The mist parted like a curtain.
Elias stepped through first, sword in hand, Kaela close behind him. Around them, the landscape had shifted again—no longer forest, no ruined tower. Instead, they stood in the middle of a wide ravine with jagged red cliffs rising on either side. Wind howled through the narrow pass like a living thing.
The second trial had begun.
There had been no warning. Just the voice.
"Trial Two Initiated. Objective: Survive until Dawnlight."
"New Entity Detected: Potential Ally. Observe or Eliminate."
That last line had unsettled Elias.
Observe or eliminate? That's a hell of a coin toss.
They hadn't seen the others since the night before. The Realm had scattered everyone during the shift—testing individual adaptability, maybe. Or splitting them up to see who could lead.
Either way, he didn't like it.
"I don't like how quiet it is," Kaela muttered, her sword drawn. "Something's stalking us."
Elias's eyes glowed faintly as he activated Insight again. Combat readouts flickered to life across his vision.
Nothing.
Then—
[Entity Detected: Status – Engaged]
[Combat Readings: High Volatility. Unstable Aura. Ability Active.]
Elias spun toward the nearest ridge.
There—just beyond the rock wall—a shape moved. Fast. Uncoordinated. A single figure backed into view, surrounded by several Hunger Ones snarling and snapping at him like rabid dogs. But the figure wasn't screaming.
He was laughing.
A boy—about their age. Maybe younger. Broad-shouldered, wearing the same black tunic but stained with dust and blood. A chain whip crackled with electricity in his hands, flaring with each swing. His face was wild with focus, not fear.
And then—
He exploded.
Not literally, but the ground beneath him erupted in a concussive shockwave, hurling the zombies backward. A pulse of crackling energy shattered bones and ripped through the air like a sonic boom.
Kaela blinked. "Okay… he's fun."
[Entity: Unknown]
[Status: Hostile to Realm Mobs. Ability: Kinetic Discharge / Shockbound]
[Combat Rating: 9]
Elias grinned.
"Let's go meet him."
⸻
By the time they reached him, three more Hunger Ones had come from the ridge. The boy whipped his chain around his arm, catching one by the throat, then yanked—snapping its neck with brutal precision. His movements were raw, unrefined, but instinctive and fast.
"Behind you!" Elias shouted.
The boy didn't hesitate. He dropped low, letting Kaela leap over him and slice clean through the zombie charging from behind.
Kaela landed in a crouch beside him, eyes sharp.
"Thanks," the boy said. "You guys look less edible than the last group."
"Elias," Elias said quickly. "That's Kaela. You?"
"Name's Ryker. I punch things 'til they stop moving."
Kaela raised a brow. "Good strategy. How's that working out?"
Ryker smirked. "Not dead yet."
Elias could already feel it—the rhythm forming between them. Ryker's ability was brute force, but chaotic and wide-range. Kaela was precision—fast strikes and agility. And him?
He was the glue. The brain. The eyes in the storm.
Insight. Active.
[Synergy Potential Detected: Triad Forming]
[Kaela – Type: Swiftblade]
[Ryker – Type: Disruptor]
[Elias – Type: Commander / Support-DPS Hybrid]
Elias blinked. A new prompt appeared.
New Feature Unlocked: Tactical Overlay I
Coordinate up to 2 allies. Create movement and combat markers they can instinctively sense.
He barely had time to register it before another wave descended—a pack of Bonekind, moving like a phalanx. Fifteen of them, shields and swords clattering like a drumbeat. Behind them, a larger figure stepped out—its skeletal frame etched with silver runes.
[Elite Class: Bone Commander – Combat Rating 11]
"Alright," Ryker growled, rolling his shoulders. "Let's dance."
⸻
The battle began.
Elias activated his Tactical Overlay. Blue glyphs shimmered across the ground, subtle to the eye but imprinted into Kaela and Ryker's minds like instinct. He marked flanks, predicted movements.
"Kaela, left gap—cut through when they close ranks!"
"Ryker—hammer the commander's right leg. It's reinforced but off-balance!"
Kaela moved like lightning. She slipped through the gaps Elias projected before they even closed, carving two Bonekind down with blinding strikes.
Ryker followed Elias's ping, slamming his electrified whip around the commander's leg. The limb buckled.
The commander raised its blade, aiming for Ryker's head—
Elias ignited Ashbrand.
Flames erupted from his sword as he hurled himself forward, intercepting the strike with a clash that echoed across the canyon. Sparks flew. Fire met cursed steel.
The commander staggered.
"NOW!" Elias shouted.
Ryker discharged a point-blank shockwave. Kaela vaulted off a rock, blade spinning like a cyclone—and together, they cut the commander down.
The Bonekind army faltered.
Elias turned toward the rest. "Push forward!"
They did—together, perfectly in tune.
Where Ryker crushed, Kaela sliced.
Where they fought, Elias directed.
And by the time the last monster fell, the red stone canyon echoed only with their breath.
⸻
Afterward, the three of them sat around a campfire lit by Elias's hand.
Ryker chewed on dry meat from a Realm supply pack. "So. This is our life now."
Kaela cleaned her sword. "We've got a team now. We use that."
Elias nodded. "We keep moving. Learn the rules. Break them if we have to."
The fire danced between them.
For the first time, something warm lingered beneath the fear.
Trust.
Balance.
A triad.
And far away, in the dark heart of the Realm, the unseen architects stirred once again.
"The Insight Bearer adapts."
"The Triad forms."
"Send the Leviathan."
⸻
Chapter End