Excerpt from Netflix Original Documentary: The Crossing: Voices from the Void (Episode 1)

  "That day I was fixing a breaker in a service corridor. I blinked, and then I was standing in a scorching desert with a sky that never moved. No morning. No evening. Just the same light.

  People always say monsters are the main killers in these places. Maybe in Misty Mountain. Maybe in Twilight Canyon. Not here. Here, the first enemy was the desert. The heat pulled the water out of you. Your mind showed you pictures that were not real.

  Officers later said that our site suffered the worst losses. They said only one in five came back. I believe it. In other dungeons, you watched for claws and teeth. In ours, you guarded your body and your thoughts every minute. You could die without anything touching you.

  There were monsters. We saw men of sand who fell apart and pulled back together. We saw black beetles, small and shiny, that swarmed ankles and sleeves and tried to burrow. We tied our cuffs and stayed on rocks when we could. They liked sand and stayed off bare stone.

  The worst were the tricks. Shade that moved away. Water that was not there. A friend calling your name from behind. We learned simple rules. Walk in pairs with a short rope. Count steps. Stop and speak your number. If you hear your name, say you hear it and keep your feet still.

  I lived because an older man ensured that I followed all the rules. Ten small sips each hour. Rest your eyes before you choose a direction. Touch the ground before you trust it."

  — Interview with survivor Hossam El Sayed, 41, electrician, Cairo, Egypt

  Naga POV

  Naga watched the impact of his words ripple outward. Their expressions—tight jaws, blank stares, averted eyes—told him more than words ever could.

  He broke the pause, voice level but clipped. “No use spiraling over what-ifs. What we need is water.”

  The air hung heavy. He held Rohan’s gaze a moment longer.

  “Yes. Yes, we need water,” Rohan said, dragging himself back. His voice cracked like dry bark. He looked at his team, haunted and hesitant. “Which direction should we go?”

  Naga saw it clearly now. For a group that had fought monsters, their leadership bent easily. “First, we arm ourselves. Bunty can taper the spear tips—sharpen them better than your current ones.” He pointed to the man in restaurant uniform who was also wearing an apron.

  He reached out a hand for Varun’s weapon, then looked to Rohan. “You mentioned something earlier. Crystals. Skills. What did you mean?”

  Rohan inhaled, readying an explanation. But Sid, eyes fixed on the mist-laced canopy, cut in. “We should post a lookout. We can’t afford another surprise.”

  He’s a cautious one, thought Naga, watching Sid’s eyes flick to every movement, every sound behind the mist.

  “Yes,” Rohan said. “You and Varun, take watch. Check above as well.” He pointed at the swirling veil that hung between trunks like a warning.

  Naga eased into the conversation. “Did anything attack you from above?”

  Mahesh’s jaw tightened. “A giant spider.” His voice was clipped. “Killed two of our friends.” Allen’s name rose in his throat, but he didn’t speak it. The ground seemed to shift under his feet like loose gravel.

  Naga read the flinch that passed through the group. “I’m sorry.” He let the silence hold for a moment. “We endure, and we take their memories home.”

  Bunty worked fast; metal whispered on wood. The sound of carving returned rhythm to the group. When he finished, they had six spears, each carved and stripped for balance. For the injured man, he fashioned a shorter staff with a tapered end, something he could balance with the crutch.

  “Where to?” Mahesh asked, shrugging a bag onto his shoulder.

  “Before we head out,” Naga said, his voice firmer now, “you mentioned crystals. And skills. What does that mean?”

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  This time, there was no sidestep. Rohan answered evenly. “When a monster dies, a white crystal appears next to it. If someone picks it up and absorbs it, they get one of the creature’s abilities. I can shoot webs like that spider. Varun’s skill makes him fast—faster than anything I’ve seen.”

  Sid’s shoulders sank.

  Naga’s brow furrowed, voice low. “Absorb how?”

  “When you touch a crystal, words appear in your vision—like an AR display. It asks whether you want to absorb the skill,” Rohan said.

  Imran, the restaurant manager, muttered, “Ye log pagal hai kya? (Are these people crazy?)” Then he translated for Bunty, tone clipped. The moment he finished, the group had gone still, all eyes fixed on him.

  Varun and Mahesh shared the same flat, unhappy look. Varun dropped into a runner’s crouch and moved into a slow jog toward Imran.

  Sid’s hand shot out. “Don’t!” But Varun was already moving; air shifted before the word left his mouth. Leaves fluttered as Varun blurred past Imran’s shoulder, missing him by inches, and skidded through wet leaf litter a few meters beyond.

  Mahesh steadied his tone, leaning on the last word. “Varun, be careful. You might hurt yourself or others.”

  Varun ignored him and smirked at Imran, as if waiting for a reaction.

  “Aditi and Mahesh keep a lookout. Varun’s too busy showing off,” Sid said. Aditi’s chin lifted in answer. Mahesh moved to a better vantage point.

  Sid turned to Varun. “You could have seriously hurt him. Don’t do that again.”

  “What? I was careful,” Varun said, rolling his shoulders like he could shed the accusation. “Also, pretty sure I just leveled up.”

  “What do you mean, leveled up?” Rohan asked, frowning. “Dash was Level 1 when I got it. After the spider fight, it leveled to 3,” Varun said. His voice dropped for a beat, then steadied. “It just became Level 4.”

  “I am not following,” Naga said, brows drawn. His smile didn’t reach his eyes—less amusement, more analysis.

  “This place runs on game-like rules,” Sid offered. “Stats, skills, tiers—it’s not normal. We’re still putting the pieces together.” His voice cracked slightly, betraying the weight behind the words. Even as he spoke, his gaze swept the misted treeline, hunting for threats.

  Rohan and Varun took turns relaying what they knew—skill names, the strange tier system, and how crystals acted as keys to new abilities.

  Naga listened as if he were parsing a contract. “Then why is Rohan Tier 1, and Varun still Tier 0?” he asked, testing how the system ranked them.

  Varun spoke before anyone else. “Maybe the spider ranked higher than the boar.” His delivery sounded half-rehearsed.

  Sid’s eyes went to Rohan, then back to the group. “Rohan nearly blacked out after absorbing that one. Could be the strain of a higher-tier ability.”

  Mahesh frowned. “Rohan’s intelligence is four times Varun’s. Does that mean he’s four times more intelligent?” His tone was plain, not cutting, but Varun’s brows furrowed all the same.

  “Intelligence usually governs magic in games. Mana Web could’ve increased Rohan’s stats when he absorbed it,” Sid jumped in before the conversation spiraled into a verbal spat.

  The blonde woman frowned. “You think we’re inside a video game? That sounds like the plot of a terrible movie.”

  Sid rubbed his jaw. “I’m not sure. But we’re seeing a lot of game elements. Stat sheets. Skills.”

  Varun nodded. “And skills have levels that can go up. That is game-like too.”

  Naga glanced between them. “So how do we get out of this place? By finishing this… game?” Stuck inside a game, huh! But why were we selected? Was it just random or was there a specific reason? He thought to himself.

  “Even if this is a game, why were we selected?” asked the blonde.

  “We don’t have all the answers,” Sid said. “We’re testing what we can and trying not to die while we do it,” he added with a self-deprecating smile. He kept his eyes on the mist line, not the faces.

  “Let’s move. With luck, we’ll find water before dark,” Mahesh said, giving Rohan a small nod to take point.

  Rohan stepped in, firing off instructions. “Varun, take point, no stunts. Keep ten meters ahead and pause if you hear ‘Freeze.’ Naga, your people take the right flank; stay level with me.” He glanced to his own side. “Sid, rear guard. Mahesh and Aditi, left flank. The rest of us stay in the middle.”

  His team nodded. The newcomers showed calculation and a touch of suspicion. Rohan read it and answered it. “I’m in the center so that I can fire Mana Web on any side.”

  “Understood,” said Naga. “But there’s a chance you might hit one of us instead of the monster with that skill of yours. Can you call out a warning before firing?”

  “Sure, will do,” Rohan agreed. “But let’s keep verbal communication to a minimum. Observe the fog constantly. We’ve already lost two people, and can’t afford another surprise. Speak only if you have something to report.”

  Varun eased ahead. The newcomers adjusted their spacing. The blonde matched Rohan’s tempo. The backpacker settled into a steady, quiet step. Sid drifted to the rear, scanning from canopy to trail.

  An hour of quiet downhill work stretched them thin. Varun lifted a hand. The column stopped. He beckoned them forward. Rohan and Naga crouched and moved. Mahesh and Sid followed, careful and low.

  Through a gap, a small pond sat in a shallow basin. The smell of mud and sweet rot lifted from the waterline. Fresh cloven prints overlapped at the edge. A churned patch showed where a heavy body had rolled.

  “Shouldn’t we set up camp?” Mahesh asked, hope leaking into his voice at the sight of water and open ground.

  “There might be monsters using this as a watering hole,” Rohan said. “We scout before we decide anything.”

  Naga scanned the clearing edge. “Agreed. Rohan, stay here with the larger group. Your web works best as a shield if something breaks through. Mahesh can support you. Varun, Sid, and I will sweep the perimeter.”

  Rohan nodded and stepped back without protest. “Alright.”

  Mahesh followed and leaned in close. “He’s sidelining you.”

  “I care more about survival than leadership.” Rohan kept his tone even.

  The sweep team returned at a quick pace, boots quiet on the forest floor. Varun’s face gave nothing away. Rohan lifted his chin. “Good news or bad?”

  Naga didn’t slow. “Two boars near the water. If we’re smart, that’s two crystals.”

  Sid cut in. “Or two chances to get ourselves killed. We got the last win through luck.”