Richard's Pov
I stood frozen, heart pounding in my chest like a war drum. Caleb Hemmins. The golden boy of Miracle Academy. The prodigy whose name was whispered even among instructors. A monster in human skin.
And now, he was walking straight toward me.
"You've lasted five and a half hours," Caleb said, casually brushing imaginary dust off his black trial uniform. "That's impressive. For a Hollowborn."
I didn't reply. I couldn't afford to waste my breath.
He tilted his head, studying me like I was some broken puzzle he couldn't quite throw away yet. "I thought you'd be gone in the first hour. But here you are. Breathing."
"Unfortunately for you," I rasped, shifting into a loose stance, "I plan on doing that a while longer."
He smiled, slow and sharp. "Let's see how long your luck lasts."
Then he vanished.
I barely registered the movement—a blur of motion—and instinct kicked in. I twisted just as his boot came flying toward my ribs. Even dodging, the impact sent me crashing into the maze wall. A sharp crack sounded from somewhere in my shoulder.
Pain exploded through my body.
I rolled just in time to avoid his follow-up strike, the stone beneath my back, fracturing as his foot landed where my head had just been.
He wasn't holding back.
"Not bad," Caleb said, eyes glinting. "Most would be unconscious by now."
I didn't answer. My ears were ringing as blood pooled in my mouth.
I threw a rock at one of the maze's leftover trap triggers I had spotted earlier. A cluster of razor-thin wires shot out from the wall, aiming to entangle him.
Caleb's body spun like water slipping through cracks. He dipped and rolled, avoiding every single thread with precision that felt inhuman.
I looked at him with disbelief.
"I trained with real assassins since I was thirteen," he said conversationally. "This? This is child's play."
He was faster than anyone I'd ever fought. Stronger. Cleaner. His aura alone weighed down the air like gravity. And still—I had to try.
I grabbed a blade that probably belonged to a previously eliminated cadet. Basic steel, but solid, and I launched forward with a desperate swing.
Caleb caught the blade with his bare hand.
Not even a flinch.
"I thought you were smart," he said, twisting the blade from my grip and hurling it aside. "What made you think this was a sword fight?"
I stumbled back, sweat blinding my eyes. My limbs felt like lead.
He lunged.
I tried dodging, but this time, he kicked me fully in the gut. I flew backward into a stone pillar, the impact stealing the breath from my lungs. I collapsed and coughed out blood violently.
Caleb walked toward me, unhurried. "I should crush your core now. End this before you get cocky later."
I barely heard him.
My mind was spinning. The world around me was bleeding color and shape. I felt like I was falling into myself.
"No. Not yet. Not now.", I urged myself.
Somewhere deep, something cracked open.
Null Drive—Engaged.
The air shifted.
Caleb froze.
It was subtle at first. A flicker of instability around him. The glint in his eyes dimmed. The quantum laws he controlled were gone.
I slowly stood as the air was no longer filled with pressure.
"Your abilities are gravity shift and chrono decay. I remember from the ceremony. You can control time and gravity on people.", my eyes locked with his.
"And your ability is Null Drive. They say you can nullify other people's ability. You think you've won, Hollowborn?", he asked with a cold look in his eyes.
"I am Caleb Hemmins. Soon to be the strongest awakened. I do not need the laws to defeat you.", Caleb roared with ferocity.
Chills spread all across my body. I disliked the guy, but he seemed so cool at that moment.
My vision was clearer now. My body still screamed, but something had changed.
"I don't need to beat you," I said. "I just need to outlast you."
"Outlast me?", he asked in a whisper.
For the first time, Caleb didn't smile.
He rushed at me, physical blows now—fast, brutal. But without his abilities, he wasn't untouchable anymore. I blocked one strike, rolled under another, and landed a punch in his side.
His grunt of pain was real, but he still looked largely unfazed.
He responded with a fist to my jaw that nearly caved it in.
Still—I was fighting back.
I landed two more hits. He landed ten. But then I saw it on his face. Doubt and frustration.
"I already told you before that even if the laws themselves try to knock me down, I will never fall.", I spat, wiping blood from my lips. "You're used to winning the second you show up."
I remember my fights in the outside world. The constant bullying and having to fight back at certain times. I wasn't trained like Caleb, but that didn't mean I was weak.
He slammed me against the wall. "Know your place, Hollowborn."
Null Drive—Disengaged.
The pressure in my head surged. My knees trembled. And my eyes ached like it was imploding.
I couldn't keep it up.
The ability—whatever it was—was still unstable, raw. I didn't know how to contain it. It was eating me alive.
Caleb's eyes widened as his power returned. His aura flared, and the pressure coming out of him made him seem unstoppable.
I was too slow to react, or maybe he used his ability on me.
He grabbed me by the collar and pulled me into the air.
"This is mercy," he said, quantum laws building in his palm as he was preparing to drive me into the ground.
I stared down at him through bloodied eyes.
And I smiled.
"Guess I made an impression, huh?"
He paused.
Then his palm lit.
Just before it connected—
A deafening gong sounded through the maze.
The energy fizzled from Caleb's hand.
Above us, glowing runes spiraled open, and a portal burst to life.
"Trial Complete. Cease all combat."
For a moment, neither of us moved.
The portal shimmered.
Then Caleb let go, and I collapsed into a broken heap.
He stood over me, breathing hard. Not from exhaustion—but restraint.
"You're lucky," he said quietly. "Not good. Lucky."
I coughed. "Keep telling yourself that."
He leaned down slightly. "You didn't kneel today. But next time? No trial bell will save you."
"Looking forward to it," I rasped, eyes barely open.
Caleb walked away without another word.
I lay there in silence, my body failing piece by piece and my consciousness slipping.
I'd faced the strongest cadet of the year, and he'd remember me.
The maze began to collapse behind me as the portal drew closer, and light swallowed my vision.