Underwater, the competition had fully begun.
Each team split into pairs, diving deeper into the Lakebed Caves—labyrinthine tunnels veiled in darkness, filled with shifting currents and ancient, glimmering stones.
Drake narrowly avoided a pressure-triggered rune trap that shot out a stream of icy magic.
"Damn, these traps are serious!" he muttered, bubbles escaping from his mouthpiece leaf.
Ayn, scanning the walls, noted, "Most of these caves… are empty. But don't give up. The Aether Crystals are deeper."
From the distance, faint lights moved—likely other teams. Magic spells didn't work underwater in the Great Mirror Lake, stripped of their effects by ancient enchantments. The trial was now purely about willpower, intelligence, and survival.
Far above, Elijah sat in the VIP chamber, lips pressed tight.
"Magic doesn't work underwater in the Great Mirror Lake… That means they have to rely on instinct, preparation, and strategy."
He stared at the screen… yet a pit of anxiety gnawed at his chest.
"Why do I feel… uneasy?"
He stood up sharply.
"No. I can't sit here. Something's wrong. I need to be there. I need to find the truth."
The moment Elijah linked their minds, the world around him dulled. Her presence spilled into his consciousness like rose petals drifting over a velvet night.
Her voice was not just sound — it was sensation. Warm breath against the neck. A soft touch that never came. A lullaby spun from silk and sin.
"Elijah~"
"So cold… yet you reach for me first. How bold of you, my dearest prince."
He inhaled sharply, already regretting the link.
"I didn't reach out to flirt. This is about the task."
"Oh?" Her laughter was a slow ripple in a quiet lake — the kind that drowns men with its beauty.
"Not even a hello? Not even a whisper of 'I missed you, Anna'? You wound me."
She paused, then continued with gentle mockery.
"Tell me… was it my voice you missed? Or how I look in this swimsuit you tried so hard not to look at?"
A faint flush crept across Elijah's ears. He gritted his teeth.
"Anna—"
"I saw your face, you know. When the cameras panned over us."
"You tried to look away, but your eyes betrayed you."
"You looked at me like a man caught between duty and desire. And oh… how beautiful you looked, Elijah — when your composure cracked just for me."
Elijah turned his back to the window overlooking the lake, jaw clenched.
"You're pushing it."
"Am I?"
She leaned closer in his mind, her tone a whisper made of fire and honey.
"Then why haven't you cut the link?"
"Why do you let me stay in your head, unraveling you, thread by thread?"
His heartbeat stuttered.
"Do you have the bracelet?"
"Yes… wrapped tight around my wrist."
"Would you like to fasten it for me next time? Slide it over my skin with those serious hands of yours?"
Elijah exhaled, a breath too heavy to hide. His silence betrayed him.
"You're blushing, aren't you?"
"Even now… behind that proud heart and noble mind, I can feel it."
"Your walls are trembling, Elijah. And part of me… wants to break them all."
"Anna…"
"Yes, my prince?" she whispered, the title soaked in aching fondness.
"This isn't the time. Please try to understand!"
"You're right."
Suddenly, her voice softened — the seduction peeled back like silk revealing the skin beneath.
"Let's stop joking. For now."
"I know what I must do. I'll watch carefully, take the photos. Just say the word, and I'll move."
A pause. Quiet… almost too quiet.
He was just about to sever the link when her voice, like the last note of a haunting song, echoed through his mind — soft, real, unforgettable:
"Elijah…"
"You once asked me why I tease you."
"It's because when you frown at me, when you flinch, when your voice falters…"
"I feel something in my chest."
"Something dangerous."
"Something that might one day become love."
The link shattered.
Elijah slipped out of the VIP room without alerting the guards, swiftly making his way down to the lakefront. But before he could get close to the edge, a hand seized his wrist and dragged him into the trees.
"Wha—!?"
It was Cilie.
She looked calm, dressed in silver and deep blue, her long hair glowing under the lake's reflected light. Her eyes met his with cold focus.
"What are you doing here?" Elijah asked sharply—though in his mind, he groaned:
"Please don't be weird and introverted again…"
Cilie didn't answer at first. Then she said softly, "My father ordered me to be here."
Elijah frowned. "That's not the full answer. What brought you personally to this lake?"
Her expression didn't change. "You'll understand… very soon."
She raised her hand and clapped once. Her butler instantly appeared from the shadows, bowing respectfully.
Then something startling happened—a shimmering dome of magic enveloped them.
A Sound Barrier.
Without an incantation.
Elijah froze, eyes widening.
"She didn't chant... no hand gestures... not even a ring to trigger silent magic."
In most noble mage families, casting without incantation required either years of training or magical artifacts. But Cilie wore no ring. No brooch. Nothing.
Then she spoke: "Stay here. I'll return shortly."
And before he could protest—she vanished. Gone in a pulse of light and smoke.
"Teleportation?! Without a circle?!"
The butler turned to Elijah, who stood stunned.
"You're thinking what everyone who meets her eventually thinks," he said, voice calm. "Yes. You're right. Without artifacts, a mage can only perform minor magic. But Lady Cilie…"
Elijah's voice dropped to a whisper. "She used a high-level teleportation spell too."
The butler nodded. "Even she has completed the Celestial Path."
Elijah's eyes sharpened. "That's impossible. Completing the Celestial Path takes… decades."
The butler raised an eyebrow. "How can you be so sure?"
Elijah took a breath, then summoned a piece of glowing parchment from his pocket, and drew a quick formula with a light-emitting ink:
He pointed at the equation.
"I'm eleven years old. If I continue at my current refinement speed and essence growth, I'll complete the Celestial Path in exactly twenty-two more years. That's assuming no interference or artifacts."
The butler looked impressed but said nothing.
Elijah pressed further. "Even in top mage families, the average completion is after 30 or 40 years. Cilie is barely older than me. So either she's—"
A burst of light cut off his words.
Cilie reappeared in front of them.
In her hands… was a mysterious silver box, humming with energy.
She gazed at them calmly.
"I hope your conversation is finished," she said.
Elijah looked from the box to her face, then back again. Something had changed in her aura. A colder calm. A powerful stillness.
He whispered, "What… is that?"
Cilie looked at him and gave a small, strange smile.
"You'll see."