Spring of 346, A.D.
“Do you want some more, Kai?”
“No, thanks, Ariel. I’m full.”
Ariel had been smiling non-stop ever since Alex returned. Kai had noticed that she seemed to credit his return entirely to him. Every time his plate got even close to empty, she rushed to refill it.
Meanwhile, Alex sat off to the side, locked in a debate with Trudy. Whatever words were loud enough to cut through the crackling fire sounded like something about morals and ethics.
Kai glanced at Ariel, trying to keep her from dashing off again. “What do you think is going on with those two?”
To his delight—and panic—she sat beside him instead of leaving. His heart hammered. He froze, afraid that any sudden movement might scare her off, like a butterfly perched on his shoulder.
“I don’t know,” she said, watching Alex with a puzzled look. “But he’s been really active. I found him sleeping in the museum and the library a couple of times.”
Kai raised an eyebrow. “Well… I guess this mood beats him not being here.”
Ariel giggled. “Thank you for bringing him back, Kai.”
“No problem. Anything for you, Ariel.”
The words tumbled out before he could stop them. He immediately regretted how cheesy it sounded—especially since he wasn’t even sure he had anything to do with Alex’s return.
But instead of laughing at him or brushing it off, Ariel placed her hand over his. “Thanks.”
Kai gulped, his whole body heating up. Ariel’s cheeks flushed, and she quickly pulled her hand back, but she didn’t leave.
The silence stretched—just awkward enough to make him desperate for a way to break it.
“Yo, Alex!” he called out.
Alex turned, surprised. “What’s up, Kai?”
“Wanna do a shadow show?”
Alex exchanged looks with Trudy, who nodded, dismissing him from their discussion.
His face broke into a grin. “Let’s do it!”
Excitement rippled through the group as Ariel ran off to grab a white sheet. With Sunny’s help, she strung it up between the trees, and everyone gathered around.
Kai and Alex took their places between the fire and the sheet. “Knight and Dragon?” Kai asked.
It was one of their best performances.
Alex grinned. “Cool. I’ll be the knight.”
Kai always played the knight. But for once, he didn’t mind. His friend was here. That was all that mattered.
“Deal.”
*
353rd Daisy Trials, Round of 128.
Kai wasn’t taking any chances this time. The moment he spotted the oryx, he snapped two quick photos in succession, leaving no room for his rival to act first.
A smirk tugged at his lips. Now that he had the cards secured, part of him almost wanted his opponent to find the animal—just so they’d waste their last few shots trying to capture it. A taste of their own medicine.
Don’t be petty, Kai.
He pushed the thought aside as quickly as it came. There was no point in resenting his fellow trial runner. They had feelings, just like he did. Maybe they had families waiting back in their sector. Or worse—maybe they were like him, one of the last remnants of a dying culture.
Kai exhaled, steering his thoughts elsewhere. Not just because Daisy evaluated compassion in trial runners, but because there was nothing to gain from looking down on his opponent.
His gaze returned to the oryx. He reached out to brush his fingers over its hide—only for his hand to pass right through. Right. Different dimension. The animal, oblivious to his presence, finished grazing and wandered toward another patch of grass.
So it was just... roaming? Drifting from bush to bush until someone happened to stumble across it?
Kai frowned, comparing it to the mining wagon from the quarry arena.
Maybe every map has at least one moving element.
Was finding this moving element purely luck-based? Or did it follow a pattern, like the treasure troves at the center of the arena?
If there was a logic to it, tracking the oryx might reveal it.
As he walked alongside the beast, he caught its profile—one horn vanishing behind the other. The card description couldn’t have been more accurate. No wonder they called it the desert unicorn. From a distance, it did look like one.
The oryx left a trail of hoofprints in the sand, pausing at the next shrub to strip leaves from the brittle stalks. Slow, deliberate bites.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Kai waited, watching for any change in its behavior. Would it keep moving? Would it do anything useful?
Nothing.
Dragging a hand down his face, he sighed. Not the most thrilling strategy, but just in case, he kept following. Meanwhile, his opponent’s score had stalled. His lips curled—not in joy at their failure. Just... relief. They were running out of shots.
His attention drifted back to the oryx. Its horns were elegantly simple, almost like sculpted ivory. As he studied them, his mind flicked to the acacia tree he’d seen earlier. Then to the woodland pines from the first arena.
His fingers twitched.
Could it be…?
Just like he could capture individual parts of a tree, what if he could do the same with the oryx?
It was more complex than a tree, sure. But structurally? It was still a collection of distinct parts.
Excitement flickered in his chest. Without hesitation, he stepped into the shrubs—Daisy would phase him through them anyway. Raising the camera, he lined up the shot, angling for the best view.
Then he pressed the shutter and waited for the flash to fire.
Capture successful!
Oryx Horn ???????? (Rare)
A gently spiraling ivory tower with a sharp point.
Tries left: 12 of 20.
1 of 2
HP: 4
VP: 3
Capture successful!
Tries left: 11 of 20.
Bingo. It worked. The Gestalt principle applied to animals too. That was a relief—if he’d rushed off instead of tracking the oryx, he might have missed this entirely.
He studied the creature a moment longer. Was there anything else worth capturing? Its eyes, maybe. Or its hooves? He tapped his foot, considering, then shook his head. Daisy probably wouldn’t reward him for turning his entire trial into an oryx anatomy collection. The crafting stage favored variety. In variety, there was possibility.
Decision made, he turned to leave.
As he stepped past the grazing oryx, his gaslamp cast a long shadow across a nearby dune. At first, he barely noticed—just a flicker of movement in the corner of his eye. But something about it made him pause. He took a step back, adjusting the lamp, and the shadow shifted.
Not an oryx anymore. A unicorn.
Kai chuckled, the sight reminding him of bonfire nights and the shadow shows he and Alex used to make. His laughter faded as a new thought clicked into place. The card’s description. The upgrade he’d purchased. The [Shadow] card.
His breath quickened. The idea forming in his head was ridiculous. Possibly stupid. But he had plenty of shots left to test it. Lowering to a crouch, he set the gaslamp on the ground, angling it just right so the oryx’s shadow stretched across the dune. He dug through the camera settings—there. A way to turn the flash off. It had defaulted to auto when he bought the upgrade, but now he could disable it manually.
He nudged the lamp again, shifting the glow by a fraction. The oryx took another step, aligning itself perfectly. Kai raised the camera and snapped a photo—not of the oryx itself, but of its shadow.
Capture successful!
Tries left: 10 of 20
Shadow Unicorn ??? (Rare)
The shadow of the mythological one-horned horse of legend.
1 of 1
HP: 1
VP: 8
Kai whooped in triumph. It had worked! His gut had been right—he had captured a unicorn.
Grinning, he pulled up the card details, but as he scanned the stats, excitement gave way to curiosity. Rare cards usually had a total of seven points, but [Shadow Unicorn] had nine. That alone was unusual. Even stranger, while rare cards typically had pools of two, this one was unique.
Probably follows a special set of rules, like [Fire].
He tightened his grip on the camera strap. He didn’t know what those rules were yet, but one thing was certain—an eight-point card was no joke. The only thing he’d captured that came close was [Mining Wagon].
Satisfied that he’d fully capitalized on the rare oryx, he let it wander off. The [Shadow Unicorn] had opened a door he hadn’t even considered before—a whole new realm of possibilities.
As he stepped between the gaslamp and the dune, his shadow stretched across the sand. He turned his hands slightly, watching how the light altered its shape. The more he studied it, the more his suspicion deepened. Unlocking his own shadow had cost a significant number of victory points. There had to be a reason for that. And now, he was starting to see why.
Kai cracked his knuckles and shook out his hands, rolling his wrists to loosen them. It had been a long time since he’d played with shadow puppets.
Not since Alex…
The memory hit before he could brace for it. The late nights by the bonfire. The laughter. His fingers faltered, and for a moment, a tear pricked at the corner of his eye.
He exhaled sharply, shaking his head. Focus. Ariel needed him. He’d made a promise to Alex—to look after his sister. That meant giving the trial his full attention.
He ran through the old motions, forming shapes he and Alex used to practice together. A bear. A giraffe. Each one appeared in crisp, fluid silhouettes against the sand. Adjusting for the way the gaslamp stretched them, he experimented with finer details.
Then he froze.
His hands. The gaslamp. The camera strapped around his neck.
His stomach sank.
How am I supposed to take the pictures if I need both hands to make the shadows?
He clicked his tongue, then kicked at the sand—only to have his foot pass right through. But frustration wouldn’t solve anything. He forced himself to breathe.
There had to be an upgrade that would free up his hands. Until then, he’d have to stick to simpler shapes—ones he could manage with a single hand.
Determined, he positioned his right hand under the gaslamp’s glow. Slowly, he curled his fingers into shape—thumb upright, index finger bent to create a gap, middle and ring fingers tucked inward, pinky slightly lowered to refine the silhouette.
Holding the shape steady, he fumbled with the camera in his left hand, adjusting his grip until his fingers found the shutter button. He exhaled, locking the form into place.
Then, with a sharp click, he took the shot.
Capture successful!
Tries left: 9 of 20.
Shadow Wolf ??? (Uncommon)
The shadow of a formidable and highly adaptable carnivore.
1 of 1
HP: 1
VP: 2
Yes!
For the first time in the exam, he wasn’t just limited to what he could find in the arena—he had created something to capture. He was no longer at the mercy of Daisy’s whims. He could create something to then capture.
His mind raced. He had an entire repertoire of shadow puppets memorized. If he could free both hands and find a dark enough spot in every arena, he could keep making shadow animals. No more relying on luck. No more scrambling for discoveries. He could score consistently.
There was no way his opponent had thought of this.
Kai pulled up the details of his latest card: [Shadow Wolf].
It wasn’t as valuable as [Shadow Unicorn], but that wasn’t what caught his attention. Another one-of-a-kind. So it wasn’t just the unicorn. Every shadow card was considered unique.
Interesting.
Just as he prepared his next shadow puppet, a nagging thought crept in.
This almost seems too easy.
His excitement dimmed. Daisy wouldn’t make it this simple. There had to be a catch. But what?
Could the catch be that I can only capture one of each shadow per round?
That might be it. If he’d been able to snap two [Shadow Unicorn] cards earlier, that might have been too broken.
He debated for a moment, then shrugged. He was raking in points. As long as the only limitation was a one-per-round restriction, he’d take it. If there was another catch, he’d cross that bridge when he got to it.
Pushing his doubts aside, he moved on to another shadow puppet he could form with one hand. Overlapping his three middle fingers, he shaped a rough triangle. Adjusting the gaslamp, he tweaked the angles until the shadow on the dune sharpened into place. Satisfied, he took the shot.
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