They had run.
Through valleys shrouded in blood mist, crawling with horrors born of corrupted ether and warped reflections, they ran. The mirror monsters swarmed from every crevice like shards of a nightmare, mimicking flesh and light with soulless precision. Their forms twisted—sometimes human, sometimes beast, always wrong.
Xin's legs burned with every step, muscles screaming for reprieve. His lungs wheezed, unaccustomed to pushing this far, this long. Sweat stung his eyes, but he didn't dare stop. None of them did.
Behind him, the valley seemed to scream. Steel clanged as soldiers clashed with the relentless horde. Shouts pierced the air, raw and desperate. The staccato of distorted screams echoed through the canyons, a sound that burrowed into the mind and festered. Yet somehow, they pushed through—cutting a path through the chaos with grit, desperation, and barely enough strength to hold their weapons. Blades flashed, blood sprayed, and the ground grew slick with the ichor of shattered monsters.
The mirror monsters… they weren't chasing anymore.
Xin slowed, nearly collapsing, his chest heaving as he gulped air.
His vision swam, but he forced his eyes to focus on the clearing ahead, where the valley opened into a vast stretch of open ground. The monsters had pulled back, their retreat sudden and unnatural. Not out of fear, he realized, but instinct.
They were evacuating.
Running—not from the soldiers, but from something else.
His gaze swept the battlefield, littered with the fallen. Soldiers groaned, some dragging themselves forward, others lying still. And then he saw her.
Among the wounded and the barely breathing, curled up behind a bloodied soldier's corpse, was a girl. She couldn't have been older than fifteen, maybe younger, if one accounted for the strange way different races aged in this fractured world. Her hair was matted with sweat and dirt, clinging to her face in dark, tangled strands. Her skin shimmered faintly, a subtle glow that marked her as something not quite extraordinary. Her wide eyes locked onto his, alert and unblinking, like a cornered animal. She had used the body of the fallen soldier as a shield, her small frame tucked against the corpse as if it could hide her from the horrors.
Xin froze.
For a moment, something twisted in his chest. Disgust? Confusion? Guilt? What kind of person hides behind the dead? The thought clawed at him, sharp and accusing. And yet, as he stared into her frightened eyes, he couldn't bring himself to judge her.
Not fully.
She was just a kid, thrown into this cursed place where survival demanded choices no one should have to make. Maybe hiding behind the dead was the only thing that had kept her alive.
The ground trembled, a low rumble that snapped Xin's thoughts back to the present. The sky was brightening, the first rays of dawn creeping over the ridges of the valley. The monsters' sudden withdrawal made sense now.
The sun was rising.
Their screeches grew louder, more panicked, as light spilled across the landscape. Shadows shrank, leaving no shade, no cover in the wide expanse. The army stood exposed, soldiers looking up in dawning horror as they realized they were about to be caught in the open. The mirror monsters thrived in darkness, in the warped reflections of moonlight and mist. Sunlight was their bane, but it wouldn't spare the soldiers if they couldn't find cover.
Xin's heart was in immense stress. He was out of time, out of strength. But then—light shone.
A dome of golden shimmer burst around them, translucent and radiant, like a barrier of sun-kissed glass. It enveloped the soldiers, stretching across the clearing in a perfect arc. The monsters wailed at its edge, their glassy forms fracturing as they tried to cross, only to be repelled by the searing light. The soldiers stood in stunned silence, their weapons lowered, their breaths held.
Xin had done it.
Despite the pain tearing through his body, despite the exhaustion threatening to drag him into unconsciousness, he had summoned the dome. It was a trick Shun had taught him, one he barely understood, using the strange energies of the Regalia fused into his being. The artifact pulsed within him, a warmth that both anchored and drained him. He stood at the dome's center, knees buckling, arms trembling, but still standing. His vision blurred, but he held the barrier steady, pouring every ounce of will into keeping it intact.
And then—words appeared before the soildiers eyes, floating like an illusion.
ㄴCongratulations! You have one Restriction released!ㄱ
ㄴEther usage is now availableㄱ
A rush filled his chest, not wind, not adrenaline—something older, deeper. The Regalia's power surged, stabilizing the dome. It no longer relied entirely on his fading strength. The barrier held firm, a beacon of hope in the chaos.
They had done it. They had crossed the finish line.
Cheers broke out among the soldiers—hoarse, ragged, but alive with relief and disbelief. Some collapsed to their knees, tears streaming down bloodied faces. Others embraced, their laughter tinged with hysteria. Belial stumbled toward Xin, his violet eyes glinting with a tired grin. He clapped Xin on the shoulder, catching him as his legs finally gave out.
"You idiot," Belial muttered, slinging Xin onto his back with a grunt. "You could've just said you were dying."
Xin chuckled weakly, his voice barely a whisper. "I was trying to be dramatic."
Belial snorted, adjusting his grip as he carried Xin across the last stretch of land. "Next time, try less dying, more talking."
The soldiers moved forward, their steps lighter despite their wounds. The dome faded as the sun climbed higher, banishing the mirror monsters back to their cursed hiding holes. The terrain shifted—less jagged, more serene.
A path of cracked stone emerged, leading them toward a shadowed entrance carved into the base of a giant mountain.
A cave entrance.
The sun hung high now, relentless in its heat. Xin, barely conscious, blinked as the cool air of the cave brushed against his face.
His vision swam, but he caught a glimpse of the girl from before. She was trailing behind a group of soldiers, her small hands gripping a torn jacket like it was armor. Her eyes met his again, unreadable, before she turned away.
Darkness swallowed him as he passed out.
Inside the cave, shadows danced across the walls, cast by the flickering light of hastily lit fires. The wounded were treated with what little supplies remained—bandages torn from clothing, herbs crushed into makeshift salves. Rations were passed around, meager portions of dried meat and stale strange fruits. The air held a lingering tension, a leftover chill from the horrors they had narrowly escaped.
No one spoke of the mirror monsters, but their presence lingered in the back of their minds, in the way eyes darted toward the cave's entrance.
Belial sat near the mouth of the cave, feeling the runes on his curved longsword. His violet eyes, sharp and tired, kept glancing toward the entrance, watching the light shift. He hadn't slept, though exhaustion tugged at him.
Someone had to keep watch, and he trusted himself more than the others. Behind him, Xin slept, curled under a blanket made from scavenged cloth. His breathing was shallow but steady, a small comfort in the aftermath of chaos.
A few soldiers kept guard, their weapons close. Some whispered about what came next—rumors of another stage, another trial. Others didn't dare speak, as if naming the future might summon it too soon. The girl sat apart from the rest, her back against the cave wall, her knees drawn to her chest. She hadn't spoken since they'd entered, but her eyes followed every movement.
Belial's gaze lingered on her for a moment before returning to Xin. His friend had pulled through, somehow. That dome—he hadn't thought Xin had it in him. The Regalia was a mystery, even to those who carried it. Shun had known more, but Shun didn't has his, and Xin was left to figure it out alone. Belial's grip tightened on his blade. He'd make sure Xin didn't have to face it entirely alone.
The cave was quiet now, save for the crackle of the fires and the occasional groan of the wounded. Outside, the sun blazed, but its light didn't reach far into the mountain's depths. The soldiers had survived the valley, the monsters, the dawn.
At least one thing was clear,
They had cleared the first stage.