Chapter Text
The Ink Guardian School didn’t look like a school.
Miko had expected classrooms, desks, maybe a training yard. Instead, the building rising before her and Gray looked like a cathedral made of refracted light—arched windows of shifting color, walls that shimmered like liquid crystal, and a roof that rippled with rainbow hues as if the sky itself were being filtered through it.
Auburn led them up the steps, hands behind his head, strolling like this was all perfectly normal. “Welcome to the Ink Guardian Academy,” he said. “Where young heroes learn not to explode themselves. Usually.”
Miko swallowed. “Usually?”
“Don’t worry,” Auburn said. “You two are special cases. You’ll only explode a little.”
Gray blinked slowly, unimpressed.
Inside, the air hummed with magic. Students in robes of different colors hurried through the halls—reds sparking with fire, blues trailing mist, greens blooming leaves with each step. Some stared openly at Miko and Gray. Others whispered.
“Those are the outsiders.”
“The purple one and the mimic.”
“Are they really meeting Aurum?”
Auburn waved them off. “Celebrity life. You’ll get used to it.”
They reached a circular chamber where seven doors stood in a ring, each glowing a different color. A tall woman in white-and-gold armor stood waiting, her hair a shimmering silver that flowed like ink in water.
“High Instructor Prism,” Auburn said with a dramatic bow. “I brought the kids.”
Prism’s eyes were sharp, assessing. “Aurum has requested they undergo the Trial of Spectra.”
Miko stiffened. “Trial?”
“It’s not a punishment,” Prism said. “It’s a test. To prove your intentions, your adaptability, and your connection to Spectra’s magic. Only those who pass may meet the High Council.”
Auburn leaned in. “Translation: rainbow obstacle course. Try not to die.”
Prism ignored him. “You will face puzzles aligned with each color. Strength, clarity, emotion, logic, harmony, will, and balance. Work together. Trust each other.”
Gray nodded once. Miko exhaled slowly. “We’ll do it.”
Prism gestured, and the red door flared open.
“Begin.”
Red Trial — The Heart of Fire
The room was a cavern of molten stone, rivers of lava flowing beneath narrow platforms. Heat blasted Miko’s face.
A voice echoed: “Red is passion. Red is courage. Red is the leap.”
A massive gap separated them from the exit.
Miko stared. “We can’t jump that.”
Gray stepped forward, eyes flashing gray. He watched the lava, the heat waves, the flicker of red magic in the air—and then his hands sparked with crimson flame.
He had copied the ambient magic.
He crouched, then launched himself across the gap with a burst of fire, landing lightly. He turned back, extending a hand.
Miko hesitated—then ran.
Gray caught her wrist, pulling her safely to the other side.
Their hands lingered a moment longer than necessary.
Orange Trial — The Puzzle of Motion
A maze of shifting platforms spun and rotated in dizzying patterns. Miko felt her stomach twist.
“Orange is momentum,” the voice said. “Move, or be moved.”
Gray copied the orange glow, his feet sparking with kinetic energy. He zipped through the maze, redirecting platforms with precise taps.
Miko followed his path, trusting his timing, trusting him.
At the end, they reached the door together.
Yellow Trial — The Light of Insight
The room was blinding. Golden mirrors reflected endless versions of themselves.
“Yellow is clarity. See what is true.”
Miko squinted, overwhelmed—until a flash of digital static flickered across her vision.
She gasped.
A memory—no, a file—opened in her mind.
A metal corridor. A glowing interface. A voice saying:
“Cyberversian unit M‑1KO, initializing.”
Then it vanished.
“Miko?” Gray asked softly.
“I… I saw something. Like a memory. But not human.”
Gray stepped closer, concern in his eyes.
She steadied herself. “Later. Let’s finish this.”
She closed her eyes, letting instinct guide her. One mirror felt… wrong. Too perfect. Too smooth.
She touched it.
The illusion shattered, revealing the exit.
Green Trial — Growth and Restraint
Vines lashed out the moment they entered. Gray copied green magic, slicing through them with controlled bursts of plant manipulation.
Miko used her agility to dodge, weaving through the vines until they reached the center, where a single seed pulsed with life.
“Green is balance,” the voice said. “Nurture, do not destroy.”
Miko knelt, cupping the seed. She breathed gently, letting her warmth—not her power—flow into it.
The seed sprouted, blooming into a radiant flower that opened the next door.
Blue Trial — The Mind’s Reflection
A chamber of water. Still, silent, mirror-like.
“Blue is truth. Face yourselves.”
Two figures rose from the water—perfect copies of Miko and Gray.
Miko’s reflection crackled with uncontrolled purple lightning, wild and dangerous.
Gray’s reflection shifted through colors rapidly, unstable, chaotic.
Miko whispered, “That’s… what we’re afraid of becoming.”
Gray stepped forward, touching his reflection’s forehead. His voice was quiet but firm.
“No.”
The reflection dissolved.
Miko reached out to hers. “I’m not afraid of you. Not anymore.”
Her reflection smiled—then faded.
The water parted, revealing the next door.
Indigo Trial — The Weight of Will
A dark room. Heavy. Crushing.
Miko fell to her knees, the pressure immense. Gray staggered, sparks flickering weakly.
“Indigo is resolve. Stand.”
Miko forced herself up inch by inch. Her arms trembled. Her lungs burned.
Gray reached for her hand.
She took it.
Together, they stood.
The pressure vanished.
Violet Trial — Harmony
The final chamber was empty except for a pedestal holding a prism.
“Violet is unity. Two paths, one light.”
Miko placed her hand on the prism. Gray placed his beside hers.
Purple lightning met gray sparks.
The prism exploded into radiant color, filling the room with a rainbow vortex.
A voice whispered:
“You are worthy.”
The doors opened.
Outside the Trial Chamber
A crowd had gathered—students, instructors, even guards. Prism stood at the front, arms crossed but eyes approving.
“You passed,” she said. “Few do on their first attempt.”
A familiar voice chimed in from behind the crowd:
“Nice work! That was way cooler than my first trial.”
Miko turned—and blinked.
A girl with black hair tipped in red, wearing a red cloak and carrying a massive scythe, waved enthusiastically.
“Ruby Rose,” she said. “Visiting from the Crescent Division. Heard there were new recruits.”
Miko stared. “You’re… real?”
Ruby laughed. “Last time I checked.”
Before Miko could respond, another figure zipped in—a cyan-haired teen in a jacket covered in patches, landing with a superhero pose.
“Cypher!” someone shouted.
He grinned. “Heard the newbies crushed the trials. Had to see for myself.”
He looked at Gray. “Dude, you copy powers? That’s sick. We should totally team up sometime.”
Gray blinked, unsure how to respond to the whirlwind of energy that was Cypher.
Auburn appeared beside them, arms crossed. “Cypher, where’s your crew?”
Cypher’s grin faded. “Uh… that’s the thing. They went missing near the Inkfall Ruins.”
Auburn’s expression sharpened. “Aurum already suspected something. Looks like we’re heading out.”
He clapped Miko and Gray on the shoulders. “You two did good. Now get ready. Things are about to get complicated.”
Miko felt that crossroads sensation again—stronger than ever.
Digital memories. Rainbow trials. New allies. Missing heroes.
Spectra was bigger, stranger, and more dangerous than she’d imagined.
But she wasn’t alone.
Gray stood beside her.
And whatever came next—they would face it together.