The fire crackled in the middle of the clearing. Strange meats roasted on a spit, smelling like smoked elk and something uncomfortably sweet. Sia sat cross-legged on a mossy rock, still in that sleek, smug outfit that made her look more like a model than whatever-the-hell she was. Jack leaned against a tree, arms folded, while Ciara knelt beside the flames, sharpening a blade that wasn't ceremonial.
The kids huddled nearby, wrapped in borrowed wolf-hide cloaks, trying not to look cold—or terrified.
"So..." Zack broke the silence. "We're just gonna ignore that half this place looks like Game...?"
Jack snorted. Ciara shot him a glare. "Quiet."
Sia finally spoke. "You lot don't understand how close you came to dying in that simulation."
"No," Alex said, "we got that part. Repeatedly."
Ciara stood. "You were dropped into Amargedon because someone needs to wake up. You're not children anymore. Not with what's coming."
Liana shifted. "And what exactly is coming?"
Silence fell.
Then Sia leaned forward, her smile disappearing. "A thousand years ago, after the gods lost control, they made humanity an offer. Either you give up your new powers… or you cease to exist."
Mia blinked. "Wait. Cease to exist as in—"
"Gone," Jack said. "Extinct."
"They were tired," Ciara added. "They'd ruled too long, fought too hard. Belief was fading. Humanity moved on—and found power in themselves instead."
"But we never responded," Sia said flatly. "We never chose. So the gods waited. Now... time is running out."
Zack raised his hand like they were still in class. "So why not just wipe us out already?"
"They can't," Jack muttered. "Not without breaking their laws."
Ciara nodded. "And if they do that, they die too."
"So what now?" Alex asked.
Sia stood up. "Now? We try something reckless."
Jack grimaced. "Of course we do."
Ciara continued, "What if there's a way to cure humans—not by taking their power away, but by stabilizing it?"
"You mean... prevent people from turning into monsters?" Liana asked.
"Yes," Sia said. "The mutations, the rogue hybrids, the ones who lose control—it's not just evolution. It's corruption. The gods twisted the rules before they vanished."
"And if we fix that corruption," Ciara said, "maybe we fix humanity."
Mia folded her arms. "Sounds ambitious."
"It is," Sia replied. "But it's that or extinction."
Alex looked around. "Okay. So we have... a sarcastic vampire goddess, a warrior teacher, and a brooding wolf king... trying to cure the world."
"And five teenagers," Zack added, "who nearly died to a bald guy with no weapons."
Sia smirked. "Sounds like a story worth telling."
"You're joking," Zack said, leaning against a crooked tree, arms crossed. "So the world's ending because humanity left some divine email unread for a thousand years?"
Sia didn't even blink. "Inaccurate—but not entirely wrong."
Ciara exhaled. "I will explain once more. A thousand years ago, beings calling themselves gods made an offer. Not to humanity, but to the powers themselves. Either we give up this magic… or we vanish."
"But we never replied?" Liana asked.
"No one knew how," Jack said. "And maybe no one believed the message was real. The gods never appear, never speak directly. They influence through signs, curses, disasters—never conversation."
"Ghosting us for a millennium," Zack said. "Very mature."
"They don't see us as equals," Ciara muttered. "They see us as errors."
Alex looked uneasy. "But no one even knows where these powers came from. They just… appeared one day."
"Exactly," Sia said, a glint in her eye. "That's the real threat. We don't know if this power is natural, divine, or something worse. And it's growing."
"Okay, cool," Mia said flatly. "So what now? We die less painfully?"
"No," Ciara said. "You fight smarter. You awaken."
Alex frowned. "Meaning?"
Sia nodded. "Alex. Liana. Zack. You aren't like the others. You've already died—or come close in a simulation—and each time, you changed. That isn't normal."
Zack raised his hand. "So... we are divine zombies now?"
"Call it what you want," Jack said. "But they're the closest thing we've seen to inheriting a god's touch."
"Touch?" Liana blinked. "Ew."
Sia chuckled. "It's not a blessing. It's a burden. Gods don't choose champions. They leave stains."
There was silence.
"So…" Alex asked carefully, "how do we wake it up?"
"You'll know," Ciara said. "It usually starts with pain."
"Excellent," Zack muttered. "Best training arc ever."