The group had been walking for about an hour, and during that time, Aziz had quietly gathered information about his new companions. To his disappointment, none of them were from Fang Mountain. Most came from places he had never even heard of, distant regions that felt foreign to a village boy like him. He had hoped to find someone from his own village, but fate had dealt him a different hand.

Nessa and Roof were from noble families, their lineage and titles meaningless in these tunnels. The other two boys, Landan and Logan, clung to Roof as if his perceived strength could somehow guarantee their survival. They knew each other, likely from the same social circles, and seemed to believe that by sticking together, they were safer. They were wrong.

It was Marcus who intrigued Aziz the most. The boy shared a similar background—another village boy, this one from the east side of the kingdom near the sea. But it wasn’t Marcus’s origin that caught Aziz's attention. It was his sharp senses. Marcus had seen Mal, the tiny flicker of fear in his eyes giving him away. Aziz noted his quick reflexes, but Marcus’s small frame and mute condition made him an easy target for Roof’s bullying.

Little Marcus, Aziz thought, a fitting name for the boy who could barely reach five feet. If it wasn’t for his small stature, he might have been able to defend himself better. But Roof saw him as weak, and weakness was a beacon for predators like Roof.

"Who built all of this?" Landan asked, awe in his voice as they entered the first level, a more well-constructed area than the one they had just left. The tunnels seemed to grow more sophisticated as they ascended, each level more modern than the last.

Logan, the older of the twins, scoffed, interlocking his hands behind his head. "What are you on about? They just got a bunch of people to dig, idiot."

Aziz could hardly believe their ignorance.

Fools, he thought. They couldn’t see it—the brilliance in the architecture, the careful planning that had gone into creating this labyrinth. It was a marvel of engineering, undetected by the world above.

As if reading his thoughts, Nessa spoke up. "It is genius. All these tunnels were created with a skill unparalleled even in the main cities. To build such a structure in a short amount of time is no small feat."

She shot a look at the twins, who quickly looked down, chastened by her words. Roof nodded in agreement, more out of obligation than understanding, while Marcus remained silent, his eyes still locked on Aziz.

"What makes you think they made it fast?" Aziz’s voice cut through the group’s chatter, surprising them. He hadn’t spoken in hours, and now that he did, his words hung in the air, laden with quiet authority. Marcus’s fists clenched, his unease palpable. He was still trying to see through the curtain of hair that concealed Mal. But the others didn’t notice the boy’s unease, nor did they sense the tension that swirled around Aziz. Nessa began to answer, but Roof interrupted, stepping on Marcus’s foot and causing him to stumble back with a cry.

"Are you stupid? It's obvious that what Nessa said is true. Just use your eyes, idiot," Roof laughed, shoving Marcus aside. The boy gritted his teeth but said nothing.

Nessa rolled her eyes at Roof’s antics and pointed to the walls. "There are no grooves in the walls of the tunnel. No furnishings have been added. It’s unfinished, as if they didn’t have time."

She smiled at Aziz, hoping her explanation would draw him into their group. But Aziz merely nodded in acknowledgment and retreated into the shadows once more. Sighing, Nessa led the group further down the hall, accepting that he would remain on the outskirts for now.

***

Hours passed, and the group’s pace slowed as hunger set in. Aziz was prepared, chewing on the snake meat he had brought along, feeding small portions to Mal, who ate in the concealment of his hair. Nessa handed out rations from a large pouch she had carried, a far more generous meal than anything Aziz had been given during his time in the pit. Still, the burning question lingered in his mind: What was the purpose of all this? This place, these children—it all seemed part of something far larger than he could comprehend, something that went beyond their immediate understanding.

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While the others took a break, Aziz roamed the area, staying at a distance. The divine snake he had encountered earlier hadn’t reappeared, but its presence still lingered, as if it was always watching, its influence permeating the tunnels.

Eventually, they reached another set of doors. This time, a hundred children huddled in the hallway, illuminated by the warm glow of wax lamps hanging from chandeliers above. The children stayed close to the light, as if the shadows held something sinister. Some of them noticed Nessa’s group and waved. The hallway expanded, hinting that they had reached the final level. There were no more stairs, no more pits—just this massive door. Whatever the Order had planned for them lay beyond it.

Nessa turned, her smile faltering when she saw that Aziz had stopped walking. Roof wasted no time, swaggering into the crowd as if he were its leader, arms spread wide as he announced his presence.

"Aziz… are you not coming?" Nessa asked softly, concern knitting her brow.

Aziz shook his head, stepping back into the shadows. The light was too bright among the others, too exposing.

Nessa didn’t press him. She pursed her lips and turned to join the group. To the others, Nessa appeared kind, gentle, her dimpled smile a source of comfort. Even Roof seemed to be captivated by her, viewing her as beautiful. Aziz would be lying if he said he didn’t find her dimples endearing—they reminded him of a girl back in his village. But something about Nessa made his instincts prickle. Her smile was too perfect, too practiced. It reminded him of a snake—a smile laced with poison. Mal seemed to agree, hissing whenever she spoke. Aziz had to smack his head to silence the snake, which must have made him look like he had lice. For now, he preferred to watch from a distance, to see if that smile would eventually reveal the fangs behind it.

***

Patience. A virtue the snake, the symbol of evil, understood well. Aziz remained perfectly still, cloaking himself in darkness, using the Shadow Steps to stay hidden from Nessa’s searching gaze. She occasionally glanced into the void, trying to catch sight of him, while Roof continually vied for her attention. The other children seemed to recognize Roof and Nessa, speaking in hushed tones about their families’ prestige. None of it mattered to Aziz.

As the children settled down, Aziz caught fragments of conversation. Someone from the Order had already visited, informing the children that the door would open at dawn, allowing them to proceed to "The Test." A test, Aziz thought, the word heavy with implications. What were they being tested on?

The children huddled together under the lanterns, placing torches around their encampment to ward off whatever dangers lurked beyond. The thought gnawed at Aziz—these children were all newly kidnapped, taken from their homes in the dead of night and brought here within the same day. Many were still crying for their parents, their voices hoarse from screaming. Others had no tears left, their eyes vacant, hollowed by despair.

Was he never meant to survive? Aziz could see it now—these children were healthier, better fed. He had been left in the pit for a reason. The only explanations that made sense were either the people who had taken him weren’t part of the Order, or they were traitors within it.

Did the higher-ups of the Order even know I was alive? The thought was maddening. The web was becoming more tangled, more difficult to unravel.

Roof suggested taking turns to keep watch while the group slept, an idea Nessa readily agreed with. Now, five children stood at the perimeter, guarding their peers. Nessa had distributed what little food remained, and everyone seemed to look to her for guidance, her angelic smile offering warmth that the torches couldn’t.

This is my chance. Using the Shadow Steps, Aziz gripped the darkness, letting it envelop him. Even in the flickering torchlight, he remained unseen, a shadow within shadows. He moved past the children keeping watch, their gazes passing over him as if he were invisible. He was the unseen.

Aziz meandered through the sea of sleeping bodies, finally reaching the massive gate. It was larger than any of the doors they had encountered before, clearly meant to be opened only by those in charge. The metal surface gleamed, the symbol of the Order carved into its face, an expensive piece of craftsmanship. But a door is only as good as its ability to keep things out. And Aziz was no ordinary intruder.

Wraith Walk. The second technique taught by Master Zhang. Closing his eyes, Aziz focused on the shadows that clung to his skin.

“Darkness is the absence of light. It is nothingness. Nothingness cannot be contained.”

Entering a meditative state, Aziz synchronized his energy with the shadows on his skin. Instead of merely coating his body, he began to draw the darkness inward, feeling it pulse through his veins. This was Wraith Walk.

Opening his eyes, Aziz stepped through the door.