The preparation week began without a schedule.
That alone unsettled the students more than any drill.
Instead of a single briefing, instructors appeared where they were least expected—training halls, garden paths, archive corridors. Not to demonstrate techniques.
To speak.
Fire Wing — Morning Session
Instructor Halvek stood before a group of restless students, his scarred arms crossed loosely.
"Most of you think the test favors power," he said. "That's how Pyraen students fail."
A few fire-aligned students bristled.
"When I took the Evaluation," Halvek continued, "I burned through my reserves in the first hour. Cleared every obstacle they placed in front of me."
A pause.
"Then the next trial began."
He met their eyes.
"And I had nothing left."
The room quieted.
"I passed," he said, "because I stopped fighting and started backing others out of trouble."
Someone asked, "So restraint?"
Halvek shook his head. "Timing. If you burn at the wrong moment, you won't be there when it matters."
Water Wing — Midday
Instructor Seliane sat with her students beside a shallow basin.
"No element adapts faster than water," she said softly. "That's why Council loves us."
Several students smiled uneasily.
"When I was evaluated," Seliane continued, "I survived every scenario by changing shape."
Her reflection shimmered in the basin.
"But I failed the final record," she added.
A gasp.
"I refused to decide," Seliane said. "I kept adjusting until there was nothing left to adjust."
Silence.
"They passed me anyway," she said. "Because hesitation can be corrected."
Her eyes sharpened.
"But understand this—if you avoid choice too long, the test will choose for you."
Earth Wing — Afternoon
Instructor Boram didn't gather students in a hall.
He took them outside.
"Stand," he said simply.
They stood.
Minutes passed.
Arms ached. Legs stiffened.
"During my Evaluation," Boram said at last, "I held a line while others broke."
He turned slightly.
"I didn't move. I didn't advance. I didn't retreat."
A student asked, "Is that why you passed?"
Boram shook his head. "No. I passed because when they told me to abandon the line…"
He exhaled.
"…I asked who would fall if I did."
No one spoke.
"Earth doesn't win," Boram finished. "It decides where loss stops."
Wind Wing — Dusk
Instructor Naeris leaned against a railing, watching students practice movement drills.
"I vanished during my Evaluation," she said with a grin. "Completely."
A few students laughed nervously.
"They marked me missing for six hours," she continued. "Thought I'd failed."
She shrugged.
"Turns out they don't like not knowing where you are."
Her smile faded slightly.
"I passed because I came back."
A student frowned. "You could've stayed hidden."
"Yes," Naeris said. "But then I would've become irrelevant."
She met their gaze.
"Freedom only matters if you return by choice."
Central Grounds — Night
Masako did not posture.
She sat among the students.
"I did not perform well," she said plainly.
Every head turned.
"I argued with the assessors," she continued. "Refused three direct instructions."
Shock rippled through the group.
"I was classified late," Masako said. "Almost removed."
A pause.
"I passed because I asked the question they couldn't record."
Someone whispered, "What was it?"
Masako's eyes found Kurogane at the edge of the circle.
"Who benefits from my success?"
Silence settled, heavy and uncomfortable.
"That question," Masako said, "is still unanswered."
That night, Kurogane stood alone again near the academy boundary.
Raishin approached—not as an instructor, not as a trainer.
"As a warning," he said quietly.
"I didn't pass cleanly," Raishin admitted. "I passed because someone before me failed worse."
Kurogane didn't ask who.
"You don't prepare for this test by becoming stronger," Raishin continued.
"You prepare by deciding what you won't become."
Kurogane nodded slowly.
Behind them, the academy lights burned late into the night.
Not from power.
From people thinking too much to sleep.
And in the silence between preparation and action, one truth became clear to every student, whether they admitted it or not:
The test would not ask who they were.
It would record who they chose to be under pressure.