Far away, in a hall built from black jade, a man in silver dragon armor paused mid-meditation. His eyes snapped open, irises glowing faint gold.
A faint hum, deep and resonant, filled the chamber.
"A heaven-shaking artifact just activated," he murmured, standing. His voice echoed like a war drum. "But the pulse… it vanished almost instantly."
A woman draped in phoenix-feather robes stepped from the shadows. "You mean it moved."
He nodded slowly. "Yes. And whoever holds it… has the potential to rewrite the balance of the world."
It was dark. A roar in the distance, followed by silence. Then — Raqin stirs, coughing as he sits up. They found themselves in a cracked cave, dripping faint red light instead of water. His uncle lies nearby, groaning awake. "…Still alive? Thought we were done for." Lucas spoke hoarsely. Raqin narrowing his eyes, scanned the surroundings "Yeah we're alive, but this place feels very different." They step outside the cave. The sky is grey, drained of all color. Even the sea has turned pale, like liquid mercury. Beasts roam across the plains — carnivores beside herbivores — yet none attack each other, all stumbling like puppets in a dream.
Tightening his grip on his sword, Lucas furrowed his brows "The beasts….they're not hunting each other. They look….broken."
This made Raqin frown and started thinking "An environment shift? Or…did the island shift into another time and space? Damn….this reeks of a trap."
As they walk towards the direction of the cave hidden behind the waterfall, they spot it — a black mountain, jagged and unnatural, stabbing into the sky. Around its base, the forest has transformed into a sea of blood, churning and glowing faintly. Human and bestial screams echo in the distance.
"Leila! Where are you?!"
"The mountain — ! The mountain's calling us! Do you feel it?!"
Raqin quietly observing the groups of survivors on the way. "…some are going mad already."
"And the rest are wandering like fools. Which are we, boy?"
Raqin with a grim smile "Neither. We watch. We learn. Then we decide whether to climb that mountain…or die slowly."
They exchange a look, both knowing that whatever rules govern this place will not be merciful. The grey sky above shudders faintly, like something massive is watching from behind it.
The hidden cave. The air inside the cave was a bit damp yet refreshing, faintly glowing from runic stones the twins had embedded into the walls. When raqin and his uncle staggered back in— bloodied and exhausted, but alive—the twins immediately took them to one of the labs for treatment.
Eva who had been nervous with her eyes wide open throughout spoke out "Really glad you're back! We thought….we really thought the beast tide swallowed you!" While Eve with her arms crossed, but her voice slightly trembling barked at her sister "Idiot, look at him — he wouldn't die that easily. Though you smell like beast guts."
Raqin gave a half-smirk, dropping his word onto a stone slab. The siblings also stepped forward, dried tears evident on their face. "Big brother we thought you were dead!" Jill sobbed as she jumped into Raqin's embrace while Jack stood nearby with a relived expression writing all over his face.
"What really happened out there?!" Raqin who was exhausted but sharp replied hoarsely "We almost didn't make it. The tide wasn't normal— it was like they were being pulled. And then that…light. It knocked us out cold."
His uncle— eyes hardened by years of vicissitudes and recent stay in the sect's prison — simply leaned against the wall, saying nothing for a while, watching Raqin interact with the twins and siblings. He smiled and muttered "At least he has been alone."
One week later. The cave had turned into a sophisticated survival den. Crude maps drawn on beast hides lay scattered, food supplies rationed carefully, and faint blue screens flickered across a wall — projected from SAM's connection to the creeper bugs that Raqin had seeded across the sect and people before the chaos erupted.
The live feed buzzed with shifting images of small camps forming, fire burning, human and beast-men clashing, and lone wanderers pacing the grey forests.
Eva leanned forward, biting her lip "We're seeing the same groups again and again. Survivors are splitting. Some…look like they're making factions. Others turned into banditry. And then.. the ones who keep walking in the direction of the black mountain, alone, screaming names into the trees…"
The screen shifted to a feed of three beast men cutting down two humans and turning them into food. Eve muttered under her breath. "Mad dogs. Half of them aren't even thinking anymore."
Raqin's eyes narrowed. He tapped the projection, shifting through the channels of live footage. Each new feed was more unsettling than the last: a group erecting a crude totem of bones: a band of humans huddled together with desperate eyes: and others wandering in circles as if dazed.
Lucas gruffly spoke up "This place isn't the same island anymore. Everything's wrong. The beasts, the people, the land itself." Although he appreciated the ingenuity of the technology Raqin had created, their survival was the pressing issue at hand.
Raqin stayed silent, his mind racing. His fingers tapped absently against his knee. The hidden cave felt smaller every day, especially with the world outside mutating into something unrecognizable.
Eva finally turned toward him, determination flashing in her eyes. "We dont know the full scope whats truly happening. Right now, we're blind outside of these scraps of coverage. I say we scatter more bugs — expand the feed. Once we build a true web across the island. If the island itself is changing…we need to know how bad it is."
Eve immediately scowled then relaxed "More bugs means more risks. Good news is that even if anyone notices the bugs, they won't know we're watching. My fear is those that've created factions, they might rip us apart just for a bit of information!"
Eva leaned closer, voice sharper. "Better that than waiting until something bigger truly happens."
Raqin finally spoke, his voice low but decisive. "Eva's right. Knowledge is survival. Right now, these feeds are our lifeline. But they're fragmented—like watching shadows dance on the wall. If we expand, we don't just see. We can take the initiative to control the board."
He glance toward Eve, catching her glare, smirking faintly. "Besides, with the new runic transponders which will provide a geological representation of the environment and enable us to communicate in real time with the help of SAM."
Their SAM's faintly hummed and pulsed in all their heads as confirmation of what Raqin said.
/Already building camouflage protocols. Communication now available. Expansion of surveillance will increase mapping efficiency by 247%/
Raqin stood, picking up a case of dormant creeper bugs— small, spider like constructs pulsing faintly with runic engravings.
"If we scatter them tonight. Quietly. The factions are still settling, but soon … they'll be moving against each other. Or against us. Better prepared than to sit around for a miracle to happen."
The twins exchanged a glance. The siblings nodded solemnly. Even his uncle Lucas gave a grunt of approval.
Few hours later. Raqin tightened the strap of his armor, his voice steady as he addressed the group. "We scatter the bugs in different directions. one every kilometer, buried deep with a transponder — SAM will string the network together. I'll go north. You two—" he glanced at the twins" — take east. Uncle Lucas will monitor the feeds with Jack and Jill, and you'll all act as our eyes in case something unexpected shows up."
Lucas grunted. "You're really sending them out there when their safety isn't fully assured?"
Raqin replied calmly. "We're all except the siblings already at the peak of skin refinement realm and we have our guns for back up. I can assure you that it won't be us been caught off guard."
The trio made it out the hidden cave. The twins exchanged a look. Eve tapped the side of her rifle, smirking. "Don't expect me to cover for you all the time."
Eva rolling her shoulders and gripping her spear. "And don't expect the same from me either."
Raqin just shook his head, before turning and vanishing into the grey woods. The forest was eerily quiet — every tree seemed to breathe, branches like skeletal fingers. The twins moved cautiously, burying a transponder in the dirt. In the cave, screens flickered with scattered feeds. Jack cleared his throat. "Signal's good….wait —" he stiffened, eyes widening " —big sister Eva, you've got movement. Multiple heat signatures closing in and surrounding you."
Uncle Lucas leans over. "Girls, you're boxed in. Five of them. Stay sharp."
Eva's grip tightened on her spear. Eve silently climbed the nearest tree, rifle tucked close, eyes scanning. From the shadows, five ragged figures emerged. Their faces were gaunt, eyes sharp despite their filth. Their robes bore the tattered insignia of the iron sky sect.
"Hahaha….what do we have here?. You seem like an outer court brat….carrying toys. Hand them over, and follow us or we kill right here and now!". Eva smirked and held her spear in a battle stance. " if you think I'm handing over anything, then you lot are dumber than you look."
The leader of the five, a crooked old man with a hunched back, raised a hand. His aura rippled faintly — 6th level, bone and tendon refinement realm.
Eve who was hiding on the trees furrowed her brows. "Eva….do not attack head on. I assume you can sense the disparity in strength." Eva didn't reply but focused her attention on the old man that spoke first. The air suddenly snapped— one of the elders lunged forward, striking at evacuees with claw hands.
Eva twisted, barely dodging, then brought out the shotgun Raqin had designed. The weapon gleamed, black steel humming with runes. She fired.
BOOM!
The shot tore into the elder's knees, shredding bone and flesh. Before he could scream, Eve's idle cracked from the treetop.
BANG!
A hole bloomed in his skull. He collapsed in the dirt, lifeless. The four remaining elders froze, shock flickering in their eyes. Greed quickly replaced it.
One of the remaining elders snarled. "That weapon—kill hr and it's ours!"
He darted forward, faster this time, weaving around. He expected delay — to him, even performing a technique needs a build up. But Eva only smirked, waiting until he was close. "Come closer."
BOOM!
The elder's head exploded into crimson mist. His body toppled. Eve chambered another round in the tree, her cold eyes following the three left.
One of the three remaining hesitating and voice shaking. "….Th-this isn't….they're monsters.."
The strongest of them cursed, turning to flee. He barely made two steps before a shot rang out.
BANG!
The back of his skull blew apart. He fell face-first into the dirt. The last two dropped to Their knees, trembling. "Wait! Please spare us! We're willing to serve! We'll do anything— just don't kill us!" The other one spreading weeping. "We can help! We know things! Just don't k-kill us!"
Far to the north, Raqin's hand paused over a buried transponder as SAM's voice echoed in his head.
/Feed confirms two remaining hostiles have surrendered. The twins request execution clearance." Raqin narrowed his eyes, watching the feed. Raqin screamed internally. "Cowards. Well they're lucky it wasn't me they met, I'd have ended them. But information…. Information is worth more than their lives."
He exhaled slowl, speaking through the link. "Girls. Don't kill them. Bind them. Drag them back to the cave. We'll squeeze their worth out drop by drop."
There was a pause. Eve's voice clipped. "…understood."
Eva lowered her shotgun reluctantly, glaring at the two kneeling men. "You're lucky my brother wants answers. Step out of line once, and I'll paint these gray trees with what's left of your skulls."
The two nodded rapidly, trembling as Eve dropped from the tree, her rifle steady and coldly said. " move. One wrong twitch and you'll end up like the others."
The group began their slow march back toward the cave, the runic network silently expanding, carrying whispers of survival and bloodshed across the land.
Back to Raqin. He crouched low, pushing the last runic transponder into the ground. A faint hum resonated through the soil, connecting with the others and tightening the invisible web of surveillance they had been building.
SAM's voice pulsed in his mind, calm but edged with warning.
/Signal link established….CAUTION!!!…Interference— an external force able to prove consciousness./
That was when Raqin heard them — whispers, soft at first, like lovers calling from a distance. Then they grew harsher, clawing at the edges of his mind. Voices promising power, begging him to kneel, laughing at him in tongues no human should understand.
Raqin gritted his teeth, sweat breaking out across his brow. "So that's why some went mad…"
SAM's tone sharpened. /Redirecting neural barrier. Focus on my voice host. Block everything else./
A pulse of clarity sliced through his skull, and the whispers retreated like smoke. The oppressive weight remained, though—rolling out from the sea of blood surrounding the black mountain , its stench like rotting iron.
Raqin's eyes narrowed as he noticed movement. At the far edge of the bloody mire, beast men were climbing — their claws, scales, and wings seemed to insulate them from the mountain's corrosive aura. But it wasn't them that froze Raqin's breath.
Below, a figure appeared — half-woman, half-spider. Her human torso draped with ragged crimson cloth, eyes gleaming with cruel intelligence. She spun strands of thick web, weaving tress, corpses and broken bones into a grotesque bridge across the sea of blood.
Under his breath. "A brood mother…. And she's making a path."
One beastman lost his grip and tumbled from the slope of the mountain—his body splashing into the blood.
The world trembled. The mountain shook, veins of black light pulsing through its rocky skin. With a groan like stone tearing apart, a dark passage cracked open at the mountain's base. From it came a horde of wolves, pouring like a flood —fangs bared, fur bristling.
Raqin's jaw tightened. These weren't normal wolves. Each one had eight glowing eyes and where their tails should have been, scorpion stingers lashed. Their howls shook the earth.
/Host…Classification of beast unknown. Genetic convergence detected. Advise — do not engage directly."
The wolves tore into humans and beast men alike. Even those driven mad screamed as fangs ripped into them. Blood misted into the already foul air.
The spider-woman shrieked, her voice cutting through the chaos. "Form ranks! Break the encirclement!"
Her followers quickly obeyed, thrashing desperately, but every step cost lives. Half of them lay shredded by the wolves before she finally burst free, her limbs carrying her beyond their reach.
Raqin's stomach knotted as he counted the survivors. More than half, gone already.
Then it came — a roar, deeper, heavier, carrying a pressure that made the very trees bow. From the passage stepped a massive wolf, its fur black as ink, its eight eyes glowing like burning coals. Its scorpion stinger dripped venom, sizzling holes in the ground.
The alpha wolf. Peak blood refinement realm. Even the spider queen froze, her many eyes trembling.
The — without mouths moving, without sound — a voice whispered directly into every mind on the island. "Defeat the alpha wolf and his pack….and the mountain shall open."
The message was clear. The trial had begun.
Raqin's fists were clenched around his sword and communicated to SAM. "So that's the key, huh? The mountain's gatekeeper."
/Correction host. The mountain's executioner. Whether the others fight or die first…remains to be seen."
Raqin's eyes never left the hulking silhouette of the alpha. For the first time in days, he felt something stir in his chest — an instinct older than fear, sharper than calculation. "Looks like the island just raised the stakes of staying alive."
On the other side, the twins dragged the two ragged ex-elders of the iron sky sect into the dimly lit cave. Their faces were pale, and their eyes darted nervously, yet their greedy gazes lingered on the strange armor pieces and runic arrays etched into the walls. Eva slamming one down on the stone floor. "On your knees, dogs. Uncle Lucas, they're yours." Eve coldly perched her sniper against the wall. "They were elders once. They should know some things. I want to watch you make them sing."
Uncle Lucas, scarred and broad shouldered, stepped forward. His eye glinted under the torchlight as he picked up a set of iron hooks from a nearby rack.
"Will you sing or dance. You choose. But I'll get both performances in the end anyways."
One of the two spat. "You think you can scare us, you bastard? The iron sky sect is already finished. Do what you will —"
Before he could finish, Lucas rammed the hook through the man's shoulder and yanked, tearing flesh. The scream echoed through the cavern.
"Wrong answer. Let's start again. Who do you serve now?"
The second prisoner, shaking, blurted out before Lucas reached him. "Different factions —humans and beast men—scattered across the island! Some cooperate, some kill each other on sight! The strongest ones.. they formed pure-race groups! The wolf beast men, serpent beast men…even spider broodlings! They…they're gathering near the mountain!"
Eva's expression hardened. "Names, strengths and numbers."
The second prisoner already panicked. "Some of the beast men race have blood refinement elites! Humans too—cultivators who defected…traitors! They're searching for a way to enter the mountain… and seize the prize!"
Uncle Lucas ripped another scream from the first prisoner, then glanced back at the twins. "Keep them alive. Broken, but alive. They still have some use."
Suddenly, the three stiffened as a whisper invaded their minds — a cold, ancient voice crawling inside their skulls. "Defeat the alpha wolf and his minions….and the mountain will open…"
Eva and Eve exchanged grim looks. "…That wasn't just for us, right? Everyone on this cursed island must have heard it too."
Near the black mountain. Raqin stood over the twitching body of a wolf, its eight glowing eyes still locked on him even in death. The stinger on its tail still dripping venom into the ground, hissing. Raqin who was panting and wiping the blood off the blade of his sword. "Tch. Even at first level it pushed me this far… damn things fight like berserkers.
An hour ago, this lone wolf separated from his group and happen to perceive an human scent which lead it to track Raqin. It lunged with extreme speed but Raqin's sword was faster and with the use of sword qi, he was able to parry the first attack. They fought for a while and Raqin noticed how strong the body defense of the wolf was. His sword qi could only slightly injure the wolf which prompted the wolf into entering its berserk state. Raqin for the first time utilized his sword force and poured every ounce of energy he could muster to split the wolf into two.
The wolf's corpse spasmed violently, its jaws snapping long after its torso had been split in two. For fifteen minutes, Raqin stood tense, sword raised, until finally the creature's unnatural life-force flickered out.
He sheathed his blade and muttered "….I'll need to dissect this one. Something's off."
A faint voice crackled in his head — SAM's projection (Jack). "Big brother watch out. A spider woman beast detected. Two kilometers east. Eight signatures…it seems she's the leader. She is observing you."
Raqin's face darkened. He had felt the prickling on his neck for some time. He grimly looked in that direction. "So it seems, she thinks I haven't noticed. Good."
Without hesitation, he stabbed a transponder into the soil, then swung his blade in a wide arc, using sword qi to ignite the nearby trees. Smoke rose thick and fast, cloaking the area.
"Let's see if you can follow a ghost."
He sprinted toward the hidden cave, evert step in perfect synchronization with the mapped transponder path.
Meanwhile, the half-woman, half-spider beast woman crouched on a high branch, her eight crimson eyes gleaming. Webs stretched behind her, dripping with clotted blood. Her followers hissed restlessly. "He… got so close to the mountain. The whispers did not seem to have any effect on him either. But how?"
One of her spiderlings pointed toward the smoke. " mother.. his scent! We've lost it!"
With a shriek of frustration, the spider-woman smashed the branch beneath her, venom dripping from her fangs. "Find him! i must know his secret before I face that alpha!"