Akin to a mother duck and her little offspring, Yrix led the girls far away from their central residence, giving her captors a much deeper look at the Aerie. Besides the ominous horizon of battleships and mountainous barricades, there was an unusual sense of serenity to the Consortium's operations. Yrix didn't keep her efforts in that regard a secret. In fact, she ranted about it during the long walk as if she were genuinely interested in instructing her prey.

  "As you can see, the avoidance of industrialization beyond the wall was of the utmost importance." Yrix pointed towards the east, where the rolling green prairies, dotted by a type of flower the girls found alien, stretched on as far as the eye could see. "The Aerie has an ecosystem centered rgely around red foliage due to the pnet's history of heat and glutinous fauna."

  "Where are all the animals?" Li raised her hand, using her natural voice.

  "Well, just like with the sun, some parts of the ecosystem were altered to suit your needs," Yrix expined.

  Ivy looked up at the sky, its hues of red and blue giving it the permanent appearance of a sunset. She hated how it looked. In fact, she hated the sun in general. It was always such a blight on her cool skin and white attire.

  The Arch-Fyer continued. "So don't expect burning heat and rge, dangerous fauna in your trial. I can assure you the environment has been artificially fixated on something more...tame and peaceful."

  Li leveled her shoulders, using her body nguage to ask the next question. It seemed entirely unlike Yrix to throw her students a bone in any capacity. Especially when it came to survival.

  "I don't like ugly, dangerous pnets." Yrix shrugged. "Food and shelter won't drop from the sky, mind you, but for the most part, your challenge will be the Prudent Reveray and its crew."

  Li looked down at the floor, unsure of how to feel. The st week of her life had buzzed by like a torrent of anxiety and trauma mixed in with a tinge or two of excitement. But now, more than ever, she felt like it was her time to accept the situation.

  She got lucky st time. It was easy.

  At some point, the girl with no training and no accomplishments would fall victim to one of the multitude of things that could kill her in an instant. The first trial was a novelty. The second would be grueling at best. Only a fool would assume her shallow improvement wouldn't be outpaced by the rising challenge.

  Li released an exasperated sigh. Maybe Sonera could survive, she thought. She was the only one who seemed to have a mission. And if that brave girl wasn't held back by a deadweight like Li, then perhaps even Lunae could st as well.

  A strange sensation suddenly tumbled into Li's heart with far greater intensity than the fear of her own demise. What if Ivy perished? It was a perposterous thought, clouded by her uncertain feelings. But she couldn't get it out of her head - the image of Ivy lying dead in the pool of her own blood with a melon-sized hole in her chest, likely from one of the Consortium's more tame firearms.

  Li clenched her fist. She already had two friends, and Ivy had treated her terribly. She never apologized for hitting Li and insulting her mother, nor did she even show hesitation in any of their interactions. Sonera, a cold-blooded killer from Mars, was more gentle to her. Lunae, a girl Li frankly had almost nothing in common with, was an angel at her side. Ivy was nothing but a thorn.

  Li hated that.

  Ivy should've been her friend. That bratty, entitled heiress should have thanked her for being so forgiving. The stupid girl had all the time in the world to be more honest about her feelings.

  "Or maybe she doesn't?" Li muttered to herself as she walked forward aimlessly.

  A tight grip tched onto Li's shoulder as she came to an abrupt stop. She looked up to see the edge of a cliff, overlooking the aptly named crimson forest. Someone had just saved her from a frankly embarrassing death.

  "Li," Sonera spoke in a passionless voice, her eyes carrying all of the care she actually felt. "Careful."

  "Y-yea." Li ughed, scratching the back of her head.

  Lunae waited pensively from behind Sonera, trailing her protector as closely as she could. She seemed visibly worried for Li, as if a premonition had come to her. Her friend wasn't exactly looking like a survivor.

  "You're thinking about her." Lunae's voice crept into Li's mind.

  Li deflected the question with a tinge of anger, its heat leaking into the Psionic conversation."Will I be that nosy when I become a stronger Psion?"

  "Yes. But you're avoiding me." Lunae squinted at Li, using her real face. "I understand your care for Ivy. Sometimes, we resonate with people even when we barely know them. But she isn't protecting you, Li, she's dragging you down."

  "Lunae," Li rolled her eyes with fgrant frustration. "I'm not going to-."

  Lunae cut her off. "You are. I would too. Just...be careful."

  The heiress was standing the closest to Yrix, listening to her rant and taking soce in her simplistic desires. The pit within her heart had only grown deeper, its cold, rough edges tainted forever by the warmth and comfort of Li's dream. She would rather py along with Yrix than face the cacophony of desires that pgued her mind.

  "What are you implying?" Li fumed.

  She wasn't mad at Lunae. Li was enraged with herself. For all the moral high ground she held over Ivy, she was just as pathetically confused.

  "In this trial. We will face hardship. Sonera will do what she must for us both, if she can. But you, Li, you will dive headfirst into the fire for Ivy. You aren't letting her go. Not now, at least."

  "And what do you think I'll do when I reach her?" Li turned back towards Yrix as she ground her teeth. "Tell me."

  Lunae paused.

  "You don't know, huh. Best mind reader I know. And you can't tell me shit. That's alright, Lunae, cause I don't know myself."

  "I understand why you won't let this go." Lunae's voice trickled into Li's mind with a softer cadence. "It's alright."

  Li didn't need to say it out loud. She didn't want to. But one way or another, she would pursue Ivy. Whether she punched her in the face again or gave her a heartfelt hug as a return for what she received in the first trial was ultimately irrelevant.

  But it did anger Li to see Ivy so close to Yrix. Lunae and Sonera could so easily be her allies in her fight against Rena. But for some absurd reason that Li still couldn't understand, Ivy was running.

  "Now, now then girls," Yrix boomed, bluntly implying her lurking presence in the conversation. "Focus up. The trial begins shortly."

  A deafening rumble began to shake the cliffside, throwing up clouds of dust in the process. Li's heart skipped a beat as she remembered Earth, and as she looked up to see the same frightening presence of the Consortium, she felt a surge of dread.

  It was the Prudent Revery in all its inglorious might that loomed directly over the girls. It's portside, bristling with cannons the size of a house, began to light up with activity. They were getting ready. Li stared up at the opaque gss-like surface of the vessel's command bridge, wondering to herself what kind of monsters sat calmly atop their bde-shaped war machine.

  "You will have five minutes once I say the word." Yrix rolled her shoulders. "After that time has passed, the Prudent Revery will be weapons-free, and you will be permitted to enter the forest. This vessel can and will kill you with its weaponry. And in case it wasn't obvious, no, there isn't a Psion alive besides yours truly who can reflect a magnetic accelerator. So do run. As fast as you can.

  Li looked around in a hurried panic, watching as her friends and the other students inched themselves closer to the cliff. With her power, she was quite possibly the fastest save Yrix. And yet, she was still overwhelmed with fear.

  "Just follow Sonera. Just follow Sonera." Li choked on her own breath. "She's right there."

  Yrix raised her hand. "Now."

  Time seemed to slow for Li as her adrenaline kicked in, no doubt enhanced by her abilities. She could see Sonera jump off the cliff with unbridled confidence, aided by Lunae's air-control. It would have been so easy to pursue them. She could practically feel Lunae's warmth, assuring her wordlessly to come to her side and share in the safe and easy descent.

  But then she remembered. Rena made a promise. And Sonera frankly didn't need the extra deadweight.

  Li ran after Ivy.