The next morning, the group wakes up and gathers around the remnants of the campfire, rubbing the sleep from their eyes and preparing for the day ahead. Wesley, still on edge from the previous night’s revelations, takes a deep breath and stands up.

Once all attention is on him, Wesley begins, his voice steady but strained, “We need to talk.”

The others look up, sensing the seriousness in his tone. They all gather closer, their expressions a mix of curiosity and concern. Cas, standing a little apart from the group, looks at Wesley with calm, unreadable eyes.

“What is it, Wesley?” Emrys asks, noticing the tension in his face.

Wesley takes a deep breath, steeling himself. “It’s about Cas. Last night, when he was on watch duty, he left the camp while we were asleep. Well, except I wasn’t asleep. I followed him and I saw...something.”

The group shifts uncomfortably glancing between Cas and Wesley, waiting for him to continue.

“He went to the camp of that group—the ones who had captured us. And then...he summoned shadow creatures, monsters. He wiped out all of them just like that.”

Gasps of shock ripple through the group. Rowan and Avery exchange shocked glances, while the sisters huddle closer together, their faces pale.

Emrys steps forward, frowning. “What are you saying?”

Wesley meets Emrys’s gaze, his expression grave. “Cas isn’t using the God of Shadow’s grace.” Wesley points toward Cas. “He is a shadow monster himself.”

The group falls into a stunned silence, the weight of Wesley’s words sinking in. Cas remains unresponsive, as if they’re not talking about him, but something else entirely.

“That’s impossible,” Emrys protests. “Cas has been with us this whole time. He’s helped us, protected us. There’s no way he could be a monster.”

“He is,” Wesley insists. “I saw it with my own eyes. The shadows obeyed him. He commanded them. That same power killed my whole team just a few days ago.”

Clara speaks up, her voice trembling slightly, “If what Wesley says is true, then Cas is a danger to us. We can’t have a monster in our team. It’s too risky.”

“It has to be true,” Avery says. “Everyone who was graced by the God of Fire all had the same fire manipulation ability, same for thunder, flower, and wind. If Cas was graced by the God of Shadow, he should’ve had the same ability as Nate, right?”

Avery looks at Rowan who nods. “Yeah. Each god only graces one type of ability. The God of Shadow graced Nate with a stealth ability.” Rowan frowns. “But that also means Cas is strong enough to easily kill several of the strongest contenders at once. That’s far too powerful and far too dangerous.”

Rowan summons vines near Cas’s feet, looking ready to restrain him.

“We have to think about our safety,” Lily says, watching Cas with a sharp, hostile gaze. “We can’t afford to take any chances.”

Emrys looks around, seeing the fear and determination in their faces. He turns to Cas, who stands silently, his expression unreadable.

“Cas,” Emrys says, “Do you have nothing to say? Shouldn’t you defend yourself?”

Cas finally lifts his head, meeting Emrys’s gaze.

“C’mon, Cas. Say something,” Emrys says.

Cas smiles slightly, “I’m a shadow demon.”

The group recoils slightly, the confirmation sending a fresh wave of fear through them. Emrys, on the other hand, looks neither upset nor scared as he stares at Cas.

He snaps out of it when Clara says quietly, “Six against one, we can eliminate the threat altogether…”

The wind picks up and vines grow closer to Cas.

“But Cas has been nothing but loyal to us,” Emrys argues and looks at Wesley. “He’s saved us more times than I can count. We can’t just abandon him.”

“It’s too dangerous,” Wesley says firmly. “Who knows what a monster is thinking. He might just decide to kill us once we make it to the mountain peak. Or sabotage us in other ways. Remember this is a wipeout instance. We have to think about the group.”

“But…But he’s not even doing anything to us right now,” Emrys frowns, looking toward Cas as if urging him to defend himself.

Rowan rolls his eyes and says, “Let’s take a vote, then.”

A tense silence follows as the group exchanges glances. Their decision is clear. Only Emrys looks disapproving.

Wesley looks at Emrys. “You’re right that he’s been indispensable to our survival up till now. That’s why I brought it up like this instead of fighting outright. But this is the only compromise I can make.” Wesley then turns to Cas. “We ask you to leave the team. For our safety. Will you leave willingly? Or do we have to fight you?”

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Cas stands there for a moment. Everyone tenses, ready for a fight, but then, without a single word, he turns and walks away from the group, his figure disappearing into the shadows of the forest.

Emrys watches him go with a frown. The group stands in silence, watching Emrys who stares after Cas, wondering if he’s actually crazy enough to leave their group to follow a monster. Emrys knows Wesley made a big compromise in letting Cas go unharmed, but it doesn’t make it any easier to accept. He does think about leaving them to follow Cas, but in the end he stays with them. He knows Cas is strong enough to protect himself, and it’s true that he doesn’t know what Cas’s motives are since he’s not a player like the rest of them.

After Cas leaves the team, the six continue up the mountain. They fight monsters they think they can take on and strategically retreat from monsters they can’t. As they get closer to the mountain peak, Emrys wonders why this is a wipeout instance. The monsters higher up the mountain are undoubtedly far deadlier, but for stronger players, they’re not impossible to take on or avoid.

The sun climbs higher in the sky, casting a warm glow over the mountain trail. The group trudges onward, each step growing heavier with fatigue. The rocky path is unforgiving, and the climb has taken its toll on everyone, but they keep moving forward.

As they reach a small, flat clearing, Avery sits down next to Rowan and rummages through his pack, happily pulling out a granola bar. He then glances over at Emrys, who is collapsed against a boulder, his face pale and drawn. Compared to the rest of the group, he looks like a slight breeze could take him out.

“That kid is the weakest player I’ve ever seen,” Lily comments to Clara. The sisters are sitting nearby Rowan and Avery, also looking at Emrys. “Weaker than you, Clara.”

Clara pouts. “Don’t compare him to me. If I were Wesley, I would’ve ditched him immediately. Why didn’t we send him off with the monster?”

“Because he’s a walking warehouse, dummy,” Lily scoffs. “If it weren’t for that dimensional storage, I would’ve just offed him early on as a mercy kill.”

“Well hopefully he keeps his strength up so we don’t lose our supplies,” Clara murmurs as she munches on crackers.

Avery frowns and stands up. Rowan immediately grabs his arm and mutters, “Ignore them, Ave.”

Avery brushes him off and calls out, “Hey, Emrys.”

Emrys sits up as Avery walks over to him.

“You should eat something. Here.” He holds out the granola bar, offering a small, encouraging smile.

Emrys looks at the bar, then shakes his head. “Thanks, Avery, but I’m not hungry.”

Avery frowns. “You don’t look good though. You need to keep your strength up.”

Before Emrys can respond, Wesley, who has been observing the interaction, joins the conversation. His eyes narrow as he looks at Emrys. “You know, I’ve been noticing something,” Wesley says, his tone sharp. “I haven’t seen you eat anything in days.”

Emrys shifts uncomfortably under Wesley’s scrutiny. He opens his mouth to protest, but Wesley cuts him off.

“Listen, we’re all exhausted, and we’re all pushing our limits. But we can’t afford for anyone to collapse from hunger. We need every bit of strength we have, especially you, Emrys. You’re a crucial part of this team.”

Emrys sighs, but he can’t argue, so he takes the granola bar from Avery’s outstretched hand. “Alright, I’ll eat,” he says quietly.

Avery’s smile returns, relieved.

Emrys smiles back, unwrapping the granola bar. He takes a small bite, the simple act of eating bringing a surprising amount of comfort. He had forgotten about the small joys of eating food.

Wesley watches him for a moment longer, then gives a satisfied nod. “We’ll rest here for a few minutes then keep moving. We’re getting closer to the peak.”

The group takes the opportunity to catch their breath and recuperate. Once their brief respite is over, the group gathers their items and continues their climb. The higher they climb, the colder and thinner the air becomes. Emrys struggles to catch his breath with every step.

Suddenly, a deafening roar echoes through the air, freezing the group in their tracks. The ground trembles as a massive beast, covered in thick, armored scales, emerges from the dense forest ahead. Its eyes glow with a menacing red light as it towers over them, preparing to attack.

“Retreat!” Wesley shouts.

The beast lunges at them with astonishing speed, its massive form crashing through the trees and rocks. The group scatters to avoid its attack, each member narrowly dodging the creature's sweeping claws. Emrys, Rowan, and Avery dive to one side while Wesley, Lily, and Clara move to the other. The ground beneath them shakes violently, causing a massive rockslide that forces the group to split further apart.

“We have to regroup!” Wesley yells, but his earth manipulation ability is not nearly strong enough to clear the rockslide separating them, not to mention the large beast’s relentless attacks make it impossible to move around freely.

Emrys tries looking around for another way past the rockslides, but he can’t see any.

“Emrys, over here!” Rowan calls out, motioning for him to follow. Emrys leaps past falling rubble and reunites with Rowan and Avery. The three find themselves cornered by the beast, their only escape route leading them further up the mountain.

Meanwhile, Wesley, Lily, and Clara are pushed in the opposite direction, the rocky terrain forcing them to take a different path. Wesley curses under his breath as they navigate the treacherous landscape, the beast’s roars echoing behind them.

“We’ll have to meet at the peak!” Wesley shouts over the noise. “We’ll find another way up. Just stay alive!”

“Got it! We’ll meet you there!” Rowan yells back.

With no other choice, they run quickly in different directions, escaping the large beast by a narrow margin. The trio presses on upward, their bodies aching from the climb and the battles they’ve fought. They navigate narrow ledges and treacherous cliffs, their progress slow but steady. Each step brings them closer to the peak.

As they climb, Emrys feels a growing sense of unease. The monsters higher up the mountain are more formidable, but something else gnaws at him—a sense that this instance holds more to it than it seems.

The trio pauses on a rocky outcrop, catching their breath. They survey the path ahead, noting the increasingly difficult terrain. Just as they start to move again, the ground beneath them begins to shift. Rocks tumble down the slope, and a fissure opens up, threatening to swallow them whole.

“Jump!” Rowan yells, leaping to a safer ledge. Emrys and Avery follow suit, barely making it across before the fissure widens, cutting off their path back.

Emrys glances at the fissure then up at the mountain peak, closer than ever. “Nowhere else to go but up.”