Liora was pulled down into a black space, an endless abyss that swallowed every trace of light.She was standing, clutching her long sniper rifle tightly in her hands. The space around her was pitch-black, stretching infinitely in all directions.
The darkness was so deep that she couldn't even see her own body or the weapon she carried. She could only feel them, the cold metal beneath her fingers, the weight of the rifle hanging from her shoulder.
Where am I? And why am I here? And where is everyone
Liora tried to look around, her eyes straining against the void, but the only thing she found was more darkness, thick, suffocating, and absolute.
Captain, are you there? She tried to look around but found nothing
Where should I go now? I have to get out of here… as soon as possible.
A tremor of panic crept into her voice as she whispered those words to herself.Her breath quickened, echoing faintly in the void. Then, without thinking, she began to run.
"Hurry. Hurry. Hurry! I have to find my team and my captain," she urged herself aloud, her voice trembling as she sprinted forward, though she had no idea where forward even was.
You have to get out of here. You have to find your team.
Her heart pounded violently as she ran through the dark, the sound of her boots slapping against the unseen ground keeping her sane. After what felt like four or five endless minutes of running at full speed, she finally saw it, the faintest trace of light.
Far ahead, in the distance, she saw a dim glow seeping into the darkness, only to be instantly devoured by it. It flickered like a dying flame, struggling to survive in a sea of black.
Her heart leapt. There was an entrance there.
But something about it was strange, unsettlingly strange.The light spilling from that opening should have illuminated everything around it, but instead, the darkness seemed to consume it entirely. It was as if the shadows themselves were alive, feasting on the light and leaving nothing behind.
Another chill ran down her spine, making her shiver as she continued to run toward the entrance.
I can feel it, the darkness inside this cave-like opening isn't normal. It is alive… sentient somehow… and it is affecting everything around me.
She couldn't stay here any longer.She had to escape.
"Please don't be fake… please don't be fake… please don't be fake…"
Liora began to chant the words under her breath like a desperate prayer, her pace quickening.
She didn't know if the light was real or some cruel illusion meant to lure her into an even more dangerous place, but she had no choice.
She ran like a madwoman, boots pounding, rifle clutched tightly in her hands, her breath coming in sharp, panicked bursts.
Finally, she reached the entrance.Her steps faltered as she stood before it, hesitation gripping her chest.
What if it's not real?
But to her surprise, it was.The light shimmered faintly, real and solid, and when she stepped through it, the darkness behind her vanished completely.
In an instant, the oppressive black void dissolved into nothingness.
Liora blinked.
Now, she was standing in a world of snow, cold winds brushing against her face, biting at her skin. The air was sharp and silent, carrying with it the whisper of winter. All around her stretched a vast, frozen landscape, a white desert beneath a pale, clouded sky.
She looked down, her boots sinking into the soft snow, and instantly recognized where she was.
Her eyes widened.
"No… it can't be."
Her voice cracked. Her legs gave out beneath her, and she fell to her knees. The icy ground burned against her skin as she stared at the scene before her. Her sniper rifle slipped from her grasp, dangling loosely from its shoulder strap, the barrel grazing the snow.
Tears welled in her eyes.
"Why is it here? And why… why am I here?"
Her voice broke completely this time, trembling with grief. The sight before her wasn't some random vision; it was a memory. A memory she wished had been buried forever.
Snowflakes drifted gently through the air, dissolving as they touched her cheeks, mingling with her tears.
Whatever this place was, whatever force had dragged her here… it wasn't mercy.It was punishment.
And no one, not even she, could understand why it was happening to her. And as her scream faded into the snow, the world above the wall began to unravel.
Back on the wall, a similar thing began to happen to everyone.At first, they all did their best to avoid looking directly into the eyes of the Alpha, focusing instead on fighting the smaller wolves. The battle was intense but controlled until the moment the Alpha Wolf closed its eyes.
That was when everything began to change.
One by one, their gazes faltered, and one by one, their eyes met the glowing red eyes of the smaller wolves that attacked them from below.
Each of those creatures, though constantly being shot down by the soldiers, carried the same dreadful power as their Alpha.
Varick, who had been firing steadily, found himself face-to-face with one such wolf. It leapt from the body of another that had just fallen, using its dying kin as a stepping stone. Before he could react, its face appeared just in front of his eyes, blazing with crimson fire.
Without thinking, Varick looked straight into those burning eyes.
In that instant, the world around him collapsed. His vision blurred, sound faded, and like Liora before him, he was pulled into a strange, endless place, swallowed by a darkness beyond comprehension.
Jaxon, on the other hand, had been enjoying the chaos of battle. A twisted grin lingered on his face as he fired round after round into the horde below. He didn't even notice the second wolf, the one that had silently climbed behind the first.
When its eyes locked onto his, glowing like molten embers, Jaxon froze for a heartbeat. Then everything around him began to fade. The wall, the sky, even the sound of his own breathing, all of it dissolved into nothingness, pulling him too into that same strange realm.
Rylan, the most cautious of the four, had managed to avert his gaze from the creatures for the longest time. Every time a wolf lunged, he looked away, focusing only on the target's movement and the trigger's pull.
After releasing a full magazine, he pulled another from his belt and slammed it into his weapon. But as soon as he looked up again, something strange caught his eye.
A wolf was floating in the air in front of him.
Its claws seemed to hang from something invisible, digging into an unseen surface, suspended as though pressed against an invisible wall of glass. Its body hung there unnaturally, motionless but alive.
And then its eyes opened.
They glowed a deep, blood-red, and they were staring straight into his.
Rylan froze in disbelief, his breath caught in his throat. The shock lasted only a moment, but that was enough.
The world began to twist around him.The light from the runes beneath his feet dimmed, and the cold air of the wall dissolved into silence.
And just like the others, Rylan too was pulled into that strange place, a void where reality itself seemed to melt away.
After a few moments, Rylan slowly came back to his senses.But to his surprise, he was no longer on the wall.
He was floating in the air, drifting gently alongside the wind as though carried upon the calm surface of a sea.
Where am I? he thought, his voice faint even inside his own head.He tried to turn his head, but it felt unbearably heavy, his whole body weightless, drifting in a clear sky that seemed endless.
"Captain… where are you?" he murmured, sliding his head toward his left, still suspended like a lost cloud in the open air. But as far as his eyes could see, there was no one.No wall, no soldiers, no sound. Just the vast, endless blue.
I need to get back to the Captain. She's going to be worried about me, he thought, looking upward into that boundless expanse. The sky glowed with an ethereal light, beautiful yet suffocating in its emptiness.
How should I get back from here? I have to do something, he thought, as a feeling of dread began to sink inside him. A creeping dread began to settle deep within him, a loneliness so heavy it felt alive.
"Captain, where are you? I… I need your help," he whispered as his consciousness began to fade again, sinking slowly into the light.
But before he could completely lose himself, the air around him suddenly shattered.
The force that kept him floating suddenly vanished, and he fell from the sky at a terrifying speed. The air roared past his ears, and his heart raced.It felt as though the world itself had dropped from beneath him.
What should I do? At this rate, I'll die if I keep falling like this!A deep sinking motion twisted inside him as the speed increased.
Think of something… You have to do something! You can't just let it end like this!His mind raced in every direction, searching for an answer as the ground came closer and closer.
Down in the distance, he could now see it, the ground, rising up fast. His heart sank at the sight of it approaching.
"Captain! Please save me! I don't want to die like this! Please, Captain, do something!" he shouted, his voice cracking as the ground rushed toward him.As he cried out, a sudden thought struck him.
My aspect… water. If I can use water, I might be able to survive this. Why did I forget that?
The chaos around him was making it hard to think straight.
"Water!" He looked around frantically. "Where can I get water?"
Then another realization struck him like lightning.I can create it. Why am I looking for it?
The ground was dangerously close now; he had only a few seconds left.With a powerful swing of both hands, he summoned all his essence into one movement.Suddenly, a large stream of water burst out from his palms, rushing through the air beneath him.
"More… more! I need more if I want to keep myself safe!" he shouted, forcing every drop of essence left inside his body into that single motion.
The ground was right below him now. But with his aspect finally awakened, he had a chance.A massive surge of water poured out from his hands, draining his essence completely.With the last bit of energy he had, he thought—I hope this is enough to soften my landing.
Then, with one final movement, he focused on the water lying below, trying to control it so that it could catch him in the air before he made contact with the surface
but nothing happened. The water didn't move.
A dark, sinking feeling filled his chest as he realized all of his essence was spent now.
This is bad. I'm going to die…
There was no more time to think. The ground was right there.
"I'm gonna die!" he screamed.
Then impact.Instead of breaking against solid ground, he crashed through a thin layer of water with a loud splash, sinking deep below the surface.
For a moment, there was silence.
I'm… safe? How? I thought I was going to die. And how come there is deep water here?
When he realized he was underwater, a wave of relief washed over him.But as he opened his eyes to look around, confusion replaced the relief.
Why is everything so dark and muddy? I can't see anything!The water wasn't clear; it was yellowish and thick, filled with mud.
What is this? What kind of water is this?He felt the taste of earth and grit touch his lips. It was muddy water. He needed to get to the surface, fast.
He tried to swim upward with all his strength, but after draining all of his essence, his body was weak.The muddy water pulled at him, making every motion feel heavy.
Come on! I have to get back to the surface… I have to find the Captain!
Using every ounce of his strength, he kicked and pulled, his muscles screaming.At last, after what felt like forever, he broke through the surface and gasped for air.
"What…?"
He looked around, confused.
Where did all that deep water go?
He was no longer in deep water; instead, he was lying on shallow muddy ground, his body covered in mud. The water he had fallen into just moments ago was gone, vanished without a trace.
Breathing heavily, he tried to stand."I have to find the Captain somehow," he said to himself.
Despite the exhaustion and the strange events, he didn't complain. He forced his legs to move and started looking around.
Then, a few steps ahead, something caught his eye.
A hand, covered in mud, reaching weakly out from the ground.
His breath froze."No… no, this can't be real…"
The hand was wrapped in white cloth, torn and soaked, the fabric clinging to the skin beneath. He knew that pattern. That stitching. That small, silver thread along the wrist…
He staggered closer, trembling."Don't…" his voice cracked. "Don't let it be you…"
He reached out, hesitating inches away.The cold wind cut through the air, but all he could feel was the ache in his chest.
And then it hit him, the realization that tore through his heart like a blade.He knew whose hand it was. He knew where he was. The world around him blurred.The smell of mud and decay. The ruined walls of the old town. The sound of wind howling through the empty streets.
He was standing inside The Grind.
"No…" he whispered, voice trembling. "Why here? Why again?"
His knees gave out. He fell into the mud, the cold earth embracing him like a grave.His rifle hung loosely by his side, half-buried.
It wasn't the pain of falling or exhaustion. It was the pain he'd locked away for years.The memory he swore he'd never face again. He pressed a hand against the muddy ground, his voice breaking.He started crying like a baby, just like the time when he actually cried here when he was a small boy
His cries echoed softly in the emptiness.And for a moment, even the wind seemed to stop. A pain stronger than death itself.The one he could never forget.