Rj hit the ground hard.
His shoulder exploded with pain, and dirt flew into his mouth.
"—ghhh!"
He rolled to his feet, eyes wild.
He wasn't on the obsidian platform anymore.
He was in a jungle.
Thick vines slithered across twisted trees. The air was dense with humidity, buzzing insects the size of fists, and the faint growl of something very, very big.
The sky above him was deep purple—two suns hovered in opposite directions, casting strange shadows.
This wasn't Earth.
This wasn't a simulation.
This was real.
"Trial One: Planet Apex."
A voice boomed inside his skull. Not heard—felt.
"Objective: Survive until extraction. 72 hours."
"Failure condition: Death."
Rj blinked.
"Survive for three days? In this?"
He heard it then. The growl again—closer. Lower. Hungrier.
Branches snapped. Leaves rustled.
Rj turned—too late.
A massive beast lunged from the trees.
It looked like a panther crossed with a serpent—fur black as night, but with golden scales down its spine. Its eyes were hollow voids, and its mouth opened too wide for anything natural.
Rj dove just in time. The beast's claws scraped his arm.
Blood. Real.
He skidded down a hill, tumbling into mud. The creature followed, moving like a whisper.
Rj's fists clenched.
He'd fought before.
But never something like this.
He charged.
Dodged.
Uppercut—missed.
The beast struck again—claws slashing his chest, sending him flying.
He hit a tree. Cracked it.
Slumped.
Groaning.
"Get up."
A voice. Not the beast's.
Feminine. Sharp. Cold.
He looked up.
A girl stood on a branch above.
Cloak fluttering. Bow drawn.
Golden eyes.
Her.
The killer from the gate.
She loosed an arrow without blinking.
It struck the beast between the eyes.
A burst of solar energy erupted—burning it into ash.
Silence.
Rj coughed. "You—"
"Shut up," she said. "More are coming."
She dropped beside him and offered a hand.
"Amani."
Rj took it.
"Rj."
Above them, the twin suns moved across the sky.
Elsewhere in the jungle, others screamed.
The trial had begun.