons. Even the map I received from the professor was uninformative, with blurred markings and strange notes. As if deliberately distorted.

  We left by wagon before dawn. Gray twilight enveloped the road, and silence became our companion. No one talked. Tara quietly sorted her flasks, Aris dozed, Kyle sharpened a small dagger, and Val demonstratively ignored us all, buried in a book.

  Mira sat next to me, carefully studying the terrain. After a couple seconds she spoke in a whisper.

  "You know, I searched for mentions of a training ground at the Northern Ridge. Found nothing. Either the information is classified, or..."

  "Or it doesn't exist."

  She nodded, and that movement echoed inside me with a chill.

  The first day's journey passed without incident. We stopped only twice: to eat and change horses. The driver accompanying us barely talked, making do with short phrases.

  When I asked him about the training ground, he only shrugged and said his task was to deliver us to the crossroads, and then we'd go on our own.

  By evening of the second day we reached a fork. The main road went right, toward a small town on the horizon. Left went a barely visible trail, climbing into the mountains.

  The driver stopped the wagon.

  "From here on foot. The wagon won't make it on that trail."

  We stood at the crossroads, looking at the upward trail. No signs, no traces of use. As if no one had walked here for years.

  Kyle just voiced the general opinion.

  "Are you sure this is the right direction?"

  I checked the map. The training ground mark was about a day's journey along this trail, if the scale was accurate.

  "According to the map—yes."

  Val snorted.

  "According to a map that doesn't even have a legend. I'd prefer to spend the night in that village and set out in the morning."

  The driver shook his head.

  "I have orders to drop you off here before sunset and return. And I'm not going to disobey."

  He was already turning the wagon around, not waiting for our decision.

  "If you want to sleep in the field—that's your business. But I'd hurry if you don't want to meet a night visitor."

  Mira tensed.

  "What visitor?"

  The driver just waved his hand and clicked the reins. The wagon moved, leaving us at the fork.

  "Wonderful. Now we're stuck here with darkness approaching."

  I looked around. The sun already touched the horizon, and shadows grew longer. The town was about five miles away. Too far to reach before dark.

  "We make camp. But not here. We'll go up the trail a bit, find a more protected spot."

  Aris stepped out from a tree's shadow.

  "I can scout the path ahead."

  He tried to speak confidently, but his voice trembled.

  "Good idea. But not far and quickly. I need you in shape if something happens at night."

  He disappeared, merging with the lengthening shadows, and we began the climb. The trail was steeper than it first seemed. My thoughts tangled... Something was wrong with this assignment, with this place. As if we were being directed along a predetermined path.

  Aris returned quickly, materializing right before us.

  "There's a clearing, protected by rocks on three sides. And a stream nearby. Perfect place for camp."

  Kyle muttered.

  "Sounds suspiciously perfect."

  I couldn't disagree with him.

  The clearing really was a good place for camp—protected, with access to water. We quickly made camp, arranging sleeping bags in a circle. Tara started preparing dinner, Kyle checked weapons, Aris disappeared, apparently conducting perimeter reconnaissance.

  Val approached me when I was studying the map by the light of a small fire.

  "We're not at exercises. You understand that, right?"

  I looked up. Another person started whispering with me.

  "What do you mean?"

  "The academy wouldn't send five inexperienced students to the Northern Ridge just like that, for training. Especially second-year students."

  He sat nearby.

  "I heard conversations before departure. The last reconnaissance teams reported increased demon activity in this area. Two didn't return."

  My heart skipped a beat.

  "Where did you get this information?"

  Val smirked.

  "My family still has connections. Not all, but enough."

  I set aside the map.

  "Why are you telling me this?"

  "Because you made me your deputy. And because I don't want to die from someone's stupidity."

  He shrugged, preparing to leave.

  "Set double watch for the night. I'll take the second shift."

  The night was unexpectedly quiet. Too quiet. No animal sounds, no rustling leaves. As if the entire forest held its breath.

  I was on watch with Tara. She sat across from me, sorting through her potions.

  "Are you scared?"

  I wanted to lie, say a team captain shouldn't be afraid. But something in her gaze stopped me.

  "Yes. But not of demons or difficult assignments."

  She watched me attentively, waiting for continuation.

  "I'm afraid of the reality I returned to. A year changed a lot."

  Tara pulled a small flask with murky green liquid from her bag.

  "I made this for you."

  She held out the flask.

  "After recently... After what you did with the golem. This will help you contain... whatever it is."

  I took the flask, feeling its warmth.

  "Thanks, but... How did you know?"

  "I'm a witch, Luten. We sense such things. What's in you... It's not from our world."

  My fingers clenched on the flask. I wanted to question her, wanted to know more about what was happening to me. But I didn't have time.

  A sharp crack of branches cut through the night silence. Then another. And another.

  We froze. Tara instinctively stepped behind me. I slowly reached for my dagger.

  From the forest darkness came a low, guttural growl: a sound that chilled the blood.

  Something watched us. Something starving.