The door sealed behind them with a thud. The air itself felt different—thicker and charged with energy that made each breath invigorating to his mind. The corridor was quite short, hewn from the same grey stone, but illuminated by a soft light emanating from the end.
Kaelen led them forward; the tap of his cane was the only sound besides their footsteps. After a dozen paces, he spoke with his expression unreadable.
"Top ten," he stated, his voice flat. "In the Aeltic Order, we have a ranking upon your breakthrough to the Soul-Born Rank. While most newly awakened focus on meditation and absorbing energy to create their core, this ranking focuses on the strongest fifty Soul-Born ranks." He let the words hang, his gaze on their backs as they walked. "The higher you are on this ranking, the better the resources you can access. Many on this list are Inner Order disciples of higher-ranking ascendants, steeped in power and technique from the cradle.
They each have resources available to them that you can't fathom and tutors who have shaped them into weapons since childhood."
Alan's face, which had been alight with the thrill of being chosen as a student of a Mystic Rank ascendant, now paled. "We... we have to beat them?"
"Place in the top ten," Kaelen corrected, his tone sharp. "Among a field of several hundred. And Brutus was clever. He didn't specify which of you must achieve it. He said both of you must. If one of you fails, the debt falls on me. It is a team ultimatum." His eyes, heavy with profound concern, settled on Ethan and Alan as they walked. "You refused the guardian's spatial marker. I want to believe you didn't just take my refusal as a reason to turn down his offer, because your counteroffer was what brought that bet. Explain your reasoning."
Ethan didn't flinch. The analytical part of his mind had already dissected the choice. "He called it a marker. Honestly, I didn't know the full meaning, but from all indications, all my moves would be watched if I allowed it." He met Kaelen's gaze squarely. "Besides, you had almost no reaction even after he mentioned the bet, which means you think it's possible, right?"
A slow, grim smile spread across Kaelen's face—the first truly genuine expression Ethan had seen from him, devoid of weariness or irony. "I do. And you are correct. No matter how 'harmless' Brutus claims it to be, a spatial marker would reveal your location to him at all times. But what concerned me most was that if he were willing to spend a little energy, he would have access to everything within five meters of your surroundings." The smile vanished, replaced by stern resolve.
"Understand the weight of what you have undertaken. Brutus is a force of nature as long as you're a member of the Order. Your secrets are safe, but in return, we are now on a clock. You must become powerful enough to not only compete with the best of your generation but to impress a being who has seen empires rise and fall."
He placed a hand on each of their shoulders. The world around them dissolved into a vortex of color and silence.
They rematerialized in a circular room, its curved walls comprised of shelves stretching into shadows, packed with scrolls and leather-bound tomes. A large, worn desk sat in the center, piled high with papers and a single, glowing orb that provided warm, focused light.
"This is a room in my tower within the Order," Kaelen said, his voice calm as he released their shoulders. "Don't be scared." He moved across the room with deep familiarity, his footsteps silent on the thick rug. He stopped before a section of the book-filled wall that looked no different from any other. Placing his palm flat against the spines of several unmarked books, he closed his eyes. Space itself seemed to waver around his hand as he channeled his energy. A complex, silver-blue array, reminiscent of the one Brutus had used, slowly revealed itself, etched into the air before the bookshelf.
Next, he produced a small, wicked-looking stylus from his robe and made a quick, precise cut on his index finger. A single drop of dark blood welled up. He let it fall onto the center of the shimmering array. The blood was absorbed, spreading through the intricate lines like ink through parchment. The array flared brightly, and with a soft click, the entire bookshelf shimmered and dissolved, revealing a dark, arched doorway leading into a hidden chamber.
Ethan, observing every detail with rapt attention, couldn't help the dry thought that surfaced. Great, another door.
Kaelen turned to them, his expression serious. "Wait here. And avoid touching anything." His gaze swept meaningfully across the cluttered room.
He disappeared into the darkness beyond the doorway. The silence in the study was profound, broken only by the faint, almost imperceptible hum of powerful wards saturating the room. Ethan and Alan stood frozen, obeying the command to the letter.
True to his word, Kaelen returned in minutes. The hidden doorway shimmered back into a solid bookshelf the moment he cleared the threshold, leaving no trace of its existence.
"Here." Kaelen tossed two simple, plain silver rings to Alan. "Put one on and give the other to Ethan." As Alan fumbled to catch them, Kaelen's voice took on a grave tone. "Those are gold-rank artifacts enchanted with a concealment spell from the Illusion Temple. They should help conceal both your unique traits—Ethan's Soul Body and your Elemental Body, Alan. They won't hide you from a dedicated, close-range probe by a Legendary Rank ascendant, but they will make you appear unremarkable to general perception. Never take them off. For any reason. The protection is passive but lasts only for a year. You'll need new ones after that."
Alan quickly slipped one onto his finger, relief washing over him as the faint crackle of energy around his skin dampened and vanished. He handed the other ring to Ethan.
Ethan took the cool silver band. As he slid it onto his finger, he felt a subtle, soothing pressure settle over his soul, like a gentle blanket muffling a noisy room. The immense, layered weight of Leo's essence and the vibrant spark of his second affinity didn't disappear, but they felt quieter, more distant. It was the first true moment of privacy his soul had experienced since his transmigration.
He looked up at Kaelen. "Thank you, Master."
Kaelen gave a single, sharp nod. He waved his hand, and a shimmering portal appeared beside them. "As I said before, I believe freedom is the foundation for true growth. I'm your teacher, but you must be strong enough to ask for my help. Until you can walk into my tower through the front door, I won't be seeing you for a while. You can go now."
"Here, before I forget." He waved his hand again, and two silver cards appeared. He tossed them to Ethan. "When you can, drop your blood on them. They're proof that you're my students, but you can only use them three times. After that, they'll return to me. Use them carefully."
"This portal will take you to the Order Hall. Figure out what you need to do next yourselves. Off you go now." With that, Kaelen turned to his desk, pulled out a scroll, and began reading as if he hadn't just dropped a mountain of responsibility on two unprepared boys.
Ethan glanced at the shimmering portal, then at the silver cards in his hand.