Despite the wide-open space and the neatly arranged rows of students, a heavy atmosphere blanketed the grounds. The air felt thicker, the earth colder. The sun still hung in the sky, yet its warmth failed to reach them.
Every breath was audible. Every movement, watched. The students stood stiff, eyes fixed on the iron gate at the northern end of the courtyard. There was no comfort in this vast space—it felt suffocating with the weight of anticipation.
A sharp voice broke the silence.
"Akari Hozuro!"
Akari's shoulders flinched, but she steadied herself. She stepped forward with firm strides, though the ground beneath her feet felt as if it shrank with every step.
From behind, a whisper reached her, barely audible through the tense silence.
Haru: "Come back... safe."
Akari smiled faintly without turning back. She had heard him.
The gate closed again.
Seconds passed. Then:
"Haru Minazuki!"
Haru stepped forward, confidence on the surface, but rebellion and worry danced in his eyes. A sarcastic smile formed on his face—it was his final armor.
"I have to pass this test."
He entered.
The ground didn't shake, but their hearts did.
Inside, they stood in a square hall with cold, gray walls. Dim yellow lamps hung from the rough ceiling, swaying gently, casting shadows across their faces—like ghosts watching silently.
Only forty-nine remained. Some stared at the ground, others at the ceiling as if hoping for a nonexistent escape. The rest gazed at the massive black door, as if it were a mouth ready to devour them one by one.
Footsteps echoed. Haru, Ivan, and Akari entered... followed by a man in a long, dark coat. His face was obscured under a military cap. He stood before them without introduction or greeting.
"Prepare for the third test."
No shouting. No explanation. Just a sentence—like a sentence of judgment.
Eyes turned toward him. Someone whispered:
"Third?… So we survived the second?"
A faint laugh slipped from the shadows. No one knew who it came from.
The Overseer: "It doesn't matter who survived. What matters is who remains."
He slowly opened a worn leather bag and pulled out an old, patchy map—as if it belonged to a forgotten time.
"You'll be sent to an area called the 'Needle Forest.' A simple task… on the surface."
He stepped closer, locking eyes with each one of them.
"Reach the marked point on this map within three days. Small groups. No guidance. No help. No outside contact."
A student, nervously: "What about food?"
The overseer smiled, but it wasn't a real smile.
"What you find… is what you have."
Another student: "Enemies? Other teams?"
"Everything you face there... is part of the test."
Haru (whispering to Akari): "Damn... this is strange. No clear rules. No known enemies."
Akari (narrowing her eyes): "It's like they want us to create our own hell."
The overseer ignored them and continued.
"What happens there… will reveal who you truly are."
He raised a small device and pressed a button.
"Transport begins now."
In an instant, his voice vanished. He vanished.
Then, the ground beneath them began glowing with twisting blue lines—like pulsing, living veins.
A student screamed: "It's a trap! This isn't training! This is—"
And he disappeared.
Then the others—one by one—swallowed by the light as if reality itself erased them.
---
[Next Scene: The Needle Forest – First Breath]
Light.
Then thick darkness.
Then… cold.
Ivan opened his eyes. He was lying on damp ground covered in black moss. The air was suffocating. So silent, he could hear his heartbeat screaming in his chest.
Rustling. Someone behind him. He drew his dagger instantly—then stopped when he saw Akari rising from the trees, her face dazed, but alive.
Ivan: "...Just us?"
Akari (scanning): "I don't see anyone else... Where are the others?"
A voice from afar: "Yuna's here..."
She emerged from the trees, hand on her side, face tight with tension.
Yuna: "They separated us. On purpose. This is pure psychological warfare."
Haru (appearing from behind a tree): "More than psychological... something's watching us. No birds. No animals. The forest is dead."
Aizen appeared silently, standing behind them without a sound.
Aizen (calmly): "This place... doesn't test your strength. It tests your mind."
The group gathered.
A heavy silence.
Then… a strange noise in the distance. Like a muffled scream.
Oshinaru (looking toward the dark): "...Did you hear that?"
Ivan: "Don't separate."
Akari: "What's the real test here? Reaching the point? Or surviving long enough to get there?"
No one answered.
Mystery still reigned. The sky above wasn't black... but a dull bluish-gray. As if night here never truly arrives.
Haru: "We need to move. Staying in one place means slow death."
Yuna: "Why should we follow you? Maybe you're leading us into a trap."
He looked at her, his eyes devoid of emotion.
Haru (coldly): "Follow me, or die alone. Your choice."
But before she could respond, a sharp screech echoed—like a massive sheet of fabric being torn.
Everyone turned.
The shadows between the trees moved.
Aizen (drawing his sword): "Down!"
But there was nothing. Just the wind… cold as ice.
Akari (whispers): "That's not a natural sound…"
Ivan: "Nor is this a natural forest."
They moved cautiously, every step syncing with the pounding of their hearts. Each snapped twig beneath their feet felt like a scream.
After half an hour, they reached a low hill. At its peak—an eerie stone, carved with strange symbols etched as if with daggers, not pens.
Yuna (touching it): "This wasn't made by humans… or machines."
Haru (softly): "The organization is hiding something."
Aizen: "We weren't brought here to train. We were brought here… to be observed."
Akari: "Observed for what?"
Aizen: "...Our reactions."
Silence.
Suddenly, a single whistle echoed. No one knew who made it. But they felt it—in their bones, not their ears.
Haru (whispers): "The Call..."
Ivan: "What call?"
Haru: "...The one they say no one returns from."
Akari leaned closer to Yuna, whispering:
"Do you trust them?"
Yuna (low voice): "I don't even trust my own shadow."
Then—footsteps. Many. Not human. Feet... dragging.
They slowly turned toward the other side of the hill.
Three figures stood there.
Faces hidden behind wooden masks. Bodies twisted, like their bones were broken inside—but still moving.
One of them raised its hand… and pointed at them.
Then screamed—with a voice that wasn't human.
"Found them."
Then… they vanished.
No sound.
No trace.
Nothing.
Akari: "What the hell was that...?"
Aizen: "That… is the real test."
Silence suffocated them. It felt like the entire forest was holding its breath.
Ivan (whispers): "Did you see their eyes? Those weren't human…"
Aizen: "Eyes don't matter. The question is—how did they disappear like that?"
Haru: "The organization is using tech we don't understand. This isn't the first time they've tested candidates through madness."
Yuna: "This isn't a test. It's a trap. We're being moved like puppets. The real question is—who's the traitor?"
Akari: "You think someone among us knows?"
Yuna (deep gaze): "No. I'm certain someone here… doesn't belong."
A breeze passed… but it carried the scent of something else.
Blood.
Everyone froze.
Aizen: "...Count each other."
One… two… three…
Haru: "Where... is the blond boy?"
They looked around. He wasn't there.
Ivan (hoarse voice): "He was right behind me…"
Then they heard it.
Tearing.
Flesh ripping.
They ran toward the sound, between the trees. And there—he was.
The blond boy—suspended by black threads, like a spider's web.
His head tilted, blood dripping like a haunting painting.
Yuna (voice trembling): "...No… This... can't be just a test."
Akari (looking up): "What's... holding him?"
The black threads stretched upward—into something massive, its shape barely visible in the trees. Many eyes… glinting like shattered glass.
Aizen (drawing his sword): "Run. Now."
They ran.
But the forest shifted. Trees moved. The ground became slick—with the texture of blood.
Haru (while running): "The
forest is reacting to his death! It's starting!"
Ivan: "Since when were we trapped in a living nightmare?!"
Then… a burst of energy from afar.
The same stone they stood by an hour ago—was now glowing.
Akari (looking back): "It's a trap. The countdown has begun."...!
-End of chapter