The battlefield was mayhem incarnate.
The Rank 1 Plague Beak dove from above, leading its murderous flock like a general commanding an airstrike. Below, the Rank 1 Water Prowler loomed on the bridge, its massive body blocking the only path to the central platform.
Opposite it crouched Zagan — balanced atop the hilt of his extended katana, a lone figure suspended amid the rain.
He would've loved to stay up there and let the monsters tear each other apart. But time wasn't on his side… and neither was fate.
He exhaled.
There was only one card left to play, one surprise even he hadn't expected to save his ass.
"Thanks a lot, my man… Airin." His tone was almost playful, yet there was a trace of sincerity beneath it. "I'll make sure to build you a grave… y'know, one without a body in it."
He pressed his palm together, focusing on the broken Soul Sigil etched there.
A faint light pulsed from the mark; a symbol of blade on fire, split down the middle.
The Soul Sigil — a tattoo-like mark embedded deep within one's essence, only manifested after completing the Awakening Trial.
Its form reflected one's Essence Class, and it served two purposes.
First, it was the key, your gateway to the Soul Realm itself.
And second… it acted as a spatial storage, allowing you to carry back what you claimed from this world into reality.
But there was a catch.
Nothing from the real world could ever come in.
The Soul Realm only gave.
It never took… unless it was your soul.
And the Sigil he was trying to use… was Airin's Soul Sigil.
This Sigil should've only been visible to Airin — Zagan had no idea why he could see it, let alone use it.
Was it possible… that a fragment of Airin's soul had fused with his own?
Well, whatever the reason, the Sigil was already fracturing.
In a day, maybe less, it would be gone for good.
His consciousness slipped inside the Sigil.
It was like a translucent cube suspended in a dark void — half of it already shattered, fragments floating aimlessly. The anchor that once held it together had died with Airin.
But what made Zagan grin was what remained intact.
Dozens of pristine white storage boxes hovered in the surviving half… and among them, a single massive Greatblade floated in silence, as if patiently waiting to be claimed.
* * *
Back on the bridge—
The Rank 1 Water Prowler moved. White soul energy surged through its body, and its tail lashed forward with a deafening crack, slicing through rain and wind alike.
Zagan reacted instantly. He retracted his katana to its normal length, letting his balance drop with it.
Fwoom—
The tail whistled past, missing his head by inches.
He jumped off the katana and reached into the half-shattered sigil, willing the Greatblade into his grasp.
In a burst of crimson light, the Greatblade, named Ignisar, vanished from the void and materialized in his hands.
Zagan grinned. "Let's see how you like this, you overgrown fish—"
He swung.
… or tried to.
The instant he tried to swing the blade, its sheer weight yanked him backward, slamming him flat on his ass. The bridge groaned under the impact.
"What the—?!"
He couldn't even keep the weapon upright; the thing felt like it weighed a ton. The blade's ember-lined surface hummed with raw power, far too heavy for his unawakened body to handle.
Behind him, two Rank 0 Prowlers lunged, sensing the opening.
He was too dumbfounded to act, but his ever-loyal Flow State kicked in, slowing the time for him.
With a groan, he flung the Greatblade back into the sigil in a flash, rolling clear of the snapping Prowlers. The world snapped back to normal, and the beasts lunged past him, canines snapping at empty air.
Zagan pushed himself upright, coughing up blood, his face pale as ash.
If the Flow State triggered two more times, he knew he'd collapse… unconscious. And that would mean permanent residency in the afterlife.
Only about 2 minutes remained on the five-minute timer. He needed a breakthrough… now. Thankfully, his "allies" descended from the sky, striking straight at the water prowlers. With the two Rank 1s engaged, Zagan finally had his best chance to slip away.
He dashed toward his katana and snatched it from the bridge. One of the prowlers noticed him, but he wasn't in the mood to play. As the beast lunged, he drove the blade straight into its mouth.
Grohhh!
The creature whimpered, but Zagan channeled his energy through the katana. A sizzling sound erupted, like something being cooked alive. He then yanked the corpse toward the sea.
From the bridge, the massive prowler aimed at the Rank 1 Plague Beak, blasting a jet of water. The bird twisted midair, easily dodging the attack… but it bought Zagan a fraction of a second to reposition.
When he was close enough to the prowler, Zagan leapt, straight into the sea.
The trial never said he couldn't.
Cold water swallowed him whole as he kicked downward, swimming beneath the bridge to escape the prowler's range. But then his eyes widened.
Below the surface, dozens of Rank 0 Water Prowlers darted through the depths like shadows, all converging toward the bridge… and a few had already locked onto him.
Shit—
He couldn't stay here. Panic fueling his limbs, Zagan swam desperately, bursting from the water and scrambling back onto the bridge, well past the Rank 1's territory. He didn't even look back. His only thought was to run.
He could make it…
As long as nothing else went wrong.
But of course, it wasn't that simple.
This wasn't the beasts' Awakening Trial. It was his.
From above, the Rank 1 Plague Beak spotted him instantly, a lone human sprinting toward the central platform.
Skreeee!
The air split as it dived, its wings tearing through the storm. Below, the massive prowler lunged into the sea, hot on his trail.
A man, a bird, and a fish — racing through wind and water toward a single goal.
And the man was clearly losing.