The Train Stops
For the first time in memory of all people aboard the train at that time, the Doom Train stopped moving.
Not slowed —not paused —stopped.
Every candidate onboard felt it in their bones. A silence rolled through the compartments, dense and thick, like something massive had inhaled and refused to exhale.
Then the pods retracted.
Hisses of steam. Clicks of metal. Gasps of breath from hundreds across Coach Fourteen.
Lights flickered back to life. Artificial gravity stabilized. Halo Watches rebooted one by one.
[Systems Restored][Descent Complete – Sector 9][Await Directive]
The candidates looked around in confusion, some disoriented, others nauseous from sudden consciousness.
Gudi Moru stumbled out of her pod, clutching her head. Vedant blinked rapidly, fire flickering weakly at his fingertips before sputtering out. Ayush Dhal scanned his surroundings in cold silence, already assessing.
Raghu stepped out quietly, the sword warm at his side. The fragments inside hummed — not like before, but sharper, urging him to move.
At Harry's Deck — he just saw an The Unthinkable Alert, he leaned over the panoramic display, jaw clenched.
The Doom Train had docked at Station Nine.
Docked.
"Impossible…" he whispered. "There shouldn't be anything to dock with."
His console blinked violently:
[STATION DETECTED – ID UNKNOWN]
[ANCHOR LOCK INITIATED]
[ASCENSION TRAIL: RANK GATE 1]
The cameras adjusted, revealing a sight that made Harry's blood run cold.
Station Nine Revealed itself to everyone onboard, just beyond the rails, a structure rose from the broken terrain —vast, ancient, impossible.
Not built like the later stations candidates had heard stories about — this one was older, carved into metal so ancient it looked grown, not forged.
Colossal spires curved around the stopping point like the ribs of a sleeping giant. Floating sigil-plates drifted in spirals overhead, glowing with faint geometric inscriptions that nobody alive could decipher.
Fragments of shattered platforms hung suspended in gravity anomalies, rotating slowly, almost gracefully, as if dancing to a forgotten rhythm.
A massive gate — cracked in half but still humming with power — waited ahead. Its surface was covered in symbols that shifted whenever someone blinked, refusing stable interpretation.
The atmosphere shimmered pale green and amber, a mix of energy fields and raw, exposed core-light.
Ayush whispered under his breath,"…this place wasn't in any records he had seen."
That is when an Announcement was made, Without warning, every Halo Watch lit up with a deep amber glow.
A voice unlike the CNC — old, resonant, and absolute — filled the compartments:
"All candidates of Coach Fourteen…"
"Ascension Trail — Sector Nine Gate begins."
"Proceed to Station Entrance for Rank Trial."
"Failure to participate will result in station discharge."
Raghu frowned. "Discharge?"
Gudi snorted. "Pretty way to say 'get kicked off into the abyss.'" Reactions were similar all aboard the compartment 14. Everyone having just single thought " what the hell is happening ? " Hoping that CNC might inform them of what was going on, looking constantly for information through halo watches.. but no information arrived !!
The lights in the corridor brightened, guiding them toward the open hatch.
Raghu's sword pulsed — twice, hard.
The fragments were vibrating toward the door, the resonance tugging at his arm like a compass pointing north.
He stepped through the hatch and froze.
The air outside the train was different —thick with ancient memory, humming with raw energy.
The moment his foot touched the station's metal, the ground beneath him lit up in green lines radiating outward like roots seeking something.
Ayush turned sharply to look at Raghu.
Vedant's eyes narrowed.
Gudi tilted her head, curious.
They had seen the glow along with several others who had keen observations.
Raghu forced the sword to quiet, the hum sinking beneath the Verdant Pulse.
As Raghu feeling the connect , approached the main gate, the symbols carved into its fractured surface rearranged themselves — only for a moment, flickering into a shape resembling an eye.
Just one pulse.
A recognition.
Then they faded again.
Raghu swallowed." Did… anyone see—"
"No," Ayush said sharply.
He had seen it — and he didn't like what it meant.
Harry saw it too, from the observation deck.
He muttered: "Of all the candidates… why does the Gate respond to him?"
When all the 100 candidates assembled near the gate,The massive gate trembled. Dust fell. Energy flared.
Then a deep groan echoed through the station as the gate cracked open, revealing a corridor of floating platforms suspended in a void of amber light.
The first trial arena.
This was not a normal trial. Not anything the CNC designed. Not anything the Circles ever documented.
This was something that had been waiting.
Ayush whispered,"…it's like the station itself woke up for us."
"No," Vedant said quietly, eyes fixed on Raghu. "its more like it woke up for him specifically."he muttered but it was heard by few, which caused several people to stare at Raghu.
Raghu paid little attention to the stares but felt the fragments inside his sword pulse again…welcoming him.
Urging him.
Calling him forward.
The Ascension Trail had begun And Sector Nine was watching in anticipation.