Chapter 34: A Peculiar Simulation

  The lights dimmed. As Ravine shook her head to clear her vision, she looked around and realized they were now in Antarctica. The wind howled with brutal force, and she could feel the cold breeze cutting through her systems despite her synthetic nature. Snow stretched endlessly in every direction, broken only by massive glaciers that rose like jagged teeth from the frozen wasteland.

  She looked up at Mother Phoenix, who floated with her legs crossed and arms folded, looking down at her with an expression of detached interest. Her phoenix wings rippled in the wind like living flames.

  "Why are we back on Earth?" Ravine yelled over the howling wind. "I thought we were training on the ship!" She looked around frantically. "And what did you do with Roan?"

  Mother Phoenix blew air on her hand as if warming it from the cold. "To answer your first question, I didn't lie—we are still on the ship. This is a simulation. Razak and I programmed it to help squadrons train before heading to Earth. As for your friend, he is out there somewhere else with another version of me, training as well." She examined her nails, unbothered.

  "What do you mean, another version of you? You can duplicate yourself? How?"

  Mother Phoenix raised her hand to silence her. "Let's save the 'how it functions' discussion for later. You know why you're here, right?"

  Ravine parted her lips slightly. "Yes, to train, right? You said so yourself."

  Mother Phoenix nodded as she floated in a circle around Ravine with a knowing smirk. "Indeed. However, there is one thing you should know." She stopped inches from Ravine's face. "While you are in here, none of the abilities and skills you have obtained up until now will work."

  As the wind intensified, Ravine took a step back. "What? Why? How am I supposed to become more efficient with them if I can't use them?"

  Mother Phoenix placed her index finger on Ravine's lips. "I have seen how you all fought back on Earth. I must say, I was deeply disappointed." She paused and flew backward. "The skills, the attributes—we created them for you to become stronger as you progress, not for you to destroy yourselves trying to bypass the thresholds I imposed for your security." She narrowed her eyes at Ravine. "Don't even try to deny it. Your assistant had to go through me to give you permission, remember?"

  Ravine's jaw tightened. "You knew, and you still let us do it? Why?"

  Mother Phoenix shrugged. "I figured after your first failure, you wouldn't try again. I was wrong."

  She raised her hands, and mutated polar bears erupted from the ground—teeth bloodied, claws razor-sharp, bodies double the size of normal bears. Their fur was matted with ice, and their eyes glowed with an unnatural hunger.

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  She clapped her hands. "In order to become stronger, your bodies must be ready to endure, which you clearly lack right now." She looked at the bears. "Have you ever wrestled a bear before, Ravine?"

  Ravine scoffed. "Of course not. What kind of question is that?"

  Mother Phoenix smiled. "Good. I want you to wrestle each one of those polar bears and throw them into that massive glacier over there." She pointed to a towering wall of ice, then turned her body upside down in the air. "If you do, the bear thrown will disappear. But they won't disappear until they touch this glacier. In other words—succeed, or face an unrelenting force forever."

  Ravine balled her fists. "This is crazy! How am I—"

  Mother Phoenix interrupted. "I will be back in a few hours." She turned and smirked. "Good luck."

  With a snap of her fingers, she disappeared, leaving embers of fire that were quickly extinguished by the wind.

  One of the massive bears immediately charged at Ravine. The others stayed put, watching.

  Ravine charged toward the bear, and as they clashed, an energy wave erupted from the impact. She gritted her teeth, trying to withstand the raw force, but was soon sent flying backward with tremendous power. The bear roared and stood on its hind legs, throwing its paws up in the air victoriously.

  Mid-air, Ravine caught herself and slowed her momentum, landing on her feet and hands. She looked at the bear.

  This bear is stronger than anything I've ever faced head-on. It's like it doesn't have a weak point. How am I—

  The bear suddenly appeared right in front of her and began relentlessly attacking with its claws. Ravine could barely register what was happening before taking a punch to the torso that made her kneel. She was picked up and mauled into the ground, uttering a groan of pain before being dragged across the frozen surface and thrown into a nearby rock formation.

  She shook as she got up, both from fear and pain. "I can't take much more of these hits, or else I'll really die."

  Hours passed. The sun remained stubbornly high—the eternal daylight of Antarctic summer. Ravine looked devastated: armor ripped in multiple places, left eye struggling to open, hair a chaotic mess.

  "I'm still getting hit, but I'm starting to understand its attack pattern."

  As the bear attacked again, time seemed to slow down. She dodged the bear's claw with newfound ease, slid underneath it, and appeared behind it.

  As it turned around and roared, she said with growing confidence, "I finally understand how you move, big guy. What else do you have for me?"

  The bear charged again and tried to grab her, but she managed to get on top of it and executed a spinning kick to its head, sending it crashing into the ground with a thunderous impact.

  She smirked. "Mother Phoenix said I had to throw you onto that glacier. She never said you had to be conscious—or alive, for that matter."

  The bear growled in pain, dug its claws into the ground, and managed to pull out a massive chunk of ice. It hurled it at Ravine.

  With swift speed, she kicked the chunk in half, the pieces sailing past her on either side.

  "Did I make you mad? Good." She thought, This means I'm making progress. It's only a matter of time before I beat this bastard. I hope things are looking up for Roan, though.

  Meanwhile, Roan was getting rammed by a massive rhinoceros. He tried to withstand it but was soon sent flying through the air before being pierced by its horn. The African savanna stretched around him—golden grass, acacia trees, and merciless sun.

  Mother Phoenix materialized nearby. "Looks like you're handling it pretty well, I would say. Looks like you finally found a being with better armor than you."

  Roan looked at her in pain. "Savannah? Really? You could have taken me anywhere else!" He turned to the rhino. "Fuck, how do I stop this asshole? It's like trying to push a wall!"

  As the rhino charged again, he raised his hands. "Soon enough, I will figure it out! Try your best, you bastard!"