The world twisted into a thousand shards of color as the rift gate shuddered violently. One instant Zhou Qian and Kai Shi were seated on Mystic's soft cloud cushion beside Fan Yumei, Jin Minhe, Min Zhao, and Liang Chenwu, carried smoothly through the blinding current of spatial ripples. The next instant, the cushion split into ribbons of light, and Zhou Qian felt his stomach drop as though the sky itself had abandoned him.
He reached for Kai Shi instinctively.
The roar of wind drowned out everything. His hand caught Kai Shi's arm, and for a heartbeat he thought they would stay together. But the world fractured again, tossing them like dolls through an endless tunnel of collapsing space.
Zhou Qian's last memory before the darkness slammed over him was Fan Yumei's wide eyes vanishing in the distance, swallowed by light.
—
When Zhou Qian opened his eyes, he tasted sand.
The sun was merciless overhead, casting the beach in an endless glow that baked the shoreline. Saltwater foamed against the rocks, tugging at his boots as though trying to drag him into the sea. Zhou Qian coughed hard, rolling onto his back, his light armor scratched from impact but still intact.
"…Zhou Qian."
Kai Shi's voice was hoarse.
Zhou Qian turned his head, relief rushing through him at the sight of Kai Shi sprawled just a few feet away, his dark hair tangled with sand and seaweed. Kai Shi was already pushing himself up, wiping blood from the corner of his lip with a steady hand.
"You're alive." Zhou Qian forced himself upright, chest still heaving. "Where—where are the others?"
Kai Shi scanned the endless stretch of beach. No sign of Fan Yumei. No sign of Jin Minhe, Min Zhao, or Liang Chenwu. No trace of Mystic's cloud cushion.
"Not here," Kai Shi said, his voice clipped. "Looks like the rift tore us away from them."
The silence pressed down on them, broken only by the crash of waves. Zhou Qian tried to reach out with his qi sense, but the air of the island resisted like thick mud, suppressing everything to a faint ripple.
"They could be anywhere," Zhou Qian muttered. "Or worse."
"We don't assume the worst yet," Kai Shi said firmly. He rose to his feet, dusting sand from his armor. "First we need to get out of the open. We find cover, then we start looking."
Zhou Qian pushed up, though his legs wobbled. He glanced at the treeline ahead, dense with twisting vines and heavy foliage. The forest looked humid, thick with the sound of insects and unseen creatures.
"Fine," Zhou Qian said. "But if they landed on another part of this island, we'll have to search for days."
"Then we start now," Kai Shi replied.
The two of them moved into the forest, sweat already rolling down their temples under the heavy heat. Hours dragged by, each step crunching on damp leaves, each shadow stretching too long. They called out once or twice, but no answer came.
Only once did they pause—when the entire canopy dimmed under a shadow so vast it seemed to cover the island itself.
Zhou Qian froze, heart pounding. "Did you—?"
"I saw it," Kai Shi interrupted, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the sky. Yet when they both looked upward, the air was clear, only endless blue above. The shadow passed as if it had never existed.
Neither spoke of it again, though both felt its weight.
—
They weren't alone for long.
When they reached a clearing, the sharp sound of hooves pounding earth reached them. Zhou Qian pushed aside a branch, spotting a herd of sleek star-ranked beasts shimmering faintly under the sunlight. Their horns glowed with silver light, sparks dripping into the grass with each step.
But what caught his eye weren't the beasts. It was the two figures corralling them with practiced motions.
A tall girl with braided blonde hair snapped her fingers, sending threads of light weaving around the herd. Beside her, a boy with black eyes like sharpened obsidian directed qi into a circular seal, guiding the beasts toward containment.
Kai Shi tensed immediately. "Not our teammates."
The girl noticed them first. She snapped her arm down, light threads retracting instantly. The boy's hand flicked, and the beasts dispersed into the distance, leaving the clearing tense and empty.
The girl straightened, her expression sharp. "Identify yourselves."
Zhou Qian and Kai Shi stepped forward cautiously, hands raised to show they weren't striking first.
"We're not here to steal your beasts," Zhou Qian said evenly.
The boy's eyes narrowed. "That doesn't answer her question."
Kai Shi's stance lowered just slightly, weight on the balls of his feet. "Kai Shi. This is Zhou Qian. We were separated from our team when the rift threw us here."
The girl hesitated. Then she nodded once. "Lyra Thomas. Federation Elite Command Academy."
The boy followed: "Soren Lee. Same academy."
The words meant little here. They were just names in a place that obeyed no order.
Lyra Thomas's gaze flicked between them. "You didn't see anyone else land on this island?"
"No," Zhou Qian admitted. "Only us."
For a moment it seemed they might part ways, but then Soren Lee's eyes sharpened. "Stay back from our catch. These herds are rare."
Zhou Qian scowled. "I told you—we're not after your beasts."
Kai Shi's voice cut low. "We're looking for our friends. That's all."
But tension sparked anyway. Lyra Thomas's hands glowed faintly, Soren Lee's seal circles flaring.
Kai Shi and Zhou Qian responded instantly, qi surging as they braced for a fight. The air thickened with killing intent as dust spiraled around their feet.
"Wait!" Zhou Qian barked. "You think we'd waste time over beasts when our teammates might be dying out there?"
The sharp words hung in the air.
Lyra Thomas blinked, her fingers twitching. Slowly, the glow faded from her palms. Soren Lee didn't drop his guard immediately, but the hostility thinned.
"…So it's a misunderstanding," Lyra Thomas said finally. "Then we'll put blades away."
Kai Shi straightened, though his eyes stayed hard. "We don't care about your treasures. You don't block our path, we won't block yours."
For the first time, Lyra Thomas's lips curved into a faint smirk. "Fair enough. Travel's safer in numbers. For now, at least."
The unspoken truce hung in the humid air.
—
They moved together after that, trekking deeper into the forest.
Lyra Thomas and Soren Lee led with cautious precision, while Zhou Qian and Kai Shi kept scanning the trees for any sign of their team.
Hours later, their steps slowed as they came upon a gaping cave mouth cut into a rise of black stone. The air that leaked from it carried a faint metallic tang that made the skin prickle.
"Treasure," Zhou Qian muttered. His qi sense throbbed faintly, pulling him toward the darkness.