The morning was foggy and cold. We gathered at the training ground—a grassy hollow between two hills. Perfect place for simulating combat in confined space.

  Professor Tyler had arranged training golems, surrounding a rusty metal cage with them, our target.

  "Today we test teamwork. The task is simple: break through to the cage, open the lock and retrieve the scroll from inside."

  He swept his gaze over us.

  "There are three levels of defense. The golems will attack. The lock is enchanted, requires blood or soul magic to open it. And time is limited: ten minutes."

  I looked at the team. No one rushed to start discussion. Aris shuffled his feet nervously, hiding in the tree's shadow. Tara sorted through vials in her bag, not raising her eyes. Mira stood apart, as if observing someone else's training.

  Kyle cracked his knuckles.

  "And how do we open it without Caers? His soul magic is gone, and Val would rather choke than help."

  Val snorted contemptuously, not even glancing our way.

  "Don't decide for me, peasant."

  The professor shrugged.

  "Figure it out. That's your problem. We start on signal."

  I mentally cursed. How to create a team from people who see each other as rivals or just strangers? I had to take initiative.

  "Alright, listen. We need a plan. Five golems of different types—stone, metal, wood, water, and air. The last one's almost invisible."

  No one responded. Mira indifferently examined her nails, Kyle was already doing his own warm-up, and Val demonstratively turned away.

  "Mira, did you see the area map?"

  She reluctantly nodded.

  "I looked. So what?"

  "Aris, can you scout? We need to know the golems' positions and understand what attacks they use."

  Aris swallowed nervously.

  "I'm... not sure. My shadow's weaker in sunlight."

  "And what should the rest do?"

  Val crossed his arms over his chest.

  "Wait while shadow-boy gathers his courage?"

  I was losing patience.

  "Tara, do you have enhancement potions for Kyle? And something against elemental golems?"

  She reluctantly looked up from her bag.

  "I have a couple vials. But they're experimental. Not sure of the effect."

  "Val, can you create a shield for cover?"

  Val rolled his eyes.

  "I can. And then what? I'll bleed out while you hide behind my back?"

  "Since when does a broken one command us?"

  Professor Tyler intervened.

  "Caers is captain. The academy decided. Either obey or go back to the dorm to write an excuse letter."

  The signal flare shot into the sky, catching us off guard. No one was ready. I lunged forward, shouting for the others to follow, but everyone moved at their own pace.

  The stone golem attacked instantly. A huge chunk of stone slammed into the ground a meter from us, scattering everyone in different directions.

  "Aris, scout!"

  Aris was lost, his shadow uncertainly separated but moved slowly, struggling through lit areas.

  "I... can't see well!"

  Damn. Wrong day, wrong time, wrong team.

  "Tara, we need potions for Kyle!"

  Tara pulled out a vial but hesitated, not knowing who to run to. Kyle had already engaged the metal golem.

  "Where should I go?"

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Val stood aside, watching the chaos and in no hurry to intervene.

  "Val, shield! We need cover!"

  "Where's the 'please'?"

  He smirked but made a broad gesture anyway.

  A reddish veil enveloped the area, but unevenly. Val mainly protected himself, leaving gaps where others stood.

  The stone golem punched through the shield with one blow, throwing back Mira who'd been closest.

  Seeing this, Kyle growled and charged the golem without any plan.

  "Kyle, stop! You need enhancement!"

  He didn't listen to me. Reached the golem, tried to touch its leg but missed. The stone arm threw him back about ten meters.

  This was a disaster. Five minutes passed, and we hadn't even overcome the first defense line.

  "Everyone to me! We need a new plan!"

  Mira ran up, limping. Aris materialized nearby, pale from exhaustion. Tara tried simultaneously pulling out vials and dodging flying stones. Kyle got to his feet, angry and battered. Val reluctantly joined, demonstratively keeping his distance.

  "This won't work. We need to work together. Val, can your shield be directional? Cover us in turns?"

  "I can. But what's my incentive to waste my blood?"

  "Tara, any potions for Val? To replenish blood loss?"

  Tara nodded.

  "I have restoration extract. But it's bitter."

  Val, surprisingly, didn't refuse.

  "I'll survive."

  "Aris, can your shadow at least briefly distract the golems?"

  "If there's cover—possibly."

  "Mira, Kyle, you'll follow me to the cage when the golems are distracted. Kyle, you need to drink the enhancement potion."

  Kyle looked at the vial in Tara's hand suspiciously.

  "How do I know it's not poison?"1

  "Because I don't want to die on this assignment due to your paranoia."

  Tara apparently was tired of his whining.

  Three more minutes went to attempting to organize an attack. Val created a shaky shield that lasted exactly until Aris tried to distract the golems. His shadow was too slow and weak, and the golem easily threw it off.

  Kyle drank the potion, but instead of rushing to the target decided to deal with the stone golem alone, and was thrown back again.

  Mira tried to slip to the cage, but the water golem doused her with a stream, knocking her down.

  Not a team, but a bunch of loners!

  "Two minutes!"

  I rushed forward, diving under the stone golem, rolled through metal debris. I almost reached the cage when the air golem caught me and threw me back.

  I hit the ground, rolled and snarled in anger. Everything boiled inside. Useless team. Useless training. Useless me!

  The air golem approached again, almost invisible in bright light, only slight air distortion betraying its movement. The feeling of helplessness, too familiar over the past year, overwhelmed me.

  "Enough!"

  I snarled so loudly everyone froze.

  Something darkened before my eyes. I saw only the enemy: a formless, mocking creature. My ears buzzed, and suddenly under my skin arose a familiar sensation: sliding, writhing lines.

  I charged at the golem, not trying to bypass or outsmart it. Straight on. The whirlwind caught me, but I no longer felt pain or fear. Only rage. I stretched out my hand, and for a moment it seemed to elongate, become darker.

  My fingers touched the vortex's center—where the magical core should be. The golem exploded in a blast of air, scattering everyone around.

  I fell to my knees, breathing heavily. My hand trembled. No marks on the skin, but something still stirred inside, reluctantly retreating.

  "What the..."

  Kyle stared at me, forgetting to close his mouth.

  "How did you do that?"

  Val stood, squinting.

  "Air golems can't be destroyed by physical impact. You need strong dispelling magic."

  "He has no magic."

  "Twenty seconds!"

  I looked around. The path to the cage was now open.

  "Val, we need your blood for the lock!"

  Surprisingly, Val didn't even argue. Perhaps the shock of what he'd seen had a sobering effect. He quickly approached me, still warily glancing sideways.

  "Ten seconds!"

  Together we ran to the cage. The lock was covered in strange runes, the same as in my dream. I jerked my hand back, not wanting to touch it.

  "Go ahead."

  Val cut his palm and let blood drip onto the lock. The runes glowed, the lock clicked.

  "Five seconds!"

  I yanked the door, grabbed the scroll...

  "Time!"

  Everyone froze. Professor Tyler approached and looked at the scroll in my hand.

  "Mission completed—at the last moment."

  He didn't look pleased. Rather, he seemed troubled.

  "Debrief in an hour in the classroom. Everyone's dismissed. Caers, stay behind."

  The team dispersed in strange silence. I felt their gazes: wary, evaluating, full of questions. Even Val didn't throw barbs.

  When everyone left, the professor turned to me.

  "That wasn't just luck, was it?"

  I didn't lie.

  "I don't know what it was. I just... got angry."

  "Your eyes changed. Briefly. Became darker, with reddish veins."

  I shuddered, remembering my nightmares.

  "Professor, I... Lately I've been having strange dreams. About caves. Dungeons."

  I fell silent, not knowing if I should mention the symbols, sarcophagus, and worm.

  Tyler looked at me for a long time, then sighed.

  "Listen, Luten. Sometimes losing magic isn't the final chapter. Sometimes it's transformation. Transition from one form to another."

  He lowered his voice.

  "But such transitions are dangerous. Especially if something... someone... is trying to fill the void."

  Cold swept through me at his words.

  "What do you mean?"

  "Nothing specific. Just be careful. And if you feel anything unusual, come to me. Immediately."

  He turned away, examining the damaged golems.

  "Want to know why I appointed you captain?"

  I nodded.

  "Not just because you lost magic and learned to adapt. But because you have something... different. Something others don't have."

  He looked into my eyes again.

  "You must make them a team. Otherwise you'll all die in the complex. And possibly, not just you."

  His words echoed in my head as I returned to the academy. Something different. Something foreign. Lurking deep inside, waiting for its moment.

  For the first time in a long while, I felt truly afraid.