Walking through the castle halls toward the king's chamber, I couldn't shake this heavy feeling that had settled in my chest. Ray was beside me, quiet as usual, and Riven walked a few steps ahead. Our footsteps echoed through these massive marble corridors, and the sound just kept bouncing back at us. The whole place felt empty today, like even the servants were avoiding whatever was about to happen.
I'd been in situations like this before after coming here everyone was trying adapt with as there new member, in Somewhat scene i was also trying to, why not i could eat sleep as peacefully as I want they was no feare of dying for starving i found it best to live even if i couldn't accept i could just act as nothing
But right now this felt different somehow. There was something in the way that servant had looked at us when he'd delivered the message. Something that made my gut twist up in knots.
The closer we got to those huge wooden doors, the heavier the air seemed to get. Ray kept glancing over at me, and I could tell he was thinking the same thing I was - that we were walking into something we weren't prepared for. Riven, though, he looked like he always did. Calm. Collected. Like nothing in the world could touch him.
When we finally made it to the throne room, King Theron was sitting there waiting for us. He had this way of looking at you that made you feel like he could see right through you, you know? His eyes moved from me to Ray to Riven, taking his time with each of us. The silence stretched out until it became uncomfortable.
"Tomorrow," he said finally, and his voice filled up the entire room, "princes from all the neighboring kingdoms are going to arrive here. They'll have their masters with them, and some guards too. They're coming for the ceremony of the key, as you already know."
I felt something cold settle in my stomach. We'd all heard about this ceremony, but hearing the king talk about it like this made it real in a way that was honestly pretty unsettling.
He wasn't finished though. "This time, what they're saying is that all the other gateways are going to connect to our one."
That made Ray step forward. I could see the worry written all over his face. "What about my master, Endir? Where is he?"
The question hung in the air for a moment, and I was wondering the same thing. Master Endir had this reputation that preceded him everywhere he went. People called him The Seven Heavens, and from what I'd heard, he'd earned that name through things that most people couldn't even imagine.
Before the king could answer Ray's question, this voice came from somewhere in the shadows near the back of the room. Cold as winter and sharp enough to cut. "So while I've been away, you're calling your master by his first name now?"
I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up. There was something about that voice that made every instinct I had tell me to be very, very careful. Ray went completely still beside me, and I could understand why.
Then Master Endir stepped out of those shadows, and I got my first real look at him. He was tall, probably taller than I'd expected, and there was something about the way he moved that reminded me of a predator. Everything about him seemed deliberate, controlled. This was someone who could probably kill you six different ways before you even knew what was happening.
But then something strange happened. When his eyes found Ray, his whole expression changed. The coldness melted away, and suddenly he didn't look like this legendary warrior everyone was afraid of. He looked like a teacher who'd been away from his student for too long.
Without any warning, he crossed the room and pulled Ray into this embrace that looked like it could crack ribs. "I'm sorry," he said, and his voice was completely different now. Softer. Like he actually meant it.
I had to look away. It felt too personal, watching this moment between them. But I could understand what was happening here. Ray had been waiting for his master to come back, and now he was here.
When Endir finally let Ray go, he turned to look at both of us. The coldness was back in his voice when he spoke. "Ray, and you - Rudra - you're both going to train with me for the next ten days. There won't be any breaks, any excuses, any time to catch your breath. I'm going to push you harder than you've ever been pushed in your life."
The king nodded his agreement. "Rudra, you'll train with Ray as well. There is no exceptions to this."
I just shrugged as an act . "Alright." Training was something I understood and pain was something I was used to. I'd been through worse things than whatever they could throw at me.
Ray looked at his master with this expression I couldn't quite read. "What do you expect from us exactly?"
Endir's eyes went dark when he answered. "What I expect from you is simple - everything you have. Your mind, your body, your spirit. All of it. Because the people who can't handle what's coming might not make it through alive."
The weight of those words settled over all of us. I could feel it pressing down on my shoulders, this sense that we were standing at the edge of something that was going to change everything.
The king dismissed Ray and me then, but he told Riven to stay behind. As we were walking out, I caught a glimpse of the king's face when he looked at his son. There was something there that I didn't expect - worry, maybe. Or fear. It was gone too quickly for me to be sure, but it stuck with me.
A few hours later, I found myself standing on the training grounds as the sun was starting to set. Ray showed up looking about as enthusiastic as I felt, which wasn't saying much. We stood there for a while, not really talking, just waiting for whatever was about to happen.
"You ready for this?" Ray asked eventually.
I looked at him. We'd never been particularly close, Ray and I, but we'd never had any problems either. He seemed like a decent enough guy. "Does it really matter if we're ready or not?"
He laughed, but it didn't sound like he found anything particularly funny. "Probably not."
That's when Master Endir appeared. I don't mean he walked up or came around a corner - I mean he literally appeared, like he'd stepped out of the air itself. One second the space was empty, the next second he was standing there. The guy definitely had skills.
"Let's go," he said simply. "Time to find out what you're really made of."
As we followed him deeper into the training grounds, I couldn't shake this feeling that the next ten days were going to be unlike anything I'd experienced before. There was something in the air, something that made me think that whatever happened here was going to change all of us in ways we couldn't predict. The weight of it pressed down on my shoulders as we walked, and I found myself wondering if any of us were really prepared for what was coming.