The clearing shuddered.
Glowing cracks spread across the basin floor like lightning trapped under glass. The pulsing mushrooms flickered rapidly, and the mist shifted from soft green to harsh violet.
Kyle looked up nervously. "Nick… I think this whole place is about to blow."
Nick wiped sweat and monster blood from his forehead. "Yeah. We need to move. Now."
The System confirmed it a moment later.
[ANOMALY STABILITY: 17%]
Warning: Collapse imminent.
Exit recommended.
Nick tried to steady his breathing. His ribs ached, his muscles trembled, but strength still pulsed beneath his skin from his bloodline's partial awakening.
He walked to Tyler, who leaned heavily against Kyle.
"You good enough to walk?" Nick asked.
Tyler nodded weakly. "Yeah… but everything hurts."
Her voice shook, and when she lifted her head, her eyes were glassy with lingering fear.
"I heard whispers inside this place," she said. "They weren't real, but they sounded real. They kept saying to run, or hide, or freeze. Like they knew what I was afraid of."
Nick felt a cold shiver travel down his spine. "This anomaly messes with the mind."
Kyle rubbed her shoulder gently. "Don't blame yourself. Anyone would have panicked."
Tyler looked down. "You came for me."
"Of course we did," Nick said. "We always do."
A soft chime echoed near Tyler's ear.
She flinched as a translucent window appeared in front of her.
[System Awakening Complete]
User: Tyler Campbell
Status: Stabilized
Level: 1
Affinity: Clair-Sense (Uncommon)
Class Option: Pending
Condition: High anxiety detected. Emotional pathways are sensitive.
Recommended: Avoid overstimulation.
Tyler blinked at it, then looked at Nick and Kyle. "Is this good?"
Kyle smiled. "It means you're alive."
Nick leaned closer to read the details. "Clair-Sense… that fits you. Your intuition's always been ridiculous."
Tyler shrugged shyly. "I always know when people are staring at me. It sucks."
Kyle added, "Now it might save our lives."
The ground suddenly shook harder. Stones rolled from the clearing walls. The fissures widened, glowing brighter.
Nick looked toward the path they had entered from. "We need to get back there—fast."
He opened his inventory window and tapped the glowing shard they received from the boss.
Unstable Skill Fragment (Common)
Cracked, volatile.
Can be absorbed once.
Random basic skill granted.
Nick exhaled. "Now's the best time."
Kyle frowned. "Are you sure? We're about to run."
"I need everything I can get."
Nick held the fragment. It dissolved into white light that shot into his chest.
The System chimed sharply.
[Skill Acquired: Quickstep]
Type: Movement
Grade: Common
Effect: A short burst of accelerated footwork.
Cooldown: 9 seconds.
Nick felt a tingling sensation spread through his muscles and lower legs. His balance adjusted instinctively.
Kyle raised a brow. "Movement skill? Nice."
"We'll need it."
Another tremor shook the clearing. A massive crack split the ground behind them, glowing like a wound.
"Move!" Nick shouted.
They ran.
Nick pushed ahead, using Quickstep to dart through twisting roots and uneven terrain, clearing paths for Kyle as he carried Tyler. The forest twisted around them, the distortion increasing as the anomaly destabilized.
Behind them, the clearing collapsed inward like a collapsing lung.
Nick grabbed a hanging vine, swung over a fissure, landed, and ushered them across.
Tyler clung to Kyle tightly, her breathing sharp and fast.
"Keep looking at me," Kyle said softly. "Don't look behind us."
Nick noticed how Tyler's gaze darted everywhere despite trying to focus on Kyle. Her new affinity, sensitive to stimuli, was making everything around them sharper and louder.
He moved closer to shield her line of sight. "Almost there."
The entrance shimmered in the distance, flickering between solid and transparent like a glitch in reality.
The System chimed again.
[ANOMALY STABILITY: 8%]
Collapse imminent.
Nick activated Quickstep again and sprinted ahead, clearing debris and checking for hidden threats. The forest Guardian's body dissolved behind them, absorbed by the collapsing dungeon.
"Come on!" he shouted as Kyle carried Tyler faster.
Just as the anomaly pulsed one last time, Nick grabbed Tyler's wrist and pulled both of them through the shimmering veil.
The world snapped back.
They stumbled onto the stable forest floor outside the anomaly. The glow faded. The mist retreated. The unnatural sounds went silent.
Behind them, the anomaly collapsed in a burst of light, then vanished entirely.
Nick, Kyle, and Tyler collapsed to their knees, gasping for air.
Kyle held Tyler close. "We made it… we actually made it."
Tyler trembled, burying her face against his chest. "I was so scared. I thought I'd die alone."
Nick placed a hand on her shoulder. "Not happening. Not ever."
The forest around them was quiet again, humming with mana but free of distortion.
Nick lay back against the roots of a glowing tree, breathing deeply.
"We should head back to the cave," Kyle said. "Let Tyler rest."
Tyler nodded but hesitated. "I think… I heard voices earlier. Not the whispers. Real ones."
Nick turned to her. "Voices? What kind?"
"People. Students. Teachers maybe. Somewhere outside the anomaly."
Kyle looked at Nick. "A gathering?"
Nick nodded slowly. "Sounds like a group forming out there."
Tyler shivered. "It didn't sound close… but definitely more than a few people."
Kyle exhaled in relief. "Good. We're not alone."
Nick looked at his two closest friends—bloodied, exhausted, scared, but alive.
"We survived a dungeon," he said quietly. "As long as we stick together, we'll survive whatever comes next."
Tyler whispered, "Let's go find them."
Nick stood and helped them up.
The trio began their walk back through the forest, following the faint sound of distant voices.
A new chapter of the world was waiting for them.
And it was time to meet it head-on.