Night fell harder than usual over Crownshade.
Not darker—just… heavier.
Root was still in his dorm chamber, sharpening his focus more than his blades. Eidolorn sat perched on the windowsill like a gargoyle in meditation—cloak draped like a shroud, mask tilted toward the moon.
The mission scroll from earlier still hovered faintly beside Root's desk.
Then came the second glyph.
It wasn't public.
It didn't flicker in the sky.
It appeared like a shadow refusing to belong—crawling up the wall and carving itself into visibility with a dull hum.
Nightbound Invitation
Status: Discretionary Access
Candidate: Alden Veras
Compatibility: Irregular / Null-Veined
Trial Commencement: Tonight, 2:00 AM
Location: Vaulted Sigil Chamber 3F–E
Entry Phrase: "Not all veils conceal weakness."
Root stared at it for a moment.
Then looked at Eidolorn.
The summon didn't blink.
Didn't nod.
But stepped down from the sill and vanished into the shadows of the floor—like an assassin sliding into a familiar sheath.
Root stood.
No hesitation.
No questions.
He dressed in silence, strapped on a simple blade—not for combat, but to sell the appearance of readiness—and left the room without alerting a soul.
The Vaulted Sigil Chambers weren't listed on any current map.
They used to be part of the Academy's old examination floors—before the System's overlay replaced most human-built designs. Now, these halls were relics. Buried. Sealed.
Forgotten by most.
But not by whoever issued the invitation.
Root passed three locked runes before finding the door marked 3F–E. It didn't open with touch or key.
He leaned close and whispered the phrase.
"Not all veils conceal weakness."
The door hissed open like stone parting from shadow.
Inside was… nothing.
Just an arena of gray stone with floating lanterns and a strange dust that shimmered like powdered obsidian. No spectators. No announcer glyphs.
Only silence.
And then—a voice.
Mechanical. Female. Tinted with warning.
"Welcome, Candidate Veras. This trial is not listed on your public progression log. Your participation will not be recorded unless completed."
"Objective: Survive. Learn. Bond deeper."
"Note: Your summon will not be restricted."
Root blinked.
Not restricted?
Eidolorn stepped out of the wall behind him, eyes glowing faintly beneath the mask. His presence was sharper now—no longer softened for classmates or teachers.
This was him…
Unbound.
Root stepped forward without hesitation.
Whatever this was—it wasn't a trap.
It was a test designed for someone like him.
Someone who shouldn't exist.
The door sealed behind them with a low, grinding thud.
Root didn't flinch.
The air inside the arena shifted—thicker, older, tinged with something unspoken. Like the glyphs on the walls weren't decorations, but cage marks holding something in.
A hum built in the air.
Then—
"Initiating Trial Sequence. Opponents: Hybrid Constructs – Variant Class."
"Restraints: None."
"System Oversight: Suspended."
Root's pupils narrowed.
No restrictions meant no pressure dampeners, no reactive force limits, no safety pulses. This wasn't a test.
It was a hunt.
Stone slabs cracked as four figures emerged from the ground—each one forged from leftover summon frames and failed constructs. Twisted arms, jagged mouths stitched from code. But their cores pulsed red. Active. Controlled by something else.
They moved together.
No screams. No roar.
Just execution protocol.
Eidolorn didn't wait.
He appeared in front of the first construct mid-move—cloak flaring, hand already extended. The construct swung.
But Eidolorn's Obsidian Veil activated mid-strike, soaking the blow like it had struck a phantom.
The counter came instantly.
A palm to the throat.
A flick of shadow.
One delayed Wraith Strike—
—and then two more as he slid past.
Root didn't even see the cuts happen.
The first construct fell in three symmetrical lines—its limbs sliced in perfect silence.
[Wraith Strikes: Chain Execution Activated]
[EXP Gained: Hidden Trial EXP +50]
The remaining three surged as one.
Eidolorn vanished again.
This time, the shadows moved with him—spreading across the stone floor like a liquid field. A trap.
One of the constructs triggered it—immediately caught by a snare of binding shadow threads.
Root blinked.
That wasn't a known skill.
[Echo Bind – Prototype Detected]
Eidolorn manifests a snaring zone of delayed shadow threads. Immobilizes targets for 3 seconds. Cooldown: 20s.
Root stepped back and let Eidolorn work.
No commands.
No strategy needed.
Eidolorn already knew what to do.
The third construct shattered under a sweeping spiral of dark force—his cloak twirling into a vortex as Eidolorn spun on one heel.
[New Technique Manifested: Twilight Spiral – Stage 1]
A finishing move that channels stored shadow energy into a rotating burst. Increases in range with each delayed strike active.
Root exhaled as dust blew past him.
Not one scratch.
Not one wasted motion.
This wasn't a summon learning how to fight.
This was a weapon—remembering its art.
The fourth construct stepped back.
A mistake.
Eidolorn surged forward—no cloak tricks, no veil. Just one hand raised as shadow pooled in his palm.
It wasn't explosive.
It didn't hum.
It just spun—slow, inward, whisper-thin.
A spiral of gravity and darkness compressed into a single point.
Then it imploded.
The construct crumbled from within.
Gone.
[Trial Cleared. Performance Rating: Anomalous]
[Further Observation Required.]
A faint pulse echoed through the chamber.
Not from the System.
From underneath it.
Something deeper had been watching.
And now—it knew his name.
The arena floor was quiet.
Too quiet.
Eidolorn stood amid the broken constructs, shadows slowly peeling off his limbs like fog after a storm. No emotion. No exhaustion. His mask gleamed faintly from the remnants of a thousand fractures never healed.
Root stepped forward.
[Trial Complete.]
[Outcome: Beyond Expected Parameters.]
Initiating Hidden Protocol: Tierless Evaluation
The center of the arena opened—stone slabs grinding apart to reveal a staircase leading down into total darkness.
Root's eyes narrowed. Eidolorn tilted his head again, like he recognized the shape of the dark itself.
A voice echoed—not system-born, but real. Older. Human.
"Candidate Alden Veras… or whatever name you wear… you've caught eyes not meant to see."
Root stayed still.
The voice continued.
"There are students like you. Born outside the ranks. Beyond system-design. Misfits. Glitches. Or worse—those the System fears."
"We call them the Tierless."
A pause.
"We train differently. We evolve without limiters. We aren't bound to the Vein Tree, the Core Spiral, or the Summon Gates."
Root's gaze sharpened. This wasn't recruitment. It was a warning with a hand extended.
"If you wish to ascend as one of us… walk down those steps."
"But know this: once you descend, the System begins to forget you. You'll vanish from public rankings. You won't be acknowledged as a candidate for legacy paths."
"Only power remains."
Root glanced at Eidolorn.
The summon didn't gesture. Didn't urge him.
But something about the cloak felt heavier now. Like it expected him to go.
Root spoke, voice steady.
"I'll walk."
He stepped forward—
—and the staircase vanished.
Gone.
The slabs resealed, as if the offer had never happened.
Instead, a new glyph flared before his eyes:
Tierless Response Logged
Status: Candidate Pending Observation
Watchlist Code: BLACK BRANCH – HOLLOW PROGRESSION
Eidolorn Classification: Myth-Level Override Potential
Mutation: Veinpath Unknown
Recommend Shadow Vault Access Review – Condition: Mask Break Level 3
Root's fingers curled slightly at the edge of that last phrase.
Mask Break.
So the System had a term for what he feared.
What happens when the mask doesn't hide Veyr anymore.
He turned away from the arena as it dimmed, Eidolorn falling into step beside him—no footsteps, no words.
Only motion.
And as they returned through the silent hallway back toward the dorm wings, a hidden pulse in Root's interface blinked one last time:
New Ability Path Available – Eidolorn Evolution Node 1: Shadow-Class Confirmed
→ Next Unlock at Level 6
→ New Skill Tier: Available at Level 10 – "Masked Form Unsealing Initiated"
He didn't stop walking.
But Eidolorn, just for a moment, looked at him through the mask.
And for the first time…
Root wasn't sure which of them had been chosen.