Silvara stepped through the Moon Door, and the moment it closed behind her… the atmosphere changed. The room was narrow, containing nothing but a single circle drawn on the floor in a faint blue glow.
The mechanical voice echoed suddenly:
"Alert: Contestant Silvara has entered the wrong door."
She raised an eyebrow as she processed that.
The voice continued:
"According to stage rules, the Moon Door is the solitary confinement door. Contestant will be detained for five minutes."
Silvara gave a half-smile.
"Five minutes? Easy."
But the system wasn't finished:
"Penalty will be applied before the countdown begins."
Her smile faded.
"Penalty?"
The lights dimmed. A line of bright energy burst beneath her feet, and the blue circle flared into a wild green glow. Metallic black vines shot from the ground like lightning. They wrapped around her ankles first, then slithered up her legs, her waist, her arms.
In less than half a second, she was completely bound and suspended, feet locked to the floor, arms pulled upward.
"Activating penalty: Forced Stillness."
Silvara tried to move a single finger… nothing. She tried taking a full breath… but the vines compressed her chest, resisting every expansion of her lungs.
"Any attempt at muscular movement will increase tension by thirty percent."
She lifted her chin slightly, though the metal pressed against her jaw.
"Confinement begins after the Forced Stillness phase. Initialization ends once the contestant demonstrates control of Nature Falken without a single physical movement."
The circle hummed… then vibrated. Electricity traveled through the vines, jolting her spine with a sharp shock that stole her breath. Her eyes half-closed, but she didn't scream—her body only convulsed.
"Increasing resistance. Enhancing current by forty percent."
The green glow intensified. A stronger jolt hit. A burning spark shot up her spine. For a moment, Silvara felt her legs vanish from sensation entirely, and her arms felt disconnected from her body.
But within the chaos, she forced herself to think through the pain:
'Nature… Vakin… is not a muscle.'
She shut her eyes, and tried to gather her inner voice despite the static. But another surge hit, stronger, snapping her head to the side. A drop of blood slid from the corner of her mouth. She inhaled, fighting the tremors in her chest.
'Quiet… pain.'
Silvara closed her eyes… not to escape the agony, but to drown it.
'Nature isn't something I pull from my hands.'
Another shock ripped through her shoulder; her body jerked, but her mind held on.
'If nature is truly part of me… then it isn't muscle. It's pulse. It's feeling. It's awareness.'
The world slowly muffled… until all she could hear was her heartbeat.
'My roots grow in darkness. They need no light. No movement.'
'I am the forest. I am the soil. I am what moves… without movement.'
She pictured a tiny root crawling between solid stone.
Rise.
The air around her feet trembled. A thin crack of green light split the floor… and a hair-thin root emerged. The vines tightened against her ribs. Silvara didn't open her eyes.
'More. Don't retreat.'
The single root weakened… then two more sprouted… then three… then dozens.
The roots climbed her body… not to free her, but to answer a command rising from thought alone. They pressed against the metal restraints from inside.
The vines bent first… then cracked. A violent electrical roar burst outward.
The green glow shook wildly.
The system declared:
"Unpermitted rise in mental Falken control detected—"
Silvara ignored it. She detonated all the roots at once. The metal restraints shattered around her arms, legs, and chest, pieces clattering to the floor.
Silvara opened her eyes slowly, then lifted her chin, and thought:
'Nature… does not stop. And neither will I.'
The final ring of metal dropped from her body. At last… she stood.
The system's voice boomed:
"Penalty complete. Activating solitary confinement: five minutes."
At the other room…
Ann stepped through the last door. Barely a second passed before she heard a familiar voice:
"Ahhhh! Finally, someone else!!"
She looked up quick… Akio stood in the center, waving with a proud expression. Ann froze, trying to process.
"Akio…? You're… the first one here?"
He spread his arms proudly:
"Of course! I passed my test fast! Super fast! The system itself was shocked by my genius!"
Ann stared at him for a long moment, then said flatly:
"Did you… destroy the room?"
Akio paused, then gave a tiny smile.
"Almost yes!"
Ann covered her face with her palm.
"Good grief… Ken is going to kill you."
Akio puffed his chest and laughed:
"Let him try! Geniuses are untouchable!"
She approached and stood beside him, taking in the shattered walls and piles of debris. No explanation was needed.
Akio lifted an eyebrow proudly:
"Obviously! I was faster than all of them! Mabushi is definitely going to be late by half an hour, he screams too much. And Ken? He won't be that late, but certainly not before me."
He turned to her suddenly:
"You… passed your test? It must've been easy, right?"
Ann sighed, hands on her hips:
"No. Not easy. At all. And it was… annoying."
She added with a frown:
"But I passed."
Akio smiled again… then sat cross-legged on the floor in exhausted relief.
"Well… now we wait. Wonder who'll be third…"
Ann looked toward the door… her heartbeat unsteady with an emotion neither of them shared.
"I hope… it's Ken."
Two minutes after Ann entered… a door slammed open hard. Ken staggered through, carrying Mabushi over his shoulder. Sweat dripped from his jaw, his breaths were broken, and his hand trembled as he forced himself forward.
Mabushi was half-conscious… his head is drooping, his eyes are heavy, his shoulder is wrapped in a blood-stained bandage. He looked worse than ever, like he'd been on the edge of collapse.
Before Ken reached the middle of the room… his legs gave out. He crashed to his knees. Mabushi dropped forward, rolling halfway before landing on his back, breathing heavily, chest rising and falling out of rhythm.
Ann screamed:
"Ken!!"
Akio rushed to them:
"Mabushi! What happened?! Are you guys okay?!"
Mabushi grabbed Akio's shirt with sudden strength, shouting hoarsely:
"D-damn it… don't ask me… get water!! Ken… Ken… needs water… NOW!!"
Akio blinked in shock.
"Water?! From where—?!"
Ann opened her bag quickly, checked inside, and felt relief wash over her when she saw the small bottle still there.
"I have one…!"
She ran toward Ken and dropped to her knees beside him. Ken was clutching his chest, gasping hard, his eyes half-closed as if fighting to stay conscious. Ann's hand trembled slightly as she brought the bottle closer to his lips.
She said in a worried tone:
"Ken… drink. Hurry."
Ken opened his eyes with difficulty… looked at the bottle… then at Ann's face, which was closer to him than ever before. A brief moment of hesitation crossed him… then he grabbed the bottle with his shaking left hand and brought it to his mouth. He drank once… then twice… then finished it all.
A sharp exhale left his chest. He murmured quietly,
"Thank you."
Ann froze for a moment. She had never heard him thank anyone before.
Akio's jaw dropped,
"W-Wha—? Ken?! Did you just… say thank you?!"
Even Mabushi, despite the pain, let out a weak laugh:
"Wow… a historic day… Ken said thank you… and the sky didn't crack open yet."
Ken's eyes regained a hint of their usual sharpness. He shot Mabushi a cold side-glance and said quietly, holding himself steady despite the exhaustion:
"If I had the strength to slap you right now… I would."
Mabushi chuckled under his breath, only for the chuckle to turn instantly into harsh coughing:
"Ah… man… even your threats sound weaker now."
Ken turned his face away from them and replied dryly:
"Stop talking… you're making more noise than your health can handle."
Akio held back a laugh so he wouldn't annoy him, while Ann stared at Ken with open admiration. Ken stood up slowly, then turned when he heard Ann's voice:
"By the way… Akio passed his test."
Ken raised his eyebrow slowly… then looked at Akio, who stood proudly like a victor.
Ken spoke in a low, fatigued but clear voice:
"How?"
Akio grinned confidently:
"With my brilliance, of course!"
But Ken didn't answer. He simply turned his head aside… then noticed something. One of the room's walls was completely destroyed, and the lever was thrown into the next chamber. He looked at the wreckage… then back at Akio.
Akio gave a tiny innocent smile:
"Ah… that? Just a small artistic touch from me."
Ken sighed and placed a hand on his forehead.
Mabushi stood up, staring at the destruction:
"Man… even I don't know where this idiot gets his confidence from."
Ann put a hand on her head:
"The way he destroyed the room… no one can explain it."
Ken turned and asked:
"By the way, where's Silvara?"
Silence fell. Akio looked at Ann. Ann looked at Mabushi. Mabushi blinked twice, pure cluelessness.
Akio said in a low voice,
"She… hasn't arrived yet."
A minute passed. Then two.
Mabushi asked:
"H-How much time is left on the timer…?"
Ann answered:
"The timer… hasn't appeared since we got here."
Akio raised a hand:
"Aha… so maybe we have half an hour left… or maybe… one minute…"
Ken stared at him coldly:
"You're making the tension worse. Be quiet."
Ann leaned back against the wall:
"Silvara is strong. It's very hard for her to fail. But she can be slow to adapt."
More minutes passed… heavy, suffocating. Each of them watched the door leading to her section.
Akio broke the silence again:
"If… if she fails… the system will count the whole team as losers… right?"
No one answered, but the silence was enough. Akio swallowed hard, and Ann folded her arms tightly.
Finally… the door shook… then opened fully. Silvara stepped out. The moment she took one step inside, all three of them let out a long breath at once.
Mabushi said:
"Finally… I thought the system ate you."
Akio lifted both hands dramatically:
"Thank goodness!! I was going to die before she did!"
Ann said:
"I thought… you failed."
Silvara replied calmly:
"Sorry… I entered the wrong door."
Akio froze for half a second:
"The wrong… door?!"
She nodded:
"Yes. I received a penalty… a harsh one. Forced stillness. I couldn't move a single muscle."
Ann's eyes widened:
"That's why you were late…"
Silvara nodded again:
"And after that… I was locked in the room for five whole minutes."
Mabushi let out a short, exhausted laugh:
"Five minutes? We collapsed after waiting for three!"
Ken finally lifted his gaze to her:
"Everyone… is here now."
The mechanical voice suddenly echoed in the room:
"Team assembled. Command for the leader: open the exit door."
All eyes turned to Ken at once. He stepped toward the final door and found a sign that read (Place your hand here). Once he pressed his hand on it, the floor rumbled beneath them… and the massive door opened. A flood of white light poured inside.
Akio raised his hand to shield his eyes:
"H-Hey… are we… done? Before the timer?"
Ann murmured:
"I hope so."
Mabushi, still sore, said in a rough voice:
"If this is the final door… I hope the last thing I see today is sunlight… not Ken dragging me again."
Ken said dryly:
"Move."
He stepped into the light… and the others followed, uncertain whether they had succeeded… or if the sunlight shining on their faces was the start of their rejection.