The next morning, fog rolled across the training district in thick silver waves.Steam pipes hissed, pressure vents groaned, and the distant rumble of machinery bled through the chilled air.The Cadet Regime was awake long before dawn.
Elias walked through the courtyard with his uniform crisp, his face calm, his steps silent on the metal tiles.
Aria was already waiting near the assignment board, posture straight, hair pulled back tightly.Jarek hovered beside her, bruised but eager, scanning the new postings with widening eyes.
"Team assignments are up," Jarek mumbled."Let's hope we're not stuck with psychos today—"
His voice died instantly.
Aria's gaze sharpened.Elias's eyes narrowed.
A new name appeared under their group:
Kellan Drax.
Jarek went pale."Oh no. Not him. Anyone but him—"
Before Elias could ask, a heavy footstep echoed behind them.
A shadow fell across the courtyard.
Kellan Drax arrived.
Broad shoulders.Crooked grin.Eyes bright with a cruel, playful hunger.
A cadet built like a beast, swaggering with a confidence sharpened by blood.
He carried a massive iron staff across his back, runes etched along its length—illegal for cadet-level training, but no instructor had ever stopped him.
Kellan Drax was a name whispered in corners, followed by stories of fights "accidentally" gone too far.Broken ribs.Crushed fingers.Fainting cadets dragged from the yard.
He enjoyed breaking others.He was good at it.
He towered over Aria, Jarek… and then over Elias.
"Well, well," Kellan said, voice almost cheerful."Looks like I'm with you three today."
Jarek forced a smile."H-Hey Kellan… good to… see—"
Kellan backhanded him lightly across the head.A playful tap for him.A staggering blow for Jarek.
"Didn't ask you, pebble."
Aria stepped forward, cold eyes narrowing.
"If you hit him again, I'll remove that staff myself."
Jarek froze, stunned by her open challenge.
Kellan blinked.Then laughed.A low, amused rumble.
"Oh? The little noblewoman bares her teeth. Dangerous."
He leaned closer to Aria.
"Let's hope you're as fast with that pretty brain of yours as you are with your words."
Aria didn't step back.
Elias watched silently, eyes steady.
Kellan finally looked at him.
The grin faded just slightly.
"You," he said."You're the anomaly everyone's whispering about."
Elias kept his gaze level."I didn't start any whispers."
Kellan stepped closer until his breath brushed Elias's face.
"No. But I like breaking things people whisper about."
Aria took a small step forward—one hand subtly raised, prepared.
Jarek hid behind both of them.
Before any of them could react, a sharp whistle cut through the courtyard.
Captain Bram Solen strode toward them.
"Enough posturing," he barked."You four are assigned to the Iron Descent trial."
Silence dropped like a blade.
Jarek nearly collapsed.
Aria's jaw tightened.
Kellan's smile sharpened.
Elias didn't move.
Bram glared at them.
"This trial is designed to test adaptability, teamwork, and survival. It is not a simulation."
Aria frowned."Not a simulation?"
"No," Bram growled."It's real."
Jarek choked."Real—like actual monsters real?"
"Worse," Bram said."Real cadets."
Elias understood instantly.
A live-combat trial.
Teams thrown into a competitive zone.No system protections.No safety overrides.
You could injure.Cripple.Break.
And if you were unlucky—
"Fail," Bram said coldly, "and you will be removed from the program."
Kellan grinned wide."Oh, I love this."
Aria shot him a glare sharp enough to cut steel.
Bram pointed at Elias specifically.
"And you."
Elias looked at him calmly.
"You're being evaluated."
Aria stiffened.
Jarek made a strangled noise.
Kellan's grin widened.
"Oh, so you're the one the black-coats have their eyes on."
Bram leaned closer.
"Don't stand out, Ward. Don't give them a reason."
Elias nodded once.
"Understood."
Bram's jaw tightened.
"Good. Because one more anomaly, and they'll take you out of my hands."
He turned and walked away.
Kellan watched him leave, then cracked his knuckles and stretched.
"Well," he said, looking at the three of them like a butcher scanning livestock."I guess we get to see what the 'anomaly' does in a real fight."
He passed Elias slowly.
And whispered:
"If you try anything clever, I'll break you first."
Aria stepped between them instantly.
Kellan only smirked and kept walking.
Jarek sighed shakily.
"Why… why do we always get the worst assignments?"
Aria's gaze stayed fixed on Kellan's back."Because someone is testing us."
She turned to Elias.
"And someone is testing you specifically."
Elias didn't deny it.
Jarek swallowed hard.
"So what do we do?"
Aria answered before Elias could.
"We fight smart. We stay together. And we don't show more than necessary."
Jarek nodded frantically.
Elias remained quiet—but thoughtful.
Because something else had changed.
From the corner of the courtyard, the golden-eyed figure was watching again.
Standing perfectly still.
Half-shrouded in fog like a memory that refused to fade.
A faint System whisper brushed Elias's mind.
Unknown entity analysis incompleteObservation continuesHostility: Confirmed
The Nemesis had chosen him.
And the Iron Descent would be the first battlefield.