The portal opened not into stone or shadow — but into a storm.
Wind howled across a vast wilderness, thick with fog and the scent of rain-soaked earth. Towering trees twisted toward a sky fractured with crimson lightning. The ground rumbled with a heartbeat that didn't belong to the earth alone.
This wasn't a training arena. It was a world.
The candidates emerged in scattered bursts of light, landing on uneven terrain — mossy stones, fractured ridges, and rivers of luminous water that pulsed faintly like veins beneath the skin of a living creature.
"This place…" Raven muttered, brushing off the wet leaves clinging to his tunic. "It feels alive."
Nox crouched, pressing his fingers to the ground. Beneath the forest's chaos, there was a rhythm — a pulse matching the Tower's. "It is alive," he murmured. "The Tower doesn't build illusions on this floor. It breathes them."
A voice resonated through the mist — not a human one. The Tower itself spoke:
"Floor Three: Wild Trial. Survive the hunt. Tame the storm. Defeat or endure the guardians. Failure is marked not by death… but by surrender."
Above them, ancient runes flickered briefly into the air, outlining the rules of the trial:• Each candidate must survive for six hours within the wilderness.• Resonance signatures attract guardian beasts.• Subduing or taming a guardian grants bonus marks.• Teaming is allowed — betrayal is not forbidden.
And finally — one rule burned brighter than the rest:
"Only those who overcome the storm may ascend."
Thunder split the air as the mist stirred. Three distant roars answered.
Through the swirling fog, shapes emerged as Beasts Awaken.
The first was a Stoneback Ursal, a towering bear-like creature wreathed in shimmering obsidian scales. Its eyes burned with molten light, and each step cracked the ground beneath it.
The second — a Gale Serpent, a massive serpent with translucent wings and a body that flowed like wind. Its presence scattered the mist in spirals, and every movement left trails of lightning in the air.
The third, silent but far more terrifying, was a Spectral Stag, antlers aglow with golden resonance threads, its form flickering in and out of existence like an echo of the world itself.
These weren't ordinary beasts. These were ancient guardians — fragments of the Tower's own will.
Selene Aurelion moved first. She didn't run — she analyzed. With precise resonance control, she cloaked her presence, slipping behind a ridge of moss-covered stone. Her breathing slowed until it aligned perfectly with the ambient rhythm of the forest.
"Draw attention, and you'll be hunted," she whispered to herself.
Meanwhile, Raven Drayke chose the opposite route. He charged toward the Stoneback Ursal with a grin, pulling raw energy into his fists.
"If it's hunting me anyway," he shouted, "might as well punch first!"
The Ursal roared, slamming its paw down. Raven barely rolled aside, the impact shattering the earth into shards. His strikes rang against the beast's armor, not piercing but echoing loud enough to shake the air.
Nox watched from higher ground, perched on a broken pillar. "Idiot," he muttered, but there was no malice in it.
He extended his resonance like a thin thread, sensing the flow of power around the beasts. They were not randomly placed — they were anchored to specific nodes within the forest.
"Three cores… linked. Break or control them."
His mind worked fast, calculating routes, energy patterns, and potential weak points. This wasn't just survival. It was a puzzle.
Far to the west, Taren Voss unleashed his raw power like a storm. The Gale Serpent circled above, lightning bursting across its wings. Taren raised both hands, resonance flaring in jagged arcs.
Their clash lit up the sky like a miniature tempest.He wasn't trying to hide — he was trying to dominate.
The serpent dove, fangs flashing. Taren met it head-on, his aura tearing the mist apart. But every time he struck, the serpent bent like wind, slipping through force like it was nothing. His power was immense… but the beast was faster.
"You're not getting away," Taren growled, anchoring himself in a ring of condensed energy.
Lyra Fen didn't engage directly. She moved like a shadow through the forest, setting up illusions to divert guardian attention. A flash of false resonance here, a decoy flicker there — the beasts split their focus.
"Never fight when you can outthink," she murmured.
Two lesser candidates nearly stumbled into the Serpent's hunting ground but were yanked back by her. "Unless you want to be charred meat, don't move like idiots," she hissed.
They nodded, pale-faced.
She didn't need to tame a beast to prove herself. She needed to last.
Nox's gaze locked on the Spectral Stag. Unlike the others, it wasn't attacking anyone. It simply watched. Its golden antlers hummed softly, as though it recognized something.
He approached slowly, step by step, weaving his resonance to match its frequency rather than overpower it. The stag's form flickered… once, twice. It tilted its head.
"You're testing me," he whispered.
The beast let out a low sound — not a growl, not a roar. A sound like a forgotten memory. Then it moved, fast as light.
Nox spun, rolling beneath the strike as golden antlers slashed the air where he'd stood. His pulse hammered. "So that's how it is."
Their dance began — not brutal like Raven's fight, nor wild like Taren's. It was intricate. Calculated. The stag's movements mirrored his own, as if forcing him to prove control over instinct and intent.