The Arsenal's Reflection
The armory tent smelled of metal, oil, and leather. Rows of weapons gleamed under lamplight, lined up neatly on long wooden tables. The recruits of Ragna Squad and the Vanguard Unit stood in silence, their new dark-green uniforms stiff against their bodies.
Commander Valerius stepped forward, his voice deep and steady.
"Forget the arena. That was about power and showing off. The forest will demand intelligence and survival. Pick a weapon you can rely on when the world turns against you."
At his side, Elara, the quartermaster, swept her hand across the weapons. Her voice was cold, practical.
"Your weapon is your lifeline. Don't choose what feels easy. Choose what is necessary."
The silence stretched until Riku moved first. His sharp eyes passed over rifles, swords, and axes. None of them satisfied him. He stopped at a rack of long weapons and lifted a spear. It wasn't bulky or heavy—its shaft was jointed, able to fold short, and its tip was a sharp, three-edged blade of black steel.
Riku whispered to himself as he tested the weapon, snapping it open with a hiss.
"The forest is a maze. A wide swing will fail. I need a straight strike, fast and clean."
He thrust the spear forward, each movement precise. It sliced through the air like lightning. He nodded.
"Efficiency is survival. This weapon is perfect."
The next to move was Darren. He didn't hesitate. His huge hand grabbed the largest weapon in the tent—a colossal hammer made of shining black metal. Its head was a solid block, but with a mechanism that revealed folding blades when it struck. Darren lifted it with a grunt, his shoulders bulging. The ground shook beneath his feet.
He gave a satisfied growl.
"In the forest, fear is the greatest enemy. And this hammer is fear itself."
The blades snapped out with a metallic clink. He grinned.
"Riku may avoid obstacles. I'll crush them."
Kaelen, the nervous new recruit, stepped forward last. His eyes darted around before landing on a strange bow resting at the far end. Its frame was black, glowing faintly when he strung it. It wasn't ordinary—the arrows had small boosters attached to their shafts.
Kaelen's hands trembled, but his grip was steady once he held it.
"I… I'm useless in close combat. I panic. But at a distance…" He nocked an arrow, his breathing calmer now. "At a distance, I can see clearly. I can help protect others without losing control."
The arrow flew, striking a wooden beam with a hiss. Kaelen's eyes sharpened with focus.
Draxion walked forward quietly. His huge frame shadowed the others, but his expression was distant, almost sad. He didn't look at swords or guns. Instead, he stopped at a pair of heavy black gauntlets resting on a stand. Each was fitted with long, retractable claws.
He slid them on. The weight fit naturally against his arms. He stared at his hands as if they had always been weapons. His voice came low and rough.
"I tried distance. I tried steel. But they always fail. The only thing I trust is my own body."
He punched forward, the claws snapping out with a hiss, leaving thin cuts in the air. His jaw tightened.
"It's brutal. It's ugly. But it's honest. If I fail, it's because I failed—not the weapon."
Finally, Kaen stepped forward. He ignored the modern weapons, passing them without interest. His eyes stopped on an old blade. A katana. The steel was plain, but flawless. Its hilt was wrapped in dark leather, worn smooth with age.
He unsheathed it. The lamplight slid across the blade in a single cold line. The entire tent seemed to fall silent.
Elara's voice broke the stillness.
"That sword is demanding. It forgives no mistakes."
Kaen stared at his own reflection in the steel. His voice was calm, almost empty.
"Good. I need a weapon that punishes failure. Technology forgives. This blade does not. It forces me to be perfect."
The blade slid back into its sheath with a sharp sound. Kaen's hand tightened on the hilt.
"My strength is not power or technology. It is discipline. This sword is proof of it."
---
Scars and Silence
The dinosaur paddock stretched wide, filled with low, muscular shapes. The scouts shifted restlessly, their scales glinting under torchlight. Many bore long, pale scars from past battles.
Valerius raised his hand.
"These are your mounts. They will see what you cannot, smell what you miss, hear what escapes you. Choose one that accepts you."
Riku walked first, approaching a small raptor-like creature with sharp golden eyes. It studied him carefully, cautious but clever. Riku extended his hand, and the creature leaned forward, its trust slow but sure.
Darren laughed as he pointed at a massive blue-scaled beast that roared loudly at the others. It stomped, shaking the ground. Darren swung his hammer across his back and climbed onto it.
"This one fits me perfectly."
Kaelen found a smaller, nervous-looking scout with long legs. It trembled, but when he touched its snout, it calmed slightly. Its quick movements matched his need for speed and distance.
Draxion chose a beast with thick, scarred legs and a body like living stone. Slow, but devastating in its charge. He placed a hand on its side, and the creature didn't flinch.
Kaen, however, walked toward the back. There, half-hidden in shadow, was a towering creature unlike the rest. Its scales were black, its body long and lean, its chest crisscrossed with old, deep scars. One side of its face was torn, leaving only a single burning amber eye.
Valerius frowned.
"That one is called the Shadow-Stalker. Fastest of them all, but untamable. It has never allowed a rider. Choose another, Kaen."
The beast raised its head, growling low and sharp. Its eye glared with pure hostility.
Kaen stood before it, silent. He didn't step closer, didn't offer food or comfort. He simply met its gaze. His voice was calm, almost like a whisper.
"We are the same. Scarred. Alone. But the mission requires us to move."
The Shadow-Stalker hissed, muscles tightening. It waited for weakness—for fear. But Kaen showed nothing. Only a still, unyielding strength.
The growl faded. The beast lowered its head slightly. Not submission, but truce.
Kaen mounted slowly. The Shadow-Stalker shuddered, tense, but it allowed him. Its amber eye flicked back at him, warning. A fragile, dangerous bond had been formed.
There was no trust. Only a shared purpose.
---
The Freeze
The squads rode into the Great Forest. The moment they crossed the border, the air grew heavy and wet. The last light faded, swallowed by endless trees.
The column moved carefully, the only sounds the drip of water from the canopy and the soft steps of their mounts. Darren's hammer clanked against his saddle, earning a sharp glance from Riku. Kaelen's eyes darted everywhere, scanning shadows. Draxion sat still, his gauntlets crossed, like a statue of iron.
Twenty minutes in, the Shadow-Stalker suddenly froze. Its body stiffened, legs trembling. A broken whimper left its throat.
Kaen's fist shot up. Halt.
The squad stopped instantly. The silence that followed was unnatural. No insects. No rustling leaves. Only the pounding of their hearts.
Riku whispered over the comms, his voice low.
"This silence… it's wrong. It's an ambush."
Draxion's deep voice rumbled like stone.
"Something is above us. Watching."
Kaen unsheathed his katana, the sound thin and sharp.
"Draxion, Kaelen—scan the canopy."
Kaelen lifted his glowing bow, aiming upward. His breath caught.
"S-Six targets. Hanging from the branches. They're… Dwellers."
The creatures clung to the branches like shadows. Small, twisted bodies covered in bark-like scales. Long claws. Pale, milky eyes that stared without blinking.
Darren's grip tightened on his hammer. His voice was dry, almost cracking.
"They're not moving. Just watching."
Kaen's gaze never wavered.
"They hunt by vibration. If we move, they strike. We are already in their nest."
The Shadow-Stalker shook beneath him, its muscles twitching in fear. Kaen steadied his blade, his voice cutting through the suffocating silence.
"Do not move. Do not break formation. Draxion—be ready. Riku—watch the flanks."
No one breathed. No one dared.
Above them, the Dwellers hung like dead things, waiting.
The test had begun.