(Updating every 2 minutes. EtherLink is not responsible for theories that alter your perception of reality.)
The night still clung to the sky when Ethan Voltaire appeared on the track, immaculate even in the dim light. His meticulously combed brown hair gleamed under the soft glow, and his smile, that smile that had won over millions of followers, was ready, even without cameras nearby.
Danny was already waiting for him, drumming his fingers against his thighs, his breath visible in the cold air.
"I thought you'd back out," Danny said with a half-smile.
Ethan chuckled, the sound carefully modulated to seem genuine.
"And miss the chance to mold this season's underdog? No way."
Ethan demonstrated the exercises with the grace of a professional athlete. Lunges, jumps, hip rotations. Every movement was precise, performative, as if his body knew that, eventually, someone would film it.
"Like this, see," Ethan extended his arms, balancing on one foot. "Balance first. If you fall at the first hurdle, the memes will bury you."
Danny imitated him, clumsily at first, but with a determination that surprised even Ethan.
"It's not that different from calculating trajectories," Danny murmured, focused. "Only... instead of fire, it's my muscles that have to obey."
Ethan glanced sideways at him. How was it possible for this kid to turn everything into numbers?
As they jogged, Ethan with elegance, Danny with the rhythm of someone counting every step, the conversation drifted to the admission tests.
"I just aimed and shot," Ethan admitted, shrugging. "It was pure instinct."
Danny, gasping for breath, dropped the bombshell:
"I... calculated the angle. I didn't aim directly at the target. I aimed here," he gestured to an invisible spot in the air, "so the ether would hit the center."
Ethan almost stumbled.
"What?"
"Ether particles follow predictable patterns if you apply the correct formula," Danny continued, ignoring the horror in Ethan's voice. "Like a billiard ball, but with magical energy instead of..."
"Shut up!" Ethan grabbed his shoulder, stopping him dead. His smile had vanished. "Are you saying you hacked the test?"
Danny blinked.
"It's not hacking. It's... applied physics."
Ethan looked around, making sure no one was listening. Then he lowered his voice to a whisper:
"Listen carefully, Danny. Everyone else hates it when people mess with their rules. If they find out you didn't follow 'magical instinct' like everyone else..." He didn't finish the sentence. The panic in his eyes said it all.
Danny paled.
Ethan regained his influencer smile, but now it had a sharp edge.
"This stays between us. It's your secret weapon. Understood?"
Danny nodded, too quickly.
"Yes. Of course. Between us."
Ethan clapped him on the back, this time with more force than necessary.
"Good! Now, are we going to run seriously or what?"
And so, the golden boy and the hidden brain picked up the pace, one smiling for imaginary cameras, the other mentally calculating how many formulas he'd have to erase from his notebook.
In the background, in the shadow of an artificial rainbow, a security camera slowly turned towards them.
Ethan didn't slow down when Danny collapsed to the ground, gasping like a fish out of water. The golden boy had a pace to maintain, imaginary fans to impress, even at 5:45 in the morning. But just as he sped up on the third lap, a familiar figure appeared at the track entrance.
Rook.
Dark-haired, tall, with that lanky smile Ethan knew too well. The same Rook who had shared greasy burritos with him in the high school cafeteria, who had his back in basketball games, the only one who knew that behind the influencer smile, Ethan sometimes just wanted to scream.
"Hey, star!" Rook raised his hand, showing a water bottle that gleamed under the artificial light. "Running alone is for sociopaths."
Ethan couldn't help but laugh.
"And appearing on a magic reality show isn't?" he retorted, veering towards him.
They fist-bumped with the complicity of those who had shared too many boring classes together.
Rook shrugged, taking a long drink of water before answering.
"They offered me money, free food, and the chance to humiliate people on national television. What do you think?" His smile widened. "Besides, someone has to save you from yourself."
Ethan elbowed him, but Rook dodged it with the ease of someone who had practiced that move a thousand times.
They talked about the first day, the overly comfortable beds, the food that changed flavor...
And then, Rook mentioned the mirror.
"It doesn't make sense," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's huge, black, and doesn't reflect well. Like... uh, I don't know. Like it's alive."
Ethan laughed, but this time it was forced.
"Of course, they put it there. What better morbid spectacle than seeing participants posing foolishly in front of the mirror?"
Rook looked at him, serious for the first time.
"They put a jacuzzi in my room. I'll gain followers if I follow the rules."
An awkward silence.
They decided to run together, like old times. Rook, with his long, relaxed stride; Ethan, with the polished technique of someone who had trained for cameras.
Danny, still sprawled on the grass at the edge of the track, watched them between coughs.
"Aren't they going to... help him?" Rook asked, not altering his pace.
Ethan didn't even look back.
"He's tired, tomorrow he'll ask for more laps."
Rook snorted, but didn't argue. He knew the game as well as Ethan.
The sun began to peek over the Ether Tower when Ethan and Rook finally slowed their pace, sweat glistening on their foreheads. Ethan took a deep breath, feeling the burning in his lungs—he wasn't used to running so much without cameras to cheer him on. They approached the edge of the track where Danny was still lying like a sack of potatoes, his face red as a tomato and his breathing still ragged.
Rook stepped forward with an easy smile, offering Danny a water bottle that he miraculously hadn't opened.
"Hey, don't die yet. It's only the first day," he said in a warm voice that seemed to disarm any tension.
Danny awkwardly sat up, accepting the water with trembling hands.
"Th-thanks," he stammered, avoiding eye contact.
Ethan watched the interaction with satisfaction. It was good to see Danny wasn't getting more nervous than usual. Rook always had that gift; he could make friends with anyone in minutes, from the popular kids to the most introverted.
"Danny, this is Rook. We were classmates in high school," Ethan introduced, wiping sweat from his forehead with his forearm. "Rook, Danny is... well, our physical transformation project."
Rook laughed, a genuine and contagious sound.
"Ah, so you're the brave one who agreed to train with Mr. Perfect here?" he said, elbowing Ethan. "You must have more courage than you look."
The comment drew a nervous giggle from Danny, who finally looked up.
The three spent the next few minutes doing basic stretches, or in Danny's case, trying not to complain too much when Ethan instructed him how to touch his toes.
"By tomorrow," Ethan said enthusiastically while helping Danny stretch his hamstrings, "I'll prepare a meal plan for you. More protein, fewer simple carbs. And you'll have to increase to three full laps."
Danny's face contorted into a grimace of pure terror.
"Th-three?!" he protested, his eyes seemingly pleading for mercy. "But I almost died with two."
Rook burst out laughing.
"Look on the bright side," he said, patting Danny on the back, which almost sent him face-first to the ground. "When this is over, you can eat whatever you want and you won't even worry. Athletes' bodies burn calories even while sleeping."
Ethan nodded in approval.
"Exactly. And don't worry, I'll be with you every step of the way. Well, almost every step," he corrected with a mischievous smile.
Danny looked between the two, feeling like he was the victim of a conspiracy, but something about Rook's relaxed attitude and Ethan's unusual cheerfulness made him smile slightly.
"Okay," he sighed, resigned. "But if I die, I want you to know I'll curse you from the afterlife."
Rook laughed again, and even Ethan let out a genuine chuckle. For a moment, on that empty track under the rising sun, the three seemed like normal friends, not competitors in the world's most ruthless reality show.
But even as they laughed, a hidden camera high up on the building silently rotated, focusing on the trio.
Afterwards, the real test.
The training room vibrated with concentrated energy as Architect Samantha Jens demonstrated elemental runes with surgical precision. Her fingers traced symbols in the air that glowed intensely before materializing into flames, gusts of wind, spirals of water, and beams of light.
"Fire is the most intuitive, but the most dangerous. Light is subtle, but lethal if mastered," she explained, watching as the participants tried to imitate her.
Ethan, sweaty and frowning, managed to recreate the fire rune with relative ease, thanks to Danny's previous advice, but when he tried to summon water, he only managed a weak trickle that evaporated instantly.
"Come on!" he cursed under his breath, frustrated.
Beside him, Danny struggled with the light rune. His fingers trembled as he drew the lines in the air, but the light that emerged was faint, like a bulb about to burn out.
Ethan glanced sideways at him.
"Is it really that hard?" he whispered, pretending to adjust his wristband so the cameras wouldn't catch them talking.
Danny discreetly shook his head.
"No... it's just that light doesn't follow the same trajectory as fire," he murmured, lowering his voice even further. "Look."
With almost imperceptible movements, Danny redrew the rune, but this time, his fingers followed a different pattern, as if he were connecting invisible points on an imaginary grid. The light that emerged was brighter, more stable.
Ethan suppressed a smile.
"What about water?" he asked, feigning disinterest while pretending to stretch.
Danny bit his lip but replied in the same stealthy tone:
"It's not a curve... it's a broken line. Like steps."
Ethan tried again, this time imagining the strokes as Danny had told him. The water that flowed from his wristband wasn't powerful, but at least it held its shape for more than two seconds.
"Good, Voltaire," Samantha Jens commented as she passed, a raised eyebrow. "You've worked hard to show you're more than just a pretty face."
Ethan laughed, forcedly, but inside, a mix of relief and excitement coursed through him. Danny was his secret weapon.
As the other competitors continued to struggle with the elements, Ethan and Danny exchanged a fleeting glance, a silent complicity.
🔥 ETHERTRENDS: BEHIND THE SCENES 🔥
Here are the most talked-about moments of the day, with spoilers and secrets the cameras didn't show!
💪 #EtherTraining
* Jake 🏋️♂️: Lifted 200kg of pure ether like it was nothing. Too strong!
* Kael 🤸♂️: Challenged all of Team Vanguard to a pull-up contest. Brenna won! 😂
* Lena 🏃♀️: The Olympic athlete just broke the track speed record. Unstoppable!
* Clara 😡: Complained that Lena was using "ether-buffed shoes." (Spoiler: they're standard).
* Dorian 🥵 and Zara 🧜♀️: In the liquid ether pool. Dorian shirtless, Zara doing synchronized swimming alone. 🔥
* Danny 🌊: His "swim" in the pool was so embarrassing that EtherMod deleted the clips. 🙈
* Danny 🥪: Devoured a 3-story sandwich like it was his last meal at the games. 🤤
* Ethan 🥗: Handed Danny a green smoothie and told him to eat more protein. Adoptive dad energy! 😂
* Kael, Garrick, Jake, Zane 💪: Arm wrestling showdown in the gym. The intensity!
* Rook 🏊♂️: Seen in the pool at 3 AM. The water evaporated before touching him. What is he?! 🤯
* Rook 🗣️: Talked alone in the gym, but someone in the mirror was answering him. Mystery! 👻
👑 #ArchitectSecrets
* Seraphine (Solaris) 😈: Drew a rune with her eyes closed, chanting: "Fire shows no mercy... neither do I." Zara tried to imitate her and burned her bangs (again)! 🤦♀️
* Veyne (Outlaws) 🔥: Made fire rain down on Rook, who deflected it with a sigh. Selene thought it was "sexy"! 😏
* Kael (Vanguard) 💥: Ordered Brenna and Garrick to fight with flames in their fists. Result: 3 charred tables. 😅
* Orlan (Sage) 🤫: Whispered to Danny: "You don't belong here." Why? 🤔
* Kael 👀: Spent too much time looking at Brenna. Secret tests? Or something else?
* Seraphine 🩸: Has identical scars to Selene. Shared experiments?
* Orlan 📖: Only checked Danny's notebook... and returned it with a page torn out. Suspicious!
🍽️ #DinnerChaos
* Zara 🥤 vs. Brenna 🔥: Zara "accidentally" spilled juice on Brenna, who retaliated by heating her spoon and scorching Zara's dress. Dinner drama! 🦖
* Danny 🍞🔥: Tried to heat his soup with Ignis and... set the bread on fire! Ethan blew out the flames too close to his face. 🤦♂️
* Lyra 🔮: Guessed exactly what Orlan was going to eat before he ordered it. Telepathy!
* Tycho 🍇: Calculated the perfect angle to throw a grape into Juno's mouth... and hit her in the eye! 😂
* Rook 🍰: The only one who ate in peace. Selene stole his dessert. 🥺
💔 #UnseenChemistry
* Helios ❤️🩹 Dorian (Solaris): During practice, Helios covered Dorian when his rune failed. Dorian said he didn't need help (but didn't move from his side)!
* Wren 🌪️ Vex (Outlaws/Vanguard): She stole his ether lighter... and he lifted her against a wall to get it back. Finn asked: "Is this violence... or foreplay?"
* Lyra 🧠 Tycho (Sage): She read his mind during the exercise. He responded by drawing a rune that said "Shut up" in binary code. Lyra blushed! 🥰
😈 #EpicFails
* Finn (Outlaws) 👟🔥: Burned his own shoe and yelled: "It's part of the look!"
* Lena (Outcast) 🌿: Used Ignis to propel herself in a jump... and landed in a bush! Jake was dying of laughter.
* Elio (Solaris) 🖼️: Calculated the exact temperature of his flame... but forgot to hold it. (Photo: Burning a painting of the Architects).
* Danny ❤️🩹: His fire accidentally formed a heart. "I guess physics doesn't apply here." He's an artist at this point!
🔥 TRENDING HASHTAGS:
* #KaelBrennaTension 🥵
* #DannyThePyro 🔥
* #RookBlackFlame ⚫
(Updating every 5 seconds. EtherLink recommends not playing with fire... or with ships.)