CHAPTER 12: THE POWER WITHIN

CHAPTER TWELVE

The Power Within

The first stage of the Magical Knight Trial dragged on long after Kevin had left the field.

Candidate after candidate soared through the glowing rings. Some were blindingly fast. Some were graceful. Others struggled just to stay in the air.

By midday, it was finally over, and the candidates were given a short break.

Kevin sat in the shade of a large stone structure near the arena’s edge, his five-point Codex floating beside him. He sipped water slowly. His legs were still shaking.

Not from exhaustion.

From embarrassment.

He had fallen off a broom in front of thousands of people.

Twice.

Technically, the second time had been a controlled landing. At least, that was what Kevin had decided to call it.

Veyr disagreed.

You fell.

We’ve already discussed this.

No.

Yes.

You fell.

Kevin stared at the empty space beside him. “Can you please stop?”

Several candidates glanced at him strangely. They couldn’t hear Veyr. To them, Kevin was just talking to himself.

You know, Veyr went on, for someone who spent two years training to become a Magical Knight, your first flight was remarkably terrible.

Kevin clenched his jaw. “I passed.”

Barely.

“I passed.”

By accident.

Kevin took another drink. “You’re supposed to be my guardian.”

I am.

“Then guard me from your insults.”

Veyr laughed in his mind. No.

A shadow fell across him.

Arena stood there, holding a small bottle of water. “Talking to Veyr again?”

“You can tell?”

She smiled. “You make that face.”

“What face?”

“The one you make whenever he’s insulting you.”

Kevin sighed. “He insults me constantly.”

She’s exaggerating, Veyr said.

Kevin stared ahead. “You heard that?”

Arena laughed. “No.”

“Then how—”

“Your face.”

Kevin groaned.

Liora’s calm voice drifted into Arena’s mind. They are entertaining.

Very, Arena replied.

Kevin looked between them. “Are you two talking about us?”

Her smile widened. “No.”

He narrowed his eyes. “That’s exactly what people say when they’re talking about you.”

She’s definitely talking about us, Veyr said.

How do you know?

Women always do.

Arena blinked. “What did he say?”

“Nothing.”

She stared at him.

He looked away.

The horn sounded before she could press him.

BOOOOOONG!

The candidates rose. The break was over. The examiner returned to the field.

“Candidates! The first stage has concluded.”

A massive magical board appeared above the arena. Names began to glow. Those who had passed were marked with a shining symbol. Those who had failed vanished from the list.

Kevin stared at the board.

His name remained.

He smiled.

Arena’s name was there too.

The board faded. The examiner raised his hand.

“Now we proceed to the second stage.”

The arena floor shifted. The magical circles began to move. Stone platforms rose from the ground, each one enclosed in a transparent barrier.

One candidate per platform.

“The second stage will test your magical ability,” the examiner declared. The crowd’s noise swelled. “This stage is not about speed.”

The six Captains watched from above.

“It is not simply about destructive power.”

A pause.

“It is about control.”

Kevin sharpened at once.

A glowing target appeared inside one of the barriers, then split into several smaller targets.

“You may use any technique available to you. You will be evaluated on power, control, creativity, precision, and adaptability.”

Kevin looked at his Codex. This was different. He couldn’t simply react.

He had to show them what he could really do.

The candidates were called one by one.

A fire mage stepped up. “Flame Lance!” A spear of fire tore across the platform and destroyed three targets. The crowd cheered. Captain Darius nodded.

Another candidate summoned water blades. Another bent the earth beneath his feet. A girl conjured glowing chains that captured every target at once.

Kevin watched closely. Some were clearly powerful. Others had superb control.

He wondered what he could do to make the Captains notice him.

Try not to embarrass yourself, Veyr said.

Do you ever say anything useful?

Occasionally.

When?

I’m thinking.

That’s concerning.

Veyr laughed.

Then the examiner called

“Kevin Riven.”

The arena fell strangely quiet.

Kevin stepped forward. The whispers started at once.

“That’s the five-point Codex.”

“Let’s see what he can do.”

“I heard he only got it after the ceremony.”

“Maybe the Codex chose the wrong person.”

Kevin heard every word.

He stepped onto the platform. The barrier rose around him. He looked up at the Captains. Aerion. Darius. Selene. Garrick. Evelyn. Orion.

Six of the most powerful Magical Knights in Valeris.

He swallowed.

The examiner raised his hand. “Begin.”

Kevin opened his Codex. The pages turned. Crimson light gathered around his hand. He remembered his training. The first spell he had ever learned.

He raised his palm.

“Crimson Barrier.”

A circular wall of red energy bloomed around him.

The first target fired a magical projectile.

BOOM!

The barrier shuddered.

But held.

The crowd murmured. Kevin smiled. He had improved.

Another projectile. Then another.

Kevin moved, and the barrier moved with him. Instead of holding one large wall, he created smaller shields, deflecting each blast away.

Captain Selene leaned forward. “Interesting.”

“His defensive control has improved,” Aerion said.

Kevin heard none of it. He was locked in.

Three targets appeared at once.

He extended his hand. “Crimson Blade.”

A sword of red energy formed in his grip. He rushed forward.

Slash. The first target split.

Spin. The second shattered.

He leaped, twisted in midair, and struck the third.

It exploded.

The crowd cheered.

He landed.

Not bad, Veyr said.

Kevin smiled. You saw that?

Unfortunately.

It was impressive.

You nearly tripped.

His smile died. I did not.

Your left foot disagrees.

Kevin looked down. His foot was perfectly steady.

You’re lying.

Maybe.

More targets appeared.

This time, they moved.

Fast.

One came from behind. He spun. A barrier formed.

BOOM!

Another from above. He leaped.

Another from the side. He twisted.

His movements grew faster. The crowd grew quieter. This was no longer a contest of raw power.

Kevin was adapting.

The targets changed direction. Kevin changed with them.

One target was too fast for his blade. Instead, he raised his hand.

“Crimson Chain!”

A thin chain of crimson light lashed out and wrapped around the target. Kevin pulled. It flew toward him, and he destroyed it with his blade.

Captain Evelyn’s eyes narrowed. “He’s combining techniques.”

“He isn’t using much power,” Garrick said.

“Because he doesn’t have much to spare,” Darius muttered.

Evelyn looked at him. “Or because he understands control.”

Darius didn’t answer.

Then the final target appeared.

It was larger than the others. A huge magical sphere hovered before him.

“Destroy it,” the examiner said.

The sphere began to charge. Its surface blazed brighter.

Kevin knew what would happen if he attacked recklessly. He couldn’t overpower it.

He needed another way.

Think, Veyr said quietly.

Kevin studied the sphere. Its energy was packed at the center. The outer layer was unstable.

Control.

Precision.

His crimson blade appeared. But instead of charging, Kevin closed his eyes.

He focused.

One point.

One strike.

His eyes opened.

“Crimson Pierce.”

The blade thinned. Crimson energy compressed along its edge.

Kevin rushed forward.

The sphere unleashed its energy.

He didn’t dodge.

He waited.

At the final instant, he slipped aside.

His blade struck the sphere at its weakest point.

CRACK!

A thin fracture appeared. Kevin pushed. The fracture spread.

Then—

BOOM!

The sphere exploded into harmless magical light.

Silence.

Then the crowd erupted.

Kevin stood at the center of the platform, breathing hard as his blade faded.

He had done it.

He looked up. Captain Aerion gave a small nod. Captain Selene smiled faintly. Captain Garrick’s face revealed nothing. Captain Darius leaned back. Captain Evelyn kept studying him.

Captain Orion…

Said nothing.

Veyr.

No response.

Veyr?

Silence.

Kevin waited.

At last,

You didn’t completely embarrass yourself.

Kevin stared. That’s it?

Yes.

I just destroyed the strongest target.

After nearly falling off a broom.

That has nothing to do with this.

Everything has something to do with the broom.

Kevin sighed.

“Kevin Riven has completed the second stage,” the examiner announced.

The barrier dissolved. Kevin stepped down, and Arena rushed over.

“That was amazing!”

“Thanks.”

He is improving, Liora said in Arena’s mind.

“He’s been training hard,” Arena replied.

Kevin looked at her. “Did Liora say something?”

“Maybe.”

“Why does everyone have secrets?”

Because you’re annoying, Veyr answered.

You literally live inside my head.

And yet I still need privacy.

Kevin shook his head.

The examiner called another candidate. The Trial rolled on.

But something had shifted.

People no longer laughed when Kevin’s name was spoken.

They watched him.

The boy once known as the Riven family’s failure had just shown them something none of them expected.

Not overwhelming power.

Not perfect skill.

Something else.

Potential.

* * *

High above the arena, Captain Aerion looked at the five-point Codex. Then at Kevin.

“There is something unusual about that boy.”

Captain Evelyn didn’t look away. “Yes.”

Captain Darius folded his arms. “He’s still weak.”

“Weak compared to whom?” Evelyn asked.

Darius didn’t answer.

Then Captain Orion finally spoke, his voice quiet.

“Power isn’t always loud.”

The others turned to him.

But Orion said nothing more.

Below them, Kevin looked up at the six Captains. He didn’t know what they were thinking. He didn’t know whether any of them would choose him. He didn’t even know whether he truly belonged among them.

But for the first time in his life, he wasn’t trying to prove he wasn’t a failure.

He was simply trying to become better than he had been yesterday.

And that was enough.

For now.

The second stage was over.

But the Trial was far from finished.

The next test would not ask Kevin to show his magic.

It would ask him to build with it.

And unlike the first two stages, this one would test exactly how well he understood the power inside his Codex.