CHAPTER 55: CHAPTER 55 – KNIGHT FORT B56 (PART 1)

Chapter 55 – Knight Fort B56 (Part 1)

"Knight... Fort?"

"Is that like the base where knights work from?"

"Or where they receive orders?"

The murmurs spread through the group like ripples across still water, each candidate trying to piece together this foreign concept with what little they understood of the world they had just entered.

Fiora smiled at their confusion, her posture calm yet commanding. "Precisely." She snapped her fingers and pointed to the two who had spoken. "Knight Forts are the operational hubs for all Dimensional Knights. Here, you’ll live, train, and receive missions. This place is your headquarters—your battlefield preparation ground, your sanctuary, and your proving ground."

"Oh, I get it now..."

"So we’ll be living here from now on?"

"I like the atmosphere. The sky is really pretty... look at those stars."

As the murmuring died down, a hand rose from the back. Zane.

"Yes?" Fiora’s gaze shifted to him.

"Does the ’B56’ refer to the number of the base?" he asked, his tone as calm as ever.

"Good observation," she replied with a nod. "Yes, ’B56’ is this Fort’s unique designation. There are countless worlds out there, too many for one centralized operation. That’s why Forts like this were built—scattered throughout dimensions and No-Dimensions—to make travel and administration manageable. Once your exam is over and you qualify, you’ll be assigned to a specific Fort based on your performance and compatibility."

Another hand shot up.

"When does the test begin?"

Fiora tilted her head, her smile sharpening just slightly. "Begin? My dear, the test began the moment you stepped through that gate."

A wave of silence crashed over the group.

Every eye widened. Every casual breath stopped. The air itself seemed to shift.

Zane watched their faces carefully. Some went stiff with dread, others looked around nervously, as if expecting a trap to be sprung at any moment. One guy even stood up straighter, as if a better posture might affect his evaluation.

’There it is... the real atmosphere shift,’ Zane mused, his arms folded loosely. ’Of course it started already. The Knight Test has never been just about power or knowledge. It’s a full assessment. They’re watching how we think, how we behave—even how we respond to stress. And I bet everything’s being recorded.’

He didn’t feel threatened by the revelation. If anything, it reassured him. Attention was something he’d always been careful to avoid, but being average in a crowd like this? That worked in his favor.

As long as he stayed under the radar, his conduct would be judged like anyone else’s—without scrutiny or prejudice.

The same couldn’t be said for the rest of the group.

Some were beginning to panic, their eyes darting about like prey sensing predators. Others adopted forced composure, trying not to appear shaken. A few even seemed suspicious of each other, wondering who might already be failing without realizing it.

Fiora sighed and crossed her arms.

"No need to panic. The current phase is an observational one. You have four weeks before the main test begins. During that time, you’ll train, study, and be prepared for what’s to come. Consider this the prelude. We won’t throw you into the fire unprepared."

"Oh..." someone exhaled in relief.

"A training period, huh? I like the sound of that."

Zane’s brow furrowed slightly. ’They’re going to teach us first? That’s... generous.’ He stared into the distance, deep in thought. ’But... that raises a different issue.’

A chilling realization crept over him.

’What about the ones who fail? Do they just... go home? After learning all that critical information? That seems dangerous. Wait—’

His thoughts froze.

’I’ve never... heard of anyone returning after failing the Knight Test. Not once.’ The realization hit him like a bombshell. For a moment, he questioned how he never thought of that.

The more he contemplated it, the more unsettling it became. Zane had followed Knight-related news obsessively for years. He’d consumed every bit of information—records, interviews, even rumors. Yet not a single word about someone returning to their homeworld after being rejected.

No stories. No names. No accidents. No trace.

’Where do they go? A secret world? Are they detained forever? Or... are they simply erased?’ He bit the inside of his cheek. ’This... might be much bigger than I thought.’

"The rest of the information will be explained once we reach the Fort," Fiora announced, interrupting his thoughts. "Now, everyone, line up. The entrance isn’t far, and I’d rather we don’t linger here longer than necessary."

Without waiting for a response, she turned on her heel and began walking.

One by one, the group followed in silence.

The path they walked was wide and made of polished stone, winding through an eerie expanse of darkness. The sky above them glimmered with countless stars—beautiful, yes, but cold. Artificial, almost.

’There’s no wind,’ Zane noted. ’No trees. No insects. No animals. Just this path and those strange stars. It’s... haunting.’

"Y-You noticed that too, Z-Zane?" a nervous voice whispered beside him.

He glanced to the side and found Elizabeth walking beside him, hugging her arms tightly.

"Yeah. The stars are..." He paused. "Wait. You read my mind again, didn’t you?"

Her eyes widened. "I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to—it just... slipped."

He stared at her, unblinking.

’This girl...’

"It’s fine," he said at last. "But yeah. I’m not sure those are actual stars. They feel... off."

"What do you mean?"

Before he could answer, someone at the front pointed ahead.

"Hey—look there!"

Everyone turned their eyes forward.

Floating in the sky above the horizon, suspended in the black void, was a massive structure. It shimmered faintly, its outline rotating slowly. The closer they got, the more vivid the details became.

It resembled a gyroscope—but far larger than anything man-made. Big enough to dwarf a city. Its rings moved in deliberate harmony, rotating with elegance and silent power. Etched along its surface were glowing symbols, ancient and unreadable. With each full rotation, the structure flickered briefly into the shape of a crescent moon.

Zane stared, eyes narrowing.

His hand went to his necklace, lifting the pendant up. He held it beside the image in the sky.

They matched.

Exactly.

’So that’s what this necklace really is...’

"Woah..."

"It’s so beautiful..."

"What is that... thing?"

Fiora, walking ahead, looked over her shoulder with a faint smile. She saw their awe, their wonder—and perhaps, their fear.

"That, boys and girls, is the very heart of this realm," she said, gesturing toward the celestial machine. "We call it the Lunar Fragment. It’s what sustains this place. Without it, the ground you’re walking on would collapse into nothingness. This entire world would unravel in seconds."

She turned around fully, her expression solemn now.

"It keeps the No-Dimension stable. It is the anchor of our reality here. However, fear not as it won’t be going anywhere any time soon. That thing has been working for the past... hmm, a few thousand years? Yeah, right in that ballpark."

Zane tightened his grip on his necklace, staring up at the Lunar Fragment again.

’Without that... none of this would exist.’

And for the first time since stepping through the portal, he truly understood just how far from home they were.