The flash of cameras was relentless.
Reporters crowded the room, their voices overlapping, rising above the hum of static microphones and the low whir of drones capturing the scene from every angle.
Eleven stood at the center—bruised, burned, alive.
Rayyaan Sylvani walked up to the mic.
Cluck—Cluck, His footsteps echoed.
He gave the crowd a tired smile, the kind that says we've been through hell.
"Morning," he said, clearing his throat.
"We're the eleven. Out of the fifty who went in…we're what's left."
He looked around. Cameras flashed. Reporters leaned in.
"We were supposed to scout the World Tree… just a week, supposed to be a quick mission."
He clicked his tongue.
"Yeah. That didn't happen."
The silence that followed wasn't empty—it was heavy.
"We'll answer what we can. Let's get this over with."
The reporters froze. No one wanted to speak first.
They looked at one another—quiet exchanges of wide eyes. Cameras still rolling, pens hovering mid-air.
Then a younger reporter stepped forward, gripping her notepad.
She picked up a nearby mic and cleared her throat, voice steadier than she felt.
"What happened inside the World Tree?" she called out from the front.
The group exchanged glances. Asilent vote.
Miles Carter Took a step forward. His Voice didn't rise above the noise, but somehow, everyone heard him.
"The moment we stepped in… we were split apart."
He paused, eyes distant, as if the memory had claws.
"A system appeared in front of us—like some kind of game overlay. It said: [Individual Trial]. And then the monsters came."
"They weren't like anything from Earth," Noah Lefebvre added, rubbing a healing scar on his forearm.
"And there was no way out. A force field locked us in…like the tree wanted us there."
"Where are the others?" another reporter yelled. "There were more of you—"
This time, Lukas Schneider answered, jaw clenched.
"After the trial… another system triggered. A staircase appeared.
Stone. Spiral. Endless.
We climbed until our legs gave out. At the top was a land—another world."
He looked straight at the reporters. "We called it Floor One—"
"That doesn't answer the question!" another voice snapped.
"Where are they?"
The crowd grew quiet. Too quiet.
Callum Hayes looked up, his voice low but steady.
"They died," he said.
"Most of them…didn't make it past the trial."
He didn't raise his voice. He didn't have to.
Silence fell.
No one asked another question for a long while.
"After the trial, those of us who made it climbed the stairs… and found a world unlike anything Earth's ever seen. They call it Lumenoxis. We just called it Floor One. There's magic there. Entire civilizations. A system of skills. Currency. Monsters beyond anything we'd seen in the trials. Some… are intelligent."
Gasps swept through the crowd.
Not from horror.
Gasps swept through the crowd. Not from horror. Curiosity. The kind that makes people forget danger.
Cairo Moreira stepped in, voice firm. "Each of us will be working with the governments—establishing facilities. Maybe even schools. We'll share what we know, and train those who want to enter the tree. Raise the survival rate. Even if it's just a little."
After that we will go back inside the—
"And who approved of this little gathering of yours?"
Said by who? None other than a power-hungry politician of a certain country.
All 11 of them looked at each other—confused.
Anika Mehta raised a brow. "Who's this clown?"
Another political figure butted in, "And who do you think you are?"
This information was supposed to be confidential!"
Takeda Ren stepped forward. "The World Tree is far more dangerous than any of you might think… That's why we need to inform every single one. So we can fight it all together."
"Shut up, you ignorant fool!" one of them snapped.
"You're just a soldier deployed to do a task that you failed to do!"
Eun Seulgi cracked her neck. "Failed, you said?"
She clenched her fist. "Do you know how some of us DIED back there?"
Suddenly—soldiers surrounded the three politicians…
Guns pointed directly at the eleven.
Raka Santoso slapped a hand to his face. "Hehe… we're giving info for free after suffering from that hellish place, and this is how we get treated…"
Zeke scoffed. "You just want to capitalize on that info so you can leverage some income."
Rayyaan raised his hands. "Everyone, calm down."
Miles rolled his eyes. "Shut up for a minute, crocodiles… wait for your turn. The people come first."
All eleven of them chuckled slightly.
"STOP MAKING FUN OF ME!"
One politician snapped.
He lunged forward—grabbed a gun from a soldier nearby.
Their smiles dropped in an instant.
He pointed the gun at them—shaking, furious.
"You bunch of lowlifes think you're bigshots now just 'cause the media's watching, huh?" the politician shouted.
Ren stepped forward. "There are too many people here… please, put the gun away."
Seulgi scoffed. "Don;t worry, Ren. He won't do anything… that guy doesn't have the balls."
The politician's face burned with anger.
"If he does, I'll stop it," Raka said, calm but ready.
Seulgi gave Ren a quick smile. "See? It's fine." She turned back to the politician, eyes shard. "Shoot. I dare you."
The politician yelled—and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Raka jumped in front of Seulgi—
[Deflect]
The bullet bounced off, flying upward.
Raka glanced at Seulgi. They both gave a quick thumbs-up.
Sigh! Zeke calmly raised his hands to chest level.
"[Locked]."
A floating UI Lock Icon appeared above the soldiers and politicians.
They couldn't move. Frozen.
"It's dangerous to fight here," Lukas Schneider muttered. "There's too many innocent lives."
Rayyan reached behind his back—pulled out a knife.
Ren closed her eyes. "[Hunt]," she whispered.
Seulgi cracked her knuckles again. "[Crystalize]."
Rayyaan murmur, "[Shadow Transfer]."
All three of them disappeared—
Then reappeared from the shadows behind the three politicians.
Rayyaan pointed his knife at one.
Ren, her claws extended, starred with her fox eyes at the second.
Seulgi stood behind the third—arms glimmering, fully diamond.
And finally—Noah broke the silence.
"If you want to fight us, do it outside…"
After seeing what the eleven survivors are capable of, the three politicians and their soldiers backed down—
Their teeth grinding in frustration.
Their pride shattered.
Their authority was shaken.
Sigh!
Noah put his finger on his eyes in disbelief.
"This is a mess…"