Chapter Twelve — The Beast Forging Realm Opens
The Breach — When the Realms Collide
The Breach was upon us.
When the realms collide, the sky bleeds.
Above the world, the heavens burned crimson as a vast blood moon rose into dominance—
Lunaris Malum.
When it ascends, reality trembles.
The air itself feels heavier. Space groans under unseen pressure. Even the bravest warriors feel their instincts screaming warnings they cannot explain. This was not myth. This was not prophecy.
This was the sign that balance was about to be tested.
We were given one week.
A single week to prepare before hellish training would begin—training brutal enough to either kill us or break us down and rebuild us into true warriors.
If I were being honest… the week wasn't really for us.
It was for the parents.
A final stretch of time to spend with their sons and daughters. Shared meals. Quiet conversations. Lingering glances that carried words never spoken aloud. Everyone knew what awaited us beyond that door.
And everyone knew not all of us would come back the same.
The week vanished faster than I expected.
Before I knew it, we stood before a colossal door.
It was ancient beyond comprehension—towering, monolithic, and carved from a material darker than obsidian. Its surface was covered in countless runes, each one reflecting light in sharp, distorted patterns that dazzled the eyes and made prolonged focus impossible. Looking at it too long felt like staring into a living equation—knowledge beyond understanding.
Before the door stood the Clan Leader.
Beside him gathered a vast assembly of elders and elite warriors—the very beings who would soon become our tormentors, mentors, and executioners should we fail.
I scanned the crowd.
There were many races present.
The Lion Race—proud, towering figures radiating dominance.
The Beast Races in countless forms.
Stone Men with bodies like sculpted mountains.
Spectral Beasts whose forms flickered between existence and shadow.
And… humans.
That surprised me.
I hadn't expected to see any here.
The Clan Leader stepped forward.
His voice was calm, yet it echoed directly into every ear, bypassing distance entirely.
"I assume you are all ready for the challenge to come."
No one answered.
"Good."
He turned slightly. "Then let us begin."
With a single motion, the elders behind him placed their hands against the door.
Even my father was among them.
The door opened.
What lay beyond defied instinct.
White.
Nothing but white.
A vast, endless dimension where floor, walls, and sky blended seamlessly into one boundless void. There was no horizon, no edge—only infinite space stretching in every direction. The ground beneath our feet was solid, unnaturally so, despite the emptiness.
We stepped inside cautiously.
The moment we crossed the threshold, pressure slammed into us.
Gravity—one hundred times heavier than our home realm.
The air scorched our lungs, thick and punishing, each breath burning like heated metal. Yet despite this, no one fell.
To us…
It was still child's play.
A voice rang out across the void.
"Welcome to the Temporal Training Domain."
A pause.
"Also known as—The Beast Forging Realm."
Behind us—
BOOOOM.
The door closed.
"This dimension operates on a temporal ratio," the voice continued.
"One day outside… equals one hundred years within."
A ripple moved through the gathered trainees.
"You will have time."
"But do not grow arrogant."
"The other clans possess similar domains."
"Our advantage will not be time—but effort."
"Resources have been prepared. Storage rings filled. Elders assigned."
"And from this moment onward—every clan technique will be taught."
"Nothing will be withheld."
"Now…"
"Begin."
Elders began pulling out lists from their storage rings, voices echoing as names were called.
My brother's name rang out early.
He would be trained by our father.
Pride stirred in my chest.
Then my name was called.
Assigned not to my father… but to my grandfather.
Alongside two hundred others.
Only the most talented were chosen for the Clan Leader himself—the oldest being on the planet, a living archive of war and survival.
My group was terrifying in its own right.
Stone Men like Ma'ruhn.
Golden-maned warriors from the Loinguard Race.
Spectral Beasts.
And others whose presence alone warped the air.
Once the assignments were complete, order emerged from chaos.
Each group gathered behind their respective trainer.
Then, one by one, they took flight—vanishing into the endless white in different directions.
My grandfather led us deeper.
And deeper.
The farther we traveled, the heavier the gravity became.
Still… manageable.
After nearly an hour, he descended.
We landed behind him, forming disciplined lines like soldiers awaiting judgment.
He surveyed us briefly.
Then turned away.
Walking several meters forward, he reached into his space ring.
A moment later—
THUD.
A massive black structure appeared before us.
One hundred meters wide.
Smooth. Featureless.
A single door stood at its front.
The rest was pitch black.
He turned back to us.
"Enter," he said simply. "One by one."
No hesitation.
Row by row, we stepped forward.
When it was my turn, I crossed the threshold.
The moment I entered—
Darkness swallowed everything.
The world was black.
Not empty—dense.
The ground beneath my feet felt impossibly hard, as if forged to endure the wrath of gods. I turned, but the door behind me had vanished.
I was alone.
"System," I thought.
> [Affirmative, Host.]
"So this is a realm within a realm," I continued internally.
"And since the first has a one-to-one-hundred ratio… this one multiplies it further."
"Distance was used to prevent spatial instability."
> [Affirmative, Host.]
"One more thing," I asked.
"Why haven't I received daily rewards lately?"
A pause.
> [Sorry, Host…]
The silence stretched uncomfortably.
> [The Host has already collected all worthwhile rewards.]
[To avoid system redundancy, all rewards were converted into system-upgrade points.]
[Compensation will be issued with accumulated interest once the upgrade is complete.]
[Upgrade in progress. Please remain patient.]
I exhaled slowly.
Annoying—but logical.
The system had been compensating in other ways. Training my army. Accelerating growth. Providing resources far beyond ordinary rewards.
Then—
I felt it.
A presence.
I turned.
My grandfather stood behind me.
Or rather… one of him.
He had cloned himself.
Which meant the others were likely in separate dimensions just like mine.
Stretching slowly, he approached.
The air grew heavier.
Oppressive.
Suffocating.
His gaze locked onto me.
And for the first time—
I felt fear.
"Good," he said calmly.
"Hell training begins now."