The wind howled like a warning as the transport touched down just beyond the dead treeline. Ashveil Barrens stretched ahead—gray, cracked earth littered with bone-like trees and swirling, unnatural mist. The sky overhead churned with low-hanging clouds, the light sickly and cold.
They had arrived.
Alexander stepped down first, scanning the terrain. His system pinged faint anomalies in the distance, too faint to lock onto but enough to unsettle him. His enhanced perception and Hive Sense told him this place was alive, in a way the academy reports never mentioned.
Milo groaned, slinging his gear over his shoulder. "They seriously call this a training mission?"
"Looks more like a death lottery," Jace muttered, but he didn't sound afraid—just annoyed.
Zeke adjusted the bindings on his gloves, eyes narrowing as he took in the terrain. "Stick close. Don't trust your senses in the mist."
Calen was last off the transport, his expression unreadable. He stood for a moment, staring at the horizon before walking forward.
Alexander noticed. "You okay?"
Calen hesitated. Then, voice low, said, "My parents don't even know I'm here. Thank the stars they haven't found out."
He looked down.
"Maybe they wouldn't care. I was always the… least impressive of us."
Alexander didn't answer immediately. But he walked beside him, and that was enough.
They marched.
Their objective was simple: reach the old beacon tower deep in the Barrens, activate the signal, and return. No backup. No instructors. Just a tracking device in case they died.
They moved in formation. Alexander took point. Zeke and Jace flanked left and right, Milo covered the rear, and Calen moved just behind Alexander.
The deeper they went, the worse it became.
The mist grew thicker, almost intelligent. It swallowed sound and distorted sight. Sometimes, Alexander would catch glimpses—shapes shifting just out of focus, always gone when he turned. His system remained quiet, save for occasional flickers on the threat radar.
After three hours, they found the first remains—charred armor, melted weapons, and bones.
"Cadets," Jace said grimly, crouching. "Not from our batch. Must've been sent earlier."
"Why didn't they report back?" Milo asked.
No one answered.
They continued, and by nightfall, they set camp near a rock outcrop. Zeke set the perimeter wards while Calen used a compact tool to build a field shelter.
"I didn't think I'd end up here when I joined," Calen said quietly once they were settled. "I just wanted to escape home. I thought maybe I'd make something of myself."
Milo handed him a ration bar. "You're already doing that, man."
Zeke nodded from where he sat sharpening his blade. "We're not dead. That's a good start."
Then, as if summoned by the silence, Jace spoke.
"My brothers died in a breach three years ago," he said suddenly. "They were stronger than me. Braver too. And the Rift still tore them apart."
He looked at the fire. "So yeah. I act like an idiot sometimes. But if I don't laugh, I'll drown."
Milo blinked, stunned. "I… I didn't know, Jace."
Alexander glanced around. For a moment, the fire crackled without response.
Then Calen said softly, "I thought I had nothing to prove. Turns out I do."
Zeke leaned forward. "Everyone does. Some just hide it better."
Alexander stared into the flames.
"I wasn't supposed to survive the breach," he said quietly. "Everyone thought I'd die. Some even hoped I would."
They looked at him, waiting.
"But I didn't," he added. "And I won't. Not now. Not until I've changed something."
He didn't speak of the system. Not yet.
They didn't ask. Not yet.
Instead, they sat in silence—five boys beneath the ruined sky, bound by a promise to rise.
The next day began with blood.
Barely an hour into their march, the mist stirred unnaturally. Shapes erupted from the fog—warped creatures, hunched and shrieking with needle limbs and acidic breath.
Alexander reacted instantly.
"Form on me!"
He launched forward with Vector Step, slicing through the first with a Corrosive Strike that melted its armor-like hide. Zeke struck beside him, his movements controlled and vicious. Milo's barrier pulse shielded them from a flank, and Jace tore through another with a reckless spin of his twin blades.
Calen surprised them all.
He activated a wavefield disruptor and channeled precise mana blasts into weak points Alexander's Inspection had exposed earlier.
"Nice shot," Alexander called.
Calen flushed, but nodded. "Wasn't luck."
As the last beast fell, sizzling into the earth, they regrouped—panting, bloody, but alive.
No one spoke for a while.
Then Jace exhaled. "So… definitely not a test."
Alexander checked his system silently.
> EXP Gained: 2,700
Current EXP: 43,120
He dismissed the notification and looked ahead. They still had hours left to march. The beacon tower wasn't even in sight.
But something had changed between them.