Forging The Fire

6 ⚔️ Threshold Unveiled

No wonder this structure changes its position every year during the final selection. It would be easier to move this way. He thought. He stepped inside the door and shut out carefully behind his back so he wouldn't break it. He made sure to not lock the door for some reason.

He walked near the centre of the tower. There was a secret passage there. There was some dry grass covering the floor. But Diato's eagle eyes noticed the passage. He went near the passage and knelt beside it, the dry grass pricking his knees through his jeans. He picked up the grass and slid it aside. Some little grass fell inside the tiny hole. Okay. So this little hole eliminates the fat people trying to become drayers. Though I'm not fat. He thought.

He pushed his leg inside the hole. Followed by his other leg, he slowly slid down the slim passage. The passage was more of a slide than a path. He didn't even get enough time to hold the top of the passage. He was swiftly transferred into a metal slide. It Was cold. The metal was cold and the heat generated by rubbing his butt on it was fading away. His butt slowly cooled down, as his breath became slower. There was complete darkness. All Diato could see was pitch black. As if he was sucked into a void.

**7:00 PM, Monday**

He opened his eyes again and found himself inside a cylindrical glass chamber. He was shocked to see the advanced machinery. He glanced back up. A black circular plate covered the path that led him here. He glanced back down trying to ignore the sounds of large machinery.

He saw a guy sitting at his desk on his computer. His computer had a large monitor, stuck on the wall. It had almost thirty-two cameras, but he couldn't make sure those were thirty-two. There was a grey sofa in the middle, with the lady from the wild circle sitting on it, along with two random guys. One had brownish hair, and the other had blonde hair. He turned to his left just to find a wall. He turned to the right and saw that the room was much bigger than he thought.

There were other three chambers beside him. All identical. He glanced back at the middle-aged lady sitting on the grey sofa. The blonde guy looked at Diato with a smile and turned to the lady in the middle.

"I thought no one would qualify this year," He said. The other guy smiled back at him after he saw the lady ignoring him.

"Me too," he said, "but we do have a qualifier."

"Yup."

Diato looked at them while he stood there dumbfounded. He turned again to his right as he heard the sound of large machines coming above him again. An old man fell into the chamber. He was too old to stand without a stick, but there he was, getting qualified at the Drayers'. The old man turned to Diato. Diato's eyes grew wide as he saw that the guy was from the wild circle. 'PHAK YOO' he had said.

He stared at the old man as he heard the lady and those two guys complimenting the old man for qualifying at such an age. Soon after, the machine started again, and it was a girl this time. No wonder it was Bella. With a cloth tied around her bleeding nose. She gave Diato a death stare but he knew it was over now. They weren't going to have a rematch and Diato was the final winner between them. Her stare didn't bother him at all. Instead, he thought that her anger was a complement to him for being better.

He waited for the final person to drop so that they could get released from that chamber. The lady told them that only four people qualify every year, not because of lack of skill but because there are only slots available for the first four people. After a while, another random boy dropped into the chamber, just as confused and as excited as they were, the first time they entered.

The doors of the chambers slid open and they were free to come out. Diato stepped out of the chamber. He glanced around, but nothing had changed in the last fifteen minutes. The lady stood up from her place and glanced at all four members who passed the test.