Tee opened her eyes, shifting into her alternate vision to peer beyond the four figures standing before her. The world blurred around her, like scenery glimpsed from a train window in frantic motion. Endless trees stretched for miles, their trunks vanishing into a misty gray fog, and for a fleeting moment, a spark of hope flickered within her. In the distance, she spotted a peculiar clearing, where the trees thinned just enough to reveal something unusual. It felt significant—worth investigating.

  Relinquishing her focus, Tee let her alternate vision fade, only to find the world framed from behind her own head. The unexpected perspective clearly indicated the direction they needed to move. The entire search had taken barely ten minutes.

  "What the—!" she exclaimed, leaning back on her arms as she opened her eyes fully. It wasn’t Kod’s unsettling proximity, his dark gaze lingering on her, that unnerved her the most. It was the others’ reactions—swiftly averting their eyes as though they hadn’t been watching at all.

  Kod cleared his throat, masking his curiosity with a casual cough. "So weird," he muttered.

  Tee furrowed her brow, stretching her legs as she rose to her feet.

  Saeda, her grin wide and voice unusually vibrant, chimed in, "So, did you find anything?"

  Aware that her teammates were discussing her even while her hearing dulled under the strain of her vision, Tee nodded. "Yes. There’s a vast clearing in that direction," she said, pointing toward the gap in the trees. "Trust me, we can’t miss it."

  All eyes followed her gesture, curiosity flickering across their faces. Tee added with cautious certainty, "There’s also… something waiting for us." Though all she had seen were the open spaces between the trunks, her instincts told her danger lurked.

  Zod’s arms fell to his sides, tension etched in his posture. "What? What’s waiting for us?" he asked, his voice tight with unease.

  Tee avoided his gaze, focusing instead on the task ahead. "We should travel above ground," Kie suggested, eyes scanning the towering trunks with their massive, gnarled bases. "On the ground, we’d have to navigate around these beasts. Moving through the branches is faster, and the leaves could shield us if an ambush comes."

  Before anyone could respond, Kie launched himself upward with a single, powerful leap, disappearing into the canopy.

  "Oh no, you don’t!" Tee declared, determination flaring.

  She lunged forward, following closely, her body fluid and precise as she vaulted from branch to branch. The others mirrored her movements, their forms streamlined and swift, propelling them through the dense foliage with startling agility.

  The wind rushed past her face, leaves brushing against her arms and legs, carrying the earthy scent of bark and moss. The rhythm of their movement—the snap of branches underfoot, the whisper of leaves—felt like a heartbeat pulsing through the forest. Kie’s prediction was right: the treetops were the fastest path.

  Amid the blur of motion, Kie’s voice cut through the wind. "Miko, go ahead! You’re faster!"

  With a quick nod, Miko surged forward, vanishing in a streak of motion. Moments later, her voice crackled through their comms. "Guys, where are you? I’m already here!"

  Tee gritted her teeth, pushing herself harder, muscles burning as she kept pace, branches snapping beneath her weight. Each leap was precise, a careful calculation of balance and distance.

  As the clearing came into view, they descended gracefully, landing on the ground with silent precision. The open space was vast, circular, roughly the size of a football stadium, the fine sand beneath their feet shifting slightly with each step. Short logs jutted upright from the earth, no wider than a gold ball, like jagged markers scattered across the field.

  Still perched on the lower branches near Miko, they paused, taking in their surroundings.

  “Look!” Tee exclaimed, her gaze locking onto a dark figure moving in the center of the clearing. The others followed her line of sight. A person, cloaked head to toe in black, stood alone amid the circular arena. “He doesn’t seem to notice us. We should strike now.”

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  “That’s… rude,” Miko murmured.

  “Remember,” Kie whispered, his eyes narrowing, “this is a test. There’s nothing polite about killing a Harbinger.”

  “That could still be a trap,” Zod cautioned, tension creeping into his voice.

  “Hello there!” a male voice suddenly rang out, cutting through the air.

  “Dammit, he saw us,” Zod muttered under his breath.

  Tee and the others leapt down to the lower ground, landing with controlled grace.

  “With utmost honor, I present unto thee, the defenders of our planet, to face the initial trial!” the man bellowed, his voice carrying across the clearing.

  Tee’s eyebrows knit in irritation at the strange accent and the pompous proclamation. defenders of the planet? How na?ve did they think they were? Neither she nor the others took the claim seriously.

  “The rules stand firm,” the figure continued, voice booming. “Ye shall labor in unity to vanquish me and procure the sacred scroll, that thou mayest progress forthwith.”

  “Scroll? Where is it?” Zod blurted, curiosity winning over caution.

  Kie smirked wryly, clenching his fists as if ready to strike. “I’m assuming he’s hiding it on him, huh?”

  Tee tugged at the cuff of her right glove with a mischievous grin. “Five against one? This is too easy.”

  Kie summoned a sword, the steel materializing in a flash, effectively blocking their path.

  “Wait!” he commanded.

  “Why are we stopping?” Tee hissed, impatience lacing her voice.

  Kie kicked a small pebble, watching it sink silently into the sandy ground between two upright logs.

  Saeda’s eyes widened, alarm spilling from her mouth. “Quicksand.”

  “One point for me,” Kie murmured to Tee, his voice a teasing whisper that sent a shiver down her spine. A smug smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, the mischievous glint in his eyes challenging her pride.

  Furrowing her brow, Tee refused to meet him, keeping her focus on the danger ahead. “Great, we’re even,” she replied, silently acknowledging that it was her foresight that had guided them this far.

  Saeda’s gaze scanned the field, careful and precise. “We have to walk on those logs,” she said, her voice equal parts caution and curiosity.

  With a flicker of motion, Tee and Kie leapt from log to log, their movements fluid and synchronized, Miko joining moments later in a blur of speed. Tee felt the familiar fire ignite within her, her resolve hardening. That was for Xeno, for all Xeno-victims. She will be better than them all!

  Kie led the charge, moving ahead of Tee, but she sensed a trick. The opponent would likely dodge him, leaving her the chance to steal the show.

  A sharp, metallic snap cut through the air—the opponent’s spiked whip arcing toward them. It collided with Kie’s sword in a violent clash, sparks flying as the force reverberated through the clearing. Kie’s blade shattered, splintering under the brutal impact.

  The blow sent Kie hurtling backward, his body twisting through the air with an almost eerie grace before disappearing from Tee’s sight, swallowed by the chaos below.

  In that instant, Miko reached Tee. Their connection was immediate, minds linking instinctively to share awareness. Together, they shifted their attention to the looming threat: a rain of darts arcing toward them from above.

  They pressed their feet firmly onto separate logs, anchoring themselves against the treacherous currents below. Steel flashed into existence in their hands, swords materializing with a humming intensity.

  Blades danced in a symphony of motion, flashing, slashing, and parrying against the relentless hail of darts. Each clash rang through the air like hammers against iron, metallic sparks spraying in all directions. Some darts were deflected with precision, others found their mark, leaving searing lacerations that burned with fiery pain.

  Kie’s hand shot out, grasping the top of a log with desperate strength, fingers clutching the rough wood like a lifeline as quicksand threatened to claim him.

  The assault was merciless. Sharp darts battered Tee and Miko’s swords with the impact of thrown stones, echoing through the clearing in a relentless percussion. One by one, some darts cut through, gouging deep, stinging scratches across their skin.

  “Auch!” Tee cried, the jagged pain shooting up her arms and legs, a visceral reminder of the danger she faced.

  Her gaze dropped to the logs beneath her feet, noting how the fallen darts disappeared into the quicksand’s treacherous depths, a stark warning of the hazards lurking below.

  They shifted their swords, scanning the field, only to find it empty—the opponent vanished. Confusion knitted their brows.

  Saeda mirrored their bewilderment, eyes sweeping every corner of the clearing, finding only the distant ring of trees enclosing them. Meanwhile, Zod planted himself across several logs, bracing to help haul Kie back to safety.

  Then came the subtle warning—the fine hairs on their necks and arms standing on end, a primal alert to imminent danger. Their gazes lifted skyward.

  A black storm descended. Countless darts rained down upon them like a torrent, a deafening cascade of impending doom.

  The sheer magnitude of the attack froze them, hearts hammering, muscles tensing in primal terror. They were caught in the eye of the storm, dwarfed by the relentless onslaught, every instinct screaming to survive.