The first distortion tore open the air above the academy's central extraction grounds with a violent crack.
Space folded inward like glass bending under pressure.
Three figures were spat out onto the stone floor, rolling awkwardly before crashing to a stop.
A second distortion followed immediately.
Then a third.
And then a fourth.
Within seconds, the once-orderly grounds descended into chaos as emergency talismans activated one after another, overlapping flashes of light ripping open reality itself.
Students screamed.
Instructors shouted orders.
Medical teams rushed forward instinctively, stretchers already moving.
Kayden stood near the edge of the grounds, hands in his pockets, watching silently as the scene unraveled.
One group appeared half-conscious.
Another arrived drenched in blood and dust.
A Beast-Bound cultivator collapsed as their contracted beast dissolved into light, forcibly recalled.
"Group A incoming!"
"Move—move!"
"Mind & Spirit backlash, get a stabilizer!"
Rayden's eyes widened as he recognized faces.
Eren Vale stumbled out of a portal, fire-scorched sleeves hanging in tatters, his usual confidence shattered. Mila Ryn was supported on both sides, her eyes unfocused, lips trembling as if she was still trapped in a nightmare.
Rowan's Stonefang Hound barely managed to remain solid before fading away with a pained whine.
"That's… Group A," Rayden muttered.
Another portal opened.
Group C.
Drake Cole was dragging himself forward on one knee, his Body Forger physique cracked and bruised. Nora Vess clutched her head, sobbing quietly as Owen stared blankly at nothing, his Mind & Spirit techniques clearly shattered.
Then Group E.
Ava Frost was unconscious, frost crawling uncontrollably along her arms. Leo Pyre's hair was singed black, his hands shaking violently as sparks sputtered uselessly from his palms.
Mina Stone stood protectively over them, her breathing ragged.
One by one.
Group G.
Group H.
Every return was worse than the last.
Whispers erupted through the crowd.
"Did they all fail…?"
"I heard a Rank III showed up."
"No—someone said Rank IV."
"This wasn't supposed to happen…"
Liora stood beside Kayden, pale and tight-lipped.
"This is too many," she whispered.
"Emergency talismans aren't meant to be used like this."
Rayden clenched his fists.
"So it wasn't just us."
Kayden's gaze flicked toward the final distortion.
Group B emerged last.
Harven Holt collapsed the moment he arrived, hitting the ground hard. Silas staggered before falling to one knee, clutching his chest as his Shadow Cat flickered weakly beside him.
Lena Moore remained standing for exactly three seconds—then her legs gave out, and she dropped forward, barely caught by a rushing medic.
That was it.
No more distortions followed.
The silence that settled afterward was heavier than any scream.
Instructor Halden Voss stepped forward.
The moment his aura expanded—even slightly—the grounds fell silent.
Not because he demanded it.
Because no one dared speak.
His eyes swept across the extraction grounds, taking in every injured student, every broken formation, every trembling cultivator.
Then he spoke.
"All groups," he said calmly, "reporting failure."
The words landed like a hammer.
A few students gasped.
Others looked down, ashamed.
One boy laughed hysterically before breaking into sobs.
Rayden's jaw tightened.
Liora closed her eyes.
Kayden didn't move.
Voss continued, voice steady and merciless.
"Group A through Group H."
He paused.
"Not a single team completed the objective."
A ripple of disbelief surged through the crowd.
"That's impossible!"
"We survived longer than scheduled!"
"Our formation held—!"
Voss raised one hand.
The protests died instantly.
"You survived," he said. "Because the academy pulled you out."
His gaze sharpened.
"That is not success."
He turned slightly, addressing everyone now.
"This Trial was designed to measure coordination, judgment, and controlled power under pressure."
His voice hardened.
"What it revealed instead is overconfidence."
Rayden flinched.
Harven, barely conscious, laughed weakly.
"…Yeah," he muttered. "That sounds right."
Voss continued.
"You encountered threats beyond your current capacity. And instead of withdrawing early, many of you chose to push forward."
He let that sink in.
"Some of you nearly died."
The grounds were deathly quiet.
"This is my responsibility," Voss said at last.
"And I will not repeat this mistake."
He straightened.
"The Trial is terminated."
A collective exhale rippled through the students—relief, fear, and frustration tangled together.
"For now," Voss added.
That one phrase twisted the atmosphere again.
He gestured to the seniors lining the perimeter.
"Senior cultivators."
Cain Mercer stepped forward, hands out of his pockets for once.
Iris Vale's eyes were sharp, already calculating.
Rook cracked his neck slowly.
Voss's voice lowered.
"The Ruin Zone has destabilized faster than projected. Rank III entities are appearing in active clusters."
A murmur spread.
"And at least one Rank IV guardian has awakened."
Rayden sucked in a breath.
"So it wasn't just us…"
Voss continued.
"You are no longer authorized to enter the Ruin Zone."
Then he turned to the seniors.
"Your task is suppression."
The word sent a chill through the crowd.
"Seal hostile entities. Reinforce weakened structures. Prevent further escalation."
He paused.
"If you encounter resistance beyond control parameters…"
Cain smiled thinly.
"We neutralize it."
Liora whispered, "That's not calming it…"
Kayden's system pulsed faintly.
[Ruin Activity: Escalating]
He ignored it.
One of the students in the back fainted outright.
Another muttered, "I knew I should've stayed average…"
Rayden scoffed weakly. "Figures. Seniors get the real fight."
Liora elbowed him. "You almost died."
"…Worth it," Rayden muttered, then winced as his muscles screamed.
Voss finished issuing orders.
"Medical teams, prioritize Mind & Spirit backlash."
"Instructors, lock down the lower training sectors."
"No student leaves campus."
The academy shifted instantly.
Barriers activated.
Sealing arrays flared to life.
Starcrest Academy no longer felt like a school.
It felt like a fortress.
As the seniors prepared to depart, Kayden felt it again.
That subtle pressure.
That sense of something waiting.
High above, on the highest observation platform, Principal Aria Nightfall watched silently.
Her eyes followed the seniors as they stepped into the teleportation arrays.
Then—inevitably—they returned to one figure.
Kayden Arin.
"…This was supposed to break them," she murmured.
The system pulsed faintly in Kayden's chest.
Patient.
Watching.
The Trial had failed.
But something far worse had begun.