Kaedros stepped back. He had used every ounce of his mana on the last spell, he couldn’t even conjure a fireball now.
"You’re already healed," he said, voice tight with fatigue and disgust.
"Of course. When you have a large Manaspace, little wounds are nothing to worry about." The Keeper spread his arms, revealing a torso that was completely restored.
"Manaspace? What are you talking about?" Kaedros frowned.
The Keeper froze. His metal body went rigid.
"You have no idea what a Manaspace is? And you’re a mage? Wait—which..."
"What did you say?" Kaedros interrupted, his brow furrowed. He couldn’t hear the last part.
"I asked, which—" the Keeper repeated, then stopped. Confusion spread across his features. "You can’t hear me?"
Kaedros shook his head. "Toward the end... I can’t hear you. Why are you talking so low?"
"What? I said—!" the Keeper bellowed, but paused as his gaze shifted toward the castle. He nodded slowly, murmuring, "So it’s not fully lifted."
"What’s not lifted?" Kaedros asked, but the Keeper wasn’t listening. He was deep in thought, staring down at the ground.
"What are you talking about?" Taria had staggered up, her broken spear gripped tightly in her hand.
Kaedros turned to her. "How are you feeling?"
"Hurting," she muttered, glaring at the Keeper. "He doesn’t hold back."
"Trust me," Kaedros said, eyes still on their metal opponent. "If he did, we’d be dead."
Taria opened her mouth to respond, but the Keeper moved again. This time, he didn’t come toward them. His heavy metal feet clicked against the ground as he walked over to Rauk, who still lay unconscious.
"What are you doing?" Taria shouted. "Leave him! He’s already down!"
Kaedros made to follow, but his drained mana left him staggering. What could he even do? Blow air at the Gatemaster?
"Stop." He caught Taria’s arm, holding her back. "There’s nothing we can do."
"Wait. I don’t think the Keeper is that kind of—" He broke off as the Keeper knelt, gently lifted Rauk, and slung him over his shoulder.
"You’re all weaklings," the Keeper grunted. "I shuddered to consider you candidates, but rules are rules." He pointed at them. "You passed." Then muttered, "Barely."
Taria blinked, then sighed. "So... does that mean we can eat now? And maybe drink water?"
"Of course," the Keeper replied. He dropped Rauk in front of them without ceremony. "I didn’t hit him that hard."
"What exactly are candidates?" Kaedros asked, eyes drifting up to the tallest tower of the looming castle. "What are we going to find inside?"
"A lot," the Keeper said. His hand glowed red as he poured healing mana into Rauk. "And you’ll get your answers... if you can find them."
"What’s that supposed to mean?" Kaedros pressed.
Rauk coughed and opened his eyes. He flinched when he saw the Keeper staring down at him. "What do you want?"
Taria rolled her eyes. Can they please get this over with so she could finally eat?
The Keeper ignored Rauk, turning back to Kaedros.
"Everything here depends on whether you can get it. If you can take it."
Kaedros scowled. The Keeper’s answers only made things murkier, and no amount of questioning seemed to shake more clarity loose.
Without another word, the Keeper led them to the gate. He paused. His eyes flared crimson. The massive gate shimmered, then vanished as though it had never existed.
"Welcome. Welcome to Throne of Ruinlight."
"Throne of Ruinlight?" Kaedros echoed, but the Keeper was already gone, just like the gate.
"I’m tired of all this mystery!" Kaedros shouted. "Who built this place and thought any of this made sense?"
"I’ve always thought of the same thing!" called a voice from just inside the castle gate.
"Who’s there?" Kaedros asked, steadying his breath. He hated surprises, but ever since entering this place, his awareness worked only on Taria and Rauk.
"Come inside." The voice was slightly slurred but light, careless, even playful.
"What are we going to do?" Rauk asked, sitting up. He was the most refreshed among them now, whatever the Keeper had done had completely restored his mana.
"We go inside," Taria said, glancing at Kaedros for confirmation.
She just wanted food at this point.
Kaedros nodded and took a step forward. The moment his foot touched the castle’s threshold, a strange current rippled outward from his body through the entire structure.
An awareness shifted beneath him, a slumbering beast turning towards him.
He gasped and lifted his foot. His skin tingled with residual energy.
"Did you feel that?" he asked the others, who had already stepped in.
"What?" Taria replied, clearly impatient.
"Like a shockwave, but pleasant and uncomfortable at the same time?"
He stepped in again. Nothing happened this time.
"They can’t feel that? Well... I don’t think they can," said the voice from before.
They looked around but saw no one. The castle remained draped in darkness, but somehow they could see everything clearly.
"Maybe a ghost?" Rauk asked uneasily.
Kaedros snorted. "There’s no such thing as ghosts. Probably another Keeper trying to be mysterious again."
"Hope this one brings food," Taria muttered as her stomach growled.
"Down here, you brats!" shouted the voice again, this time from below.
Standing there was a woman, short, strange, and utterly unexpected.
She wore layered robes the color of dirt. Her eyes were dark and luminous, without pupils, set in a perfectly round face. A matching dusty hat sat atop her head, and strapped to her back was a long kitchen knife.
She sipped from a small bottle that contained unclear liquid.
"Don’t you hear me?" she said, raising her voice. "I don’t think they can feel anything. Why? Because you’re the one leading the candidate team!" She pointed at Kaedros.
Kaedros was too stunned to respond. He just... nodded.
"You don’t believe me?" She jabbed a finger in his direction, then turned on Taria without waiting for an answer. "You said something about food?"