It was long past midnight, and yet none of us were sleeping. Sleep felt impossible. Not because we weren’t tired, we were exhausted, every single one of us, but because the weight of what was coming sat too heavily in the air, pressing down on the room like something alive, something waiting.
The test. Another one. And this time, we all knew better than to underestimate it.
The dorm was dimly lit, shadows stretching across the stone walls as we moved around in quiet, restless patterns, checking and rechecking our belongings like that alone might give us control over what was about to happen. Weapons. Layers. Water. Anything that might give us even the smallest advantage.
Krystal sat cross-legged on her bed, sharpening one of her blades with slow, deliberate strokes, the soft scrape of m
