That night, Ron and Carter decided to investigate Rad's room.
Moving silently, they slipped out of the guest room, carefully suppressing their Ki so as not to alert anyone. As they crept down the hallway, faint voices reached their ears—Sami and Rad were still talking. That was their window.
They entered Rad's room.
Immediately, the atmosphere changed.
The air felt thick, oppressive, as though an unseen weight pressed down on everything. The dark aura in the room was suffocating, coiling around Ron's chest like invisible chains. Carter, who had seemed unaffected at first, soon began to feel it too, his expression tightening.
Still, the two pushed forward, scanning the room carefully.
Near a small cupboard, the magnifying glass Dr. Thomas had given Ron suddenly began to glow. Pulses of colored light flickered and rippled from its surface.
Ron gripped it tightly. Within the swirling lights, fragmented visions flashed before his eyes—glimpses of people's lives, possible futures of Hero Town, and alternate versions of himself and Carter in different timelines. Strangely, only he could see them.
Carter noticed the flashing lights.
"Ron? What's going on?" he asked.
"Nothing… just the glass reacting," Ron replied, though it was clearly a lie.
His attention shifted toward the cupboard. Through the shifting colors, he saw Dream standing beside it, pointing toward it with a knowing smile.
"Hey, Carter… something's off here," Ron said quietly.
He knelt and opened the cupboard.
Inside were three drawers.
The first two slid open easily—both empty.
But the third drawer wouldn't move.
Carter and Ron tried together, but it refused to budge.
"Let me try something else," Carter said.
Ron stepped back.
Then—footsteps echoed in the hallway.
Panic surged through Ron.
In frustration, he kicked the bottom of the drawer.
Instantly, a transparent blue screen materialized in mid-air:
TYPE THE CODE TO ENTER
"A code? What kind of code?!" Ron muttered.
"Let me try," Carter said, stepping forward.
He typed once. Rejected.
Again. Rejected.
The footsteps outside grew closer.
Carter tried one last time—typing something different.
ACCEPTED
YOU MAY ENTER
With a low creak, the drawer slid open—
—but instead of storage, a glowing portal shimmered in its place.
Before either of them could react, a powerful force yanked them inside.
Inside the Portal
Ron hit the ground first, crashing onto a cold, solid floor.
A moment later, Carter fell directly on top of him.
"Ow… next time, you fall first," Carter groaned.
They stood, brushing dust from their clothes.
They found themselves in an endless, fog-filled corridor.
Two doors loomed ahead—one to the left, one to the right.
"Two doors," Carter said. "I'll take the right. You take the left."
"Try not to die, friend," Ron replied.
"Same to you."
They shook hands, then turned to their respective doors.
Ron opened the left door.
Darkness swallowed him instantly.
Then, waves of colored light surged around him, reconstructing reality piece by piece—forming walls, a floor, and a swirling mist.
He now stood atop a towering cliff.
Below stretched a massive, foreboding maze, twisting endlessly into the fog.
A translucent purple box appeared before him:
SCENARIO 1: THE MAZE (EZNOID)
OBJECTIVE: Reach the end and confront the 'Guardian'.
REWARD: [REDACTED]
FAILURE: DEATH
"What is this… some kind of twisted game? And why is the reward blurred?" Ron muttered.
A familiar voice echoed from behind him.
"There are countless traps within the Maze. But there are also hints—if you pay attention."
Ron turned.
Dream stood beside him, luminous and ethereal, her presence calm yet powerful.
"If you're ready," she said softly, "let it begin."
Before Ron could respond, glowing steps materialized before him, descending from the cliff into the heart of the maze.
He began to walk down.
As soon as he crossed the entrance, the towering gates of the Maze slammed shut behind him.
Another blue screen appeared:
SCENARIO 1 HAS BEGUN