Mai fell through emptiness, his senses unraveling. One moment he sat among applicants in the grand hall, the next—there was only dark.

He struck cold stone with a grunt; the impact jarring his breath. The academy was gone. Blackness pressed against his eyes, silence broken only by a slow, steady drip echoing from somewhere unseen.

Where am I?

Mai stayed perfectly still, willing his racing heart to calm. The crystal's transportation had tangled his senses, leaving him dizzy and disoriented. He closed his eyes, drawing in a deep breath of the damp, musty air. The labyrinth. This was the exam.

He opened them again. The dark remained thick, but his Ferlyn eyes adapted. The shadows thinned until stone walls emerged, rough and close. A corridor stretched ahead, barely lit by traces of unseen light.

A faint vibration traveled through the stone beneath his feet, so subtle he almost missed it. The vibration intensified, becoming a low hum that ached along his spine.

A primal fear surged within him, screaming: danger.

Mai lunged forward, his body responding before his mind fully processed the threat. He sprinted down the corridor, his footsteps echoing loudly off the cold stone walls. Behind him, the hum grew louder—a mechanical grinding of stone against stone.

The walls shifted inward.

Mai pushed harder, legs pumping as the corridor narrowed with alarming speed. The passage contracted, dust raining down as the sound of the grinding edges intensified, growing faster and faster. His lungs burned as he forced himself to move quicker, the corridor collapsing to a blur as the end came into sight.

The walls closed in relentlessly, fingertips away from crushing him.

With a desperate final burst, Mai hurled himself forward, diving through the narrowing gap. The corridor slammed shut behind him with a thunderous boom, sending a cloud of dust billowing outward.

Mai lay on his stomach, gasping for breath as stone particles settled around him. When he looked up, the sight stole what little breath remained.

He'd emerged into a vast chamber bathed in light. Trees rose from stone, their roots splitting the floor. Ferns unfurled; moss carpeted ancient pillars. Golden beams spilled through cracks in the ceiling far above, piercing the cavern with sunlight where none should reach.

A hidden garden, somehow thriving deep beneath Edgewater Academy.

Mai ran his fingers over a moss-covered pillar, marveling at the impossible ecosystem hidden beneath the academy. Water trickled along carved channels, feeding clear pools. Fungi clung to rotting logs, their caps glowing with blue fire.

"How is this possible?" he whispered, voice barely disturbing the sacred quiet.

Mai drew back from the glowing fungi, letting the strange stillness of the chamber settle over him. His pulse finally began to slow.

A faint shift against his chest accompanied his exhale, drawing his attention.

He reached beneath his shirt and pulled out a small crystal pendant he definitely wasn’t wearing earlier—a clear shard no longer than his thumb, bound with simple wire and strung on a thin leather strap. It rested cold against his palm, its deep purple color and shifting facets unmistakably similar to the transportation crystal that brought him here—just smaller, like a fragment broken off from the whole.

The crystal glowed faintly, a soft pulse of light deep within its core. Slow and rhythmic, almost like it was breathing.

He turned it between his fingers. No inscriptions or markings. Just the quiet, steady flare each time it caught the ambient light of the hidden garden.

Mai exhaled through his nose, thinking. Part of the exam? A key, maybe?

The crystal offered no answers. Its glow dimmed again, settling into a gentle throb against his skin as he let it fall back beneath his shirt. Whatever its purpose, he’d figure it out later.

For now, he needed to focus.

Mai rose to his feet, attention sharpening as he took in the chamber once more.

A soft rustling came from behind a curtain of hanging vines. Mai froze, ears swiveling toward the sound.

Pat. Pat. Pat.

Soft footfalls on damp earth.

Then a gentle, high-pitched yip echoed through the chamber.

Mai crouched, balancing on the balls of his feet as he peered toward the sound. The vines parted, and a creature stepped into view—a fox, but unlike any he'd seen before. Four tails swayed behind it, each one trailing wisps of luminescent mist. Its body seemed caught between solid and vapor, edges blurring into the surrounding air while maintaining its form. A pale blue-white glow emanated from its spectral fur, casting a gentle light across the stone floor.

A Wisp. Mai had heard of them; a shape-shifting creature that changed forms based on its bond's will.

The fox Wisp padded forward with deliberate steps, its translucent paws leaving no impressions on the soft earth. It stopped several feet away, sitting back on its haunches. Its eyes—piercing white orbs with no pupils—fixed on Mai with ancient intelligence.

Mai remained perfectly still, meeting its gaze. "You've been here a while, haven't you?" Mai said, his voice soft with respect.

The Wisp tilted its head, ears perked forward. Then it rose, four tails fanning out behind it like a misty curtain. With unhurried grace, it closed the distance between them and stepped to Mai's side, close enough that he could feel a curious coolness radiating from its form.

A connection formed between them, wordless yet profound. Mai felt it settle in his chest, a gentle weight like a promise. The labyrinth had offered its first ally.

The Wisp rose and padded toward the far side of the chamber. It paused, looking back at Mai with those empty, ancient eyes before continuing forward. Message clear: Follow me.

Mai hesitated only a moment before trailing after the spectral fox. Its four luminous tails swayed, casting shifting patterns of light across the stone floor. The creature moved with purpose, taking a winding path between pools of crystal-clear water and towering mushrooms that glowed with soft amber light.

Whenever Mai fell too far behind, the Wisp would stop and wait, its ethereal form pulsing slightly brighter as if impatient. Then, once he'd caught up, it would resume its silent journey deeper into the labyrinth.

"Where are you taking me?" Mai whispered, though he expected no answer.

The Wisp led him to a narrow crevice in the far wall, barely visible behind a curtain of hanging moss. It slipped through without hesitation, its misty form compressing to pass through the tight space. Its glow remained visible on the other side, waiting.

Mai pushed aside the moss and squeezed through, scraping his shoulders against cool stone. The passageway widened after several feet, opening into a half-collapsed corridor. Rubble littered the floor where sections of the ceiling had given way, leaving exposed beams of ancient wood that somehow hadn't rotted despite the dampness.

The Wisp sat in the center of the corridor, its glow dimmer than the soft luminescence emanating from the wall beside it.

A mural stretched across the curved stone, faded with age yet still visible beneath a layer of dust and time. What made it extraordinary were the thin veins of light pulsing through the artwork.

Mai approached slowly, awe slowing his steps. His fox ears twitched forward with interest as he studied the glowing illustration.

At the mural's center stood a lead fox, larger than the others, its posture proud and knowing. Behind it followed three smaller foxes, their painted forms simplistic yet somehow conveying trust and devotion. They walked a winding path through a landscape of stylized trees and mountains.

Above them stretched a fractured sky—stars that appeared broken and dim, as if something had damaged the very fabric of the heavens. The lead fox's single tail arched upward. That up-swept tail reached toward a cluster of stars that formed the unmistakable silhouette of a city.

"What does it mean?" Mai whispered, more to himself than to the Wisp.

Mai ran his fingers over the wall. The stone felt warm beneath his touch, as if the mural retained some echo of its creator's life. He tried to make sense of the imagery—the lead fox, the fractured sky, the star-city—but the meaning remained elusive, dancing just beyond his understanding.

The Wisp rose suddenly, breaking its reverent pose. It nudged Mai's leg with its cool, ethereal muzzle, then turned away from the mural, heading deeper into the corridor.

Time to move on.

Mai took one last look at the ancient artwork, committing it to memory. Something about it felt important, though he couldn't say why. It was a mystery he had no time to solve.

Filing the images away in his mind, Mai followed the Wisp into the shadowed depths of the labyrinth, leaving the glowing mural behind.

Hours melted away as Mai ventured deeper into the labyrinth. Time lost meaning in this underground realm, marked only by his growing thirst and the occasional rumble of his stomach. The air grew thicker the further he descended, heavy with ancient dust.

The labyrinth was alive with distant sounds of other candidates. Metal clashed against stone somewhere far off. A shout of triumph echoed through the corridors an hour before. Periodically, the very foundation would tremble as walls shifted, reconfiguring the maze.

The Wisp remained his silent companion. Sometimes it led the way, mist-like tails leaving faint blue trails in the darkness. Other times it perched on Mai's shoulder, its airy weight oddly comforting. It seemed to understand when Mai needed to rest, curling around his ankles during brief stops where he rationed small sips from his water flask.

"At least I'm not alone," Mai murmured, reaching up to stroke the Wisp's head. His fingers passed partly through its form, like disturbing smoke, yet there was substance there too. The creature let out a quiet murmur as Mai pet its head.

Mai maintained a deliberate pace, conserving energy. He approached each junction methodically, studying wall markings and testing air currents with dampened fingertips. The Wisp sometimes nudged him toward certain passages, its ancient knowledge guiding their path through the stone maze.

Rounding a corner, Mai came upon a figure crouched before a wall etched with concentric circles and strange symbols. A girl knelt there, her short violet hair falling in loose waves around sharp, watchful features. Feline ears, the same deep shade twitched faintly atop her head, while a long tail curved behind her with slow, restless intent. She wore a travel-stained jacket belted with pouches and straps, a slender rapier sheathed at her side.

"Hey there," Mai called softly, not wanting to startle her.

His caution proved futile. The girl moved in an instant, rising with a predator’s grace. Steel whispered from its sheath, and the rapier’s point halted a breath from his throat. Her light purple eyes narrowed, sizing him up. The Wisp on Mai's shoulder bristled, its ghostly form expanding slightly as if preparing to defend him.