Within minutes, blood splattered across the arena.
Out of 2,000 participants, only 30 survived.
If any ever asked them what happened
Or
How that happened… even those 30 could barely describe it.
It wasn't a challenge. It was butchery.
A quiet way to reduce the number of candidates — or to break them first.
Demha realized instantly —
This was nothing like the Maze.
He felt ashamed of himself.
He hadn't cared if he died here. He had accepted it.
But then — a bitter realization struck:
If this was the challenge he faced…
what kind of trials had Lessa endured till now?
Demons lurked in the shadows.
Survival was sheer luck.
Then, two gates appeared before the survivors:
One offered a safe return to Earth — along with power, knowledge, and wealth.
The other gate promised "more" — but at an unknown cost.
Only three people stepped forward toward that second gate:
A trembling young man desperate to cure his mother's cancer.
A woman searching for her missing younger brother.
And Demha — searching for Lessa.
None of them acted heroic.
None gave grand speeches.
They just moved — driven by a private agony that burned hotter than fear itself.
And they entered the gate.
⸻
Inside, Demha found himself alone — surrounded by monstrous creatures in an alien city.
In his hand: a strange, pulsing device.
Above his head: a 10-second countdown.
He understood the rules quickly:
Press the device to attract every monster's killing instinct.
Release it to become invisible for an amount of time equal to how long you pressed it.
He needed to accumulate 5 total minutes of pressing time to qualify.
If caught — or if he reached the exit without enough time — he would lose.
The run was hell.
Wounded, limping, bleeding — he pushed forward through invisible battles with unspeakable creatures.
Finally, he reached a crowded alien market.
There — water!
He was dying of thirst.
He staggered toward a broken tap and reached for it, desperate.
A child nearby turned and said:
"That's strange… why use that tap?"
A sign above it — written in a strange language — clearly marked it.
But using it exposed him.
It meant he was not from this world.
Suddenly, the civilians turned.
Suspicious eyes locked on him.
Demha tried to press the device again — desperate to turn invisible.
But it didn't work.
He realized, too late:
Once you reached five minutes, invisibility no longer activated.
Now, it triggered only bloodlust.
Everyone — citizens, monsters, even local police — turned on him.
And then… a cruel message blinked before his eyes:
Congratulations!
Every time you pressed the device, it drained energy from tortured slaves you couldn't see.
Your invisibility was bought with their pain.
Mockery.
Disgust burned inside him — not at those attacking, but at himself.
But he had no time to break.
He remembered Lessa's smile.
With shaking hands, he grabbed a metal pipe from a guard.
Fought through the chaos.
He struck a police officer who was reaching for a gun, then took the weapon.
He didn't aim to kill — only to disable, shooting at arms and legs.
But he couldn't be sure if they survived.
He didn't look back.
He had to reach the exit.
He had to survive.
Five hundred meters.
Every step felt like an eternity.
Bloodied. Bruised. Barely breathing.
Demha stumbled through the final portal.
And then — another message blinked before him:
Congratulations, hero.
You've earned your ticket to the Global Challenge.
The gate opened — and a brilliant light flooded through.
Through the haze of agony, Demha saw…
Lessa.
Smiling. Crying. Her arms wide, ready to catch him.
He collapsed — and before his head hit the ground —
Her arms caught him.
Her voice — cracked with joy and sorrow — whispered his name.
As his blood soaked her sleeves, her trembling hands brushed the matted hair from his face.
She didn't need words.
She already knew.
And with that, his head rested quietly in her lap.
—
[End of Chapter 5 – The Reunion]