Kie’s sharp gaze flickered when Saeda unrolled the final scroll. His eyes narrowed, as though he were bracing for one last riddle or command, but what emerged was nothing he could have anticipated. A shimmer rippled across the parchment before bursting upward into a holographic screen.

  A woman’s head, ghostlike yet lifelike, materialized in front of them.

  Her voice rang out clear and calm, carrying an authority that silenced the forest’s hum.

  “Congratulations on reaching your final test for today…”

  The five teenagers, still weary from the earlier trials, felt a flicker of hope kindle within them. Miko straightened unconsciously, her eyes shining. Even Zod, usually quick with some sarcastic jab, kept his mouth shut. They were listening.

  “This test will bring you face to face with a Leak. When the delicate balance between our world and the realm beyond the Veil is disturbed, rifts manifest. These rifts act as fleeting conduits, allowing the monsters once cast away by Eon—known as Leaks—to slip back into our reality and sow chaos. While, on rare occasions, the reverse occurs, such instances are exceedingly scarce. These creatures are unresponsive to communication, driven only by primal instinct, and fueled by dark mana coursing through their veins. It is virtually impossible to bend them to our will. Your task is this: extinguish the Leak, and teleport successfully as one.”

  The words hung heavy in the air.

  A monster invasion—spoken of as if it were routine.

  The teens exchanged uneasy glances. Their confusion deepened; until then, the only monsters they had faced were Xenosapians—and the disturbingly lifelike holographic projection of a kaiju.

  Tee’s hands tightened into fists. She remembered the colossal footprints in the dirt, the wreckage of the clinic, the ruin of her home. And Tetra. Always Tetra. Could her death really have been tied to that?

  Before she could sink deeper into memory, the hologram fizzled out. The scroll dissolved into particles of light, and in its place a swirling green vortex roared into existence.

  Saeda lowered her hands, blinking against the glow. “Magic… and now monsters?”

  Zod’s mouth opened, then closed again. For once, he had nothing to say.

  Tee’s eyes, though, blazed with something between fury and determination. She needed to see that so-called monster for herself.

  “This is our last test,” Kie reminded them firmly, trying to regain control of the moment. He glanced at the small telecom strapped to his wrist. “We have less than an hour. Let’s—”

  “I’m not waiting.” Tee’s voice cut him off, sharp and unyielding. She stepped forward and disappeared into the vortex without hesitation.

  The others froze. Miko gasped softly.

  “She just—” Saeda began, but Kie was already striding after Tee, muttering a curse under his breath. One by one, the rest followed, pulled in by equal parts duty and curiosity.

  The new world engulfed them instantly.

  They stood within a forest blanketed in dimness. Towering trees interlocked overhead, their branches weaving an endless canopy that smothered the light. Mist hung low, curling around their ankles, clinging to their skin. Every distant shape seemed warped, like shadows half-formed.

  The silence was oppressive.

  Tee inhaled deeply, only to gag slightly. The air reeked of damp earth, thicker than the petrichor after a heavy storm. It was suffocating, clinging to her throat like smoke.

  The mist stirred memories in Tee—of vapor curling through Tetra’s laboratory, of the frost that clung to its steel walls like a frozen breath. Waiting for that door to open had once been her quiet ritual, a moment she treasured. But with it gone forever, a void lingered in her chest, gnawing at her with the ache of something lost beyond reach.

  The air there was heavy with the scent of soil, like the sweet petrichor after rain in her garden back home. Yet in that strange realm the fragrance was overpowering, almost suffocating, making her fight back the urge to cough

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  “This place is cursed,” Saeda whispered.

  “No,” Kie said firmly, scanning the perimeter with narrowed eyes. “It’s a test. Nothing more.”

  Zod hunched his shoulders dramatically. “Tests that smell like rotting mulch. Fantastic.”

  Tee smirked faintly at his tone. “I thought you’d be thrilled to finally see a real monster.”

  “Thrilled?” Zod shot back, his voice cracking. “Maybe if it’s locked in a cage. Or better—already dead. I’d rather not be the one to put it down.”

  Banter aside, Tee could feel the tension rolling off him in waves. He might act like a clown, but fear was leaking through his facade.

  For herself, Tee wasn’t afraid. Not exactly. Her mind churned with skepticism. Leaks? Monsters slipping through rifts? It all still sounded like a grand fabrication to her. But if there was even a chance it connected to Tetra… she couldn’t turn away.

  She said nothing of this, of course. Some truths were too dangerous to share. She knew what happened to those who got too close to the wrong secrets. Tetra’s fate was proof enough.

  A piercing shriek suddenly tore through the silence, ricocheting off the trees. The sound was raw, blood-curdling, and loud enough to make Miko stumble back with a cry.

  At once, they summoned their swords. Instinctively, they pressed back-to-back, forming a defensive circle.

  “What was that?” Miko’s voice shook.

  “Sounded like… a bird,” Zod guessed weakly.

  “Birds don’t scream like that,” Saeda hissed.

  Before Kie could assert control, Tee sprang upward, propelling herself into the trees. “The fog’s thick at ground level,” she called down. “From here I can scout.”

  Kie grit his teeth, but relented. “Good. Make it quick. We’re running out of time.”

  Tee steadied her breath, activating her foresight vision. The mist peeled back layer by layer as her gaze swept across the forest. Then—there. A patch where the fog was darker, oily and black, unlike the pale white mist everywhere else. Something darted behind it, fast. Her eyes widened, but before she could focus, the image snapped away.

  “I saw something,” she called. She pointed in the direction. “The fog there—it’s wrong. Black smoke instead of mist.”

  “Then that’s where we’re headed,” Kie said.

  “Finally, progress,” Zod muttered.

  “I’m staying above,” Tee offered quickly. “Better if someone watches your backs from the trees.”

  Kie chuckled as he moved forward. “Branches look weak. If you fall, I’ll be the first to laugh.”

  Heat rose to Tee’s cheeks. Before he could picture it further, she leapt down, refusing to risk that humiliation.

  The group pressed on, deeper into the mist. Each step felt heavier, as though the air itself resisted them. Then, out of the fog, a shape began to emerge.

  “Oh, my…” Saeda’s voice caught.

  A wounded beast lay before them.

  “It looks like… a wood deer?” Zod blinked, taken aback.

  The creature was enormous, its body half the size of a hover-car. Its antlers stretched outward like twisted branches, dark as bark, sprouting flecks of green leaves. The ground around it was gouged with claw marks, soil churned from its struggle.

  “It’s alive,” Tee murmured, kneeling beside it.

  Its chest rose and fell in ragged gasps. She leaned closer, only to recoil. Three brutal gashes marred its abdomen, slashed open by something with claws the size of blades. Through the wounds, its glistening intestines were exposed, shining dark red.

  “Fresh wounds,” Kie noted grimly. “The Leak must be close.”

  The stench hit Tee hard. She pinched her nose, gagging. Kie, by contrast, stood impassive, as though years of hardened duty in the MG had dulled him.

  The deer’s wide eyes stared at nothing, heart hammering loud enough that all of them could hear it.

  Miko stepped forward, her face tight with sympathy. “All that pain… it can’t even cry out. We can’t leave it like this.”

  Kie drew his sword, his bangs shadowing his eyes. “Then I’ll end it quickly.”

  Miko’s breath caught. “What? No!” She fumbled at her pouch, pulling free a set of medic patches. “There must be another way!”

  “You’d waste supplies on a dying animal?” Tee snapped, disbelief sharpening her tone. “What happens when we need those?”

  “It deserves peace,” Miko insisted. Her voice cracked as she held the patches tightly, knuckles white.

  Kie stepped forward, his blade barring her path. His tone was low, resolute. “It’s already—”

  But the words were cut off. The creature exhaled one last rattling breath. Its chest stilled.

  Silence pressed down on them, heavy and unbroken.

  Zod cleared his throat nervously. “So… I’ve been reading up on the Veil. On mythology forums. You’d be surprised how much people write about this stuff.”

  Every face turned to him in unison, half-annoyed, half-dreading what would come.

  “The Veil,” he continued quickly, “is where Severin’s minions were cast away. They say his greed wasn’t satisfied with just humanity. He wanted everything. Every living thing.”

  Tee kept her gaze on the wood deer’s empty eyes. It looked relieved, almost thankful. Lucky one, she thought bitterly.

  “Not only did Severin devour all he could,” Zod pressed on, “but he dragged whole lands together, so nothing could escape him. His minions—millions of them, each an extension of his own body—spread across the world like locusts. Nothing was spared.”

  His voice trembled as he added, “And now… one of those things, or something like it, is out there. Waiting for us.”

  The forest, as if listening, fell utterly still.