[ Chapter 4: The Second Trial ]

[ Welcome to the Second Trial. Survive for three days. ]

I jolted awake, the words ringing in my ears. My heart pounded as fragments of memory flashed through my mind: Atlas… Gerard… Ana…. I had a brother and a sister. We lived in Fein. What happened to me? And Richard’s warning, probably has something to do with it…. I need more answers, more memories. Somehow, I have to uncover the truth.

Pushing myself to my feet, I took in my surroundings. It felt like the floor was swaying, and when I glanced over the edge, I realized why. I was on a ship, floating in the middle of the ocean. Water stretched endlessly in every direction, sparkling under the sunlight.

“Three days to survive,” I muttered to myself. “Doesn’t sound too bad… but it probably won’t be that simple.”

I decided to explore the ship. It seemed normal enough at first, a standard vessel with wooden planks and creaking railings. The gentle hum of the ocean filled the air. After searching for few minutes i found few weapons swords and even a spear, I also found few barrels with “explosives” and “stored water” below in the storage… But when I entered a small cabin below deck, I froze.

Someone was lying on the bed. My heart skipped a beat.

Slowly, I crept closer, ready to defend myself if needed. As I reached out and touched the person’s shoulder, she moved so fast I didn’t even see it coming. A sharp kick landed under my chin, knocking me back.

“Ah, what the hell?!” I staggered, clutching my jaw.

The girl leapt to her feet, her eyes blazing. She was stunning, with bronze skin and long black hair that shimmered in the dim light. Her crimson eyes glared at me with suspicion, and she was dressed entirely in black.

“Who are you?” She asked.

“Hey, calm down. I’m not your enemy.”

She hesitated for a moment, then let out a soft sigh. “Sorry. I was startled.”

I relaxed, relieved. “It’s fine. I’m Dune by the way. Just Dune.”

Her expression softened slightly. “Nely. Just Nely?

….?

…?

“Are you here for the second trial too?” I asked.

Her brow furrowed. “Yeah… you too?”

“Looks like it.”

She glanced around, frowning. “The mission just says to survive for three days. Doesn’t explain anything else. I guess we’ll have to figure it out as we go.”

I offered a small, awkward smile. “Right. Let’s stick together for now. We’ll have a better chance that way.”

Nely gave me a slight nod, but even so none of us trusted each other yet. As we stepped back onto the deck, both of us froze. Someone else was standing in the middle of the ship.

The figure turned toward us, and his expression mirrored our shock. He was tall and athletic, with curly orange hair and a confident grin. He wore a sleeveless vest, shorts, and leggings, looking more like a runner than a fighter.

“Ah, crap,” he muttered, glancing between us. Then he straightened and waved. “Uh, hi there. I’m Ezra.”

I blinked. “I’m Dune.”

“And I’m Nely,” she added, her voice cautious.

Ezra’s grin widened, and before we could react, another figure appeared beside him as if out of thin air.

“Hey! Liam here.”

I stared at the newcomer, startled. He looked exactly like Ezra, same orange curls, same athletic build, but his eyes were a piercing blue instead of brown, and his clothes were slightly different.

“Wait,” I said slowly, “you’re twins?”

The two of them nodded in unison, their matching grins creeping me out.

“That makes four of us now,” I muttered.

“Correct,” the twins said at the same time.

I sighed, already feeling the beginnings of a headache.

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“Well,” I said, trying to keep things moving, “I guess we should start by introducing ourselves. Maybe a little about our abilities too?”

Nely glanced at me warily, as if she wasn’t sure that was a good idea. I understood her hesitation, but in a survival situation, as Richard said in my memory, information is the key. We’d have to take risks if we wanted to get through this.

Ezra laughed. “Sure thing! Me and Liam both are 15 and we have the same ability. We can switch places with each other instantly. Pretty cool, right? As for our Zeten, we’re both orange cores, but we haven’t absorbed a compatible animal yet. Still working on that.”

I stared at him, confused. “Zeten? What are you talking about?”

The twins exchanged a look, then burst out laughing.

“Wait, you don’t know what a Zeten is?” Liam asked.

Before I could respond, Nely stepped forward. “I’ll go next,” she said calmly. “I’m Nely. I’m sixteen, and my Neba lets me create objects out of thin air. The more complex they are, the harder it is to maintain them. My Zeten core is also orange. I, like the twins, haven’t found a compatible animal for my Zeten yet.”

I blinked at her, struggling to process what she’d just said. Now all three of them were staring at me, waiting for my turn.

I cleared my throat. “Uh… what the hell are you guys talking about? Why are you saying you’re Zetens?”

They all looked at me like I’d grown a second head. “Because we are,” Ezra said, as if it were obvious. “Only Zetens got summoned to these trials. Why are you surprised?”

My stomach dropped. *Only Zetens? Then why am I here?*

“I’m not a Zeten,” I said, pulling my shirt aside to show them the unmarked skin beneath.

The silence was deafening.

“No way,” Nely whispered. “That’s impossible. How did you get here, then?”

“I have no idea,” I admitted. “But I’m going to figure it out.” She stared at me for a moment, then nodded. “Alright. Whatever, let’s focus on surviving here first.”

I let out a breath of relief and continued. “Anyway, I’m Dune. I’m sixteen, and my ability is… uh, I can make small platforms under my feet. They help me move around better.”

The twins’ faces fell.

“That’s… not so bad,” Liam said, though he sounded unconvinced.

“Yeah, could be worse,” Ezra added with a shrug.

I sighed, trying not to feel too self-conscious. “So,” I said, changing the subject, “what’s our plan?”

“We need food,” Nely said firmly.

“Right. I saw water barrels below in the storage so water won’t be a problem but the food… Nely, Can your Neba make fishing rods?”

She smirked, already understanding my idea. With a wave of her hand, three rods appeared, from green Neba, gleaming and ready for use. “Alright, let’s get to work,” I said, handing one to each of the twins.

They grinned as we set up near the edge of the ship. But as I stared out at the endless ocean, unease settled in my gut. This trial was only beginning, and something told me it wasn’t going to be as simple as catching fish.

After hours of fishing under the blazing sun, we all gathered in the cabin to share our catches. Liam was the first to burst through the door, grinning from ear to ear.

“I caught *five* fish,” he said, puffing out his chest. “And one of them is huge!” Ezra followed behind, laughing as he placed his haul on the table. “Look again, dumbass. *Seven.* Beat that.” Liam groaned, throwing his hands up. “No way I lost?”

Before either of them could gloat further, the door swung open again, and Nely entered. She dumped her catch on the table with a smug grin. “Eleven,” she announced simply.

The twins gaped. “Whoa! That’s amazing!” they exclaimed in unison, looking at her like she’d just walked on water.

I was the last one to enter. Their eyes lit up with curiosity as I stepped inside, holding up my fishing rod. At the end of it dangled a single, finger-sized fish.

Silence.

Then, the twins burst out laughing so hard they fell to the floor. Even Nely pressed her hand to her mouth, trying, and failing to hold back a smile. My face burned with embarrassment. “Alright, alright, it’s not that funny!”

But the laughter continued, echoing in the small cabin. *Damn it,* I thought. *Why couldn’t I catch more? This is humiliating.*

Finally, the fishing rods shimmered and disappeared, returning to Nely’s body as green Nebas.

She stood by the small stove in the ship’s galley, turning the fish over the weak flame. The small kitchen rocked gently with the ship, and the smell of cooking filled the cramped space.

Dune leaned against the doorway, arms crossed. “You’re pretty good at this.”

Nely didn’t look up. “My dad taught me. We used to hunt together.”

Ezra and Liam slipped into the room, each finding a spot on the floor. “What kind of hunting?” Ezra asked.

“I saw it in my Memory, my house is close to the forest and far away from the city of Gray, dad thought me everything.” Nely said. Her voice was steady, almost distant.

“Once, we tracked a weird humanoid creature. It could manipulate objects, change their shape.”

Dune’s expression tightened. “You killed it?”

Nely nodded. “I couldn’t but my dad did.”

“Is that how you got your ability?” Dune guessed.

“Mm-hmm. Took its green core.”

Liam leaned forward, his eyes bright. “We didn’t have to do that. We were born with our abilities.”

Dune looked at him. “That’s possible?”

“Yeah, sometimes people are born with animal cores inside them so they don’t have to kill anything. I’m not exactly sure how this happens, it’s super rare though.” Ezra said. “We don’t have parents so i don’t really know anything about it either. Maybe they did something when we were little.”

Liam’s grin was easy. “They probably thought we were cursed.”

Ezra smirked. “I’m sure we are.”

Nely gave the fish a nudge with the edge of the knife. “It’s almost ready.”

She prepared the fish, skillfully cooking them over a makeshift Neba fire. The smoky, salty aroma filled the cabin, and despite my earlier frustration, I couldn’t deny it was the best meal I’d had in a long time.

After eating, we set up a watch rotation. The twins volunteered to sleep first, sprawling on the cabin floor like they didn’t have a care in the world. Nely stayed outside, training with a sword she’d created from her own Neba. Meanwhile, I leaned on the ship’s railing, staring into the dark horizon.

The ocean stretched endlessly before us, a black void under the starless sky. No sound but the gentle lapping of waves. Too quiet.

“This can’t be it,” I muttered to myself. “Something’s coming. It has to be. This trial can’t just be about catching fish and passing time.”

Nely approached, her sword dissolving into a faint green mist as she walked up beside me.

“Hey,” she said softly. “You can go sleep if you want. I’ll watch for a few hours.”

I shook my head. “I doubt I could sleep right now, even if I tried. There’s too much on my mind.”

She shrugged, leaning against the railing next to me. “Suit yourself. But I don’t get how those two can sleep so easily. They’re too careless.”

I chuckled at her comment. It was true, the twins had fallen asleep almost immediately, as if they weren’t stranded in the middle of the ocean, with two strangers and awaiting God knows what. Well they do.

Before we could say more, the ship jolted violently, nearly throwing us off balance.

“What was that?!” Nely gripped the railing.

The twins came running out of the cabin, eyes wide and fists clenched. “What’s going on?” Liam asked, looking around.

“We don’t know,” Nely replied, her voice sharp.

The ship rocked again, harder this time. My heart raced. *Is this it? Is it starting?*

“Can you hear that?” Nely asked suddenly, her head snapping to the side.

“Hear what?” Ezra replied, frowning.

We all froze, straining our ears, but I heard nothing but the sound of water splashing softly against the hull.

“Nely,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. “Can you use your Neba to light up the area? We need to see what’s out there.”

She nodded, stepping into the center of the deck. Closing her eyes, she focused, and her body began to glow, casting an eerie green light across the ship and the surrounding water.

The light revealed them.

Hundreds, no, thousands of humanoid creatures stood in a massive circle around the ship, walking effortlessly on the surface of the water. Their bodies were unnaturally thin, with long, gangly limbs and pale, slick skin that glistened in the green glow. Empty eyes stared at us, unblinking. Most of the grew Spikes on their bodies.

“Damn it,” I muttered, my stomach twisting.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Ezra said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Liam stood frozen, his mouth slightly open, while Nely was utterly speechless.

A booming voice filled the air, cold and mechanical.

[ second Trial stage One: Survive the first raid for one hour. ]

A glowing timer appeared in our visions, counting down.

[60:00 → 59:57]

[ Zeten with the most kills will receive 1% Neba upgrade reward ]