Windspire Rift howled around them, the wind slicing through the jagged cliffs like invisible blades. Students tightened their grips on weapons, nerves buzzing beneath forced bravado.
Carter stood near the back of the formation, eyes scanning every shadow, every tremor in the stone.
He remembered this place too well.
The cold.
The fear.
The moment everything went wrong.
REI hovered beside him, invisible to everyone else, her voice a soft whisper in his mind.
"Energy fluctuations rising. The anomaly is close."
Carter swallowed. "How close?"
"Within sixty seconds."
His pulse quickened.
Ahead, Lucas strutted confidently, sword glowing faintly as he carved through another wind fiend.
"Easy!" Lucas shouted. "We'll be out of here in no time."
Carter's jaw tightened.
He knew what was coming.
He knew Lucas would run.
He knew the others would panic.
He knew Eli would freeze.
Not this time.
---
The ground trembled.
A low rumble rolled through the dungeon, shaking dust from the cliffs.
Students stumbled, glancing around nervously.
"What was that?" someone whispered.
REI's tone sharpened. "Carter. It's starting."
A pulse of violet energy tore through the air, warping the dungeon walls like melting glass.
The wind died.
The world held its breath.
Then—
CRACK.
A second rift ripped open in the sky, jagged and violent, glowing with unnatural purple light.
Screams erupted.
"What the hell is that?!"
"Is that part of the assessment?!"
"No—no, that's not supposed to be here!"
Carter stepped forward, heart pounding.
He remembered this exact moment.
The terror.
The helplessness.
The pain.
But this time, he wasn't helpless.
REI's voice echoed sharply. "Entity emerging. Classification: Unknown. Danger Level: Catastrophic."
The creature stepped through the rift.
A hulking mass of smoke and bone, its form shifting like a nightmare trying to take shape.
Its eyes burned like dying stars.
Students froze.
Lucas was the first to break.
"RUN!"
He bolted.
The others followed—Kiera, the tank, the healer—everyone sprinting for the exit.
Everyone except one.
Eli.
The freshman stood trembling, staff clutched to his chest, tears streaking down his face.
Just like before.
Carter's breath hitched.
This was the moment he died.
This was the moment everything changed.
REI whispered, "Carter. Divergence point reached."
He didn't hesitate.
He sprinted.
---
The creature lunged toward Eli, claws raised.
Carter slid between them, dagger flashing.
"MOVE!" he shouted, shoving Eli aside.
The monster's strike came down like a falling mountain.
Carter braced—
Energy Slash!
A burst of kinetic force exploded from his blade, colliding with the creature's arm.
The impact sent a shockwave through the cliffside.
The creature staggered.
Carter's eyes widened.
He'd actually pushed it back.
REI's voice chimed urgently. "Carter—your stats are insufficient for direct confrontation. You must evade!"
The creature roared, the sound vibrating through his bones.
Carter rolled aside as a claw slammed into the ground where he'd stood, shattering stone.
He sprang to his feet, adrenaline surging.
"REI—weak points!"
"Analyzing… analyzing… none detected."
"Great," Carter muttered. "Love that for me."
The creature lunged again.
Carter dodged, barely, feeling the wind of its strike brush his cheek.
Eli scrambled behind a rock, sobbing. "I—I'm sorry—I can't—I can't move—"
"You don't have to!" Carter shouted. "Just stay down!"
The creature turned toward Eli.
"No you don't."
Carter dashed forward, activating Disrupting Step.
His form blurred, slipping past the creature's swipe.
He slashed upward—Twin Arc!
Two kinetic blades tore across the creature's torso.
The monster roared, stumbling back.
Students who hadn't fled stared in shock.
"Is that Carter?!"
"How is he doing that?!"
"Since when does he have skills?!"
Carter didn't hear them.
He was focused.
Alive.
Determined.
REI's voice cut through the chaos. "Carter—its energy signature is destabilizing. It's preparing a high-tier attack."
The creature's chest glowed with violet light.
Carter's blood ran cold.
He remembered this attack.
It killed him last time.
"REI—options!"
"Only one," she said. "You must interrupt the charge."
"How?!"
Her eyes flickered. "With everything you have."
The creature roared, energy building.
Carter tightened his grip.
"Fine," he whispered. "Round two."
He sprinted straight at the monster.