A cool gust of wind brushed against her face, tugging at her hair and sending it swaying across her cheeks. The air felt different here cleaner, lighter, and refreshing.
Before them stretched a vast grass field, completely flat and unnaturally perfect. The grass was a deep, vibrant green, each blade trimmed to the same height, forming a smooth carpet that extended far into the distance. It was enormous easily five times the size of a soccer field, wide enough to make her feel small just by standing at its edge.
Above, the sky was a clear, pale blue, but something about it felt off. There were no clouds drifting lazily across the horizon, no birds soaring overhead only a massive transparent dome arching high above. Sunlight filtered through the structure, casting a soft, even glow across the field, as if the entire place were an enormous cage.
Dr. Kiara was the first to step out, followed closely by Kael, leaving Denver behind. She stood there in awe, frozen in place like a child seeing a park for the first time.
In her entire life, she had been surrounded by towering houses and high tech buildings, steel and glass stretching endlessly into the sky, the city had always felt cramped and suffocating. She had been to a park before once or twice but compared to what lay before her now, those places felt tiny and insignificant.
This wasn't just a park, it feels more like an open world.
The sheer size of the field made her chest tighten, the endless green stretching so far that it swallowed the horizon. For the first time, she felt how vast the world could be and how small she was within it.
Kael looked back noticing that Denver was standing at the threshold, her feet rooted to the ground as if she had forgotten how to move.
"What are you waiting for?" Kael said plainly.
Denver finally snapped, finally stepping forward, her foot sinking slightly into the soft, almost unreal grass. It felt alive, vibrant, almost impossibly perfect. The wind was dancing across the field, tugging at her hair, carrying a faint earthy scent that made her lungs ache with relief.
Her eyes roam around the vast field, subtle details began to unsettle her. Tall metallic gates and towers rose at the edges, silent cameras and sensors glimmered in the sunlight, tracking their movement.
In the distance, small figures moved across the vast field. They were not alone. Other people were already there some dressed in white lab coats and black suits, while others wore simple civilian clothes, their silhouettes scattered across the greenery like distant dots on a map.
"Where are we?" Denver asked, glancing around in confusion..
A gust of wind swept through the area, tousling Dr. Kira's silvery hair as she turned to face her. Her warm smile radiated excitement, and she lifted a hand to smooth the strands that danced around her face, revealing her bright grey eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.
"Welcome! to WGR's testing ground." she announced, her voice filled with a contagious energy.
"And what exactly are we doing here?" Denver asked, her voice barely rising above the rushing wind.
Dr. Kiara turned slightly, her expression lighting up with unmistakable enthusiasm. "What else?" she replied. "We're here to see whether your curse can manifest physically or if it has an area based effect." Her voice buzzed with curiosity, almost excitement, as if this were all a fascinating experiment rather than something deeply personal.
At her words, Denver's mind drifted back to that moment, the fight with the creepy boy with spiky hair. She could still remember it clearly, the sudden surge of power flooding her veins, the strange weightlessness that followed. Her body felt light as a feather, yet unbreakable and hard as steel. The sensation had been overwhelming… intoxicating.
She looked back at Dr. Kiara, confusion knitting her brows. "And how am I supposed to do that?" she asked.
Dr. Kiara lifted a hand to her chin, her gaze unfocused as she sank into thought. A moment passed, then her eyes lit up, and she snapped her fingers.
Click.
"I suppose," she said cheerfully, "you'll just have to recreate the feeling from the moment your curse first awakened."
The wind swept across the field once more, and Denver swallowed hard. Recreate it, just like that. As if reliving the most terrifying moment of her life were as simple as flipping a switch.
Kael, who had been standing behind her, gently pushed Denver forward. She turned her head and glared at him, annoyance clearly plastered across her face.
"We don't have time," he said flatly. "So you'd better move quickly."
His voice was plain and emotionless, carrying no hint of sympathy or concern.
And he wasn't wrong, finishing the test as fast as possible was her only chance to return home. With a quiet sigh, Denver forced her body to move forward.
Kael and Dr. Kiara now stood about fifteen feet away from her, watching her intently. Their gazes made her skin crawl.
She glanced back at them one last time. Noticing her look, Dr. Kiara raised her hand and gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up. Denver ignored it and looked away, then began striking random poses, stretching and twisting as if she were being possessed by some unseen force.
"This is why I love watching them like this," Dr. Kiara whispered with a grin. "They look so stupid."
Kael shot her a side glance. "I didn't know you had such a weird fetish."
Dr. Kiara's elbow suddenly jabbed into his side.
"Ow!" Kael hissed, stumbling slightly.
Denver stood frozen in place, arms still awkwardly raised, realizing how ridiculous she must look. Slowly, she lowered them, her face burning red.
'Great. I look like an idiot and my curse is still asleep,' she thought.
She stared at her hands, half expecting something maybe some sparks, heat, anything but they looked the same as always.
She turned her head to look at them. Dr. Kiara was openly laughing now, one hand covering her mouth, shoulders shaking with amusement, while Agent Kael simply stood there, arms crossed, his expression as unreadable as ever.
"Hey!" Denver shouted, her embarrassment finally boiling over. "How long am I supposed to keep doing this? It's clearly not working!"
Dr. Kiara wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and straightened up, forcing herself to compose her expression. "Well," she said lightly, "make it work, then."
Denver stared at her, utterly speechless. 'That's it? That's your advice?'
Before she could fire back another complaint, footsteps approached from behind Dr. Kiara. A man stepped forward, wearing a white coat identical to hers, his posture relaxed and confident. Behind him walked a woman in a black coat similar to Kael's, her presence sharp and authoritative. Beside her was a young boy dressed in simple pajamas, his small hands clenched at his sides as he glanced around the field with quiet unease.
Denver's attention snapped to the woman. Something about her felt eerily familiar. She lifted a hand and waved in Kael's direction, her smile calm but knowing. Kael turned, his eyes narrowing slightly as recognition dawned.
"…Agent Mira," he muttered.
The group stopped a few meters away. The man in the white coat stepped forward, his bright smile almost theatrical.
"Well, would you look at that," he said cheerfully. "The head researcher of the curse diagnostics division, here in the flesh." His eyes flicked toward the open field. "How are you, Dr. Kiara? I thought you hated being outside."
Dr. Kiara's expression shifted instantly. The warmth drained from her face, replaced by visible discomfort. Her posture stiffened, and the playful energy she'd had moments ago vanished.
"What do you want, Dr. Robert?" she asked sharply.
Their eyes locked. The man's smile widened just a fraction too much, teeth grinding softly before he shrugged his shoulders.
"Nothing special," he said casually. "I just wanted to greet you."
"Oh, really?" Dr. Kiara replied coldly. "Then if that's the case, I have no business with you. So stop disturbing me."
The air between them grew tense, thick with something unspoken. Denver felt it immediately the shift, the invisible line drawn the moment Dr. Robert arrived.
'Yeah… these two definitely have history,' she thought, unease crawling up her spine as she glanced at the boy standing silently beside Agent Mira.
Whatever this test was supposed to be, it suddenly felt like the least important thing happening on the field.