Gray shut the door behind him and leaned against it, exhaling slowly. The dim glow from his room's lights flickered once before stabilizing, but something felt off. A faint click echoed from the lock. He turned, eyes narrowing. A small red light blinked on the panel near the handle, rhythmic and cold.
"What…?"
He reached out and tugged the handle. Locked. He tried again, harder this time. No response. The light continued flashing, taunting him.
Gray's eyes drifted across the room—and stopped. His computer was on. He hadn't turned it on. The screen displayed a sterile interface with only one phrase written across it:
[PLEASE SELECT YOUR TEAM MEMBERS.]
He frowned and slowly sat down at the desk. The cursor blinked patiently. Names appeared below the prompt—people he recognized. Lira. Renn. Korr. Adel. Aurelle. Elara. Even Lucian. Aswell as multiple others.
His hand hovered for a moment before he selected Aurelle and Adel. For some reason, any other names which he didn't recognize were dimmed out, unselectable. The system only allowed him to choose those around his own level.
Once his choices were made, the screen flashed.
[TEAM 13 CONFIRMED. YOU HAVE BEEN DESIGNATED AS LEADER.]
"Leader?" Gray murmured. "What does that even—"
The display glitched, lines distorting into a static blur before reforming into a new image. The emblem of the Academy appeared—a fractal crest of black and white. Then, a voice filled the room.
"Greetings," said a calm, measured tone. "My name is Riven, third head of the council."
Gray froze.
"This message is automatically delivered to all students selected for the second expedition. By now, you should have received your team assignments. You are to immediately enter the pods located within your living quarters."
Gray turned toward the sleek silver pod on the right side of the room. Its surface shimmered faintly under the light.
"Those who refuse to enter will be… forced. Any who resist will be eliminated."
The voice paused, almost courteous in its cruelty.
"This is not a request. This is your next trial. Humanity's survival depends on your compliance. Proceed."
The screen went black.
'Humanity's survival? Bullshit.'
Gray sat still for a long moment. The hum of the room pressed against his skull, muffling his thoughts. He could try to break the lock, or climb through the window, but he knew it would be pointless. They were being monitored. If he tried anything, someone else might pay the price.
"…So this is it," he muttered.
He approached the pod. Its surface split open with a hiss of cold air. Inside was a smooth, padded chamber, the kind used for deep-sleep transfers. He stared at the interior, a bitter smile tugging at his lips. "Guess we're really doing this."
He stepped inside. The pod sealed with a pneumatic hiss. Lights dimmed. A faint mist filled the chamber. His vision wavered.
'Something's wrong,' he thought sluggishly, as the white gas swirled around him. 'They're… drugging us…'
But before he could finish the thought, his mind was swallowed by silence.
***
When Gray awoke, the air felt alive.
It was cold, heavy, and wet, clinging to his skin like a second layer. His cheek was pressed against rough, damp stone. Each breath carried the twin scents of wet rot and cold, sharp metal. Slowly, he pushed himself up, his head swimming as he opened his eyes.
The world around him pulsed with dark violet light. They were in a cavern, its walls streaked with veins of a strange, glowing black ore that throbbed with a slow, rhythmic light. A low, sub-audible hum vibrated up through the stone beneath his palms, as if the ground itself had a heartbeat.
"…Where…" he rasped, his voice raw.
Before he could finish, a sharp, mechanical chime echoed in the vault of his skull. His vision flickered, and stark, white text superimposed itself over the gloom.
[You have entered a new territory.]
He blinked, and the interface expanded without his command.
[Territory Name: Eiderrun Hollow Depths]
[Territory Rank: 1 → 2]
[Dominant Strain: Wither]
[Territory Effect: "When the tether breaks, so shall the soul."]
Gray read the last line again, his heart quickening. "When the tether breaks…" The words were a cold knot in his stomach. He didn't understand them, but every instinct screamed danger.
'The soul breaks? Shit...that doesn't sound nearly as good as I hoped. And why the hell is the Territory Rank...ascending?' Gray's mind shook as he continously read the runes. Trying to make sense of them.
A groan sounded beside him. "Ugh… my head…" Adel was stirring, pushing herself up slowly. Her silver hair was plastered to her damp forehead, her eyes bleary and unfocused. "What the hell did they do to us?"
A few feet away, Aurelle groaned, rolling onto his side and pushing himself up with a visibly trembling hand. "This isn't the academy hall," he whispered, his voice tight. "So this must be the territory..."
It was then Gray realized their attire had changed. They were all clad in form-fitting black and silver bodysuits, reinforced with segmented armor plates at the shoulders, forearms, and chest. Thin, silver runes were woven into the fabric, the words indecipherable. Beside each of them lay weaponry. Ones they were good with.
Gray reached for his katana, its familiar weight a comfort, the hilt glowing with a soft, contained light. Adel snatched up her twin daggers, spinning one expertly in her grip. Aurelle picked up a slender longsword, its blade shimmering like tempered glass, reflecting the cavern's eerie light.
"Wherever this is," Adel muttered, her voice gaining an edge, "they dropped us here like cargo."
A low, resonant hum filled the cavern, emanating from a massive, seamless steel door set into the rock behind them. Faint red runes flared to life across its surface. Then, a voice, distorted and robotic yet unnervingly human, echoed around them.
"Welcome… to your second expedition."
The three of them froze, weapons tightening in their grips.
"You will receive your objectives shortly," the voice continued, devoid of emotion. "Each team has been given an orb containing concentrated Vyre. Should the orb shatter—or be depleted—you will be disqualified."
Adel clenched her jaw, her knuckles white on her daggers. "Disqualified, my ass. They mean dead."
"The second objective: escape the territory. No maps. No assistance. Only your strength."
The voice crackled into static, then vanished, leaving only the deep hum of the living stone.
Gray's eyes scanned their prison. There was only the sealed door behind them and a single, yawning tunnel ahead, its maw dark and foreboding.
In the sudden silence, Aurelle turned his head toward Gray. "We should be extra careful in here," he said quietly, his gaze steady. "There's no telling what could happen. Especially since we don't know what the Territory effect is."
Gray nodded. "Do any if you know why the rank is displayed as...ascending?"
Adel continued looking at the blankly at the air. Or rather the system screen. "I...Don't exactly know, maybe it's a rank 1 territory with rank 2 monsters? Or maybe the other way around?"
Aurelle walked forward quietly. "Possibly... either way, if that is the case it's not good for us. We should stick close together no matter what. Our primary objective is to escape this territory. That means somewhere out there, there is an exit. Just like Glacierfang."
Just then Gray checked the inner pocket of his new gear. A soft, warm light pulsed against his fingers. He pulled out a transparent sphere, within which a dark, liquid Vyre swirled like captured smoke.
"It seems like I have the orb." he muttered, the weight of it suddenly feeling immense. "Alot of pressure, I really don't like it."
"So you have it," Adel said flatly. "Lucky you."
Gray ignored her tone, turning the orb over in his hand. Its warmth was faint, but he could feel a distinct pulse, a rhythm that seemed to sync with his own heartbeat.
'If this goes out...we are all disqualified. Great, just great.'
"Escape the territory…" he murmured. "No map, no guide."
He looked down the only path available. The shadows at the edges of the tunnel seemed to twist and coil, suggesting movement just beyond the reach of the violet light.
Escaping Glacierfang was far from easy, however, even then they had gotten a map from the Kaan to help them on their way. But now, they were in a cavern. With only one direction to move.
"We should start moving. As you said Aurelle, we have to escape as wuickly as possible. The longer we stay the more likely we are to—"
"Wait." Aurelle's voice was calm but firm. "That phrase in the system—the territory effect?"
Gray nodded, the words cold in his mouth. "Yeah. 'When the tether breaks, so shall the soul.'"
Adel frowned. "Sounds poetic. But what does it mean?"
"I don't know," Gray admitted. "But it's a warning for a reason."
Aurelle's eyes flicked to the glowing minerals embedded in the wall. "A tether implies a connection. A link between two things."
Gray followed his gaze. The thought was chillingly logical. "So when we break this tether—"
"—something dies," Adel finished, her grim expression deepening. "Fantastic. Very useful, isn't it?"
A heavy silence fell between them, the hum of the cavern now sounding like a countdown.
Gray carefully placed the orb back in his secure pocket and tightened his grip on his katana. "We'll figure it out as we go. For now, we move."
He led the way forward, his boots scraping against the damp stone. Adel and Aurelle fell in step behind him, weapons held ready.
As they moved deeper, the violet glow at their backs dimmed. Every footstep echoed too loudly in the suffocating dark. The walls, slick with condensation, seemed to press closer. The hum grew more pronounced, a low, rhythmic pulse that felt almost… alive.
Adel muttered under her breath, "This place feels like it's breathing."
Gray didn't respond. His every instinct screamed of unseen danger, but retreat was not an option.
'This is the beginning,' he thought. 'The real test.'
He glanced over his shoulder. Adel's eyes were sharp, scanning every flicker of shadow. Aurelle moved with a quiet grace, the faint shimmer of his blade a pale beacon in the gloom.
For a fleeting second, Gray caught his own reflection in the polished metal of Aurelle's sword—ashen hair, sharp features, and eyes that glowed with the faint, unmistakable light of Vyre. He looked less like a student and more like one of the horrors they were meant to hunt.
He tore his gaze away.
The tunnel forked ahead. One path descended sharply into a pit choked with thick, grey fog. The other slanted upward, toward a faint, purple glow.
Adel tilted her head. "So, which way?"
Gray hesitated for only a moment before pointing his katana toward the red light. "Up. We should see what we're in for."
Aurelle gave a silent nod of agreement.
They began to climb. The air grew slightly thinner, and a faint, dry wind brushed against their faces, carrying the scent of old stone and something faintly metallic. The tunnel soon ended not in a cavern, but at a heavy, iron-banded door, slightly ajar. A faint, flickering light spilled from the crack, painting the ground before them in shifting patterns.
Gray held up a closed fist, bringing the others to a halt. He listened, but heard only the whisper of the wind and the distant drip of water. "There's a room beyond," he whispered. "Stay sharp."
He pushed the door open. It swung inward with a long, low groan of protesting hinges that echoed ominously in the space beyond.
They found themselves at the rear of a vast, underground church. The air was thick with the smell of old wax and dust. Rows of dusty, wooden pews lined the stone floor, all facing a towering, weathered statue at the far end. The figure was androgynous and featureless, its form smoothed by time, its face a blank oval that seemed to watch them nonetheless. The only illumination came from dozens of candles placed on altars and in rusted iron sconces bolted to the walls, their flames casting long, dancing shadows. Some burned with a normal, warm yellow, while others flickered with an unnatural, bloody red or a cold, spectral blue that cast no warmth.
The most immediate detail, however, was the skeletons. Dozens of them, scattered across the floor between the pews, their bones bleached white and lying in complete disarray as if they had fallen where they stood mid-prayer or while trying to flee.
"Charming place," Adel muttered, her voice tight as her grip tightened on her daggers. "Very welcoming."
"There's another door," Aurelle said, his voice low and focused. He pointed toward a smaller, unadorned door set into the wall beside the base of the strange statue. It was their only visible way forward.
"Right," Gray said, his own hand resting on the hilt of his katana. "Let's be quick and quiet. Don't touch anything."
They moved forward in a tight formation, weaving carefully through the narrow aisles between the pews. The silence was profound, broken only by the soft scuff of their boots on the stone and the faint hiss and pop of the burning candles. They were halfway to the front, the faceless statue looming larger, when Gray heard it—a faint, dry crack.
He froze instantly, his eyes snapping down to a skeleton near his boot. The sound wasn't one of bone breaking underfoot. It was the sound of it reforming. A rib cage shuddered and pulled itself together from a scattered pile. A few feet away, a disembodied hand reassembled, finger bones clicking into place with a series of tiny, precise sounds.
Adel sucked in a sharp breath. "Gray..."
All around them, the dry, white fragments began to stir and shift, drawn together by an unseen force. Skulls rolled across the floor to meet spines; leg bones assembled and stood upright, waiting for pelvises to slot into place. It was a slow, macabre dance, but an efficient one. Within moments, complete skeletal forms began to stand, their empty eye sockets turning toward the three living intruders in their midst.
One of the skeletons, now fully assembled, took a jerky step forward, its jaw unhinging with a dry rasp. A faint, blue light kindled in the depths of its skull.
"Everyone prepare!" Aurelle said, his longsword whispering as he drew it from its sheath, the glass-like blade catching the eerie candlelight.
The skeleton let out a hollow, rattling hiss that was echoed by a dozen others now rising to their feet.
"New plan," Gray said, his katana flashing free. "We fight our way to that door."