By the time we reached the dome, night had fallen.
Up close, it wasn't a dome at all. It was a veil—shimmering light that rose from the ground and bent the air like heat haze. The glow hummed faintly, as if it was alive, and when I reached a hand toward it, the air tingled against my skin.
"Looks like a force field," muttered Hana. She had sweat plastered to her temples, her makeshift knife still in hand.
Do-Hyun stepped forward first, rebar slung across his shoulder. He pressed his palm flat against the barrier. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, like ink spreading across water, words appeared in the air.
[Safe Zone Gate Detected.]
[Entry Requirement: Trial of the Worthy.]
[Survivors Remaining: 12]
[Minimum Entry: 10]
Silence fell over the group. The words glowed golden, undeniable.
"Trial?" Kang's voice cracked. "What the hell does that mean? We survived the collapse, we survived the monsters! Isn't that enough?!"
The dome didn't answer.
Instead, the ground beneath us rumbled. The street cracked, and from the black fissure, something clawed its way out.
It was smaller than the beast in the subway, but no less terrifying. A hairless wolf-thing, its muscles exposed like raw meat, eyes glowing red. Its tongue lashed the air as it stalked toward us, claws clicking on the pavement.
Then another climbed free. Then another.
Three in total.
The message shifted:
[Trial of the Worthy: Defeat the Gatekeepers.]
[Failure: Denied Entry.]
Panic hit first. Two survivors bolted, sprinting toward the dome. The barrier flashed and threw them back like ragdolls. One didn't rise. His skull had split on the concrete.
"Shit! It won't let us in!" someone screamed.
The wolf-things struck.
One leapt into the crowd, teeth sinking into a woman's throat. Her scream choked to silence as blood sprayed across us. The survivors scattered, chaos unraveling us.
Do-Hyun was the first to fight back. He swung his rebar with both hands, smashing it into a wolf's jaw. Bone cracked. The beast staggered, but it didn't fall.
"Hold the line!" he roared. "Fight, or we all die here!"
I don't remember deciding to move. My body just did.
A survivor's dropped pipe lay at my feet, and I snatched it up, heart hammering. My arms shook, but when one of the wolf-things lunged at Jin-Ae, instincts screamed louder than fear.
I swung.
The pipe cracked against its skull. It reeled, hissing, jaws snapping at empty air. Jin-Ae scrambled back, eyes wide.
"Again!" Hana shouted. She darted in low, slashing at its legs with her broken glass blade. Black ichor spilled, hissing on the pavement.
Together, we pressed it back.
Do-Hyun roared as he finished his own fight, smashing the rebar down until his wolf stopped moving.
The third beast tore through another survivor before Do-Hyun impaled it through the throat. Blood steamed against the cold air.
And then, silence.
The golden words returned, glowing brighter than before:
[Trial Completed.]
[Survivors Remaining: 10]
[Entry Granted.]
The barrier shimmered, and with a low hum, it parted. An opening appeared—an invitation.
We stared. Ten of us now, bloodied and trembling.
Kang's voice was barely a whisper. "So this is… the Safe Zone?"
But I couldn't shake the thought: if this was just the gate… what would the inside demand of us?