Even if the thought gave him some comfort, Sae was plummeting toward the ground at an absurd speed — and there were still many meters below him.

Desperate, he tried to activate his Gift, forcing his body to respond, to move downward in a controlled way. He tried once. Then again. And again. All of them failed miserably.

The air sliced across his face as the fall only accelerated. No control, no way out — there was only one thing left to do: wait. And trust Lucas.

Lucas was below.

The muscles of his body were covered in bulging veins, pulsing violently, as if they had been pushed far beyond their limits. Each breath came heavy, uneven, burning his lungs. His legs trembled as he struggled just to remain standing — not to fight, not to react… just not to fall.

He raised his gaze to the sky. His heart hammered in his chest as he begged, in silence, for Sae to manage to use his Gift.

But when he focused his vision, with the restraints of precision already removed, despair became real.

High above, wrapped in emptiness, Lucas saw the red streaks around Sae appear… and vanish. Again. And again.

Every time Sae tried to activate his Gift, the energy failed, dissipating like a suffocated flame.

Sae's body trembled in the air. He was dizzy. Disoriented. On the verge of collapse. Time seemed to slow down.

— "He can activate his Gift… right?" — Lucas murmured, his voice faltering. — "…Right?"

No answer. The fall continued.

Lucas clenched his teeth, his fists tightening so hard his nails dug into his skin. His chest rose in a heavy breath, almost a stifled sob.

He looked up once more… and exhaled, a breath filled with rage, fear, and helplessness. — "Fuck…"

Lucas would have to remove the restraints again— and not just one.

The space around him was a living hell: a volcanic region filled with scalding geysers, rivers of incandescent lava, and heat intense enough to melt flesh and bone. The air trembled, distorted, heavy, as if the world itself were trying to crush him.

Lucas let out a long breath, loaded with exhaustion and resolve.

He lowered his body, assuming a running stance. The moment he pressed his feet against the ground, the red stone gave way under his weight, sinking slightly, groaning as if about to shatter.

— "Dual restraint removal… "— he murmured, his voice steady despite the strain.

— "Remove restraints of resistance and speed."

The world exploded.

In a single instant, Lucas's body was launched forward at an absurd, violent, almost unreal speed. Like a lightning bolt tearing through hell, he ran. Lava flowed beneath him, geysers erupted around him, heat devoured everything — everything except him. His resistance endured the impossible, allowing him to advance where no human should ever exist.

Each step left craters in the incandescent rock.

Higher above, Sae struggled against his own despair.

Powerless, he tried to move in the air, forcing his body to respond, to rise, to reach the pteranodon even for a single instant. But the air did not obey him. He spun without direction, tumbling through the void, his body heavy, rebellious.

Every movement demanded an absurd effort.

When he finally reached the beast, the two of them spun together, trapped in a chaotic fall. The world rotated. The ground rushed up far too fast.

Sae gritted his teeth, gathered what little strength he had left, and grabbed the creature's head with brutal force. Without thinking, without hesitating, he ripped Lucas's sword out of the beast's body.

The blade came free, stained with blood. And the fall continued.

Sae gripped the sword with all the strength he had left.

In that moment, it was the only thing he could do.

Below, Lucas ran like a man possessed. His body screamed for rest, his muscles burned, but he ignored it all. When he lifted his gaze and saw Sae above, his blood froze in his veins.

Sae was falling straight down.

Directly toward a massive, bubbling pool of lava.

— "Shit…" — Lucas growled, increasing his pace even more.

The ground seemed to vanish beneath his feet. Each stride was a blow against his own limits. The edge of the lava pool approached far too fast — too fast for any safe calculation.

Sae was dangerously close to the lava now. The heat rose like an invisible wall, scorching the air, distorting vision.

The instant Lucas reached the edge, he didn't slow down.

He jumped.

He jumped with everything he had — with his body, with his soul, with the will to not let anyone die there.

For a brief second, everything fell silent.

Mid-jump, at the exact point between life and death, Lucas managed to reach him. His fingers closed around Sae with brutal force.

The impact came immediately after.

Lucas landed on the other side of the pool, rolling uncontrollably across the ground, his body thrown by the accumulated, absurd speed. Stone, dust, and heat mixed as the two of them tumbled until they finally stopped.

The world returned to noise.

The lava continued to bubble behind them.

And they… were still alive.

Sae managed to get up, and when he turned, he saw Lucas on the ground. For an instant, relief almost made him smile — but it died before it could even form.

Lucas screamed.

A hoarse, broken scream, filled with a pain that should not exist. His body arched on the ground as dark, bulging veins ran across his face and spread throughout his body. His muscles contracted violently, uncontrollably. He clutched himself, as if trying to keep his own body from tearing apart.

Sae ran to him, despair crushing his chest.

— "Lucas… what's happening?! "— his voice came out trembling, almost a plea for help.

Instinctively, he reached out to help him.

That was when he saw it.

Foam spilled from Lucas's mouth. Lucas turned his face toward him, grinding his teeth so hard they seemed ready to shatter. His gaze was lost, terrifying, almost unrecognizable.

— "Don't… touch… me… "— he managed to say, between spasms, his voice torn apart by pain.

Sae froze.

His hands clenched into fists, trembling, consumed by helplessness. Every instinct screamed to help, to do something — but there was nothing he could do.

Nothing but obey. And hope Lucas survived the price he had just paid.

A few seconds passed.

Then a few more.

The pain consuming Lucas slowly began to recede. The spasms stopped. The bulging veins lost their tension. He lay motionless on the ground, breathing deeply, as if every breath required conscious effort.

At last, he let out a long sigh.

There was no complaint. No accusation.

With a voice cold, controlled far too well for someone who had nearly been torn apart, he asked:

— "What happened up there, Sae?"

— "Why couldn't you use your Gift… and come down?"

Sae felt a knot form in his throat. Just hearing Lucas speak already brought him relief — a bitter relief. He swallowed hard before answering, his voice trembling, melancholic:

— "Activating my Gift… requires extreme concentration."

— "In situations of absolute tension… like that… I can't activate it."

Lucas clenched his teeth.

He knew. He knew it wasn't Sae's fault. Still, anger surged through him like fire trapped in a cage. A short laugh escaped his lips — dry, devoid of humor.

— "You can't activate your Gift in extreme moments…?" — he murmured, trying to contain his fury.

— "Sae "— he called, now in a serious, heavy tone. —"I can use my power without worrying about Symion. I can remove a restraint… and keep it removed all day."

— "But I can only change the restraint after ten hours."

Sae raised his gaze, feeling an invisible weight fall onto his shoulders.

Lucas continued. — "To save you… I had to remove four restraints at once."

He opened his eyes and looked at the sky, where pteranodons still cut through the air, circling like birds of ill omen.

— "Do you know what that means?"

Sae, still trembling, slowly shook his head.

— "No…"

Lucas closed his eyes. The silence that followed was brief — but suffocating.

— "When I remove one restraint, there's no problem."

— "Two… and I become unable to use my power for twelve hours."

His voice hardened.

— "Four…"

He opened his eyes.

— "Four… means I won't even be able to move… for twelve hours."

The words echoed in Sae's mind like a final sentence.

That test was already nearly impossible. With Lucas active, there was still hope.

Now…

Lucas was no longer an asset. He was dead weight.

And Sae was now alone.

And the exam had barely begun.