“Ack!”

Arte crashed into the staircase, snakes hot on her heels.

After pulling herself up, she turned back toward Kit.

“I-I’m sorry! I was too focused on running from the snakes…”

“...It’s fine.”

Kit spoke quietly before tearing his gaze away from her pitiful appearance. It didn’t seem like she had been bitten, so she could see the snakes just fine.

“Alright, let’s keep going.”

Bai Hao waved for them, and the three walked to the third platform.

This time, it wasn’t any forest. Instead, like the first platform, it was merely a large white expanse of nothing.

Except, it wasn’t nothing. Kit could see the faintest disturbance in the air above the platform.

But he couldn’t see clearly. After thinking for a second, he reached up and removed the blindfold.

“I can’t see anything. Do you guys… woah.”

Bai Hao recoiled when he turned back toward Kit.

He looked into his eyes and saw the royal rose gold color of his iris’. They were almost too bright, no doubt making it the first thing people would see when they looked at him.

He couldn’t stop staring at them, and it took Kit turning his head away to pull him away from his daze.

“Uhh, so, I didn’t see anything…”

“It’s the air.”

This time, Arte spoke, her eyes glancing around the platform while her body inched toward it in fear.

Kit, though, stepped directly onto it. And then, he began jogging.

In Bai Hao’s vision, Kit occasionally dodged seemingly nothing. There were only faint glimmers in the atmosphere. Obviously, the elemental winds in this place were far deeper than he could recognize.

He sighed as even Arte began to walk onto it and evade the wind.

“Guess I won’t be going further…”

Saying that, he began walking off to the side, intending to exit.

Kit and Arte kept going.

Good thing for Arte, but these platforms didn’t test ones agility. She constantly threw her body in different directions to evade the winds, displaying the movements of someone who had seemingly never took a step outside in their lives.

But it wasn’t like Kit judged. He stayed isolated in a house and forest for years. He didn’t talk to anyone other than his aunt for that duration. He was about as antisocial as one got.

These two people made their ways across the third platform.

In Kit’s vision, he could clearly see the winds of elements. From air, to fire, to water and earth. They all had their own shapes, but he still had to make sure he didn’t get grazed by one. It surely wouldn’t end nicely.

And these winds followed him, unlike the balls that flew past. They were more like the snakes, constantly harassing you.

But it was easy enough. Again, one just had to sense the elements. And for Kit, everything was almost too clear. His head throbbed as he walked, but he couldn’t put his blindfold back on.

And then, things changed halfway.

The winds didn’t change, but the elements did.

The elements of earth, fire, wind, and water disappeared. Kit looked around, and then, he saw one black streak and one white streak.

‘Light and darkness.’

Two more elements, but more obscure than the standard ones.

And they weren’t all.

Metal

Wood

Ice

Lightning.

These elements appeared too, and they all flowed around Kit like they had minds of their own.

They came at him more often, some disappearing while others randomly came up from behind. He had to keep moving while flicking his head around, making sure he could keep an eye on everything.

And Arte fell behind as she struggled to dodge everything. Like that, the distance between her and Kit grew.

Kit observed all the elements, ones he didn’t recognize. After all, in the forest he only saw the basic elements. These seemed to be special variations, and more powerful ones at that.

He found it interesting. Qi and the elements were what gave color to his life, so he liked to interact with them. Of course, not when they were trying to hurt him.

Like that, Kit made it to the final staircase.

He looked up, seeing the fourth platform. As for behind him, Arte was still struggling, though it didn’t look like she would fail. She really was talented. At least Kit had his own special aspect. Without it, he couldn’t do what she did.

“G-Go ahead! I’ll catch- Ah!”

Kit exhaled a bit humorously as Arte tried to reassure him. Then, he walked up the staircase.

He took a step onto the fourth platform. When he did so, his vision was suddenly engulfed in darkness. The white platform turned black while a black box sealed him in.

He hastily looked around. But then, a doorway appeared. It was a simple wooden door.

Kit walked up to it, and his hand grabbed the doorknob. He easily opened it and stepped into another black room.

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And there was another door. This time, it was metal, and on its surface was an array of some sort.

It had a flowing pattern on it, and when Kit tried to open the doorknob, it didn’t budge. Obviously he had to do something with the array.

So he touched it, and the array changed with his finger.

“Puzzle?”

He tilted his head before moving around a few points of the array.

He made it so that the array flowed from one direction to another. It was rather simple. You just had to find the trick.

Sure enough, when he arranged the puzzle correctly, the door clicked, and he went through.

The same thing happened again on the other side. Except the next room held a door of vines.

On one of the thick vines were many squiggly smaller vines. They flowed and whipped around, but like the metal door, they had a pattern.

Kit found the pattern. Then, going through the door, he was greeted with another.

He kept going through doors, one for each of the elements.

Fire, Earth, Air, Water, Ice, Wood…

They were all similar, and despite being able to complete the puzzle for each one, Kit noticed that some were more difficult that others. On those, he seemingly input random patterns and the door clicked anyway. He had a feeling that the door wasn’t searching for a specific pattern, but evaluating the pattern one input.

Either way, he went through several before entering what seemed to be the final rooms.

The next unique door was a door of flowing darkness, one that only occasionally flashed with wisps of light.

There didn’t seem to be a pattern to it at first. But when Kit looked closer, he could see patterns between the way the surface rippled and when the wisps flashed.

He found this pattern and then started drawing his own wisps with his finger. It was an odd feeling, almost as if the instructions came to him naturally. He could not only see, but feel the element and what the door wanted him to do.

Before long, there were dozens of white wisps on the door. And then, it clicked, letting him through.

The next one was the opposite, a door of light. And this one had occasional golden flashes go across it.

But, amazingly, unlike the previous door of darkness, Kit could see this one in depth.

It was almost like he could see through it. The secrets of the door laid themselves bare before him, and he immediately knew what puzzle to draw.

So he did. With only several flicks of the finger, the door was unlocked.

It let him through, and another door appeared on the other side.

It was another bright door, something that felt similar to the previous door of light.

Except, the color of this light wasn’t pure white, but a deeper gold, almost like his own eyes.

And, on this one, he could faintly make out the puzzle. He lifted his finger and gradually formed it.

The formation process though had layers, one that wasn’t the one dimensional puzzles of the other doors. So it took him much longer to complete, and he discovered more as he continued, as if he were delving into the secrets of this odd element, if it was even an element.

It took several minutes just to near the end. But Kit didn’t complain. In fact, he became more engrossed into this royal element of light.

Until finally.

*Click*

He completed the puzzle. Taking a step back, he looked at the formation.

It was a royal gold crown.

Kit admired his work. It was a complex puzzle piece, almost a work of art. It was made up of hundreds of streaks, forming a three dimensional image. It wasn’t something someone could paint.

“...I wish Aunt Xia could see it.”

He sighed with those words before eventually tearing his eyes away and moving forward.

Again, it was another room. But instead of just a door, this room also had a pedestal.

Kit walked over to it, looking at the crystal surface of the pedestal.

Words quickly wrote themselves on the surface.

…

Primary Branch: Light

Higher Branch: Royal Radiance

Aspects: Purity, Intensity, Protection

Secondary Branch: Water

Higher Branch: Blood

Aspects: Natural, Vigor, Endurance

…

Those six lines displayed themselves on the pedestal.

Then, the letters flashed, and a piece of parchment appeared. The words were copied onto it, and the parchment floated into Kit’s hands.

He stared at it dazedly for a second before making his way to the door.

With that, he exited the room, and was let out at the end of the platform.

Waiting for him was Elder Han and Xia Zhilan, as well as everyone who tried and attempted the third zone.

Khay seemed beat up, though she had cleaned herself up since then. Bai Hao was also looking disappointed, though curious as to what Dirk gained from the experience.

And then, a door next to Kit suddenly opened.

“Hah! I made it! I don’t like dark rooms. Scary…”

Arte came scrambling out of the rooms, looking around to see everyone.

Then, she turned toward Kit. He was just staring at her, and she quickly noticed his brilliant rose gold eyes. She couldn’t help but stare back at them.

But then, when she realized what she was doing, she quickly turned her head away, finding something else. Still, Kit’s own stare made her fidget.

Eventually, she looked back at him, her neck turning red as she raised the parchment.

“D-Did you want to see?”

“...”

Kit was silent.

The shaggy hair, the weird fidgeting, her compulsive embarrassment and socially anxious demeanor.

Kit’s mouth twitched upward.

“Heh. Hehehe…”

He chuckled to himself for several seconds, a wide smile on his face. It made Arte more embarrassed, causing her to hide behind the parchment.

When he finally quieted, Kit coughed and shook his head.

“No, it’s fine…”

Saying that, he turned and walked toward his aunt.

Except, she was turned around and on her knees. Even Elder Han was standing by her, as if comforting her of something.

He walked to her confusedly.

“Aunt Xia…”

He whispered, but faintly he could hear the sounds of crying.

He was worried for a moment until she turned around, grabbing him and pulling him down toward her.

She hugged him tight yet gently.

“You… You did a great job, Kit. I’m so proud of you…”

“Thanks..?”

Kit wasn’t sure how to respond to such emotion. Was what he did that amazing?

But Xia Zhilan just cried silently, hugging him for over a minute.

Elder Han shook his head from the side.

“Ah, Kit. You’re truly a lucky child to have such a caring Aunt. And by the gods above, if you don’t cherish her or you ever betray her, whether as a ghost or demon, I will personally hunt you down and rend your soul.”

“E-Elder Han! Please don’t say such things!”

Xia Zhilan snapped as she seemed to shield Kit from the man. But his tone was completely serious, even shocking Khay, Bai Hao, and Arte nearby.

Kit also looked up, seeing the sharp eyes that sent chills through his body.

But…

If it were his Aunt, who had brought him back from the depths of despair and had raised him up as best she could.

If it were the one he loved no differently than his mother.

He didn’t have the words, but toward Elder Han’s solemn vow, he nodded while looking straight into those sharp and wise eyes.

Elder Han smiled.

“Mm. Come now, Elder Xia. It’s shameful for a woman of your stature to be kneeling on the floor and crying like a child.”

“I-I wasn’t! Don’t you accuse me!”

Wiping her face, Xia Zhilan rose while picking Kit up with her. She dusted him off and straightened his clothes.

As she did so though, Kit lowered his head. By now he was just as tall as she was, so his head landed on her shoulder.

“Thank you, Aunt Xia…”

“...You’re gonna make me cry again…”

She quickly hugged him once more. Then, she pulled away while turning around and walking.

“Come! All the other entrants have already gone to get their identification badges. Let’s hurry along. And you can tell me what’s on that parchment as we walk.”

“...Mm.”

Kit smiled a bit and nodded, following along with Elder Han and his students beside. Like that, the group made their way into the Palace proper, the entrants officially becoming members of Light’s Glory.