The shared room was cramped. Twenty cadets packed into a space meant for maybe fifteen. Wooden bunks lined the walls. A few small windows let in dim evening light. The air was stuffy and smelled like sweat.

  Malek sat on one of the lower bunks near the back corner. Elara sat across from him on another bunk, arms crossed, staring at the floor.

  They'd been here for two hours waiting for the results announcement.

  Most of the other cadets were talking in small groups. Some looked confident. Others looked like they were trying not to throw up.

  Joran was near the door talking loudly with two other boys. He kept glancing over at Girls with a same smug expression.

  "You think we passed?" Elara asked quietly.

  Malek shrugged. "No idea."

  "Your vapor infusion was good. You'll pass."

  "Maybe."

  "Don't be modest. It was good."

  Malek didn't respond. His right hand still ached faintly from the channel strain. He flexed his fingers slowly under the edge of his sleeve.

  Elara noticed. "Still hurting?"

  "A little."

  "You should rest it more."

  Malek gave a slight nod.

  They sat in silence for a while. The noise from the other cadets filled the space between them.

  "what's the second test?" Malek asked.

  "No idea. They didn't tell us." Elara replied."Probably something tough."

  The door opened and an instructor stepped inside. A man with gray hair and a stern face.

  “The results have been posted,” he announced. “You can check the Results in the main hall. Every candidate who passed will have two hours of rest before the briefing for the second test begins.”

  Everyone stood immediately. The room erupted into movement as cadets rushed for the door.

  Elara stood. "I'll go check."

  “You want me to come with you?” He asked.

  "No. Stay here and rest your hand."

  Malek nodded and stayed sitting.

  Elara pushed through the crowd and disappeared out the door.

  Malek leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. The noise faded slightly as most of the cadets left.

  He heard footsteps approaching.

  "Hey, Zero-Class."

  Malek opened his eyes. Joran stood in front of him with two other boys flanking him. Both looked older.

  "What?" Malek asked.

  "Just wondering if you're still planning to stick around after the results. Might save yourself some embarrassment and leave now."

  "I'm good."

  One of the other boys laughed. "He's not even worried."

  "Because he knows he failed," Joran said.

  The door opened again. Elara came back inside, moving quickly. She spotted Malek and walked straight over, ignoring Joran completely.

  "We passed," she said.

  Malek sat up. "Both of us?"

  "Yeah. Both names on the list."

  Joran's smug expression faltered slightly. "Wait, what?"

  Elara glanced at him. "You passed too, Joran. Congratulations. Now move."

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  She sat down next to Malek. Joran stood there for a moment looking annoyed, then walked away with the other two boys.

  "He's an idiot." Elara said.

  "Yeah."

  Malek nodded. "What about the second test?"

  "They're announcing it soon. We eat first, then the test starts tonight."

  "Tonight?"

  "Yeah."

  "That's fast."

  "They want to get through everyone quickly."

  ---

  Food arrived thirty minutes later. Simple fare. Bread. Soup. Water. They ate in the shared room with the other cadets who'd passed. The mood was mixed. Some people were celebrating. Others looked nervous about what came next.

  Malek ate quietly. His hand had stopped aching as much. The rest helped.

  Elara finished first and set her bowl aside. "Terris said the second test is always Spirit Affinity."

  Malek looked up. "What's that?"

  "Measures your connection to Spirit and your spiritual connection with the world. How well you can sense the spiritual Realm. How much you can channel spritual force naturally." She paused. "It's supposed to be harder than the practical test."

  "Why?"

  "Because you can't do anything about it. Either you have affinity or you don't."

  "What happens if you don't?"

  "You fail. Simple as that."

  Malek set down his bowl. "Great."

  "You'll be fine."

  "Maybe."

  Elara looked at him for a moment. "You're actually nervous."

  "A little."

  "You never look nervous."

  "I hide it well."

  The announcement came an hour later. All cadets who passed the first test were to gather in the main testing hall immediately.

  Malek and Elara joined the crowd moving through the corridors. The hall was large. Circular. High ceiling. A raised platform at the front.

  Standing on the platform was Instructor Aael.

  Next to her was someone Malek didn't recognize. A woman. Tall. Long dark hair tied back. Sharp eyes. She wore robes with intricate rune patterns along the edges.

  Everyone found spots on the floor and sat down. Malek and Elara sat near the middle.

  Aael stepped forward.

  "Congratulations on passing the first test. The second test begins now. This is the Spirit Affinity assessment. Instructor Aael will oversee it."

  The tall woman stepped forward. Her presence filled the room immediately.

  "Spirit Affinity measures your natural connection to the spiritual Realm." Aael said. Her voice was calm but firm. "You will be tested individually. When called, you will step onto the platform and place your hand on the resonance crystal. The crystal will measure your affinity level. Results are immediate."

  She gestured to a pedestal that had been placed at the center of the platform. On top sat a large crystal. It was clear but faintly blue, like ice.

  "Normal affinity registers as a steady glow. High affinity will cause the crystal to pulse. Low affinity will produce minimal reaction. No affinity means the crystal remains inert."

  Aael looked across the room. "We will begin now. First candidate. Elara."

  Elara stood. Malek watched her walk to the platform. She climbed the steps and approached the pedestal.

  Aael gestured to the crystal. "Place your hand on it. Keep it there until I tell you to stop."

  Elara placed her right hand flat against the crystal surface.

  For a moment, nothing happened.

  Then the crystal began to glow. Faint blue light spread from where her hand touched it. The glow was steady. Consistent.

  Aael watched for ten seconds, then nodded. "Normal affinity. Well balanced. You may step down."

  Elara removed her hand and walked back to her spot. She sat down next to Malek.

  "How'd it feel?" he asked quietly.

  "Cold. Like touching ice."

  "That's it?"

  "Yeah."

  Aael called the next name. Then the next. One by one, cadets went up. Most registered normal affinity. A few had high affinity and the crystal pulsed brightly. One or two had low affinity and barely made it glow at all.

  Then Aael called, "Malek."

  He stood and walked to the platform. His legs felt steady but his heart was beating faster than usual.

  He climbed the steps and approached the pedestal.

  Aael looked at him directly. "Place your hand on the crystal."

  Malek placed his right hand flat against the surface.

  It was cold. Elara was right about that.

  He waited.

  Nothing happened.

  The crystal remained clear. There was no glow or pulse.

  Aael frowned slightly. "Channel your mana. Actively."

  Malek focused. He pulled mana from his core and pushed it through his channels toward his hand.

  The crystal flickered. Just once. A brief flash of light.

  Then it went dark again.

  But something else happened.

  The surface of the crystal cracked. A thin line appeared from where his hand touched it, spreading outward like a spiderweb.

  Aael stepped forward immediately. "Remove your hand."

  Malek pulled his hand back. The crack stopped spreading but didn't disappear.

  Aael stared at the crystal. Then at Malek. Her expression was unreadable.

  "What does that mean?" Malek asked.

  Aael didn't answer right away. She touched the crack with one finger, examining it closely.

  Finally she said, "The crystal registers ambient mana affinity. When it cracks, it means the mana signature is incompatible."

  "Incompatible with what?"

  "With standard classification."

  Malek didn't understand. "So I failed?"

  "No." Aael looked at him again. "Your result is marked as anomalous. No affinity classification can be assigned."

  Murmurs spread through the room. Malek heard Joran's voice somewhere behind him. "He broke it. Of course he did."

  Aael raised her hand and the room went silent. "Anomalous results are rare but not unheard of. They indicate a mana structure that doesn't align with conventional testing methods."

  She wrote something on a piece of parchment. "You pass. But your affinity is listed as unclassified."

  "What does that mean for the next phase?"

  "It means you'll be evaluated differently. Report to my office after this session ends."

  Malek nodded and stepped down from the platform. He walked back to his spot and sat next to Elara.

  She looked at him. "What just happened?"

  "I don't know."

  "You cracked the crystal." She asked "How?"

  "No idea."

  Elara stared at him for a moment longer, then turned her attention back to the platform as Aael called the next name.

  Malek looked down at his right hand. It didn't feel any different.

  But for the slightest moment—so brief that he should never have noticed it, yet somehow did—he felt something unfamiliar stir within him. A strange warmth. It felt like something he had known before, though he couldn’t remember where. The more he tried to grasp the thought, the faster it slipped away, dissolving in less than a minute. Soon, he had forgotten entirely what he had been thinking about.

  Only the image of that crack spreading across the crystal remained, burned deep into his mind.