Ezra narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Gena, his gaze steady and unmoving, as if he was trying to pierce through whatever shallow understanding she had just formed.

"It’s clear you still don’t understand everything I just explained."

His voice came out flat, without any rise or fall, and because of that, it felt even more direct.

Gena let out a small, awkward laugh, her eyes shifting away from him and up toward the ceiling, as if the plain white surface above her could somehow save her from his stare.

"I got a bit though... Hehe... Hehe..."

Her laugh sounded dry, forced, and a little embarrassed.

Ezra didn’t respond to that.

He simply looked at her for a second longer, then turned slightly and stood up from where he had been seated, brushing off the side of his coat in a casual motion.

"Now that your brain has finally noticed the strength you have..."

He spoke while facing away from her, his voice calm.

"You can get stronger from here."

He said it simply, like it was obvious, and then he began to walk toward the exit.

"Ezra..."

Gena called out; her voice softer now.

He stopped.

She looked at his back, her fingers tightening slightly against the bed sheet beneath her, her thoughts clearly still unsettled.

"Can I really grow stronger... can I really reach your level... and the others?"

There was hesitation in her voice.

Not because of the doubt she had in her mind, alone... but fear of hoping for something she wasn’t sure she deserved.

Ezra turned his head slightly, then turned fully to face her again.

"You will grow stronger."

He said it without hesitation.

"As long as you keep training and keep studying."

He dragged the last few words just a little, making sure they stayed with her, then his expression didn’t change, but his tone shifted slightly.

"Although... unfortunately for you..."

He raised his hand and gave a lazy wave.

"I won’t be waiting for anybody to catch up to me."

With that, he turned and left.

Gena stared at his back as he walked away, her lips pressing into a small pout.

"At least say something nice..."

She muttered under her breath; her voice filled with a quiet complaint, but then, her expression changed.

Her eyes lit up slightly, and a small smile formed.

"...But..."

Her fingers tightened slightly against the sheets.

"I can grow."

The words came out softly, but they carried weight.

She turned her head quickly, her excitement rising, her heart beating a little faster as she imagined it, but the moment she tried to move...

Pain shot through her body.

"Argh...!"

She winced hard, her face tightening as her body stiffened.

"My body..."

She groaned, dropping back onto the bed.

After Ezra left the infirmary, the quiet smell of medicine fading behind him, he stepped into the hallway where the atmosphere was now packed with noise.

The once calm corridors were now filled with movement.

Footsteps echoed against the stone floor, voices overlapped, groups of candidates walked past each other, talking, arguing, laughing, some still injured but moving anyway.

Ezra walked through the noise, his pace steady, his presence blending into the flow of people like he didn’t belong to any group at all.

He entered the café, ate his meal quietly without joining any conversation, then moved to the library, where it was calmer.

The sound of pages flipping, chairs shifting slightly, and low murmurs filled the space.

He spent the rest of the day there, reading and studying with his mind focused, blocking out everything else.

When night came, and the lights dimmed, he returned to his room.

The next day came quickly with the main hall, packed.

Candidates filled the space, standing in groups, standing in rows, leaning against walls.

Only those too injured to move were absent.

The air was filled with low conversation, speculation and quiet tension.

Everyone was waiting.

Then...

The door behind the platform opened.

The sound was heavy and solid.

Raymond stepped out first, his posture straight, his expression cold and unmoving.

Four guards followed behind him in perfect formation.

The hall slowly went quiet.

He walked forward with firm steps, each one echoing faintly across the large space.

"Good day, Children of Ashenlocke."

His voice came out deep and steady.

The noise died instantly with all eyes turned toward him.

"First of all,"

He paused briefly, letting the silence settle.

"The eighth trial will begin after one week of rest and preparation."

A wave of mixed reactions spread quietly across the hall the moment Raymond mentioned the one-week rest.

Some of the candidates visibly relaxed, their shoulders dropping as faint smiles appeared on their faces, as if they had just been handed a brief escape from something suffocating. A few even exchanged glances with their group members, whispering under their breath with small relief.

But not everyone reacted the same way.

There were those who remained completely still, their expressions unchanged, their eyes steady and thoughtful, as if they had already seen through the meaning behind those words.

Because at the end of the day...

A week of rest didn’t mean peace.

It only meant preparation.

And preparation only existed for something worse.

"Now," Raymond continued, his voice cutting cleanly through the faint murmurs, "the eighth trial will not be about combat, but about how strong your mind is."

The hall slowly quieted again.

"As alchemists, our brain is both our greatest weapon and our greatest weakness."

His eyes swept across the crowd slowly, observing and weighing.

"That is why we must always train our mental strength to surpass every other part of our body."

He paused.

The silence that followed felt heavier this time.

Then...

"So, the eighth trial will take place in a black room."

A few brows tightened, a few hands clenched unconsciously.

"All candidates will enter separate rooms... each one filled with nothing but void."

The word lingered.

Void.

"You are to survive there... for two months."

"Two months?"

The words slipped out before the boy who spoke could stop himself, his voice cracking slightly as he looked around, hoping someone else would say something first.

"We will be inside a room... of darkness... for two months..."

A girl whispered, her voice trembling as her fingers slowly curled into her sleeve.

"I’m... kind of scared of the dark..."

Another voice added weakly, barely above a breath.

"Quiet!"

A guard’s voice exploded across the hall, sharp and heavy, immediately crushing the growing whispers.

The room fell silent again.

Raymond didn’t react to the interruption, he simply looked at them, his gaze cold and unmoved.

"I said two months." He raised three fingers slowly. "But in truth... it is three months."

The effect was immediate.

Eyes widened, lips parted, even those who had stayed calm before felt something twist slightly inside their chest.

The tension in the air thickened.

"The final month," Raymond continued, lowering his hand, "will be for the ninth trial."

His tone didn’t change.

"If it can even be called separate."

A few candidates stiffened at that.

"During that last month... you will face a single attack."

He paused just long enough for their attention to tighten.

"One gunshot."

The words dropped heavily.

"It will come at any time."

His eyes sharpened slightly.

"You will not know when."

"You will not know where."

"You will only have one task." He spoke slower this time. "To evade... or block."

A faint breath passed through the hall.

"Your mission..." His voice lowered just slightly. "...is to survive."

That word pressed down on everyone.

Not loudly nor violently, but deeply.

"So... does that mean we will be going through two trials at the same time?"

Veda’s voice rose clearly from the crowd.

It wasn’t loud in a disruptive way.

It was steady, controlled and confident.

Every head turned toward him.

His posture was straight, his gaze fixed on Raymond, and there was no fear in his eyes—only focus, only the look of someone who needed clarity, not comfort.

Raymond looked at him.

For a brief moment, the entire hall seemed to hold its breath.

No one had ever asked a question during an announcement before.

The air tightened more, even the guards shifted their stance slightly.

Then...

"Yes."

Raymond answered with a single nod.

Nothing more.

No explanation, no elaboration.

Just confirmation.

"That is all." He turned slightly. "Rest well... and prepare."

His voice returned to that same cold weight.

"The trial of steel is nearing its end."

He paused for a fraction of a second.

"Only those who truly fight for their survival can be considered useful to this family."

His gaze swept across them one last time.

"Prove you are worthy... of the name Ashenlocke."

Then he turned fully and walked off the stage with the guards following behind him in silence.

The moment he disappeared beyond the door...

The tension snapped.

Noise flooded the hall all at once, voices overlapped and questions collided.

Fear, excitement, confusion...all of it mixed together.

"Three months... two trials..."

Bobby muttered under his breath, his fingers already between his teeth as he bit down nervously, his shoulders slightly hunched as if trying to shrink into himself.

"We’ll be in darkness for two whole months... maybe three... and then we have to watch out for a gunshot without even knowing the time..."

Nickolas spoke slowly, his arms folding across his chest as his brows drew together tightly, his mind trying to piece everything together.

"I don’t know why..."

He exhaled quietly.

"But this feels like the most troublesome trial so far."

He glanced at Veda.

Veda stood still, his head slightly lowered, one hand resting against his chin as his fingers moved slowly, thinking.

The noise around him didn’t seem to reach him.

He was already inside the trial in his head.

"It’s clear..."

Ezra’s voice cut in.

Flat and calm.

The group turned toward him.

"This trial will bring out the deepest thoughts hidden in our minds."

He didn’t raise his voice.

He didn’t need to.

"A place with no sense of direction... no time... no light..."

He paused slightly; his eyes steady.

"The chances of hallucination are very high."

The word settled in. Not loudly, but sharply.

"I have heard of experiments where normal people were put through situations like that..."

Tracy spoke up, her voice lower than usual, lacking the playful tone she often carried. Her fingers curled slightly against her sleeve as she spoke, and there was a faint stiffness in her shoulders that hadn’t been there before.

"They wanted to see what would happen if someone stayed in a completely dark room for a long time..."

She paused, her gaze drifting downward.

"I overheard that... the person ended up committing suicide."

Her words came out softer at the end, almost like she didn’t want them to reach too far.

Her eyes dropped fully to her boots, staring at them without really seeing anything, as if the weight of what she just said had settled somewhere deep inside her chest.

"Suicide? Illusions? Is it really that serious?"

Linda tilted her head slightly, her brows knitting together in confusion, but the unease on her face didn’t fade. Even if she didn’t fully understand it, something about the idea made her uncomfortable.

Tracy took a small step closer to her.

"Try to imagine it properly," she said quietly.

Her voice slowed, her words coming out more deliberate.

"Imagine not being able to talk to anyone... not even hear another person’s voice for a whole day."

Linda’s eyes flickered slightly.

"Imagine not seeing any light... not knowing whether it’s morning or night..."

Tracy leaned in just a bit more.

"Not knowing what time it is... not knowing where you are... not eating... not drinking..."

Her voice dropped further.

"Just you... and nothing else."

She lifted her eyes and met Linda’s gaze directly.

"Only the echo of your own voice... repeating back to you... again and again..."

"For a whole day."

The space between them felt heavier.

Linda swallowed lightly.

"When you say it like that..." She forced out a small breath. "...it does sound scary."

The earlier confusion on her face had faded, replaced with something quieter.

Something more real.

"Can’t we just sleep through the whole trial and wake up when it’s over?"

A boy raised his hand slightly as he spoke, his tone uncertain but hopeful, like he was trying to find an easy way out of something he didn’t want to face.

Mariam slowly turned her head toward him.

One eyebrow lifted.

"Does that make any sense to you?"

Her voice wasn’t loud, but the look she gave him made it clear enough what she thought.

The boy shrank slightly under her gaze.

"We can try counting the days as they pass."

Bobby spoke next, his eyes flicking toward Ezra for a brief moment before returning to the group, as if he was testing whether his idea sounded reasonable.

"That’s actually not a bad idea."

Linda nodded; her expression thoughtful now.

"But that only works if you can actually keep track of time without losing count."

Her words carried a quiet doubt.

"I can do it."

One voice came from behind, then another.

"I can too."

A few candidates raised their hands one after another, their confidence showing on their faces, though some of it looked forced.

"It’s just counting, right?"

A girl added, looking around as if to confirm it wasn’t that difficult.

"Forty-three thousand two hundred minutes for thirty days... it’s possible."

Her tone carried a strange mix of logic and denial.

"But that’s not the real problem."

Veda finally spoke.

His voice cut through the small wave of confidence that had begun to build.

Everyone turned to him.

"We won’t be fighting enemies... or monsters..."

He lifted his head slightly, his eyes serious.

"We’ll be fighting our own minds."

The words landed differently.

More quietly, but deeper in a certain way.

"That’s what makes it dangerous."

He exhaled slowly, his shoulders rising and falling in a controlled motion.

"By the third month... there’s a chance your mind won’t even be stable anymore."

He paused briefly.

"And when that one gunshot comes..." His eyes sharpened. "You might not even get the chance to react in time."

Nickolas folded his arms tighter across his chest.

"Yeah..."

He muttered.

"If your mind is already broken by then... that one shot could kill you easily."

A natural silence settled over the group.

Around them, other groups had already started moving, their conversations fading as they left the hall one after another, each group carrying their own thoughts and their own fears, but Veda’s group stayed for a moment longer.

Veda suddenly smiled.

It wasn’t wide, but it was steady.

"Guys."

He stepped forward slightly, positioning himself where everyone could see him clearly.

"It’s been a long journey already."

His voice softened just a bit.

"We’ve fought together... struggled together... survived together."

His gaze moved across each of them, one by one.

"These next trials... will be very different." He paused. "And harder."

The weight in his voice returned.

"I won’t be there to help you and you won’t be there to help me."

The truth of it settled in.

"But..." He straightened slightly. "I want all of you to remember something."

His eyes became sharper.

"Why you fought, why you endured everything so far, why you kept moving forward even when it hurt."

He held that silence for a second.

"I don’t want to lose anyone."

His voice dropped slightly.

"I want all of us... to come out of this together."

Then...

His expression turned serious.

"No matter what you see in that room...No matter what memories come back...No matter what pain you buried inside yourself..."

His voice slowed; each word placed carefully.

"Remember one thing."

He looked at all of them.

"You did everything... for your survival."

He let out a slow breath, then he clapped his hands once.

"Let’s clear these trials."

The energy instantly shifted.

"Yes!"

They responded together, fists tightening, smiles returning, though some of those smiles still carried unease beneath them.

Ezra stood slightly apart, watching them.

The way their expressions changed, the way their energy rose, the way they chose to believe and not fall into the fear of the black room.

He didn’t say anything, he just kept looking, then he lowered his gaze slightly.

This is going to be a really shitty trial.

He thought quietly to himself.