Mist thickened around the survivors, heavy as smoke. From it came the sound of claws scraping stone, jaws grinding bone. One monster had fallen, but a dozen more prowled in the fog, circling.
The first trial wasn't over.
Kai clenched his fists, forcing his panic down. He could feel the Wraith beside him, its ember eyes burning, its skeletal form taller now—closer to his chest than his knee. Thin, jagged bone armor had sprouted along its shoulders, its claws lengthened into cruel hooks.
It turned to him and… laughed again. Not a sound made with lungs, but a rattling, clattering rasp that crawled under his skin.
[Little Wraith: Level 2][Trait Gained: Shadow Claws.]
Kai's breath hitched. "You can… evolve."
Before he could think further, someone shouted:
"Don't just stand there! Fight or you'll die!"
It was the woman with fire swirling around her arms. Her wolf of flame growled, pacing at her side. Her sharp gaze flicked to Kai—disdain flashing for just a second before she turned back toward the mist.
The monsters lunged.
Ash exploded as the ground shook. Dozens of skeletal beasts surged forward, their bone jaws wide, eyes burning with sickly green flame.
The survivors broke. Some fought, screaming as weapons of light and steel clashed with claws. Others fled, only to vanish into the fog with bloodcurdling shrieks.
Kai's heart thundered. His whole body screamed at him to run—but he forced himself to plant his feet. He'd run all his life. He'd been weak all his life. Not here. Not now.
The first beast lunged at him.
"Go!" Kai roared.
The Wraith shot forward, claws blazing with black smoke. It met the monster head-on, raking across its skull. Bone cracked. The beast staggered, but another leapt behind it.
"Shit!"
Instinct overrode thought. Kai's shadow stretched unnaturally long, as if the mist had thickened into tar. It snapped upward, wrapping around the second beast's legs mid-leap. The monster screeched, crashing into the ash with a bone-crunching snap.
Kai froze, staring at his hands. Did I… do that?
[New Skill Unlocked: Shadow Bind.][You may now manipulate shadows as extensions of yourself.]
Another notification burned into his vision. His chest tightened—not from fear, but something else.
Power.
It wasn't much, not compared to the others, but for the first time in his life, he didn't feel powerless.
"More incoming!" someone screamed.
The battlefield was chaos. Survivors fought in clusters—some wielding glowing swords, some casting elemental blasts. But for every beast they cut down, another crawled from the mist. The air stank of burning bone and fresh blood.
Kai and his Wraith fought back to back. The Wraith's claws shredded through weaker enemies with manic glee, while Kai's shadows tripped, bound, and dragged monsters into its reach. Each kill sent a jolt through his veins.
[Enemy slain.][Shadow Assimilation: +1.]
The Wraith grew stronger. Its movements sharper. Its laughter louder.
But Kai could feel it—each assimilation also tugged at something inside him. Like a thread being pulled tighter, drawing him closer to a darkness whispering at the edge of thought.
"Focus!"
The fire-wielding woman's voice cut through his haze. She was nearby, her wolf tearing into a monster twice its size. Sweat plastered her hair to her face, her arms blazing with heat. She glanced at him again, eyes narrowing.
"You're not half bad," she muttered. "Don't slow me down."
Before Kai could answer, a roar shook the battlefield.
From the mist emerged something larger—towering above the others. Its body was stitched from dozens of bones, its four arms ending in bladed claws, its skull crowned with jagged horns.
The lesser beasts scattered before it.
[Elite Enemy Detected.][Bone Reaper — Level 5.][Kill or be killed.]
Kai's blood ran cold. Around him, the survivors faltered. Some cursed. Some backed away. A few ran outright.
The Bone Reaper's eyes locked on the crowd. It slammed one claw into the ground, sending cracks splintering through the ash. Then it charged.
"Move!" the fire-wielder shouted.
Screams erupted. Survivors scattered like leaves in a storm.
Kai couldn't move. His legs trembled, but not from fear—something else. His shadow writhed at his feet like it was alive, reaching eagerly toward the Reaper.
His Wraith let out a rasping cackle, its ember eyes blazing brighter than ever.
And in that moment, Kai realized something terrifying.
The Trial wanted them to die.The System wanted him to fight.But the shadows?
The shadows wanted blood.