Heat shimmered off the sandstone walls of the temple, curling the air, but Dahlia barely noticed as she stepped out of it. Her gaze fell on the vast bazaar below, where the city's lifeblood pulsed in constant motion—traders shouting, carts rattling over uneven streets, the thick aroma of roasted bug meat and spice-laced wine lingering in the air.

  It was strange. Everything down there felt so… normal. As if a monstrous carcass of a spider the size of a city wasn’t just buried underneath them.

  As if the six of them weren’t about to spend probably weeks wading through tunnels swarmed with Great-Makers-knew-what.

  She tugged at the hem of her tunic, still turning over the Fool’s words in her head. The second stage of the exam wasn’t a straight-up fight like she’d expected. There were no clear instructions, no fixed route—just a goal.

  Reach the spider’s heart. Bring back her blood.

  Simple in theory. Didn’t sound so simple in execution.

  A hand landed on her shoulders, warm and sudden.

  “Dahliaaaa,” Emilia sing-songed, looping an arm around her neck and leaning in close, her curls tickling Dahlia’s cheek. “Let’s go together!”

  Dahlia blinked, caught off guard.

  “The Fool didn’t say we couldn’t team up,” Emilia pointed out, her voice bright and coaxing. “It’ll be easier with more hands, don’t you think?”

  “…Sure,” Dahlia said, before she could stop herself. Obviously it’d be safer to team up than not, but for a second, she felt she was completely swept up in Emilia’s wave—and the Cicada Musician wasn’t satisfied with just her.

  “Perfect!” Emilia turned to the others—Otto, Wisnu, Muyang, Blaire—standing nearby at the temple steps. “What about you guys? Wanna jump in?”

  Otto shrugged. “The more, the merrier.”

  Dahlia wasn’t surprised. Otto was easygoing, and teaming up made complete logical sense. But when she glanced at Muyang and Wisnu, something in their expressions made her pause.

  They weren’t excited.

  They weren’t reluctant, either.

  They were… solemn.

  Muyang and Wisnu exchanged a look, silent but heavy with meaning. Then, Muyang exhaled through his nose and shook his head.

  "I am grateful for the offer, Miss Emilia, but the path to mastery is not one walked in the shadow of others," he said. “This trial is not merely a test of skill, but a measure of the spirit. If I were to travel with you, I believe the result I seek from this exam would be… tainted.”

  Dahlia tilted her head, not entirely sure she understood.

  Wisnu stepped forward next, her posture regal, her expression unreadable.

  "I, too, have something to prove," she said evenly. "I acknowledge the wisdom in numbers, but my purpose here is not one that can be fulfilled alongside you. I am grateful for the offer, but I’m afraid I must decline as well."

  Emilia shrugged, unbothered. "That’s fine. Just don’t go picking fights with us if we run into each other down there?”

  Muyang allowed a smile, the corners of his mouth tilting up. “A warrior does not bare his fangs at his kin. We shall not cross blades.”

  Wisnu nodded. “Nor shall we turn against one another. We fought together once, and that will not change.”

  Otto exhaled softly. That was a relief, at least.

  Emilia, however, had already turned her attention elsewhere. "Where’s Blaire?"

  All of them turned to look.

  The Plagueplain Doctor was gone. Vanished into the wind.

  Just like usual, I guess.

  Do you think we’ll ever get a chance to talk to her?

  [I doubt it,] Kari murmured. [Plagueplain Doctors are very elusive creatures.]

  Wisnu scoffed under her breath. “Hmph. Best to ignore her.”

  Emilia raised an eyebrow. "You really don’t like her, huh?"

  "She can rot in the carcass for all I care."

  Dahlia frowned at that. Blaire was odd, yes. Unpredictable, also yes, but… there was something about her that didn’t quite fit the image everyone else seemed to have of her.

  Something about her reminded Dahlia of Raya, though she couldn’t quite place why.

  "... Alright!” Emilia clapped her hands together. “Whether we’re going in separate groups or not, we still need supplies! Anyone know where we can get a lot of dried food really fast?"

  Dahlia hesitated before speaking. “Uncle Safi’s tavern. He always has a lot of bug meat in stock, and we can get points from eating food from there, too."

  Emilia’s eyes lit up. "Great idea!”

  Tavern Emparatoria was quieter than Dahlia expected.

  When she stepped inside with the others, the usual warm buzz of chatter and clinking mugs were absent. The round tables sat empty save for thin layers of dust catching the early morning light. The smell of seared bug meat and spiced broth still hung in the air, but the lack of patrons made the place feel almost hollow. She’d left the tavern this morning in its normal state, so what, exactly, was going on here?

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  …No.

  That’s not right.

  The tavern wasn’t completely empty.

  Behind the kitchen counter, Uncle Safi was hunched over a stove, flames licking the underside of a massive iron pan as he tossed something that crackled and sizzled. His sleeves were rolled up, his forearms dusted with flour, a knife tucked into his apron. He looked the same as always—weathered but warm, his graying hair tied back in a loose knot.

  And sitting at the counter, deep in a casual discussion, were three unmistakable figures.

  The Sun. The Fool. Alice. The girls squishing the man in between.

  Dahlia felt her breath catch.

  How did the three of them get here faster than we did?

  [They are Arcana Hasharana.]

  But we beelined it here from the temple.

  [They are Arcana Hasharana.]

  A sharp jolt of tension ran through her, locking her feet in place. She wasn’t the only one, of course. Otto stiffened beside her. Wisnu’s expression hardened into unreadable nobility. Muyang, ever composed, merely exhaled through his nose, as if acknowledging the presence of greater forces but refusing to be unsettled.

  Emilia, however, didn’t hesitate.

  "Are we bothering you guys?" she asked, completely casual, like she was asking some random strangers if they minded sharing a table—or, in this case, a tavern.

  The Fool turned his head, holding a small glass of what smelled like lemon juice in one hand, resting his chin on the other hand. "Nope," he said lazily. “Just debating the eternal question of—”

  “The best dish on the menu!” Alice perked up next to the Fool, holding a mug of something steaming.

  The Sun scoffed with her arms crossed. "There is no debate. The answer is grilled stag beetle skewers."

  Alice made a disgusted noise. “That’s because you have terrible taste. Those things are so chewy they take years to eat. You might as well gnaw on boot leather."

  The Sun shot her a deadpan look. "That’s called texture, child. It’s a dish for people who appreciate slow-cooked perfection. The outer shell crisps over the fire, locking in the juices, and the legs have that perfect snap when you bite into them. It’s real food."

  The Fool waggled a finger between them. "Wrong. The best dish is the roasted marrow stew."

  The Sun sighed. "The bone stock is fine, but let’s be real—it’s just soup. You can down it in five minutes and still be hungry."

  "But that is the point, no?” The Fool grinned, swirling his drink. "It’s rich, it’s smooth, it’s a dish that warms your soul, and while the bone marrow melts into the broth to thicken it just right, it’s not so thick that you have to sit down and spend half an hour focusing on it. You can have it on the move. It’s like drinking liquid gold—if gold was full of protein and kept you alive in a snowstorm.”

  “You’re the last person I want to hear that from. You don’t need to eat.”

  “Doesn’t change the fact that it’s—”

  Alice jabbed a finger at both of them. "Grilled termite legs! They’re crispy, salty, and perfectly bite-sized. You don’t have to sit there wrestling with a whole bug carcass or chugging broth like an old man—”

  “ —don’t talk shit about my stew—”

  “—you just pop the legs in your mouth and enjoy. No mess, no fuss. Plus, they’re packed with protein and way healthier than your grease-soaked skewers—”

  “ —do not insult my skewers—”

  And Dahlia stood by the doorway awkwardly, watching the Arcana Hasharana go back and forth.

  She still couldn’t tell if this was a serious argument or just their idea of fun.

  Then, Uncle Safi turned from the stove, wiping his hands on his apron. His gaze landed on her first, and his expression softened.

  “Dahlia,” he greeted, his voice warm as always. “What can I do for you?”

  Dahlia swallowed, glancing to see if the three Arcana Hasharana were focusing on her. They weren’t. Not at all

  "Um," she started. "We need… dried food supplies. Preserved. Enough for a month’s trip down in the tunnels."

  Uncle Safi tilted his head. "And why here? There are other taverns and restaurants that deal with dry food better than mine. I cook all of my dishes here, no takeaways.”

  Dahlia shifted, not sure what to say. The words just tumbled out. "But I like your food."

  There was a beat of silence.

  Then Uncle Safi let out a hearty chuckle, stepping around the counter. "Thank you, Dahlia," he said, rubbing her head with a calloused hand. "You’ve always had a better tongue for good cooking than these… guys." He shot a glance at the Fool and the others, who were still mid-argument.

  Dahlia felt her face warm.

  Uncle Safi turned back to his stove. "I’ll get your food prepped. You and your friends go to the entrance of the underground tunnels in the north and wait. Give me thirty minutes, and I’ll have everything ready and delivered."

  Emilia raised a brow. "You can get a month’s worth of food done that fast, old man?”

  “Sure I can. Now go away and let me cook.”

  Emilia clapped a hand on Dahlia’s shoulder before she could overthink it. “Alright! Sounds like a plan. Let’s go.”

  And just like that, she dragged the four of them back out of the tavern before any of them could question why the Arcana Hasharana were casually sitting there.

  Something about how unstructured this part of the exam felt—as if they weren’t being tested at all—made Dahlia feel a little bit uneased.

  Alice swung her legs out from under the counter, crunching down the last of her fried termite legs as she watched Dahlia march out of the tavern with her little band of hopefuls in tow.

  Cute.

  Jiayin, sitting beside William, let out a content sigh and pushed her empty plate forward. “Alright,” she said, stretching out her arms with a heavy groan. “Time to move out, yeah?”

  She flicked a glance at William, then jerked her chin toward Safi behind the counter. “All four of us.”

  Safi kept his back turned to them as he wiped down a dish in the basin. “No.”

  “What do you mean ‘no’, old man?”

  “No means no,” he said plainly. “I’m just a chef.”

  Jiayin groaned and leaned back in her chair. "Oh, but that is the stupidest thing I’ve heard—”

  “Leave him be,” William said smoothly, pushing his bowl forward and placing three silver coins in it. “The three of us won’t be going together anyways. Having a fourth person with us would just destroy the… orderliness of our formation.”

  Alice perked up. “What’s the plan?”

  "There appears to be three groups now: Emilia’s group with Dahlia and Otto, Muyang’s group with Wisnu, and Blaire, who's going solo,” William said, adjusting his gloves and glasses. “Since there are three proctors, we’ll split up accordingly. Alice, you’ll shadow Emilia’s group."

  Alice clapped her hands. "I get to be with Dahlia again?"

  “Yes. Jiayin, you’ll shadow—”

  "I don’t mind tailing Muyang. Warriors of the Hellfire Caldera Front stick together and all that." Jiayin rolled her shoulders, but then her face scrunched up slightly as she looked at William. "But Blaire… the venoms of a Plagueplain Doctor can be very nasty. You sure you’ll be fine?"

  William let out a short, quiet laugh. "If anything goes wrong, I’m probably the only one here who can take her venoms."

  Alice tilted her head, watching him as he stood up and—with that odd little habit of his—started clearing the counter himself. He always did that, slipping into work like it was second nature. The man just couldn’t be idle for a second.

  "More importantly," he continued, casually wiping off a plate, "we should all be more concerned about doing our jobs properly than worrying about me."

  Alice twirled her spoon between her fingers.

  She knew where this was going.

  “Historically,” he went on, “we’ve allowed participants to die in our exams. Death is not at all unusual… but only when it’s due to elements we designed.”

  He set the plate down and met their eyes.

  “If anything else intrudes, it’s our job as proctors to handle it.”

  Jiayin’s lips curled like she’d bitten into something sour. "Defending things isn’t exactly my specialty.”

  “Neither is it mine.” Alice giggled, hopping off her seat. "That’s okay, though! We’ll be going spider-hunting again! And next time we meet the two of them down there… " She spun on her heel, hands on her hips, eyes bright. “We’ll definitely kill the Spider Gods!"

  Then Alice glanced back once, one brow raised.

  “You’re really not coming with us, uncle?”

  Safi didn’t even look up from his dishes. “I’ve got a tavern to run.” Then, without missing a beat, he added, “But for what it’s worth, I don’t like you guys using those kids as bait.”

  “...”

  William didn’t respond.

  Neither did Alice nor Jiayin, for that matter, as the three of them walked out of the tavern together.

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