Chapter 14
Location: Sinjai Academy – Emergency Council Room
"We've done the full student sweep. All squads accounted for," said the Head Seeker, arms crossed, sweat still on his brow from sealing the defensive spell.
One of the instructors added, "The high-barrier formation is in place. Bloodshade Forest is sealed. Not even a sound can escape."
The Academy had acted fast. Once the Level 6 monster was confirmed to be Varnyx, the most wanted beast in the region, protocol demanded the dispatch of higher authorities.
But the Region Command refused immediate help.
"Hold your ground. Do not engage unless the barrier fails. The Order will dispatch Seekers only if containment breaks."
The instructors were furious, but they had no choice. All they could do now—was wait.
And they believed all students had already been pulled out.
They were wrong.
Location: Bloodshade Forest — Deeper Zone
Aeren slowly walked through the eerie forest, his boots crunching over blackened leaves. The pulse he'd felt earlier had faded, but the mark on his chest was still glowing dimly.
He had no idea about the barrier. No idea the others had been evacuated.
"Weird… I haven't seen another student in hours," he mumbled.
To him, this was just part of the field hunting test.Maybe a deep solo-assignment?
It made no sense… but nothing made sense since that vision.
And that monster.
Was it real? Did that even happen? His memories felt fractured, foggy.
Still… something told him not to leave yet. Something was pulling him forward.
Meanwhile: Sinjai Academy – Girls Dormitory
Anshi sat at the window of her room, still in her combat gear.
She stared outside at the sealed barrier glowing faintly in the distance like a second sky.
She hadn't seen Aeren in the emergency gates. But with hundreds of students being evacuated through teleportation glyphs… maybe she just missed him?
"He must be back," she whispered to herself. "He has to be."
But in her heart… she wasn't sure.
She remembered the look on his face before the exam. That strange, distant expression. As if he was already somewhere else.
"Maybe he stayed behind…"
A cold breeze swept through her window.
Something felt wrong.
Back in the Forest – The Lonely Hunt
The trees seemed to close in tighter as Aeren walked further.
No wind. No birds. No monsters.
Just… silence.
"This can't be part of the test," he muttered.
Still, his communicator wasn't working.
He hadn't seen a monster in hours, but he kept hearing faint growls — not around him, but inside him.
As if something inside him was… watching.
Then the air shifted.
The fog grew thicker. The light dimmer. His breath visible even though it wasn't cold.
The mark on his chest burned again.
He dropped to one knee.
Suddenly, a faint voice echoed in the forest.But it wasn't human.
It wasn't even spoken.
"The bloodline calls to the deep…""…Awaken further… or die forgotten."
Aeren snapped up.
"Who's there!?"
No answer. Just wind, twisting between the trees like whispers.
And far above, perched on a distant cliff outside the barrier, a pair of dark-cloaked figures watched the sealed forest with glowing violet lenses.
"Target is still inside," one of them said, voice monotone.
"Should we extract?" the other asked.
"No.""Let the Bloodshade choose."
They vanished into the night.
🩸 End of Chapter 14