At last, Mrs. Rose joined the circle.
Whatever respect she once commanded back home—titles, tenure, the calm authority of a teacher—meant little here.
The cultists didn't bow.
The Prophetess didn't blink.
But the students… they still shifted subtly to make space.
Old habits, it seemed, died harder than fear.
Then the Prophetess moved.
Her eyes—those cold, crimson shards—swept across the group.
They lingered on Adam.
Paused briefly on Lilith.
And then passed over the rest like they were little more than dust caught in divine light.
She didn't even glance at Kael.
"Beyonders," she said, voice smooth as silk drawn over steel.
"You have awakened your True Runes."
Some nodded proudly.
Others stood straighter, still flushed from the rush of power.
For a breath, there was peace.
Then her tone shifted.
Hard.
Unforgiving.
"But only the worthy may become disciples of the Temple of the Abyss."
Before anyone could ask what she meant, she raised her hand—and with the simplest flick of her wrist, the ground beneath them ignited.
A wide red circle blazed into existence at their feet, glowing with pulsing runes, each one etched in patterns that didn't belong in any sane geometry.
A rush of air.
A pulse of pressure.
Then—
Panic.
"Wh-what is this?!"
"Why is the floor glowing?!"
"I—I can't move!"
Kael's breath caught in his throat.
The symbols beneath him were vibrating—alive, hungry.
"Your trial begins now," the Prophetess intoned.
"You will be sent into the Abyssal Realm."
Gasps. Cries. Disbelief.
"There, you must survive."
"You must find the Sacred Cathedral."
"You must offer yourselves to our god."
"And return."
The chamber erupted in chaos.
"What god?!"
"What cathedral?!"
"What even is the Abyssal Realm?!"
But she didn't flinch.
Didn't blink.
Didn't care.
Her voice was void of mercy.
"Do not fear. The realm contains only Rank One beasts."
A beat.
A smile—thin.
Icy.
"Unless, of course… you're unfortunate."
A sharp pain stabbed through Kael's skull, blinding and absolute.
He staggered, nearly falling.
Around him, others screamed or collapsed to their knees, clutching their heads as invisible pressure crushed down like a divine weight.
"You have one week," the Prophetess said, her voice echoing through the howling energy now building in the chamber.
"Survive. Reach the cathedral. Offer yourselves."
"Or die forgotten."
Kael grit his teeth as a second wave of pain hit—worse than the first.
The world around him cracked like glass.
And then, with terrifying finality, her last words rang out:
"Beyonders—your first trial begins now."
Light swallowed everything.
###
The sky above was pure darkness.
Not just night—emptiness.
No stars. No clouds.
Just a single, blood-red moon hanging like a curse, casting its dim light across the twisted world below.
Kael stood in a clearing ringed by crooked trees, their branches gnarled like broken fingers clawing at the sky.
Somewhere beyond the treeline, something howled.
Not a wolf.
Not anything that belonged on Earth.
It sounded like the forest itself was screaming.
And the air… reeked.
Blood. Burnt bark. The stink of rot and wet soil.
Kael was getting used to it.
That scared him.
Three others had been dumped into the clearing with him—two girls and a boy.
All looked disoriented, dazed, like they'd been pulled through a nightmare and spat out face-first into another.
The boy was the first to speak. Muscular, tense, trying hard not to show fear.
"What is this place?" he muttered.
Silence.
Kael looked at the others.
He didn't know their names, just remembered flashes of their faces from the summoning, from the chaos before they were all sent here.
Then—
"Hey! You—loser!"
Kael turned.
A girl stormed toward him, furious.
Her voice struck something familiar.
Then he saw her face.
Right. Her.
"You slapped me, you bastard!" she hissed. "What the hell's wrong with you?! Rank 9 trash!"
Kael sighed.
Of course.
She had been the one shrieking near his ear during the awakening.
Crying. Clawing. Panicking.
He'd… responded.
Not gently.
Before he could say anything, the other girl stepped forward, her voice cutting through the rising tension.
"Enough."
Calm.
Commanding.
"We need to move.
Staying in one place is asking to die.
We don't know what's out here—and we sure as hell don't want to find out alone."
The boy nodded quickly.
"Agreed.
Let's at least know who we're stuck with.
Name's Jack. True Rune: Iron Crown. Rank Five. Strength type."
Kael raised an eyebrow.
"Iron Crown." Sounds like a protein shake.
The angry girl huffed.
"Serah. True Rune: Eye of Aeon. Rank Four. Divination. Visions of what might happen."
Kael actually choked.
Rank Four?
This girl had nearly drowned in her own tears—and she was Rank Four?
The third girl gave a small nod.
Quiet.
Steady.
"Nia. True Rune: Duskhollow. Rank Five. Shadow-based. Movement and concealment."
Kael opened his mouth to speak.
No one waited.
Jack rolled his eyes. "Don't bother."
The others turned away.
"You're the only Rank Nine in our class.
Everyone knows it. You're a joke." Jack's voice was flat.
Final.
"Dead weight. Just don't slow us down."
Kael said nothing.
No defense.
No retort.
Just a long, steady look. His hands clenched at his sides.
Inside, something cold bloomed.
Trash?
Sure.
But Kael wasn't planning to stay trash for long.
He was going to survive.
And when the time came…
He'd bury this bastard himself !!