A thick mist settled over the forest, covering everything in its path. The trees stood like quiet ghosts, their bent branches reaching out and changing shape in the fog. The once-familiar Abyssal Forest had turned into something unrecognizable, something from a bad dream.
Noah held his blade tighter as he led Lucas and Alisha through the creepy quiet. Every step they took made a crunch against the wet leaves, the only sound in the silent air. It wasn't just the mist that made his skin feel uneasy. It was the feeling that they were not alone.
Lucas stumbled behind him, breathing hard. The escape from Dante's group, the fight with the Abyssal Beast and the desperate run through the woods, all of it was catching up to him. His shirt was torn, and dirt streaked his face, but the tired look in his eyes worried Noah more than anything. Lucas was fast, but even he had his limits.
"Are you okay?" Noah asked without slowing down.
Lucas nodded weakly. "Yeah… just great. Love running for my life every five minutes. It's my new hobby."
Alisha, a few steps ahead, smirked without looking back. "You'd better pick up the pace. If I have to carry you, I'm leaving you behind."
Lucas groaned. "I hate both of you."
Noah almost smiled. Almost. But the feeling of being watched grew stronger, and he did not like it. His gut told him to keep moving. Something was wrong.
They reached a clearing, and in front of them the ground dropped suddenly. A steep gap stretched across their path, too wide to jump. Below, sharp rocks stuck out, waiting for anyone foolish enough to fall.
"Great," Lucas huffed, bending over to catch his breath. "Love what they've done with the place."
Alisha looked along the edge, her eyes searching for a way across. "There has to be something, a fallen tree, a bridge..."
A distant sound cut through the air, a deep, rough clicking that sent a shiver down Noah's spine.
Lucas straightened immediately. "Tell me that was just your stomach."
Noah did not answer. He turned slowly, narrowing his eyes at the misty path they had just come from. The fog swirled thickly and strangely, and within it, there was movement.
Not a human.
A shape slithered through the mist, its long limbs moving at odd angles as it blended into the shadows. It was there, yet not quite there, shifting like smoke with empty eyes fixed on them.
Alisha saw it too. She took a step back. "That's..."
"The Abyssal Shadow Stalker," Noah said quietly.
Lucas turned pale. "I thought it stayed in the deep dark?"
Noah had thought the same. He had seen it drag Dante down, watched as his rival's screams faded into darkness. But now…it was here.
And it wasn't alone.
From the mist, more shadows began to move.
Alisha cursed. "We need to move. Now."
Noah looked back at the gap. There were no bridges, no fallen trees. No way across. But waiting here was not an option.
Lucas backed up, his voice rising in panic. "We're trapped. We're really trapped."
The clicking grew louder, like nails tapping on stone. The first Stalker took a slow step forward, its long fingers dragging on the ground.
Then it ran.
Noah did not think. He grabbed Lucas by the collar and pulled him back just as the creature lunged. Its clawed hands swiped where Lucas had been standing a moment before.
"RUN!" Noah yelled.
They sprinted along the edge of the gap, desperately searching for a way out. The creatures followed quickly, their limbs moving in jerky, strange bursts, closing the gap with frightening speed.
Alisha shouted, pointing ahead. "There!"
Through the mist, a building emerged, a survival outpost. A small, abandoned cabin built by earlier students who had taken part in this deadly challenge. The door was slightly open.
It was their only chance.
They pushed forward, reaching the door just as the first Stalker closed in. Noah shoved Lucas inside, followed by Alisha, then he threw himself in and slammed the door shut.
THUMP.
The creature hit the wood, shaking the whole place.
THUMP. THUMP.
Another hit. The wood creaked.
Noah locked the door and stepped back, his heart pounding.
Lucas lay on the floor, panting. "This...this is the worst game ever. Who made this? Who thought this was a good idea?!"
Alisha, ignored him, peering through a small crack in the wood. "They're circling."
Noah took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. "We're safe for now."
Lucas gave him a dead look. "Yeah, until they tear the walls off."
Noah did not answer. His eyes scanned the room. It was a mess broken furniture, old supplies, and in the corner, a pile of thrown away gear. Someone had been here before. Recently.
He spotted a notebook on a table with torn pages, as if someone had tried to destroy it. He picked it up and flipped to the last entry. The handwriting was rushed and uneven.
"The ones who fall don't always die."
Noah's stomach churned.
Alisha came up beside him. "What does that mean?"
Before he could answer, the cabin door creaked, slowly.
Noah turned, dread filling his chest. The door was still locked. The mist curled around the doorway, and a shadow stood there, a familiar shape. His breath caught.
Dante.
But it was not really Dante.
His face was half-hidden in the mist, his eyes darker than before, his expression hard to read. The air around him felt wrong.
Noah gripped his weapon tighter. "Dante?"
Dante tilted his head, as if trying to remember the name. Then, very slowly, he smiled.
Alisha stepped back. "No. That's not him."
Dante took a step forward. The lights flickered and the clicking sound returned. Noah felt his blood run cold.
Lucas whispered, his voice barely audible, "…Run."
The trial was supposed to be over.
Noah, Lucas, and Alisha had fought, survived, and overcome every horror thrown their way. But now, standing in the dim light of the cabin and staring at Dante's oddly calm face, Noah realized something chilling, surviving did not mean they had won.
Dante was wrong. He was twisted, not like an enemy hardened by battle but in a way that made Noah's stomach turn. His skin looked darker, his veins pulsed with a strange glow, and his eyes were as empty and dark as a void.
Yet he smiled, calm and unbothered, as if their last fight had been just a small problem.
"You left me behind, Noah," Dante said. His voice sounded off it was too smooth and steady as if he were not human anymore.
Noah's grip on his weapon tightened, but Dante did not attack. Instead, he chuckled softly and shook his head. "You don't even know, do you?"
Alisha stepped closer, her blades ready, but she did not strike. She felt the same heavy, strange pressure in the air.
Dante's smile grew wider. "The Abyssal Shadow Stalker does not kill its prey right away. It changes them."
Lucas took an uneasy step back. "That's… that's a joke, right?"
No one answered him.
Then a cold, fake voice crackled through the room, "Final hour started. Get ready for pickup."
Relief rushed through Noah. They just had to hold on for one more hour, and then this nightmare would end.
Alisha exhaled sharply. "We need to move."
They turned for the exit but as soon as Noah stepped forward, something changed. The fog, which had been rolling slowly on the ground, grew thicker and rose very fast. It swirled like a living thing, twisting into claw-like hands and long, reaching vines. The barriers around the trial grounds were not opening, they were closing in.
Noah's stomach sank.
Dante tilted his head with a hint of amusement. "You really thought they'd let us go?"
Lucas swore under his breath. "What the heck is this?"
Dante sighed and stretched lazily. "This was never about survival. You think the Academy wants weaklings? No… this trial was not about who could last the longest." His eyes grew dark, and something shifted in them. "It was about who made it out the same."
Alisha moved first. But Dante lunged. His speed was strange—too fast, too smooth—as if he were not bound by human limits anymore. Noah barely managed to block a quick strike. Dante's grin only grew. His wounds, the ones Noah had given him earlier, had disappeared. Alisha struck from the side, but Dante twisted in a weird way, dodging just in time. "Still trying?" he mocked. "You're not fighting me now. You're fighting the darkness."
Lucas stepped back, his eyes wide. "The trial bosses they should stop this!"
Dante laughed, a deep, empty sound. "You still don't get it? This is the real test."
Noah barely had time to react before Dante's fist hit him hard in the stomach. Pain exploded through his ribs as he was thrown back and slammed against the wall of the cabin. Alisha shouted his name, but her voice sounded far away.
Noah gasped for air, blinking through the pain. His mind raced. Dante was stronger, faster, and healed quickly. This was not just a fight, it was a hunt. And they were the hunted.
The timer on their wrists kept ticking down: 00:15:27. They just had to last a few more minutes.
Dante crouched in front of Noah, his voice low. "You think you're safe because the clock is ticking?" He leaned in close. "You think the darkness lets go that easily?"
Noah did not flinch. The seconds passed slowly, each one feeling heavy.
Something was watching them. It was Dante.
Then light filled the room. The fog vanished. The barriers dropped. A loud machine hum filled the air as big, hovering platforms came down, their engines glowing. The trial was over.
Dante did not move as the pickup platform locked onto Noah, Alisha, and Lucas. It lifted them off the ground, pulling them away from the cabin. Noah looked down and saw Dante standing below, untouched and watching. He did not seem defeated, instead, he looked happy.
Their eyes met. Dante smirked. "You passed the trial, Noah."
The platform rose higher. The airship's gates loomed ahead. They were almost safe. But then Dante's voice echoed, soft and deadly. "Tell me, do you really think you left the darkness behind?"
Noah's breath caught in his throat. Then, dark veins pulsed under his skin for just a second. Then they were gone.
Noah stared at his arm. Had he imagined it? Lucas and Alisha talked, their voices full of relief. The instructors were waiting, and everything seemed normal.