The sun had just begun to rise, spilling soft golden light across the canyon floor where Shrek Academy smaller group had camped for the night. Wisps of mist curled through the narrow paths, lending an ethereal quiet to the morning. Birds called from high perches above, unaware of the silent tension lingering in the air.
Li Wei stood at the edge of the camp, arms folded, gazing toward the city lights in the far distance that had twinkled faintly the night before. Zhu Zhuqing sat beside him on a flat stone, adjusting her boots, her movements steady but deliberate. She had rested well, and her injuries had nearly healed thanks to his medical spirit energy from BuffRide: Ex-Aid. Still, he watched her every motion as if expecting her to stumble.
"Stop worrying," she said softly, without looking up.
"I'm not," he replied, though his gaze lingered.
She smiled faintly. "You are."
Nearby, Xiao Wu stretched like a cat, arms raised high over her head. "I'm telling you, if I sleep on this canyon floor one more night, I'll grow moss."
"You'd still be cute with it," Ning Rongrong said with a giggle as she packed her supplies.
Meng Yiran rolled her eyes. "Moss can't hide poor formation discipline."
"Oh? You volunteering to lead the charge today, Yiran?" Xiao Wu teased.
"If you need me to," the older girl shot back with a smirk.
Flender cleared his throat loudly, silencing the banter. "Alright, enough. Eat quickly. We move in twenty minutes. We'll break into a staggered formation once we reach the plateau. Stay sharp."
Liu Erlong and Zhao Wuji joined him, the three instructors speaking in low tones as they reviewed the terrain ahead.
Li Wei helped Zhu Zhuqing to her feet, and soon the group was on the move again—eight in total, compact and tight-knit. They walked in silence at first, winding through the last rocky segments of the canyon, their breaths visible in the cool morning air.
Then it happened.
A hum—low and unnatural—rippled through the canyon floor.
Li Wei froze mid-step. "Everyone—"
A crack split the air like thunder, and a surge of silvery light exploded from beneath their feet. Before anyone could react, the very world twisted.
Stone shimmered like water. The air bent.
"Wha—?!" Xiao Wu gasped as she was lifted off the ground.
Ning Rongrong screamed, clinging to Meng Yiran hand. "What's happening?!"
Li Wei lunged toward Zhu Zhuqing, arms wrapping around her protectively as the light swallowed them all.
And then—
Silence.
______________
When the light faded, the world had changed.
The ground beneath them was no longer canyon stone but silver grass, soft and glowing faintly beneath their boots. The sky above was a shifting dome of twilight, painted in deep blues and purples, with no sun, no stars—only a swirling, living horizon.
The air tasted clean. Too clean. No scent of earth. No wind.
Li Wei rose first, his grip still tight around Zhu Zhuqing, who blinked up at him in stunned silence.
He helped her stand and immediately scanned the others. "Everyone—shout if
you're here!"
"I'm here," came Meng Yiran voice. She was crouched low, not far from Li Wei position. "Rongrong with me."
"I'm fine!" Ning Rongrong called, voice shaky.
"Me too," Xiao Wu added, rubbing her arms. "But what the hell was that?"
Zhao Wuji grunted as he stood. "I've never seen spirit energy like that before."
"This... this isn't the spirit realm," Liu Erlong murmured, her eyes wide as she turned in place. "But it isn't the human world either."
Flender voice was tight. "This is a constructed dimension. Artificial."
Li Wei narrowed his eyes. "A spirit array?"
"No," Flender said grimly. "This is something older. Deeper. We've been pulled in... from the outside."
Zhu Zhuqing stood beside Li Wei, her hand brushing against his. "But why us?"
No one had an answer.
_______________
They regrouped, instinctively forming a defensive circle.
The ground beneath them pulsed with faint light, and in the distance, the air shimmered like heat mirages—unstable, as if the world itself wasn't fully real.
Xiao Wu stepped closer to Li Wei. "Is this some kind of Spirit Hall trap?"
He shook his head. "If it were, they'd already be here."
Liu Erlong crouched and touched the glowing grass. "This isn't spirit energy as we know it. It feels... diluted. Filtered. Like a copy."
"It's a projection," Flender muttered. "We've been thrown into a mimic world."
Suddenly, the horizon shifted.
From the far distance, a shape formed—towering, humanoid, cloaked in black with no visible face. Its body was stitched from strands of light and shadow.
Li Wei stepped forward instinctively, placing himself in front of the others.
"Who are you?" he said calmly. Follow by Flender, "What do you want? Why you have taken us here?"
The entity didn't move, but its presence filled the air, thick and oppressive. A voice rang out—not heard, but felt, vibrating through bone and thought alike.
"Progeny of strength. Threads of fate converge."
Zhao Wuji raised a brow. "It talks like it swallowed a prophecy."
Li Wei ignored him. "Identify yourself."
"You are chosen. Bound by light, divided by war."
Meng Yiran looked around warily. "Is it talking about us?"
"Balance has fractured. The gate opens."
The entity dissolved.
And in its place appeared a path—glowing, circular platforms stretching ahead in impossible directions, hanging in empty air.
Flender face was pale. "This is... a trial."
Zhu Zhuqing turned to Li Wei. "Are we meant to walk it?"
He met her gaze. "We don't have any other choice. That the only way forward."
She nodded.
Ning Rongrong took a shaky breath. "Well, we didn't pack for metaphysical riddles, but let's get this over with."
Xiao Wu stepped beside her, fists clenched. "Whatever this is, I'm not letting it decide who we are."
Flender looked at the students—at the future they represented. "We walk together. One step at a time."
Li Wei stepped forward onto the first platform.
Zhu Zhuqing followed. Then Meng Yiran. Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong. Their teachers behind them.
The rift glowed brighter.
And the path ahead shimmered—uncertain, unseen, but waiting.