Prologue: Broken Chalk and New Faces
A damp, foggy dawn wraps around Alderhall, where spells run wild and the school bell sounds like chimes in a dream. Airi Minase, age 16, orphaned, sharp eyes, untidy hair, glances by the aged wall of Opening Gate Hall.
Airi says, “First day, huh. Can’t be tougher than last year.” Along comes Kuon, her bookish new roommate: always straight, tidy, clutching her schedule. “Don’t be late,” Kuon warns, already tense.
Introducing the Old Magic
In Alderhall, the third-year Night Bloom Trials sort students by Path – those who fail must leave and find their way in the wild world ahead. Do you know of any other magic schools that force kids out like that? Leaflets warn, “Prepare. Only twelve pass.”
Everyone needs their partner. Tall Katsuki in worn boots offers a handshake. Hikari, tiny and bold, throws mage-fire into the fountain just to see how it sizzles.
The Conflict: What Are Trials?
The Tests run six midnights, deep underground. Bad marks mean everything. Headmistress Verde says, “You will face your true wish. Or you’ll lose it.” For Airi, magic feels like fate. She’s after Feather Path: spellwright. Spells twist from her left hand, quick and bright.
One girl, Yuzu, whispers to the shadows, “Winner earns their Heart Title. Loser vanishes.” What would you risk to stay?
Day 1: Into Gloom Below
Students line up at dusk. Tall torches hiss, faces glow pale orange. Always silence as pairs descend. Kuon’s lips quiver. “Don’t slip,” she hisses. They climb sheer stone. Smells like wet dirt and lost dreams.
Trial One – test of Trust. A wall shifts. Paths split, sand rains. Airi says, “Follow my light.” Her hands make fiery moths thrum over flagstones. Kuon’s foot snags. If she falls, they both might.
“I said I’ve got you,” Airi snaps, yanking Kuon upright. That wobble nearly costs them a rune.
Other Groups: Teeth And Fangs
Elsewhere, tough Katsuki kicks open a hidden gate, scattering red-eyed rats. Next pair is starving. Hikari, finger burned, claws her way forward. Lila runs late, forgets one word: the wall rejects both. She cries. The steward marks her name from the trial board.
Kuon grips Airi’s hand. “I don’t want to go back home.” Airi shakes her off. “Head up, we’re not done.”
Day 3: Secrets Bloom
Each day shifts magic. Dreams bleed into halls. On third night, spirits snake from old ceilings. Yuzu’s shadow growls at her. Kuon can’t muster a shield. Restless, Airi asks, “How does it know my wish?”
That night, Kuon wakes gasping. She’s sleep-walking, bears a mark on her palm.“It burned while I slept.” That mark is called the Claim. Alya, a mysterious senior, steps from moon shade. “If you get the Claim, you must reveal what you hide most. If not, your magic can’t ever grow.”
Airi looks at her own hands. Empty. “So why did you get one?” she demands. Kuon hides hers in her sleeve.
Katsuki’s Show: True Intentions
The bravest try to break the Claim shield, but Alya says, “Shield only breaks if you lie to yourself.” Nabiki from south path sends a vision snake to spy. Two pairs quit and crawl upward, coughing pink powder.~
Water seeps through old rock. Teachers only watch through fuming crystal orbs – no help, only judging. One boy, Ikki, shouts, “Is anyone real here? Are the spirits giving marks or just us?”
Answers Hinted, Tensions Raised
The rules turn. Trial Four is the Mirror Room. You walk in as a team, only one leaves by door. “Do we trick it, or fight? Questions the text?” Airi tilts her head, nervous.
She says to Kuon, “Does it choose who’s weakest and steal it, or pick the stronger?” Kuon, pale in the cold glass light, shrugs. “Let’s just stand close.”
They grip hands, mirrors all around, sweat on necks. The mirrors ripples; in one, their parents glare back, in another they see themselves old and alone. What would you see, do you think?
Pivots: Sharp Edges of Truth
Airi sees her mother in glass – lost, disappointed. In another, Kuon sees her future self with no magic at all. Both tremble. A voice like a hiss curls from the back wall:“Choose, or the twilight claims you both.” Both step—together.
Light splits the air. They stagger out, blinking. No teacher outside. Only the night sky, strange purple glow. Bare path ahead leads to the real Trial: the Depths.
The Cliffhanger: A Risk for Everything
As dawn unlocks, pairs huddle. The teacher’s list now half-empty. Alya, shadow hidden, leans near Airi as fog curls up once more.
“There’s one last price. Heart or hand? It wants both.”
Airi takes a breath.
“No magic, no home,” she mutters. Door grinds open, black stairs leading down.
Will they each make the price? Or does Alderhall eat one dream per year, just to keep standing? Would you step down those stairs?
