Jade woke before the inn stirred.
The ceiling above him was unfamiliar-wooden beams instead of the low, uneven planks back home-but his body moved on its own regardless. He sat up, waited for the faint dizziness to pass, then stood.
Water. Face. Hands.
He washed quickly, the cold biting harder than it should have. His reflection in the shallow basin looked the same as always; black hair still refusing to lie flat, eyes a little too sharp for someone who hadn't slept well. The faint burn in his throat from last night lingered, dull but present.
He dressed, shouldered his bag, and left without eating.
The streets of Bertha were quieter this early. Shop shutters remained closed, and the smell of bread only barely began to creep into the air. Jade walked without hurry, his steps measured, his head already aching in a familiar, pulsing way.
It didn't worsen. Not yet.
The library revealed itself gradually-stone walls rising behind rows of lesser buildings, its upper windows catching the pale morning light. It wasn't ornate, but it was old, and age carried its own weight. Jade slowed as he approached.
This wasn't a place you rushed into.
Inside, the air changed.
Dust, parchment, ink-layered scents that clung to the lungs. The main hall opened wide, shelves lining the walls in curved rows. At the center sat a long, half-circular desk, polished smooth by decades of use.
A man occupied it.
Young, but not by much. Older than twenty-five, Jade guessed inwardly. His sleeves were rolled up, dark hair tied loosely, eyes moving steadily across a ledger. Two doors flanked the desk, one on either side, each leading deeper into the library-restricted spaces, meant for librarians alone.
Jade approached quietly.
"Excuse me," he said.
The man looked up. "Yes?"
"I'm looking for a message. Someone named Fell said he'd leave one."
The librarian studied him for a moment, then reached beneath the desk. He pulled out a folded paper and slid it across.
"Left early," he said. "Didn't say when he'd return."
Jade nodded, taking the paper. It had an address.
He stepped aside, unfolding it once more just to confirm, then stood there doing nothing.
Minutes passed.
The headache pressed harder, like fingers tightening behind his eyes.
Footsteps broke the silence.
A boy entered the hall, stopping just inside the doorway. Brunette hair, unkept. Black pants and a red shirt-both worn, but clean. Better off than Jade's own white shirt and dark blue trousers, which had seen too many washes and too little care.
Cain spotted him almost immediately.
Their eyes met. No words were exchanged.
Jade turned and walked.
Cain followed.
They left the library and moved through the town, the morning now fully awake around them. Cain took the lead once they reached unfamiliar streets, navigating without hesitation. Jade didn't ask how he knew the way.
His head throbbed steadily now, but he said nothing.
They found Fell near the edge of town, tightening a strap on one of his horses. The carriage stood ready, wheels already cleaned, supplies stowed.
Cain tapped the wooden side.
Fell turned. "Ah. You're on time."
Jade explained briefly, Cain's request to join, the destination unchanged.
Fell listened, then shrugged. "Two passengers instead of one. Two hundred thirty pennies each."
Jade didn't hesitate. He handed over two silver coins.
Fell counted quickly, then returned seventy pennies.
Cain paid the exact amount, coins clinking softly.
"Hop in," Fell said.
They did.
The ride stretched long-longer than Bertha to Nort should have felt. Jade read for most of it, though the words blurred often enough that he had to pause. Cain remained quiet, staring out at the passing road.
After more than four hours, the carriage slowed.
Nort City rose before them.
Larger. Denser. Stone layered upon stone, towers breaking the skyline. The air felt heavier, charged with movement.
They disembarked.
Fell tipped his hat. "That's me. Good luck."
He left without waiting for a response.
Cain watched the carriage disappear before turning to Jade. "You settling in first, or getting evaluated?"
"I'll get evaluated," Jade said. "If I'm assigned work here, I won't need an inn."
Cain nodded. "Then I'll come with you."
The Nort City library dwarfed Bertha's.
This one wasn't just a building-it was a complex. Multiple wings connected by archways, tall windows reinforced with metal frames, guards stationed near the entrances. Mirrors lined the interior walls, embedded into stone as if they belonged there.
Jade noticed. Then dismissed it.
Inside, they were directed to another desk.
This time, a woman sat there.
She looked exhausted.
Her posture slouched slightly, one elbow propping her head as she bit down on the end of a pen. A real pen-not charcoal sitck, not quill. Rare enough on its own.
Rarer still was the mirror on her desk.
Glass. Clear. Unblemished.
Small circular mirrors adorned the red hat she wore, stitched into the fabric like decorations. More were sewn into her dress, subtle but unmistakable.
Jade and Cain didn't need to exchange a glance.
This was her.
They reached into their bags and produced their letters.
The woman barely glanced at the stamp before standing. She was taller than both of them.
"Follow me."
They obeyed.
She led them through silent corridors, deeper into the structure, until they emerged into an open ground enclosed entirely by library walls. No roof. Stone underfoot. Mirrors set high along the walls, angled inward.
She took their letters.
Opening her jacket, she revealed a mirror as large as her head, embedded against her chest. Without ceremony, she pushed both papers into its surface.
They vanished.
Minutes passed.
Then a man arrived.
He wore clothing similar to Cain's, simple, practical, but was older, broader. A pen in hand, paper tucked beneath his arm.
He spoke quietly with the woman.
They turned back to the boys.
"Two independent divers at once," the woman said, voice dry. "Nice."
She left.
Cain and Jade exchanged a look.
Understanding settled between them, unspoken.
The evaluation began.
Cain went first.
He requested target dummies.
They were brought in. Wooden, reinforced, spaced apart.
The moment the test started, Cain vanished.
He reappeared behind a dummy, arm already extended. No weapon. No contact.
The dummy exploded.
Fragments scattered across the stone.
The man asked questions. Cain answered.
Jade didn't listen.
Then it was his turn.
He requested dummies as well.
And a dagger.
And arrows.
No bow.
They were provided.
Jade picked up the dagger, weighing it once before throwing it lightly.
The blade slowed-
Then accelerated violently.
It struck with force rivaling a master archer's shot, punching clean through the dummy.
"Accurate."
Next, the arrows.
Jade threw them by hand, both at once.
He glanced once.
Both arrows curved mid-air, each finding a different target. They struck, true-less destructive than the dagger, but far faster.
The man wrote everything down.
Jade's headache spiked.
"Depth one?" the man asked.
Jade nodded.
"When did you advance?"
"Two months ago."
"And your experience?"
Jade hesitated, then answered.
"I fell slowly. It felt like months passed while I was there. My father pulled me out-but it was painfully slow. They told me afterward it was only minutes."
"And what did you see?"
"A city," Jade said. "Colorless. Gray. The sun was white, but dim. Even the grass was gray. I was watching from high above."
The man nodded, finishing the writing.
The test ended.
The woman sat there again.
Her eyes were cracked now.
Like mirrors.