As Mr. Sable came down from the tree he was on, his eyes caught sight of two familiar students—both from his homeroom, and one of them also sat in his physics class. At first, he assumed they were in danger. A beast stood in front of them, and logically, it made sense the students were being hunted.
But something about the situation felt… off.
The beast wasn't charging, and its posture wasn't quite right. The creature's build was lean, agile—almost elegant. Feminine, even.
"What in the world is that?" Sable muttered under his breath.
"It's not a beast," Nico answered, eyes locked on the figure ahead. "It's a person. At least, I think it is."
Sable's brows furrowed. That voice—that tone. Nico was rarely uncertain, but now he sounded like he was questioning everything. Sable's gaze shifted to Riven. He nearly did a double take.
"Riven… that looks like Level 3 equipment," Sable said sharply. "Where did you get that?"
Riven didn't answer.
Instead, he took a step closer to the restrained wolf-like figure. His gauntlet was extended, needle gleaming in the dim forest light.
"I can take the poison away," Riven said calmly, "if you just answer my questions."
The female wolf snarled weakly, and then let out a sharp, piercing howl.
Before the sound could finish echoing through the trees, Nico reacted on instinct—her boot slammed into the side of her jaw, silencing the cry.
"Now answer me," Riven said, his voice low and dangerous. "Before I add more instead of taking it away."
He already knew the truth. This wasn't a normal beast. This was an experiment—twisted by the Broken Veil. But how he knew that… he couldn't explain. So he left the details vague, letting her speak for herself and he himself wanted to know how the broken veil did this to a person
The wolf-woman trembled.
"O-Okay," she said. "Okay. My name is Ashley Hall. I was part of the Broken Veil… a Wallborn. I never awakened. I always dreamed of becoming an Evolver—of finally having power."
Her voice cracked, but she pushed through the emotion.
"So when I heard they were offering people a chance… a real chance to evolve… I jumped on it. I thought it would be some kind of test. Some trauma we'd endure, some moment of breakthrough. But after I signed a waiver, they knocked me out."
She clenched her clawed hands into fists.
"When I woke up… I was in pain. Agonizing, constant pain. My hands weren't mine anymore. My whole body felt… foreign. I could still transform back and forth for a while, but then… I got stuck like this."
Ashley's voice broke completely now. Tears streaked down her furred cheeks.
"And when I didn't improve fast enough—when I didn't become strong enough—they dumped me here. Like trash."
Something heavy twisted in Riven's chest. Seeing her break, hearing her pain—he knew she was a victim. He deactivated the poison delivery system in his gauntlet and began the reversal process. The toxins slowly faded from her bloodstream.
But the moment she felt strength return to her limbs, Ashley's instincts flared. She sprang up, spun, and kicked Riven square in the chest, sending him stumbling backward.
Riven caught himself, raising his hands.
"What the hell—? I took the poison out of you! We don't have to fight anymore! We know your story now—we can take down the Broken Veil together!"
"You think you're the first one we trusted?" Ashley growled, voice quaking with fury. "We told that silver-haired man our story too. And all he did was beat us half to death."
Riven's heart sank. He didn't even need her to say his name.
Darius.
Of course.
But something else caught his attention—a single word Ashley kept repeating:
"We."
That meant there were more like her.
She wasn't the only experiment.
⸻
Elsewhere in the forest…
Joey and Harkel stood shoulder to shoulder. Their breathing was uneven, facing the black-eyed wolf looming ahead.
"How—how were you able to beat them so fast?" Harkel asked, his voice cracking with disbelief. "You didn't even get scratched…"
The wolf chuckled, dark and amused.
"Simple," it said. "None of them had the Bloom."
"The… Bloom?" Joey echoed.
"They were Awakened—Level 2, maybe even 3—but without the Bloom, they were incomplete. It doesn't matter what level you reach. Without that spark, you're still a lamb pretending to be a lion."
A terrible realization hit Harkel.
"Wait… were you watching us? Since we came out of the portal?"
The wolf nodded.
Then a distant howl split the air.
The black-eyed wolf sighed.
"Looks like Ashley needs help. Let's end this quickly."
It charged.
Joey raised his hand—and time slowed to a crawl.
"Now!" he yelled.
Harkel released a compressed blast of wind, launching the wolf backward into the underbrush. Branches snapped and dirt sprayed into the air.
"That bought us maybe two minutes," Harkel panted. "You need to go. That howl? It could be the other teams. Find them."
"I'm not leaving you," Joey insisted.
"Joey, please!" Harkel shouted. "You're like the little brother I never had. If something happened to you because of my recklessness, I… I couldn't live with myself. Go!"
Joey's lips trembled, but he nodded—and ran.
⸻
Moments later…
The wolf returned.
Harkel stood firm, hands tightening around his longsword.
"You sent your friend away," the wolf said. "Pointless. I'll catch him after I kill you."
It lunged.
Harkel used bursts of air to dodge, but he was running out of steam.
"You're slower," the wolf noted, snarling. "Running low on tricks?"
Harkel didn't answer.
The wolf adjusted its pattern—lowered its charge, changed direction mid-pounce—and slammed into Harkel's ribs.
Blood splattered the tree as Harkel crashed into it, coughing violently.
"I respect you," the wolf said. "You stalled me well. Maybe your friend got away. So… I'll grant you the honor."
It raised its claw.
"My name is Xander Walker. Remember it."
Harkel's lips curved into a faint grin.
"Man… and here I thought I was gonna die to someone with a cool name…"
But just as the claw descended—blood splashed.
It wasn't Harkel's.
It was Joey's and There was a hole where his stomach was.
"JOEY?!" Harkel screamed.
His friend collapsed in front of him, limp.
"The idiot," Xander scoffed. "You die for him. Then he dies for you. You two are a comedy of errors."
But Harkel didn't hear him.
He knelt there, holding Joey, whispering his name again and again.
Then a wind picked up.
Not a breeze.
A cyclone.
Xander was blown backward, skidding across the ground.
"What—?! Did he unlock that wind buff again?"
No.
This was something else.
Harkel's hair flowed upward, his eyes glowing. A light blue aura spiraled around his body. His presence… changed.
He had Awakened again.
And not just any Awakening.
He had unlocked his True Awakening.
Only 3% of all evolvers reached it. And now, Harkel stood among them.
⸻
From a distance, Riven saw the notification blink across his vision.
[System: One of your bounded members has reached their Second Awakening and unlocked their True Awakening Form. From this point forward, all bounded party members who reach Second Awakening will unlock their True Form.]
Riven's eyes widened. "What the hell…?"
Ashley stood nearby, unaware of what was happening. Most of the students hadn't encountered the real threats yet.
But that was about to change.
⸻
In another part of the forest…
A yellow-eyed wolf charged through the trees, sprinting toward the howl. Behind it, three students were being dragged by force—helpless, terrified.
They didn't even have a say in the matter.
⸻
Back with Harkel…
He checked Joey's breath.
Alive.
Barely.
Harkel hoisted his friend onto his back and turned.
Xander growled, charging again—but another wave of pressure knocked him backward.
"You…" Xander muttered, stunned.
"Next time we meet…" Harkel said quietly, rage burning in his eyes.
"…I'll kill you. I swear it."
Then he vanished into the forest in a blur of wind—not as fast as Riven, but even faster than him
Meanwhile, with Team C…
"Why did that student leave?" one student asked.
"I don't know. Maybe he's just some show-off who's probably going to get himself killed," another muttered.
"Man, I'm so pissed he got that fine red-haired chick to follow him," someone else chimed in. "I definitely had a chance with her…"
Team C continued running, taking brief breaks. Some of the students made snide remarks about Riven and Nico choosing to break formation and run on their own.
But then, someone emerged from the forest.
A green-haired boy.
Luka.
The group halted immediately.
"Wait," the team leader said, pulling up his tracker. "Why do you have a tracker? Where is the group?."
"A beast came out of the forest when we was running here," Luka said, breathing heavily. "One of the teachers threw me and gave me a huge boost so I got here faster. But we need to get off this course. That beast is probably heading this way right now."
"No," the leader replied flatly. "We continue until we find your team. You can lead us to them."
This could be the perfect time for Sir Darius's plan to come to light, the leader thought. Let the pressure help these weak students awaken.
Luka shook his head firmly. "That's your death, not mine. We're leaving."
"We're?" the man asked, confused.
Luka said nothing more. He turned and began walking away—toward Team B. He already had someone in mind, and he was certain they'd follow.
Moments later, a voice called out behind him.
"Brother! Wait up!" Kira yelled, sprinting to his side.
The two of them took off together, running toward the direction Luka believed Team B to be in.
"Hey! You can't just take our healer!" a student shouted angrily.
"Then you should've thought about what side you chose!" Luka shot back as they vanished into the trees.
"Sir Kelvin, should I intervene?" a nearby teacher asked.
"No," Kelvin said coldly. "When we return to the academy, I'll make sure that boy receives an appropriate punishment. For now, we move forward—toward Team A."
⸻
The red-eyed wolf sat atop a pile of bodies—five in total.
They were the teachers who had been running with Luka toward Team C.
"Looks like Ashley's in trouble," the wolf muttered to himself. "Milo or Xander should be able to handle that."
He tilted his head, sniffing the air.
"But I'm more concerned about my little runner… If my nose isn't off, he ran into another group and split from them shortly after."
The red-eyed wolf rose slowly.
"I've decided. I'll go after the group instead of the boy. If they're smart, they'll tell me where their teleporters are."
And with that, the red-eyed wolf dashed off into the forest—heading straight for Team C.
After running into Team C and then denying him, Luka and his sister Kira were on their way to Team B since they were the closest and the only team that wasn't running around rapidly.
"So you said you ran into a strong beast? What level was it?" Kira asked her brother as they were running through the forest.
"I don't know, but the beast… that thing—whatever it was—it talked. It said to me and the five other teachers that our use wasn't needed. I thought the teachers could take it on, but when one of them was helping me get out of there, I saw it in his eyes. He was afraid. He knew… he knew that beast was going to kill them. Yet he still saved me. After we get out of here—and I promise we will—I'll learn that teacher's name and never forget him," Luka said, his voice tinged with somberness.
"When we learn it, I'll never forget his name either. He allowed me to not lose a family member," she said with a smile.
"Yeah," Luka smiled back.
⸻
Back with Team B
Riven was wondering what the system meant by this, then he realized—it said one of his bonded party members. He knew Leo and Tessa were near him, so it couldn't have been them. When Riven came to the realization, he opened the system and invited all his bonded party members back. Jordan and Wren were still missing, but Leo, Tessa, Joey, and Harkel all returned—but something was off.
When Riven saw Joey's HP, he could tell it was low—dangerously low. He then brought out a health potion. As soon as it appeared in his hand, it disappeared—Riven had used the system to make the health potion instantly appear in Joey's mouth. He watched as Joey's health didn't go up, meaning his wounds were severe. Riven then looked around, scanning the air for Joey's HUD.
Ashley noticed how Riven looked to be distracted. She got ready for an attack, but as she charged in, a big blast of wind came out and hit her in the chest, making her fly back. Riven could see who did it: a blue-haired boy—but something was different. He had a light blue aura coming off his body, with his hair being lifted and flowing like it was caught in the wind. But the one thing that really caught Riven's eyes was the person in his hand—it was a bloody boy with blonde hair. Riven immediately knew who it was.
"Joey!!" Riven yelled out. When Harkel heard Riven's voice, he quickly ran over and gently placed Joey's bloody body on the ground.
"Riven, the potions," Harkel said to him.
"I just tried! Where's the healer for this team?" Riven yelled at Sable, who looked to be in awe of Harkel now transforming. "Sable!!!" Riven yelled again.
"Yeah, right! Get over here!" Sable then yelled out for his class, specifically calling a young boy who started healing Joey. It was slow—but Riven didn't care. He was just glad Joey was healing at all.
"What happened?" Riven questioned Harkel, not caring about Harkel's new state anymore, but more about who hurt his friend. Before Harkel could answer Riven, a black-eyed wolf came out of the forest. It looked to be the same height as the other one, but this one looked more muscular than Ashley.
"Found you. And you led me to a group—I must thank you. You've made my job easier," the black-eyed wolf announced.
Riven could tell this wolf was not like Ashley. It was far more powerful. But he could also see that Harkel's awakened form was strong too—all he needed was a little boost in strength.
"I told you—I'll kill you for what you did to my friend, you bastard," Harkel said, as it looked like he was about to rush in.
"Wait," Riven said, which caught Harkel off guard.
"Wait? Wait for what?" Harkel said—but then saw Riven opening up his system. Then, an armor set appeared on Harkel's body—green in color.
"That's the armor set that goes with your sword. Now go kick that guy's butt. I can see it in your eyes—you won't hesitate."
Harkel nodded at Riven as he rushed in, using his wind to close the distance. But Sable could see something more coming off of Harkel—it was lightning.
When Harkel got close, he didn't just use air. He combined it with lightning, then blasted through Xander. The force behind it was incredible. All of the big trees kept falling as Xander was pushed back through them. Harkel pursued him while he was still being pushed back. He pulled out the long blade, trying to do a clean and decisive blow to Xander's head, but Xander was able to lift his claws and block it. When he did, he grabbed Harkel's arm—but Harkel swiftly pulled his hand out and, with his other arm, punched the wolf in the chest. But Xander was able to block it.
"What are with these blows? I know he truly awakened his evolution, but still—he should still be in the second stage of awakening. So how are these hurting so much?" Xander thought. He was able to stop himself from going any further.
Harkel stood in a fighting stance, then rushed back in—and so did Xander. They exchanged blows, but in the exchange, Xander was getting deep cuts left and right, while Harkel was able to swiftly evade them all.
Harkel then backed up, covered his sword in lightning, which shocked Xander.
"I knew I wasn't imagining things—you used lightning. How is that possible? A person should only have one evolution when they evolve. I mean, I heard rumors of people who could have more than one evolution, but it seemed impossible," Xander was shocked. As he saw the lightning coming out of the sword, he realized—yes, he had been in here for years, but the rumor of dual evolvers had been around ever since the trait of evolution first appeared. But that's all it was at the time—a rumor. But here and now, Xander was looking at a dual evolver.
Harkel then, with the charged-up blade, sliced the air—and yellow lines of lightning came out. Xander could do nothing but dodge and try not to get hit. Every time he dodged and it hit a tree, that tree would immediately fall like it was made of butter. Xander could do nothing but wait until Harkel's energy ran out.
⸻
Back with Riven and Team B
"We should go help Harkel!" Tessa yelled out to the others while they were gathered around Joey.
"No, that boy should be alright," Sable replied.
"How can you be so sure?! Look—this guy got Joey. So we shouldn't wait here. We should go help our friend!" Tessa tried to rile them up.
"Tessa, stop," Leo said out loud—but then said something in her head. "Look in your top left. Does it look like Harkel's HP went down at all?" Leo said using a telepathic link skill.
Tessa then noticed Harkel's HP was still full—meaning he hadn't taken a single hit yet.
"But—" Tessa tried to protest, but—
"No buts. Plus, we've got our own problems to deal with." When Leo said this, he could see Ashley getting back up. She stood in front of Team B, looking at them from the other side of the grass field. But everyone who had awoken could sense something else coming toward them—a yellow-eyed beast then stopped beside Ashley.
"Milo, what took you so long?" Ashley questioned.
"Well, I was dealing with a team—then I heard a howl for help, so I ran here," Milo replied back. "So where's Xander?" Milo asked.
"Over there," Ashley pointed behind her, where Xander and Harkel should've been fighting.
"Hmm… looks like he's having a tough time," Milo said.
"We need to deal with these people first before we help him," Ashley said, getting ready to pounce. Milo did the same, and they rushed forward. Riven, teachers, and students went at the duo, not thinking they would be much—but with swipes, Milo was able to claw at the teacher and students alike. He continued until a black and green gauntlet with spikes protruding out of it came and punched him in the face, sending his head back.
Riven smiled—his poison should be taking effect. But a prompt popped up:
[System: Opponent is immune to poisonous attacks]
This caught Riven off guard as Milo lifted his head back and punched Riven. Luckily, Riven was able to block, but his leg was grabbed by Milo, and he was forcefully pulled onto the ground, his body bouncing off the surface. Riven then lost all the air in his lungs.
Milo was going to continue—but a metal ball came up and wrapped around his hand like a type of cuff. Then a boy with a greatsword was behind him, slashing at his neck. But instead of the greatsword going through the werewolf's neck, only the sound of a cling was heard. Leo was shocked by this. The wolf quickly turned and saw Leo in the air. Milo then quickly opened his mouth, trying to jump down on the boy—but before he could—
Riven was on Leo's back. Then, in an instant, both Riven and Leo were gone, both breathing hard. Riven then brought out two different suits of armor—one for him and another for Leo. Both were blue and silver.
"Leo, this armor barely gives us any stats on speed or durability—it's mostly for attack. I quickly read the effect. We could do four times the damage, but only for a single blow. So we have to make it count," Riven told his ally, who then nodded.
"But what about the other one?" Leo asked, looking at Ashley.
Then an ink bull came in and rushed Ashley into another part of the forest. They looked at some bushes, and coming out were Jordan and Wren.
"We'll handle that one," they both said.