"Why do they keep insisting on breaking the basic laws of the universe?" Raider groaned.
Alarm colored Jin's voice as he shouted through the coms. "Where are you? Kira, answer me! Your signal disappeared."
The edge of panic creeping into Jin's voice meant Kira couldn't ignore him this time.
She lowered her voice and faced Raider as if the two of them were in the midst of a conversation. "Calm your jets, Tin Man. We're all fine. We went through a spot of teleportation, but that’s it."
Raider looked confused for a second before understanding dawned.
Jin exhaled, audibly calming himself. "Right. Right. Teleportation. Why didn't I guess?"
Jin’s consciousness pushed forward as he dipped into her senses. The experience of feeling like she’d disappeared—if only for a moment—must have been more disturbing than he wanted to admit, if he was riding her senses without asking first.
Kira let the trespass go, knowing being locked in the room while things were happening was difficult for her friend.
"I wonder why we didn't see these in Luatha." Kira glanced around. No one else seemed surprised or uneasy, which meant archways that enabled you to cross a large distance with one step were fairly accepted.
Finn's blank expression caught her attention.
Ah. They probably did. They simply hadn't shown them to Kira or the rest of the humans. Probably considered them too much of a security risk. She couldn't blame them for that.
The other initiates headed toward where Wren had taken up a position at the base of the towering monolith. He gestured at the surface behind him. "All of you failed to scale the wall during the Trek of the Weary. You will remedy that lack now. How you reach the top is up to you." He pointed at the trees. "For those who fail or whose ki isn't strong enough, we've set up nets. They'll catch you should you fall.”
For the first time, he smiled, the expression hard and unyielding. “Let me be clear—you won’t progress until you have passed this stage."
The pale, nearly invisible nets Wren pointed at weren't made of any material Kira recognized. They hummed with a nearly inaudible sound, beams of energy the likes of which Kira had never seen crossing and threading in and over one another.
"You may begin now," Wren said, stepping to the side.
Devon was one of the few who didn't hesitate, charging the wall without question. Much like he had during the trek, he leapt, his feet sticking to the stone as he ran up it. His fellow initiates followed; each person's technique slightly different.
Raider whistled. "I wonder what the purpose behind this is?"
It could be anything from testing their manipulation of ki, to increasing their stamina, to building their problem-solving skills. For all they knew, the task was designed to keep people like Kira and Raider from completing it.
"Does it matter?" Kira asked.
If Wren said they needed to reach the top, that's what they'd do.
"Suppose not, but it does make me curious," Raider said, looking up.
Aeron stood off to the side, shooting glances at them as he rubbed his hands on his thighs. He was one of those who'd taken the stair option during the trek pretty early on. He hadn't even made it twenty feet off the ground before having to switch. This task, no doubt, seemed monumental to him.
"Are you going to try the climb?" he asked them.
"Why wouldn't we?" Raider fixed him with a hard stare.
Aeron shifted in discomfort. "You can't manipulate your soul’s breath."
Raider scoffed at his words. "Humans can't do a lot of things. That's why we find ways to modify the world around us. It might take a try or two, but I'll make it to the top."
"Too bad Blue's not here," Kira said. The other woman would likely already have jury-rigged a device that would make this task a simple one.
"It'd certainly be a lot easier," Raider agreed.
They shared a look.
That was probably the reason Blue was in the other group—so they couldn’t cheat.
Kira followed as Raider started for the monolith.
Wren stepped into her path, blocking her. Raider paused, shooting her a look. She waved him on.
"Not you," Wren said.
Kira blinked, then blinked again, her head tilting.
Wren pointed to the forest behind her. "Your task is different."
Kira glanced between the forest and the monolith, confused.
Impatience crossed Wren's face. "Your bout with Graydon, while ill-advised, made one thing clear. Your endurance is lacking. Your strength is lacking. Manipulating ki takes both. Until you've built them up, you will run."
Kira's mouth clicked shut as a feminine laugh came from behind her. Rheya sprinted forward, flying up the monolith with ease.
Raider met her eyes, caution in his.
"Don't punch him," Jin advised.
The corner of Kira's eye twitched as Wren gave her his back, signaling she was beneath his notice. Her hands curled into fists as she took a deep breath, releasing it before taking another.
Raider's expression was sympathetic. "Want company?"
Kira shook her head.
He grunted before starting up the wall, searching out hand and footholds as he rose.
She watched him for several minutes before facing the forest beyond the arches. Finn was a steady presence beside her as she moved toward the trees at a sedate pace.
"Wait. Are you actually listening to him?" Jin didn't bother hiding his startlement.
"He has a point." Much as it pained Kira to admit.
Her bout with Graydon might have ended much differently if her energy hadn't flagged in the last half.
Kira moved below the trees' canopy, the leaves cutting her off from the faint warmth of the sun. Here, without its light, a chill quickly set in.
Kira didn't mind it. Once she got moving, she'd be plenty warm enough.
The path was dirt and well-trod, meandering through the trees until it twisted out of sight.
There was a menacing atmosphere to the forest. It felt almost sentient, as if thousands of eyes fixed on her as it waited. The trees rustled and whispered to each other. Trickery and deception lay here, waiting to beguile the unwary. It was the essence of every deep, dark fairy tale forest come to life.
Kira bent and clasped her ankles, stretching the backs of her legs.
"Well, yeah, he does, but when have you let that stop you?" Jin argued.
"When it serves my purpose," Kira told him, ignoring Finn as he waited several steps down the path, his expression inscrutable as always.
Wren's order played to her advantage. Right now, the best thing she could do for herself was to build up her strength and speed. Learn her new limits before she began pushing them.
Kira released her legs and straightened.
"My body feels different," Kira said. "I need to know what I'm capable of."
"I thought you were here to learn how to manipulate ki," Jin sounded querulous.
"We are, but Himoto always said you had to start at the base and work your way up."
Strength. Endurance. That was her base. They wouldn't let her down, even if her ki never reached the level of destructive power it once had.
"Besides, this allows us to get the lay of the land. Find out what's what while I regroup."