Stone cracked beneath Marek Thorne's boots as he stepped deeper into the Ruin Zone.
The ground here was different—harder, denser, threaded with veins of faintly glowing energy that pulsed like a slow heartbeat. Each step sent a dull vibration up his legs, as if the land itself was aware of his presence.
"This place feels heavier than the outer section," Tomas Reed muttered, rolling his shoulders. His Body Forging circulated steadily, muscles tense and ready.
Above them, Kira's Wind Hawk circled low, feathers slicing the air in near silence.
"It's not just you," Kira said. "The wind's distorted. Like it's being bent."
Marek didn't respond immediately.
His earth affinity pressed back against him, responding to something buried beneath the ruins. Not hostile. Not friendly.
Watching.
Then the ground ahead shifted.
Slowly.
Too slowly.
Marek raised a fist. "Stop."
They froze.
From beneath a collapsed pillar, something crawled free.
Its body was malformed—half stone, half flesh, bound together by threads of unstable energy. Its limbs moved unnaturally, joints bending at impossible angles. Empty eye sockets glowed faintly as it dragged itself upright.
The air around it crackled.
Kira sucked in a sharp breath. "That's not a normal ruin beast."
Tomas clenched his fists. "Doesn't matter. We take it down."
But Marek felt a chill crawl up his spine.
This thing wasn't charging.
It was observing.
And suddenly—
The instructor's voice echoed in his mind.
"Listen carefully," Instructor Halden Voss had said earlier that day, his voice cold and precise.
"Starcrest City is protected by ancient arrays that reject instability itself. Within the city walls, ruin entities cannot exist. The moment such a creature approaches the barrier, its form collapses."
"Beyond the barrier lies the Ruin Zone—a containment region. The creatures there are not natural lifeforms.
They are manifestations of corrupted energy, shaped by ancient disasters."
"Do not treat them as animals."
"They are classified."
The creature took one step forward.
Its body twitched.
Energy surged.
Marek exhaled slowly.
"…So it's true," he murmured.
Kira glanced at him. "What?"
Marek's eyes hardened. "Instructor Voss warned us. About the rankings."
The creature let out a distorted screech.
Marek slammed his foot down.
The earth answered.
Stone erupted upward, forming a barrier just as the creature lunged.
"Corrupted Entities," Marek said firmly.
"Rank II."
Tomas's eyes widened slightly. "Rank II? Already?"
Kira cursed under her breath. "This is supposed to be a student trial."
"Exactly," Marek replied grimly. "And it's escalating."
The creature attacked again—faster this time.
Tomas met it head-on, Body Forging flaring as his fist collided with corrupted stone-flesh. The impact sent a shockwave through the ruins—but the creature didn't shatter.
Instead, it adapted.
Its arm reformed mid-motion, twisting to slash across Tomas's side.
Tomas grunted, stumbling back.
"Damn it—!" He barely blocked the follow-up strike.
Kira reacted instantly.
Her Wind Hawk screamed as it dove, razor-sharp gusts tearing into the creature's core. The entity recoiled—but only briefly.
"It's not destabilizing!" Kira shouted. "It's reinforcing itself!"
Marek slammed both palms to the ground.
The earth surged upward, binding the creature's legs in hardened stone.
"Rank II entities can regenerate if their core isn't destroyed," Marek said through clenched teeth. "Instructor said that too."
Tomas wiped blood from his lip. "Then point me to the core!"
Marek narrowed his eyes.
"There."
He felt it—an unnatural density at the creature's center.
"Together!" Marek roared.
Tomas charged again, Kira's wind accelerating his movement. Marek compressed the earth binding inward—
The creature shrieked as its core shattered.
Its body collapsed into ash.
Silence returned.
Breathing heavy, Tomas leaned on his knees. "That… wasn't normal."
Kira landed beside Marek, eyes sharp. "If that was Rank II…"
Marek didn't answer.
He stared deeper into the ruins.
Because something else was moving.
In the academy's monitoring chamber, tension thickened.
"Rank II entities confirmed," an instructor said sharply.
"That's ahead of schedule," another replied.
Principal Aria Nightfall stood silently at the center, eyes fixed on the projection.
Her fingers tightened slightly.
"…The zone is responding faster than expected," she said.
No one asked what that meant.
They already knew.
Back in the Ruin Zone—
The ground trembled.
Not violently.
Deliberately.
Marek felt it immediately.
This wasn't an attack.
This was a presence.
Kira's Wind Hawk screamed and shot skyward.
Tomas straightened slowly. "Marek…"
"I know," Marek replied quietly.
From deep within the ruins, ancient mechanisms shifted.
Energy converged.
Stone rearranged itself.
Something woke up.
Marek swallowed.
Instructor Voss's final warning echoed in his mind.
"If you ever sense coordination, learning, or deliberate response…"
"You are no longer dealing with Corrupted Entities."
The ruins fell silent.
Then—
A massive structure began to rise.
Not a beast.
Not flesh.
Stone did not simply break.
It rearranged itself.
From the depths of the ruins, ancient mechanisms groaned as if the land itself were stretching after a long sleep.
Broken pillars slid into place, shattered slabs lifting from the ground and locking together with deliberate precision.
Symbols ignited across the forming structure—runes not carved for beauty, but for function—each one pulsing with cold, methodical light.
The air grew heavy.
Not with killing intent, but with judgment.
Eyes opened within the construct—twin points of pale radiance that did not glare, did not rage, but observed.
They scanned the surroundings with unsettling calm, as if cataloguing threats, measuring resistance, and calculating outcomes.
Kira's Wind Hawk screamed and fled upward, wings beating in panic.
Tomas felt his Body Forging stutter for half a breath.
Marek stood frozen.
His earth affinity trembled, not in defiance—but in recognition.
This was not a beast born of corruption.
This was something assigned.
A guardian.
A responder.
An answer.
Marek's throat went dry as Instructor Voss's warnings echoed in his mind—about entities that learned, adapted, and enforced balance within the Ruin Zone.
His voice came out hoarse, barely louder than a whisper.
"…Rank III."
The construct took its first step.
The ground shook.
The Ruin Zone had answered.
And the Trial was no longer under control.
This no longer a trial it is about surviving, but if it escalate we retaliate.
To be continued....