The sky above the artificial landscape of the Gate's rest zone turned a deep blood-orange, the stars flickering like dying embers. Time flowed strangely here—neither day nor night held dominion.
A hollow wind whispered through the empty halls of the pagoda outposts. The world outside remained eerily quiet. But inside the Gate… things were shifting.
The psychological trials had ended, but their true consequences had only begun.
---
Sector 4 – Recovery Quarters
Kaito sat on the edge of the platform, legs hanging over the edge. Below him, a koi pond shimmered with ethereal, glowing fish. They weren't real. Nothing in the Gate ever was.
Aya sat behind him, tying her hair in silence. Her eyes were still distant, even as the color returned to her cheeks.
"I didn't think I'd make it," she said quietly.
Kaito didn't answer immediately. He threw a stone into the pond. Ripples distorted the fish, like memories bending under pressure.
"You did."
"But I cracked," she admitted. "I hated myself in there. I hated everything."
"You were never supposed to be perfect." He looked at her now. "We survive by being real. Even if that means bleeding."
Aya's lips trembled.
"I saw you die, Kaito. Again and again. I heard your voice break. And I couldn't do anything."
He reached out and touched her hand. Just lightly. Enough to remind her he was still there.
"You were the one who pulled me out."
A pause.
"...Same."
---
Meanwhile – Sector 6
Half the surviving duos gathered, recovering or still reeling from their trials.
Dev Rajan stood against the wall, arms crossed. His eyes scanned the others—Meera nearby, silent. There was tension in the air. Unease.
"We're not alone," he said at last.
Meera raised an eyebrow. "You mean Kaito and Aya?"
"No," he whispered. "Something else."
As if on cue, the torches dimmed.
A second system tone echoed.
> "Interference Detected.
Phase Shift Triggered."
---
System Broadcast
> "Attention all remaining Awakeners.
The Psychological Gate Trial has entered the Interruption Phase.
Due to unknown interference, a Rift-Type Dungeon has appeared inside the Gate."
> "Estimated Dungeon Rank: SS.
Manifestation begins in T-minus 1 hour."
> "Participants may choose to engage or retreat to the inner barrier zone.
Warning: Non-combatants remaining in outer zones will be classified as inactive and eliminated."
---
Sector 4 – Tension Breaks
Aya jumped to her feet.
"What kind of joke is this? Inside a mind gate?"
Kaito stood slowly, his voice sharper than before.
"No joke. This is the real Gate bleeding through. Something's wrong."
She looked at him. "We're not ready."
"No one is." He rolled his neck. "But we can't sit out. If it's a Rift Dungeon, it's not just a monster—it's a tear in reality. Whatever comes out won't follow logic."
Aya tightened her gloves.
"Then let's remind it who we are."
---
Thirty Minutes Later – Battlefield Assembly Zone
Duos stood in tight formations. Around fifty teams had survived the initial psychological phase. Now only the ones willing to fight remained—twenty-five.
The rest had retreated, unwilling to risk it.
Meera stepped beside Kaito and Aya, her hand glowing with silver light.
"We'll follow your lead," she said to Aya.
Dev added, "But if one of us falls—get out. No hesitation."
Kaito didn't argue. Not this time.
The system tone echoed again.
> "Rift Dungeon Manifestation: Complete.
Entry Zone Activated."
Ahead of them, reality tore open—black lightning cracking across the sky. A vortex of blood, ink, and flame spiraled into being, revealing the silhouette of a beast.
Something immense.
A hundred arms. Countless eyes. A shape that refused definition.
It didn't walk.
It crawled.
> "Dungeon Boss: Nurarihyon – Corrupted Mind Form."
---
Aya whispered, "That's not a beast… that's a god."
Kaito's fists clenched.
"No. That's fear made flesh."
> "Dungeon Begins."
And the world collapsed into chaos.
---
End of Chapter 37