As soon as the torches lit up, everything became visible.
The dead aberrant they had landed on.
The aberrant that had killed it.
And the long, wide tunnel they found themselves in.
The dead aberrant was covered with brown fur, and its back was round. It was big enough so that several people could sit on it. Its front wasn't visible, and it was lying in a pool of blood.
In front of it was a thin, black aberrant. It was so thin that it looked like some black bones put together. It was at least five meters tall so it had to bend slightly to fit in the tunnel. Its legs were bent, and its claws were two meters long and bloodied. Its head was a black skull, tainted by red blood.
They all stared at the black aberrant in fear, their breath heavy. But the one who feared it the most was Hollow.
Zero was sweating, and he wasn't able to move his legs. He looked at the others, everyone was in the same state as him. Everyone besides Hollow.
Hollow was so scared that he forgot to breathe. He wasn't able to think about anything besides the black aberrant and death.
Zero was the first to calm down, immediately thinking a way out of the situation.
Why isn't the aberrant attacking? Is it supposed to attack us under some conditions?
Zero looked at the black aberrant right in front of them, then turned his head back.
He saw some sort of portal at the end of the tunnel.
Zero then whispered to Orrin, who was right beside him. "Orrin…"
But Orrin was too scared to listen.
"Orrin!"
Orrin jolted, regaining his ability to think properly. "Yeah? Got a plan in mind?" He whispered back, still scared.
"Yeah. Look behind us, there's some sort of portal, I think if we go through it, we pass the first phase."
"Good idea…" Orrin shook Nyra's shoulder, informing her of the plan.
"I'll grab Hollow…" Zero looked at Hollow, who was about to pass out from fear. "Give the signal Orrin."
"NOW!" Orrin shouted.
Nyra and Orrin immediately jumped off the dead aberrant's back, making a run for the portal. Zero quickly grabbed Hollow by the back of his collar and followed Orrin and Nyra.
Hollow finally snapped back into a calm state due to getting dragged. "Zero! I can run on my own!"
"Oh yeah? Then run!" Zero let go of Hollow, and they both ran.
As I thought… that black aberrant isn't following! That means we haven't fulfilled the conditions for it to attack! Zero thought, running as fast as he could.
They approached the portal, only a few meters away. The black aberrant still stood in front of the dead aberrant's corpse.
Great! Now there's at least 100 meters between us and that thing! Zero thought before falling to the ground. Shit! That damn double-beak did this much damage to me!? Zero was about to get up, but the black aberrant suddenly closed the gap between them, raising its claws.
"So falling was the condition!? And it's this fast!?" Zero panicked as he tried to stand up.
Just before the claws hit Zero, Orrin pulled him out of the way, but it was too late.
Zero's foot was gone, and blood gushed out of it.
He tried to stand, but couldn't.
That's when reality hit.
"Ghh-!" Zero held in his screams as he held the area his foot got cut off. He was laying on the ground as the aberrant lifted its claws again.
"Damn it!" Orrin said. Orrin and Hollow both grabbed Zero, managing to get out of the way as the sharp claws hit the ground.
"Almost there!" Hollow said as they dragged Zero, Nyra covering their rear.
"Hurry!" Nyra said just before getting hit in the back by sharp black claws.
She didn't have time to react as she was focused on passing the first phase.
Nyra passed through the portal, followed by Orrin and Hollow, who were holding Zero by the arms.
Zero saw a flash of white light before his vision was consumed by darkness.
Zero was standing alone in a dark place, and a white figure stood infront of him. The white figured looked like a person.
"Hm? Isn't it too early for you to make contact?"
"Huh? Who are you?" Zero was confused as he looked at the white figure.
"You'll find out in due time… well, since you made contact, let's make use of this opportunity!" The white figure walked over to Zero.
"Huh? What are you..?"
The white figured flicked Zero's head, and Zero immediately came back to reality. He was in the same room he was in before phase one.
When he opened his eyes, black and red sparks left his eyes for a split second.
"What was that about?" Orrin sat beside him.
"Orrin? Wait… did I pass out?"
"Yes, you passed out immediately after we passed the first phase."
"I see… when's the second phase?"
"Soon. We were given three hours to rest. The second phase is in ten minutes."
"Alright…" Zero then suddenly stood up to inspect his foot. "It's… in-tact? But I felt the pain! And the memory is etched in my brain!"
"Injuries in the exam are not real, but the psychological damage is."
"I'm pretty strong mentally, I'll be fine!"
"Do not underestimate these exams, Zero…"
"Anyway, where's Hollow and Nyra?" Zero looked around.
"We split up, our alliance was over after all."
"Makes sense…"
"HELLO PARTICIPANTS!" The examiners voice echoed. "I AM GLAD TO SEE OVER HALF OF YOU PASSED! 69 OF YOU ENTERED THE FIRST PHASE, AND 36 PASSED! I ASSUME ALL OF YOU HAVE HAD ENOUGH TIME TO REST! THERE IS NO NEED FOR YOU TO REST ANOTHER TEN MINUTES! BEGIN THE SECOND PHASE!"