House of Amarin

Torches lighted the underground labyrinth, but only until the first narrow corridor opened up into a circular room with six branching paths before them. The yellow stone floor was covered with dust, and the walls were plain-looking, marred by the merciless passage of time.

"I think there was some kind of writing above the entrances," Sion murmured, feeling weird while looking at it. He couldn't pinpoint where this feeling originated from, but he knew something was off.

"I don't see anything," Aurora answered, walking close and swiping her mana against the wall, trying to reveal anything hidden or magical.

"Nothing." Their subordinates agreed, looking at it, doing the same, trying multiple methods to maybe force some covert text to appear.

While the group was standing there, Sion's eyes fixed on the wall; from one of the entrances, an orange light was approaching them. Soon, four people came out, wearing tattered clothes, injured, carrying a fifth person who was unconscious. Or dead… his skin looked sick, greenish in color, and foam was gathering in his mouth, holding his arms close to his chest in a death grip. Going by their Yellow armband, it was easy to recognize which group they belonged to.

"Move!" Their leader, a grizzled man, brushed past Sion, who simply ignored them.

"Leave them be." He shrugged and finally blinked his eyes again after they were left alone. "This place belongs to the Eternals. I now understand…"

"Oh?" Aurora looked at him, waiting for Sion to continue.

"Give me a moment!" He smiled, wiping his eyes free of tears, "I had to focus more as the magic carved into the walls is very faded. Using Hajna's technique still puts a strain on my eyes!" He needed a few minutes to finally regain his sight and start explaining by pointing at the different entrances.

"This is an old testing ground! Above the doors, it says in Hajna's language that anyone who wants to join their Sect has to prove themselves. Chose your destiny and walk forth with conviction!"

"I didn't know you could read it so fluently by now!" Aurora smiled, looking at him proudly.

"Not fluently, but I can recognize words and know what they want to say. Their language is way too alien to learn accurately! Simbad knows it way better, but he also learned more from Hajna anyway. The fact is, this is a testing ground for disciples or aspirants who want to join them!"

"So it shouldn't be lethal…" One of the Misfits murmured, but Sion simply shook his head.

"It is. There isn't a warning per se, but there is a sentence that translates to… 'separate the chaff from the wheat.' In essence…"

"Well, it's nothing like the Institute then!" Another misfit shrugged, shaking her head with a small smile. "I'm glad I was born now and not back then!"

"No, it is not... and yes, we are much more lucky!" Sion agreed, crossing his arms and thinking hard. "From left to right, the entrances are all marked:

Path of Darkness
Path of Stars
Path of Luck
Path of Desires
Path of Pain
Path of Knowledge

The previous group comes from the Path of Luck! Well… they were clearly unlucky."

"What do they mean?" Aurora asked, walking before the doors, trying to see or smell anything, but she could only feel the stale air surrounding them.

"Good question!" Sion shrugged, "If Hajna was here, we could ask her."

"We can send a message!" She smiled, opening her bracelet and contacting Lia as she had the direct line to the Headmaster. "I'm not against cheating, ahaha!"

…
….
……

"Oh? It's Aurora…" Lia exclaimed with mild surprise, raising her bracelet and reading the notice. They were already inside their destination, and she was sitting on a balcony overlooking the somewhat depressed but hopeful city.

"Did something happen?" Ceiline asked as the two finished their meeting with the city officials and were now resting. "I hope it's nothing bad…"

"It's… interesting. The place that Melody found seems to belong to the Eternals. They want Hajna's input on it!"

"Will you go?"

"I can't… the Academy is too far from here, I can't teleport that far! Yet… And I won't leave when I just arrived!" She chuckled, sending a report to Lucian, who, to Ceiline's biggest surprise, appeared a moment later with Hajna under his arm.

"..." Looking around, he was clearly hurrying over. Looking around, regulating his breathing, his face was turning sour by the moment; raising the disc, slamming it directly on the top of Lia's head, it created a beautiful, ringing melody, just like the chimes of bells. "Make your messages more clear! You Silly Pupil! You scared me!"

"It huuuurts…" Lia groaned, growing a tall horn where the Headmaster's punishment landed.

"Good! You may learn from pain! Idiot! You know how exhausting it is to teleport all around the world?! I am not your personal canine to go and fetch things for you!"

"But we needed her…"

"So what?!" Lucian grumbled as Lia's short message sounded like she was in a tricky, dangerous situation.

"But without her knowledge- OWIE! Stop hitting me! You are going to turn me silly for real!"

"That is my goal! Hmph!" He snorted, throwing Hajna's golden disc into her lap after four more bumps were growing on Lia's head, filling her eyes with tears. "I'll be back for her in an hour! I have places to be at!" Before she could answer, Lucian was already gone, only leaving a puff of dark smoke behind.

"Huh… you have the Headmaster at your call… how quaint." Arrived Hajna's voice as she materialized. "He snatched me out of your brother's hand, saying he needs it as soon as possible… I thought something big happened."

"I may have been… a bit too enthusiastic when sending a message!" Lia giggled, sticking her tongue out and then taking multiple sharp breaths, touching the bumps on her head. "But I do need your help; listen to this!" She fixed her sitting position, explaining everything as best as she could.

…
…..
……

"We got the answer!" Sion walked into their freshly erected tent, where Aurora and the rest of the Misfits were waiting for Lia's answer. They were not the kind who would walk in blindly when they could get a clearer picture by waiting. They simply ignored the other group's jeering laughs and their fingers pointing at them when they appeared from the underground labyrinth without even trying.

"What did she say?" They asked in unison.

"It is a proving ground for a subordinate faction. Going by Hajna's records, they were hosting trials here every 50 years, sending those who succeeded to the main Sect to accept them as disciples. Going by her explanation, the paths are as follows: The first is for testing people's affinity with starlight. The place is shrouded in darkness, and only knowing how to attune to the Morning Star is the only way to navigate it. The next one is for withstanding the same attacks that the fairies used. Simple enough! The third… she said it was a trap. They never believed in luck, and anyone who chose that route would face increasingly difficult traps. All of them are deadly… but if the competitor passed all ten, they would still be accepted as it showed not luck on their part but pure skills. The next one…" He stopped, glancing at Aurora.

"Continue. We are all adults here." She signed clearly and unbothered.

"It's a route where our minds would be lost in their deepest desire the further we go. Resisting it is the only option, or you succumb to your own sins and become lost in it forever. I don't want to try it." He murmured, unavoidably scanning Aurora's body, who simply chuckled. The next one is simple. It is all about pain. Be it physical or mental. But she also warned us not to take it; after these many years, the traps are most likely in great disrepair and would be the most deadly. Maybe even self-destructive."

"Isn't that true for all of the others?"

"Well… we can assume that it is." Sion shrugged, "But I still think adhering to her tips is a good idea."

"And the last one?" The Misfits asked curiously.

"She says it has a series of tests about the knowledge of their Sect. I don't think we are eligible to try it! To the question if there is a treasure inside… She said there ought to be something at the end, artifacts that were bestowed upon people who succeeded."

"Okay, Pain and Knowledge are crossed out!" Aurora wrote with her hair while counting on her fingers, "Same with the Desire route. Too bad~!" She joked, licking her lips, "Same with Luck. That leaves us with either Darkness or Stars!"

"I don't know how strong their spells would be." Sion murmured, "I wouldn't be able to deflect too much and shield all of you. Going in alone is also a no-go scenario, so my vote is on the Path of Darkness!"

"I concur." Aurora nodded while the rest of the Misfits agreed without raising questions.

They were about to discuss how and when to do it when a commotion was raised in the camp. Hurrying out, it was two sides, the Blue and Yellows, yelling and cursing at each other, very close to go at it for real. The others were only observing, not meddling with it, at least not until they heard the reason why it broke out in the first place.

Turns out, those who passed by Aurora and the rest found something, and they kept it a secret. Their unconscious member died at the end, and it all came to light when they were burning his body… he was holding something in his hand. A small, golden disk with unknown symbols etched into it. At first, the stubby, old leader of their group claimed it as their own device, but it didn't take long to realize he was lying. Then, something worse came to light.

Every group had already chosen a route of their own, claiming it. The Yellows were throwing themselves against the Path of Luck, not knowing it was one of the most dangerous. Yet… they were convinced it was the right passage as they came across skeleton after skeleton with ancient artifacts still on them.

"You greedy fuck! You bastard son of a bastard Siamese twin! I will skin you alive and feed your cock to yourself!" The scarred, angry leader of the Blues' roared, her energies swirling around her, throwing small fireballs everywhere, in danger of setting everything ablaze. Her magic was wild, not even close to the clear and controlled mana that the Misfits were used to while attending the Academy.

"Prove it that it's not ours, you mutilated flesh toy!" He replied just as angrily, his skin looking like the earth, covered in spell-armour.

"Everything found down there is to be shared! You were hogging it to yourselves! All this time!" Joined in the leader of the Greens, and soon, the Yellows found themselves surrounded. Only the Misfits remained calm, watching it from the sides with great interest.

"Want to bet?" Aurora signed, making the rest smile.

"On when they get to fighting? Sure. I give it... 5 minutes." Sion answered with a hand gesture.

"3," Aurora replied immediately.

"Say… Doesn't that artifact seem familiar?"

"Yes." She answered with a big nod, "It's similar to Hajna's disc. Although… smaller. I say, let them fight, clean up the aftermath, and we will investigate by ourselves when everything is calmed down!"

"I already sent word for the fairies!" Sion agreed, tapping at his bracelet. "I ordered them to come, surround the place… also told them they can play with anyone who escapes."

"What about them?!" Shouted the Yellow's leader, pointing right at Sion, surprising them to be involved in this mess.

"We just arrived…" He replied in a baffled voice.

"Exactly my question, Yellow!" The beast folk leader of the Reds grunted, "They suddenly arrive here? A small group that does not even try going down? You pass by them, and they come up a little later? What, you passed on your extra finding to them? I bet they are with you! Calling in reinforcement? What, you stole so much you can't carry it out by yourself?!"

"Nonsense!"

"I had enough!"

It was the shout that broke the camel's back. The angry, bald woman lunged forward, attacking the stubby man with a flaming fist. The next moment, the Greens' leader turned into a snake-like man, stretching his body out like it was made of rubber, wielding swords in both hands and attacking the Yellows' people.

"Don't even think of leaving!" The Reds' leader roared, transforming into an ape-like beast, rushing directly towards the Misfits with four of his men in tow.

"I'll deal with the monkey." Aurora signed calmly, unbothered by the quaking earth as the heavy beast folk were already upon them.

"I'll go for the snaky boy. Misfits, you deal with the other two camps! Don't kill all of them… we need their leaders for interrogation!"

It was too late for anyone to notice the real problem… the fact that none of the newcomers showed any fear. The little detail only now came clear: the sky was dark, gloomy, shrouded by the mana escaping from Aurora's body while Sion smiled so brightly, it literally blinded the angry leader of the Reds…