The train doors flew open.
A violent force tore through the carriage, ripping the examinees from their positions and hurling them through the open doors before anyone had the chance to understand what was happening.
The examinees plummeted from the sky, falling toward an enormous sea of clouds that completely obscured whatever awaited them below.
Chaos erupted almost immediately.
Some flailed helplessly through the air, screaming as they desperately tried to regain control. Others remained composed, allowing themselves to fall without resistance.
Grace trembled as the wind tore past her, her body stiff with fear.
Amir quickly wrapped himself around her, holding Grace tightly against his chest as though his own body could somehow shield her from whatever waited below.
Lily, meanwhile, seemed completely unfazed.
She clung to Amir from behind, her arms wrapped around his head while he desperately tried to protect Grace. A wide smile stretched across Lily's face as her legs dangled freely in the rushing wind, almost as if she were enjoying the fall.
Not far away, Charlotte descended with effortless elegance. She sat atop her scythe as though it were a seat, both her body and weapon enveloped in a faint purple aura as they glided straight toward the clouds below.
Then there were Kai and Salem.
Both fell headfirst toward the unknown.
Neither screamed.
Neither struggled against the wind.
Kai's hands remained buried casually in his pockets, his eyes fixed on the endless white abyss beneath him.
Beside him, Salem's fists were clenched tightly at his sides, his body angled downward with such determination that it almost seemed as though he were forcing himself toward the ground rather than simply falling.
For a brief moment, the two noticed each other.
Their eyes met.
No words were exchanged.
At the same moment, they gave each other a slight nod.
A silent acknowledgment between them—
and together, they disappeared into the clouds.
Salem found himself standing alone in the middle of a forest.
Towering trees surrounded him in every direction, their thick canopies obscuring most of the sky above. He slowly scanned his unfamiliar surroundings, searching for anything that might tell him where he had landed.
Then he heard it.
Crying.
It was faint, coming from somewhere deeper within the forest.
Salem turned toward the sound.
With no idea where he was—and no clear direction to follow—his curiosity gave him enough reason to investigate.
He made his way toward the crying, casually brushing aside branches and leaves as he passed through the undergrowth. The sound gradually grew louder until he reached a thick cluster of bushes.
Salem slowly pulled the branches apart.
A young girl sat on the ground on the other side, her face buried in her hands as she cried.
It was Grace.
"Oh... it was you," Salem said, surprised.
Grace's crying abruptly paused. Slowly, she raised her head toward him.
"You were crying on the train too," he added irritably.
The instant she recognized him, Grace shot to her feet and threw herself into Salem's stomach.
"Salemmmmmmm!" she wailed, somehow crying even louder than before.
Salem stiffened.
"Why are you crying?" he asked, already slightly annoyed.
"I was so scared!" Grace pleaded. "My brother was hugging me one second, and then I was here! I didn't know what to do!"
"And yet, crying solves nothing."
Salem pushed her away and looked around the forest.
"The goal is to bring a monster core to the tower."
His gaze traveled upward, following the massive trees until their branches disappeared into the canopy.
"I'm going to get a view from the top."
Without another word, Salem took off.
"Wait!! Don't leave me alone!" Grace shouted after him.
But her voice grew fainter as Salem disappeared into the trees.
Grace took a step back and wiped at her eyes. The tears didn't stop completely, but she managed to steady herself.
Above her, Salem leapt from branch to branch, climbing higher with each jump.
Higher.
Higher.
Until finally, he broke through the canopy.
Salem landed atop one of the highest branches and looked out.
An enormous landscape stretched before him.
An endless expanse of forest covered most of the land, broken apart by vast bodies of water shimmering between the trees. From this height, the scale of the examination grounds became clear.
But one thing immediately demanded his attention.
Far beyond the forest, rising above everything else—
a tower.
Salem stared at it for a moment, memorizing its direction.
Then he dropped back beneath the canopy.
Grace gave her eyes one final wipe as Salem landed on the forest floor.
He didn't explain what he had seen. He didn't tell her where he intended to go.
He simply started walking.
Grace watched him for only a moment before following.
No questions.
No hesitation.
Salem continued forward without looking back, and Grace stayed close behind.
Far beyond the trees, the tower waited.
And somewhere between them and their destination was the monster core they needed.
Salem and Grace continued through the forest for hours.
The deeper they traveled, the more Grace began to fall behind.
At first, it was only a few steps.
Then several.
Her breathing grew heavier, and the sound of her footsteps gradually faded behind Salem's.
Eventually, he noticed.
Salem glanced over his shoulder.
Grace immediately straightened, trying to hide her exhaustion the moment she realized he was looking at her.
"I... can keep going," she managed between breaths.
Salem stared at her for a moment without responding.
Then he stopped.
His eyes swept across the surrounding forest, studying the trees and terrain.
"We can camp here for the night."
That was all he said.
Salem stepped away and began gathering firewood.
Grace watched him for a moment before her remaining strength gave out. She dropped onto the ground, completely exhausted, allowing herself to finally rest while Salem prepared their campsite.
Before long, the crackling of a small fire filled the silence of the forest.
Salem sat before it, watching the flames dance between the pieces of wood.
Across from him, Grace lay sprawled on the ground, still recovering from the journey.
His eyes lingered on her.
Then returned to the fire.
The flames flickered in his gaze.
As he stared into them, an old memory surfaced.
His master's death.
He remembered the anger that followed. The helplessness of watching someone stronger than him meet their end.
Then his thoughts shifted to his mother.
That pain had been different.
He remembered the crushing feeling in his chest when he realized she was gone. A pain unlike anything he had understood before.
Yet in Salem's mind, both deaths led back to the same simple truth.
They had been weak.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
They hadn't been strong enough to survive.
And that weakness had cost them their lives.
Salem's eyes shifted from the flames to Grace.
She was still sprawled across the ground, recovering from their journey.
His expression tightened slightly.
"If you're so weak, why are you taking the exam in the first place?"
Grace looked over at him.
Salem turned his attention back to the fire.
"As long as you continue to be weak, you'll die."
Grace stared at him for a moment.
Then, rather than becoming upset, she slowly pushed herself off the ground. Her legs still ached, but she walked over and lowered herself beside him.
She turned toward Salem with an innocent smile.
"Then why are you taking the exam, Salem?"
Salem went still.
His fist clenched.
Darkness seeped from his body like smoke, slowly wrapping itself around him.
The atmosphere changed.
The air grew heavy.
The fire suddenly surged upward—
its orange flames consumed by black.
"I lost someone."
Anger weighed heavily on every word.
Grace's smile disappeared as she stared at him.
Salem closed his eyes and drew in a slow breath.
Then he exhaled.
The darkness receded.
The pressure vanished.
And the black flames faded, leaving the campfire burning normally once again.
When Salem opened his eyes, the anger was gone from his face.
I need to find Ava.
"I need to find someone."
Grace tilted her head.
"Who's Ava?"
Salem's gaze remained fixed on the fire.
Silence.
Grace stared at him, completely unaware of the weight behind her question.
Salem hadn't said that name aloud.
"...What did you say?"
Grace blinked.
"Ava. Who is she?"
Salem continued staring into the flames.
"How do you know that name?"
Grace's eyebrows scrunched together.
"You just said it."
"No, I didn't."
Her confidence disappeared.
"You... didn't?"
"No."
Grace looked genuinely confused. She lowered her eyes, trying to remember what she had heard.
Salem's gaze remained on the fire.
Then something clicked.
The train.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Back then, he had heard her voice.
Help me.
Clear enough that he had searched for its source.
But Grace had never actually called out to him.
At the time, Salem had dismissed the strange occurrence. There had been more important things happening around him.
Now, sitting beside the same girl as she repeated a name that had never left his thoughts, the memory felt considerably less insignificant.
"You did it before."
Grace looked up.
"Huh?"
"On the train."
Salem's gaze remained fixed on the flames.
"I heard your voice."
Grace tilted her head.
"But... I didn't talk to you on the train."
"I know."
Her eyes widened slightly.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Salem had heard Grace without her speaking.
And now Grace had heard him the same way.