Inside the ancient chamber, the dragon's stone mouth dripped slow streams of water onto the cold floor. Each droplet echoed in rhythm — steady, hypnotic, like a heartbeat. In the center stood a pedestal, and on it rested a sealed glass case holding a leather-bound book. Its spine was etched with mysterious kanji.
Ethan stepped forward. He didn't understand the symbols — he never learned to read kanji. But something pulled him closer.
Aiko gently placed her hand on the pedestal beside him. The glass shimmered, then vanished.
She opened the book. The old pages creaked.
> "The Trial of the River Child"
(as Aiko read aloud)
There was once a village by a restless river.
Every season, the water changed its voice —
rushing in spring, silent in summer, weeping in autumn, frozen in winter.
Three children stood at its edge, each given a task:
The First tried to stop the river.
He built a dam of stone and pride.
The river laughed, tore through his work, and swept him away.
The Second tried to race the river.
She ran with speed, leapt with fire, and chased the current to its source.
But the river grew faster still, and left her behind, breathless and dry.
The Third sat by the river.
He watched, waited, listened.
He placed his hand on its surface.
He did not command it — he felt it.
And the river, seeing itself in him, parted.
He crossed.
One river. One way.
The moment the book closed, the water in the room began to rise.
Panic set in.
Yui immediately darted to a wall full of levers and pulleys. "We need to control the flow!" she yelled, twisting knobs.
Liam grabbed his notebook and started calculating. "We've got 2.3 hours before the water reaches the ceiling… if the flow stays constant," he muttered. Then cracked a grin. "Good thing I studied volume and surface area last semester. If I hadn't—man, I wouldn't even live to regret it."
Aiko read the symbols again and again, desperately trying to decipher a logical pattern.
But Ethan — he just stood still, the water now lapping at his ankles. He remembered the story. He didn't need to understand the words. He understood the meaning.
He knelt. Placed his hand into the water.
It calmed.
He didn't speak. He listened.
Around him, the water stopped rising. It shifted — ever so subtly — flowing around him instead of pushing upward.
"Everyone," Ethan finally said, "The story said not to fight it. The third child didn't run. He didn't build. He felt."
The others paused.
Aiko looked up. "Look! The dragon heads… we can move them."
Liam gasped. "Yes — their faces pivot!"
"Then why don't we turn the dragons to the direction the water wants to flow?" Ethan asked. "Flow with the current. Not against."
They all worked together, and one by one, rotated the dragons.
Yui pointed up suddenly. "There are two fish etched on the ceiling!"
Everyone looked.
Mirrored fish, etched faintly into the stone above, reflecting downward into the rippling water.
Ethan stared into the pool. "If the water reflects them, and we follow that reflection… then the answer is in the direction of the flow."
The dragon heads clicked into place, now facing west — in the same direction as the reflected fish.
A low rumble echoed.
The water began to spin, then drain downward through hidden grates.
The stone gate at the far wall creaked and slowly split open.
The gate opened.
Everyone stood silently for a moment, dripping wet, hearts pounding.
Ethan stepped forward. "Good job, everyone. You all did the F-blessed things."
They laughed. Even in the tension, it felt right.
But no one noticed the faint blue mark now glowing just beneath Ethan's skin — not even Ethan. He only felt a strange warmth in his hand, and a quiet peace in his chest.
Yui turned to him. "What made you do that? Just… sit?"
"I don't know," Ethan said. "I just felt like the river wasn't the enemy. Like it was... listening."
Aiko narrowed her eyes at the pedestal. "Only one tile glowed when the trial ended," she whispered.
Liam raised an eyebrow. "That's true."
But no one questioned it further.
Because somewhere, deep behind the stone walls…
The dragon watched.
And Water had chosen.