The Ruin Zone was not loudy instead too quiet.
That was the first thing Lena Moore noticed.
No distant screeches.
No skittering movement beneath the rubble.
Not even the low hum of unstable energy that usually filled ancient ruins.
Just wind.
Dry, hollow wind slipping through broken stone and collapsed structures, whispering through cracks like it was carrying secrets meant only for the dead.
Harven Holt cracked his knuckles as he walked ahead, boots crunching against fractured tiles.
"Well," he said casually, "if this keeps up, I'm starting to think the instructors exaggerated." let be quick so we can get to the academy winning before others could.
Silas snorted softly beside him.
The shadow at his feet shifted, forming the vague outline of a sleek feline shape—his Shadow Cat, ears flattened, tail flicking.
"Don't jinx it," Silas said. "Every time someone says that, something ugly crawls out."
Lena walked behind them, fingers brushing the air unconsciously as faint Mind & Spirit threads spread outward.
"…This place feels wrong," she said quietly.
Harven glanced back. "You say that everywhere."
"I mean more wrong than usual."
Silas slowed his steps.
His beast stopped completely.
The Shadow Cat growled low in its throat.
Harven frowned. "What?"
Silas crouched, placing a hand near the beast's head. "It doesn't want to move."
Lena's brows furrowed. "Fear response?"
Silas shook his head slowly.
"No," he said. "Hunting response."
That made Harven straighten.
"…So we're being watched."
Before anyone could respond—
A faint click echoed.
Metal on stone.
Lena froze.
"That sound," she whispered. "That wasn't natural."
The ground ahead shifted.
Not collapsed.
Not exploded.
It unfolded.
Ancient stone plates slid apart with surgical precision, revealing a hollow beneath. From within, a shape rose slowly—deliberately—as if it knew exactly how terrifying patience could be.
Silas sucked in a sharp breath.
"…Lena."
She didn't answer.
Her eyes were locked on the thing climbing free of the earth.
It was humanoid—but wrong.
It was not like the one they encountered before.
Its frame was tall, elongated, constructed from ruin-metal and bone fused together.
Etched symbols glowed dull crimson along its limbs, pulsing faintly like a heartbeat that didn't belong to any living creature.
Its head tilted slightly.
Studying them.
Harven swallowed.
"…Tell me that's Rank II."
Lena's voice came out hoarse.
"…It's not."
The creature took one step forward.
The air tightened.
Lena's temples throbbed as pressure pressed against her mind—not an attack, but attention.
Silas's Shadow Cat hissed, shadows recoiling.
Harven clenched his fists, Body Forging energy surging through his muscles.
"Alright," he said, forcing confidence into his voice. "So it's smarter. That just means we hit harder."
He charged.
His fist slammed into the creature's chest with enough force to crack stone.
The impact echoed.
The creature staggered back half a step.
Harven grinned.
"See— too easy"
The creature's chest reformed.
Metal flowed, symbols shifting, sealing the dent instantly.
It looked down at Harven's fist.
Then it moved.
Harven didn't see it swing.
He just felt the world spin as he was hurled sideways, smashing through a collapsed wall and vanishing into rubble.
"Harven!" Lena shouted.
Silas moved instantly, shadows surging as he and his beast attacked from opposite sides.
The Shadow Cat's claws passed through the creature—
—and stopped.
The creature twisted mid-motion, adapting, its structure densifying where the claws struck.
It grabbed the Shadow Cat by the throat.
Silas screamed.
"NO—!"
Lena reacted on instinct, Mind & Spirit energy exploding outward as a psychic barrier slammed between them.
The backlash hit her immediately.
Blood ran from her nose.
The creature turned its head slowly toward her.
Analyzing.
Learning.
"…It's adapting," Lena gasped. "Every attack—it's learning."
Harven burst free from the rubble, coughing.
"Then we overwhelm it!"
He charged again.
The creature raised its arm.
And waited.
Harven struck—
—and the ground beneath him collapsed.
He fell hard, slamming into the stone as the creature brought its foot down inches from his skull.
Lena's heart slammed against her ribs.
"…Rank III," she whispered, but we never meant to fight this.
Silas dragged his Shadow Cat back, breathing hard.
"This thing isn't fighting," he said. "It's testing us."
The creature stepped back.
Then forward.
Its symbols flared brighter.
Lena's vision blurred as a spike of mental pressure slammed into her mind.
She cried out, dropping to one knee.
"Lena!" Harven shouted.
The creature moved.
Fast.
Too fast.
Silas threw himself between it and Lena, shadows tearing violently as the Shadow Cat lunged.
The creature caught the beast mid-air—
—and slammed it into the ground.
Silas screamed, clutching his chest as the bond backlash tore through him.
Harven roared, veins bulging as he pushed his Body Forging to its limit.
"GET AWAY FROM THEM!"
His punch landed squarely on the creature's head.
For a moment—
Just a moment—
The head cracked.
Then the creature's symbols flared violently.
It counterattacked.
Harven felt something pierce his side.
He flew backward, crashing hard, blood splattering the stone.
Lena's mind screamed.
We can't win.
The instructor's voice echoed in her memory
"Rank III entities are semi-sentient hunters."
"If you encounter one unprepared—run."
She looked at Silas.
At Harven.
Both wounded.
Both still trying.
"…We have to leave," she said shakily.
Silas nodded immediately. "Use it."
Harven tried to stand—and failed.
"No," he growled. "We can still—"
The creature raised its arm.
Energy gathered.
Lena screamed, activating the talisman.
Light exploded.
Space folded violently.
The creature lunged—
Its eyes locked onto Lena's.
Calculating.
Then—
They were gone.
They reappeared in the academy's extraction zone, bodies crashing onto polished stone.
Harven coughed violently.
Silas collapsed beside him.
Lena fell to her hands and knees, shaking.
Around them, whispers erupted.
"Another group—"
"They failed too—"
"This isn't training…
Lena looked back.
At the empty space where the Ruin Zone had been.
Her hands trembled.
"…We were never meant to win," Harven muttered.
Far away, deep within the ruins—
The Rank III entity stood motionless.
Symbols glowing brighter.
Watching.
Learning.
The Trial continued.
And now everyone was already losing.