[---You Have Died---]
***
"Ahhh!"
Lucien once again found himself screaming in his room after being killed by what turned out to be the knight statues he had seen in the previous spire—although he was no longer convulsing due to pseudesthesia, he still could not hold back a wail.
'I told you to dodge,' Darky spoke.
Lucien had aptly decided to name his shadow Darky.
A lot had happened in the last 5 months since Lucien had joined the academy, namely him dying every day to the knight, and it had not gotten any less painful—mentally, that is, since Lucien could not really feel physical pain.
He had also grown closer to Luna and Kim—albeit not by much. It was better than being alone and was also what Warden Blanc had suggested to him.
He had slowly been preparing for the Shardfall anniversary—the day when celestial essence poured into the world through the Resonant Scars in abundance. Although he didn't know the exact details, what Lucien did know was that if a Nascent Bearer did not enter The Threshold before that day—which also happened to be the last day of the year—they would get defiled, which meant turning into an Echo.
'No one wants that.'
To prevent this from happening, Nascent Bearers would usually enter The Threshold one day before the Shardfall anniversary.
This was because the only way for them to return after entering The Threshold was to locate a Beacon—which were similar to Resonant Scars. However, unlike Resonant Scars, which looked like cracks in space, they were more like a two-way portal. What's curious, however, was that in order to access them from Earth, you simply needed to enter your mindscape and interact with the beacon that was there.
Lucien had also gotten a lot stronger. He had come to the conclusion that his "training" was a result of the Relic he received back when he was in the Vestige of Selection.
Lucien brought his dorsal up to his forehead to check his Relic; it read:
[---Relics---]
[---Name: Gate To Darkness---]
[---Type: Utility---]
[---Rank: unknown---]
[---Description: unknown---]
Lucien had tried searching for any mention of the so-called unknown rank, but there was no mention of it, which led him to believe that the rank and description of his Relic were hidden from him.
'It's not like it matters anyway; I'll figure it out eventually,' he sighed as he got up and walked out of his room, where he noticed Kim waiting while leaning against the wall, zoned out.
"Hi, Kim," Lucien spoke, causing Kim to return to reality.
"Hi… Um, Lucien, why is your room so dark?" Kim asked in a friendly manner.
"I can see in the dark, so I don't really need to have light inside," Lucien responded.
"Uh huh, but it's pitch black in there. Aren't there windows?" Kim spoke, this time his voice had a hint of confusion.
"Oh no—there are. I just covered them up 'cause I didn't like the light shining in my face every morning."
Kim stared at him for a moment, confusion prevalent on his face.
"… Wanna go get something to eat?" Kim replied in a friendly manner.
***
Lucien found himself sitting on a bench—in the cafeteria—with Kim and Luna. It was surprisingly empty.
"You'd think there would be more people having their fill before getting plunged into what might be a death zone!" Lucien exclaimed.
"Well, you see, Lucien," Kim spoke in a sarcastic tone, "people usually don't have much of an appetite if they know they were—as you so aptly stated—getting plunged into a death zone."
"Huh…" Lucien remarked. "But then why are you guys so… carefree?"
"What's there to worry about? If I want to make it out alive, then who dares to stop me?" Luna spoke in a stoic tone.
"That's…" Lucien looked at Luna in a questioning tone, before turning his focus to Kim. "What about you, Kim?"
"I just have a feeling… a feeling that we'll make it out alive one way or another," he spoke in a low voice.
Lucien could've sworn that he heard some melancholy in his tone, but he chose not to press it.
"There's a pretty high chance we're gonna end up close by once we enter The Threshold, so why don't we take this time to familiarize ourselves with each other's strengths," Kim spoke in a cheerful tone, like a child who had finally gotten the opportunity to take part in an adult's conversation.
"I'll go first," he continued. "My Innate Revelation is Transcendent Ranked, It's related to uhh visions and foresight I think, the description was kind of vague though. My first Revelation lets me see into the future. I use it to check the trajectories… when fighting with a bow—that is. Other than that, there's nothing much."
An awkward silence followed suit. Kim had not really given the others a chance to speak before ranting on about his abilities; sure they were friends, but that meant nothing in a world where the line between friend and foe was as fickle as the wind.
'You should say something, it's starting to get awkward, even for me…' Darky's voice resounded in Lucien's mind.
"Then I guess I'll go second," Lucien smiled gently. "My powers are related to stealth. I can see in the dark, move quietly, and I have been training with a Longsword recently. Other than that, I do have a relic, but I don't know what it does exactly."
"Is that all?" Kim asked.
"Ye—" A sharp pain shot up Lucien's head, causing him to wince—he still was not used to his verse preventing him from lying. "No, but I'd rather not share the rest."
"Alright…" said Kim, before turning to Luna. "Wanna share?"
"I guess," she spoke in a nonchalant tone. "My powers allow me to physically augment myself."
"Uh huh…" Kim said in a dejected voice. 'Seriously, what had I expected from these two?' "Well, I think we get along nicely, wouldn't you say so too, you guys?"
They both simply nodded at him, causing him to slump in his seat.
***
A few hours later, Lucien found himself on an autonomous transport vehicle—often called an ATV—heading towards a Resonant Scar. He was seated with Kim and Luna, who were lost in their own thoughts.
Lucien heard Darky speak to him—if that was even the right word for however he communicated. 'What's with the solemn mood?'
Of course, he knew why the mood was solemn but spoke regardless. Lucien had come to the conclusion that Darky was simply irked by silence—which was ironic, considering his nature as a shadow.
Eventually, everyone from the institute reached the Scar and huddled together—each in their own groups, with most of the elite sticking together.
"Alright little pups, eyes on me!" Lucien turned towards the source of the voice—it was Instructor Rock, who was standing in front of the Scar.
The Scar itself felt oppressive—it looked like a crack in space that distorted the surrounding space.
"Firstly, when you enter The Threshold, you may be placed close to a—or even inside—a sanctum, or you may be thrown out in some uncharted death zone."
"What's a sanctum?" Lucien quietly whispered to Kim.
"Well… it's kind of like a stronghold that has a beacon inside," he replied in a hushed tone.
"Second, make sure you stick together. I cannot stress this enough—The Threshold is not a place where you survive alone. Even the Harbingers—who have been deemed nigh demigods by many—dare not to prospect the uncharted death zones alone."
"Finally, try your absolute best to make it back alive. Every single one of you has a place in this world, whether you feel like it or not. So fight like you matter—because you do. The Threshold doesn't care if you're brave, scared, clever, or broken. It just is. But we—we care. We fight not to conquer it, but to survive—bloodied, wiser, changed maybe, but alive. So don't throw yourselves away thinking all hope is lost. Survive. Endure. That alone is defiance enough."
Instructor Rock looked at the Scar, sighed, and then turned back to the students.
"You have neither more time to spend, nor do I have more words to impart. From here on out, it's only you, yourself, and the ones next to you."
With that, he sent a gesture to some other instructors; he started directing the groups of children towards the Resonant Scar.
"I guess this is it then," Lucien said as he turned towards Luna and Kim. "Let's hope we end up near each other, or at the very least somewhere safe."
They both simply nodded before turning towards the Scar. Lucien did the same.
'You're with me, right, buddy?' Lucien smiled towards his shadow.
"Oh, so we're buddies now? After you forced me to shut up every night," Darky spoke in a sarcastic tone.
The current Lucien was vastly different from the one 5 months ago, although not much time had passed—dying every night, then going back to die again—every time he died, he learned to adapt, to fight back, to survive.
He had learned to wield the sword by mimicking the knight, although he could only stand against it for a few seconds by deflecting a couple of blows, it was vastly better dying instantaneously
With that, Lucien steeled his resolve, and stepped into the gate, and then his world turned dark