The arena had shifted overnight, becoming an endless labyrinth of fractured realities. Gravity twisted in impossible directions, and ethereal winds carried whispers of failure, doubt, and forgotten memories. Each step the squad took was a test of mind, body, and soul.
Astro glanced around. "Yo… this place feels alive. Like it knows our weaknesses."
Lyara's glow shimmered. "Exactly. This trial doesn't just measure strength. It measures resilience, ingenuity, and adaptability. Every node you unlock from here will push your essence beyond human comprehension."
Astro – The Shadow-Light Convergence
Astro's first node had awakened, but the Threads demanded more.
Shadows stretched into infinite paths, intertwining with light constructs that mimicked enemy possibilities.
He had to predict not only attacks but their intentions, timing, and consequences across multiple futures simultaneously.
Fail a prediction, and his mind experienced hundreds of years of simulated defeat compressed into seconds.
A clone of himself stepped forward, eyes glowing crimson. "You're not ready. You're still human."
Astro's heart raced. He forced calm, letting shadow and light merge in harmony. Every strike, every dodge, and every prediction fed back into his Threads.
Node activated. His vision flickered, showing multiple probable realities at once. Pain, exhaustion, and vertigo assaulted him but he had grown a fraction beyond before.
Tenji – Resonance with the Universe
Tenji faced gravity waves, energy storms, and collapsing terrain designed to test his environmental resonance.
Every punch created shockwaves, which rebounded unpredictably, testing his adaptability.
He had to absorb energy from the terrain without losing control, turning chaos into offensive power.
Physical pain blended with mental strain; the environment itself felt alive, reacting to his emotional state.
"Bruh… Big dawg's gotta chill," Tenji muttered, gritting his teeth as golden light flared.
He allowed his aura to sync completely with every energy flow in the arena. Rocks, air, and fire bent under his command.
Node activated, expanding his ability to manipulate battlefield energy instinctively, leaving aftershocks of pure destructive force.
Hunter – Probability Mastery
Hunter's trial forced him into a temporal feedback loop, where every action branched into dozens of possibilities.
Omni-Grid read not only probability but emotional and instinctual intent of simulated enemies.
Misstep, and the loop reset, erasing parts of his memory and leaving psychological scars.
He had to trust intuition while calculating infinite possibilities, a balance between logic and instinct.
Breathing deeply, Hunter let the Threads guide him. Every attack pattern was absorbed, calculated, and redirected before enemies could act.
Node activated. He gained partial precognition and probability manipulation, allowing him to react to events before they occurred.
Phantom – Infinite Mirage Expansion
Phantom faced a trial of mental endurance and adaptability. Shadows surged into autonomous entities, each testing his control.
He confronted illusions of his friends dying in loops, testing his emotional stability.
Temporal distortion made each fight feel like centuries, warping perception of time.
Failure meant losing clones permanently and fracturing his Threads.
He let the shadows flow, giving clones semi-autonomous learning while retaining psychic oversight.
Node activated. His clones could now adapt to enemy growth mid-combat, reflecting a small fraction of his future potential.
New Rivals Appear
While the squad adapted to their nodes, other students and beings aware of the Elysian Threads emerged.
Virek, a human-like prodigy, had already unlocked three nodes and could manipulate probability across reality sectors.
Kaelith, a shadowy elf, could merge light and darkness to create paradoxical space, testing even Tenji's resonance.
Lyvra, a fairy-alien hybrid, controlled time-phase distortions, challenging Hunter's probability edge.
Astro smirked despite exhaustion. "Looks like we ain't the only ones leveling up. Cool."
Lyara whispered: "Competition will accelerate growth, but also push you toward breaking points. Survive, adapt, evolve. That's the Thread way."