The silver Knight

The man who guided Rai and his companions strode across the room, his boots clacking against the cold stone floor. He reached a heavy wooden door at the far end, bending low to grasp its base. His fingers hooked beneath it, and with a slow, deliberate pull, he began to lift. The door groaned in protest, the sound echoing like the growl of a wounded beast. Dust cascaded from its edges, the noise reverberating through the cavernous space.

"Attention, everyone!" he bellowed, his voice slicing through the din. "It's really 10:59 PM now, and it seems candidates didn't make it. With only 994 remaining, the exam officially begins now! Follow me to the site of the first round!"

As the crowd murmured, Rai adjusted his stance. His eyes drifted down to his shoulder bag, slung loosely as if it had endured a battle of its own. The zippers gaped open, their edges frayed and jagged like the teeth of some wild animal. Inside, the contents were barely recognizable—his spare clothes shredded into tatters. Sighing, he still wore it, his brain not having energy to think about the bag.

Straightening his posture, Rai slipped his hands into his pockets and shook his head, his unruly hair settling slightly from the movement. His gait was unhurried, his shoulders hunched forward as if the weight of the world had settled there. Behind him, Raze and Kaizen walked in lockstep, and trailing them all was Giro, yawning as though none of it mattered.

The group entered a narrow tunnel, its walls carved from rough rock and coated with a fine layer of white frost. Snow clung to the ceiling, occasionally shedding its weight in soft plumes. The air grew colder with every step, and their breath turned to visible puffs in the dim light. Each step echoed, the crunch of snow underfoot mingling with the hollow resonance of their boots.

Raze turned to Kaizen, his voice barely rising above the sound. "You think this tunnel leads straight there?"

Kaizen didn't respond—he couldn't hear a word over the cacophony of their own movement.

For nearly twenty minutes, they trudged through the passage, the tunnel winding and narrowing until the air felt heavier, pressing in from all sides. Then, from ahead, a voice broke through the weariness.

"There! The exit!" someone shouted, their words ragged but triumphant.

The group surged forward, spilling out into a vast expanse bathed in an eerie blue light. Beneath their feet lay a surface that shimmered faintly, smooth and glistening like polished glass. Rai paused, eyes narrowing as he took it in. He crouched, running a hand over the ground. It was ice—thick but translucent, revealing the dark waters swirling below.

Giro froze, his wide eyes darting to the surface just as a shadow moved beneath it. A shark, sleek and massive, surged upward, colliding with the ice in frustration. The impact sent faint tremors through the surface but held firm. Giro jumped back, panic etched across his face.

"Oi, oi, this place… it's water," he stammered, "just frozen over with a single layer of ice!"

Kaizen, calm and composed as always, glanced down. His expression betrayed no emotion, only calculation. "As long as the ice holds, the sharks can't reach us," he said, his tone dismissive.

Rai smirked, glancing at Kaizen. "True enough, but it looks brittle—one good kick might shatter it."

Raze grinned, already coiling his leg back. "Then let's kick it and find out!" he shouted gleefully.

Before he could act, Giro lunged at him like a wild animal, tackling him to the ground. Both skidded forward on the slick ice, their bodies spinning out of control.

"These two," Kaizen muttered, his hand on his forehead in frustration.

A faint crackling sound filled the air. Rai's eyes darted toward the spot where Giro and Raze landed—a hairline fracture spidered outward from beneath them. The ice groaned in protest. Worse still, the two slid toward the edge, where the ice gave way to nothing but empty space. Beyond the lip of the surface lay a sheer drop, an endless void where the faintest light vanished into oblivion.

"I'm gonna die!" Giro wailed, a single tear trailing down his cheek.

Rai and Kaizen froze, their bodies stiffening as something moved in the shadows. A figure emerged, draped in black from head to toe, their silhouette sharp and predatory. Their face was obscured, their every movement deliberate. With a single outstretched hand, the figure halted Giro and Raze mid-air, suspending them as though gravity itself had been rewritten.

"Number one," a voice purred, sweet yet venomous. From the shadows, another figure stepped forward, this one smiling with thin, cunning eyes. It was Number Two.

Kaizen and Rai exchanged glances, their relief visible as they sagged to their knees. Sweat trickled down their faces, but they didn't look away from the scene. The shadowy figure set Giro and Raze back on solid ice before striding forward, their steps silent.

Number Two's gaze followed the figure, his grin widening, his eyes narrowing with dangerous intent. The atmosphere turned electric, the faintest sound magnified in the stillness. Something unspoken passed between them all—a quiet prelude to the chaos yet to come.

The instructor floated upwards, rising like a shadow against the dark sky of the ice below. He hovered there, his presence undeniable, his voice firm as he addressed the crowd. Behind him, the shimmering expanse of bluish-white stretched outward, the bridges of ice gleaming faintly under the navy light. Each bridge, delicate and slender, seemed to taunt the candidates with its precarious promise of safety.

"Now, I'll explain how to complete Round 1!" the instructor began, his voice resonating across the frozen expanse.

Rai felt the faint chill of the ice beneath his boots and glanced at his friends. Raze stood just behind him, one hand on his hip, while Giro fidgeted nervously, his gaze darting between the instructor and the ice. Kaizen stood apart, his expression unreadable, his stance calm as ever.

The instructor's voice cut through the murmurs of the crowd like a blade. "As you can see, the ice you're standing on covers water teeming with sharks. This ice will hold for only thirty minutes. After that, it will vanish, and if you're still here…" He let the implication hang in the air, his tone making it clear.

A ripple of murmurs spread through the crowd. Someone's voice rose above the others, frantic. "What does that mean? We have to fight the sharks?"

The instructor raised a hand for silence, his expression unmoved. "That would be… inadvisable," he said dryly. "But allow me to finish. Your task is straightforward: cross the chasm and reach the land on the opposite side. If you have your own means of crossing, feel free to use them. Otherwise…" He gestured to the bridges behind him, their glistening surfaces glowing faintly in the night light.

"These bridges are provided for your use. There are exactly one thousand bridges, one for each of you. Your ID is marked on the first step of your assigned bridge. Be warned: only your designated bridge will support your weight. If you attempt to cross using another's, the results will be… unfortunate." His lips curled faintly, a smirk that didn't reach his eyes.

Rai exchanged a glance with Kaizen, whose eyes narrowed slightly, his hand brushing the edge of his coat. Raze, as usual, fidgeted in place, his impatience written across his face. Giro muttered something under his breath, his hands clenched into fists.

The instructor let his final words settle over the crowd like a blanket of snow. "Remember, the ice beneath you will disappear in thirty minutes. If you're still here by then, well… the water below will deal with you. Now, let the first round begin!"

Everyone surged forward, a collective rush of boots pounding against the brittle ice. The bridges loomed ahead, faint lines of shimmering frost stretching into the yawning abyss. Rai's eyes scanned the closest bridges, noting the numbers etched into the first step. His breath fogged in the chill air as he muttered, "I don't have any abilities, so I'll just cross using the bridge."

Kaizen, Giro, and Raze nodded silently, their expressions tense but resolute. Yet, before any of them could move further, something drew their attention—and not just theirs. The entire crowd froze, their collective gaze snapping toward the same point.

Kaizen's breath hitched as an unnatural stillness swept over the crowd. The air grew heavy, charged with a sinister energy that sent a ripple of unease through every spine. All eyes were fixed on a single figure standing motionless at the edge of one bridge. A chill crawled over Rai's skin as he strained to make sense of what he was seeing, the outline of the figure blurring, distorting in ways that defied explanation. Giro clenched his fists, his knuckles white, while Raze, uncharacteristically silent, took a half-step back. Whatever they were witnessing, it made the candidates think it wasn't even human—or at least, it shouldn't have been.