They were pulled upward.
No warning.
No sound.
Just a force that erased resistance.
The forest vanished beneath them.
The sky—
collapsed.
And then—
they stood again.
Not on ground.
Not anywhere Vinh could understand.
The space stretched endlessly.
Cold.
Still.
Figures surrounded them.
Tall.
Silent.
Watching.
Dejteo.
No one spoke.
A pause—
long enough for fear to settle.
Then—
one of them shifted.
Not forward.
Just… defined.
The space bent around it.
And something spoke.
Not a voice.
A command.
Inside the mind.
"Current selection… insufficient."
The words didn't echo.
They stayed.
"Additional filtration required."
Vinh felt it.
Pressure.
Not on his body.
On his existence.
Another pause.
Then—
"Grouping initiated."
The world moved.
People were pulled.
Not dragged.
Placed.
Some tried to resist.
It didn't matter.
They moved anyway.
Vinh felt himself shift—
not physically—
but as if space decided he belonged somewhere else.
And then—
He was standing beside Hongco.
No transition.
Just… there.
And two others.
Not human.
The pressure vanished.
A final line appeared.
[Selection incomplete.]
Then—
everything collapsed.
Walls formed.
White.
Sealed.
The chamber.
Silence.
Vinh forced his breathing to slow.
Across from him—
the two things now considered "allies."
One—
four arms.
Its posture didn't match gravity.
Weight shifted in ways that felt wrong.
Each arm hung differently.
None relaxed.
Its eyes—
didn't focus.
And yet—
Vinh knew.
It saw everything.
The tail behind it moved once.
Slow.
Measured.
The other—
stood still.
Too still.
Its body held itself upright like something maintained it from within.
Two pillars rose from its back.
A low vibration filled the air.
Its hands—
covered in small points.
At its chest—
two cores.
One pulsed.
One lagged.
Not in sync.
Vinh frowned.
Unstable.
Dangerous.
Not human.
If this was a team—
It wasn't one he understood.
The walls dissolved.
The world shifted.
They fell.
The jungle rose to meet them.
Heat.
Humidity.
Rain.
Impact.
Vinh hit the ground, rolled, barely catching himself.
The forest closed in instantly.
Dense.
Alive.
Wrong.
Rain flickered.
Leaves moved without wind.
Insects repeated… then stopped.
Simulated.
Constructed.
Hongco landed ahead.
Already moving.
Already alert.
She didn't look back.
The four-armed creature vanished into the trees.
No hesitation.
The half-machine stepped forward.
Stopped.
Its hand touched the ground.
A faint current spread outward.
Testing.
Vinh swallowed.
No one spoke.
Then—
Something moved.
Not them.
Something else.
The first strike came from the dark.
Fast.
Hongco reacted instantly.
Fire exploded outward—
light tearing through the trees—
A shape broke through.
Then another.
Then more.
They didn't rush.
They circled.
Watching.
Learning.
The forest became a cage.
The fight didn't begin.
It unfolded.
The four-armed creature struck first.
Water surged upward—
four blades forming—
cutting from different angles—
One dropped.
Clean.
Gone.
The half-machine moved next.
Its hand pressed into the wet ground—
electric current spread outward—
fast—
silent—
Another collapsed.
Body locking—
then still.
Hongco forced the third into the open.
Fire drove it forward—
light bending its path—
Vinh moved.
Not fast enough.
But enough.
The angle shifted—
just slightly—
Hongco's strike landed.
The third fell.
Silence.
Rain.
Breathing.
Three down.
One left.
It didn't attack.
It stood still.
Then—
It changed.
Its body compressed inward.
Muscles tightened.
Structure shifted.
A twitch—
once.
Twice.
Then everything became—
smaller.
Sharper.
Faster.
Optimized.
And then—
it vanished.
Hongco's fire missed.
Too slow.
It was already behind her.
Strike—
She blocked—
but was thrown across the ground.
The four-armed creature reacted.
Water snapped upward—
cutting through space—
The creature slipped through.
Not dodging.
Predicting.
The half-machine sent another current.
The ground lit blue—
electric flow surged—
But it had already moved.
Always ahead.
Vinh couldn't keep up.
His vision narrowed.
His body slowed.
Everything breaking apart.
Then—
He saw it.
The gap.
Not in the fight.
In himself.
"I'm going to die."
No panic.
Just truth.
The creature appeared in front of him.
Too close.
No escape.
Then—
Something cut through the air.
Not sound.
Space.
A thin fracture opened.
And from it—
The sword emerged.
Rust-covered.
Cracked.
Dead.
Wrong.
Vinh froze.
He understood.
Not power.
Danger.
He didn't swing.
Didn't hesitate.
He turned—
Forced it into the half-machine's hand.
"Throw it."
No explanation.
The half-machine moved instantly.
Angle adjusted.
Trajectory locked.
The arm pulled back—
Released.
The sword moved through the rain.
Not fast.
Not threatening.
Just straight.
The creature saw it.
Analyzed.
Dismissed.
Too slow.
Too weak.
It didn't fully dodge.
Didn't need to.
The sword reached it.
No impact.
No sound.
Only—
A shift.
As if space itself had been cut.
The creature stopped.
Mid-motion.
For a second—
everything froze.
Then—
A line appeared across its body.
Thin.
Clean.
And split.
Two halves fell.
Silently.
The forest held its breath.
And just as suddenly—
The sword vanished.
Pulled back into nothing.
Only the rain remained.
No one moved.
Not immediately.
Hongco stood still.
The four-armed creature stepped back slightly.
The half-machine remained motionless.
Then—
The four-armed one spoke.
"Apoloziro."
No tone.
No explanation.
Just a name.
The half-machine turned slightly.
"HE78."
Its voice wasn't human.
Flat.
Silence.
Vinh hesitated.
"…Vinh."
Hongco didn't look at them.
"…Hongco."
No more words.
No trust.
No alliance.
Just four survivors.
Standing in the rain.
And somewhere above—
something was still watching.