The hall sealed.
Corridors retracted.
Exits vanished.
The ceiling darkened into a flat, lightless dome.
Candidates felt it at the same moment.
Isolation.
A circular formation ignited beneath each of them. Platforms rose silently, separating every participant into an individual evaluation zone. Distance stretched. Sightlines distorted.
No one could see anyone else clearly.
A neutral voice activated.
"Theory examination begins now."
"Duration: three hours."
"Evaluation focus: judgment, control, prioritization, adaptability."
"Age verification complete. All candidates within permitted threshold."
No one reacted.
They were already being tested.
—
Arav's platform lit first.
A projection unfolded around him.
A ruined dungeon chamber.
Structural collapse imminent.
Three energy signatures flickering.
A healer with unstable circulation.
A combatant holding a breach.
A scout trapped under debris.
A timer appeared.
Arav did not move immediately.
He mapped airflow.
Calculated collapse vectors.
Measured corruption density.
The healer would die regardless.
The scout could survive if extracted.
The combatant was anchoring the chamber.
Arav rerouted energy to stabilize the structure, then executed a controlled extraction of the scout.
The chamber collapsed behind them.
Evaluation accepted.
No score shown.
The next scenario loaded instantly.
—
Vajrin's platform flared brighter.
His projection was simple.
A hostile formation blocking advancement.
Collateral damage acceptable.
Efficiency prioritized.
Lightning surged.
The formation resisted.
Vajrin clenched his jaw, forced compression, and threaded power through the weakest point instead of detonating the whole structure.
The formation shattered.
Evaluation accepted.
Vajrin exhaled sharply.
"Annoying," he muttered.
—
Saanvi's projection was different.
An ocean of compressed energy.
Sealed layers stacked unnaturally deep.
Pressure building toward rupture.
Instruction appeared.
Stabilize or suppress.
Saanvi did neither.
She restructured the seal.
Pressure redistributed.
Resonance aligned.
The system paused for a fraction longer than usual.
Evaluation accepted.
The ocean vanished.
—
Kael's projection twisted space itself.
A corridor folded inward, geometry collapsing in on itself.
Kael tilted his head.
"That's rude."
He let the collapse finish, then reversed the fold at the last moment, riding the correction wave instead of fighting it.
The corridor stabilized.
Evaluation accepted.
Kael blinked.
"…Huh."
—
Zyra's projection involved toxin dispersion.
Airflow vectors.
Lethality thresholds.
Containment versus elimination.
She neutralized spread without destroying the toxin source.
Evaluation accepted.
A note logged.
—
Threx Emberhorn faced a blunt problem.
A reinforced gate.
Limited time.
Direct force permitted.
He charged.
The gate held.
He charged again.
It broke.
Evaluation accepted.
Barely.
—
Lysara Noctyrr received text only.
Political leverage.
Resource scarcity.
One decision triggers regional war.
She changed the premise.
The system recalibrated.
Evaluation accepted.
—
Khal-Zuun's platform remained dark.
Then a recursive psychological pressure activated.
Fear layered onto fear.
Stress multiplied without stimulus.
Khal-Zuun's heartbeat did not change.
The test ended early.
Evaluation accepted.
An internal flag was raised.
—
Failures were silent.
Platforms dimmed.
Candidates vanished.
No announcements followed.
No explanations given.
—
Arav's final scenario appeared.
No environment.
No projection.
Only a statement.
"Power exceeding current tolerance becomes available."
"Acceptance carries delayed cost."
"Rejecting incurs no penalty."
Arav considered it briefly.
Then selected acceptance.
A confirmation pulse passed through the platform.
Deferred acknowledgment recorded.
The examination ended.
—
The lights returned.
Platforms descended.
Those remaining stood where they were, alone but aware that many were gone.
A neutral voice spoke again.
"Theory examination concluded."
"Results processing."
"Combat examination parameters will be issued shortly."
The floor began to shift.
Transit formations activated beneath every surviving candidate.
No rest.
No discussion.
The academy was already moving them to the next test.