The bell did not stop.
It rang slowly.
Deliberately.
Each vibration crawled through the cavern like a living pulse, sinking into bone and thought alike. Players across the basin stood frozen, staring at their system windows as the decree repeated itself in cold, undeniable text.
All Earth-Origin Players are to present themselves for Evaluation.
Compliance is Mandatory.
Qanata swallowed.
"They can identify us…" he said quietly.
IronReign gave a dry laugh. "You think that ranking board up there is just decoration? They've been watching since we arrived."
"Who?" Qanata asked.
"The Order."
Before he could say more, movement stirred near the main tunnel.
The crowd parted instinctively.
They didn't rush.
They didn't shout.
They simply stepped aside.
Three figures emerged from the darkness.
Their robes were white and silver, trimmed with faint geometric patterns that glowed like etched circuitry. Their faces were partially obscured by smooth metallic masks, featureless except for a thin horizontal slit where faint light shimmered behind.
Above each of them floated a title instead of a username.
Magistry Envoy.
No level.
No rank.
No stats visible.
Yokai's gaze sharpened immediately.
"Information suppression," he murmured.
The central envoy stepped forward.
When they spoke, their voice echoed unnaturally, layered with something mechanical beneath it.
"Territory conflict acknowledged. Structural integrity acceptable. Casualties: within projected range."
Projected range.
Qanata felt his jaw tighten.
The envoy's masked face turned slowly, scanning the gathered players.
Then it stopped.
On him.
On Yokai.
"Earth-Origin Signatures detected."
A murmur rippled through the basin.
IronReign stepped back slightly.
"So they really can track it…"
The envoy extended a hand.
The air shimmered.
A circular glyph formed beneath Qanata and Yokai's feet before either could react.
Energy surged upward, locking around their legs like invisible chains.
Qanata's system window flared red.
External Authority Override Detected.
Resistance Probability: 12%.
Yokai didn't struggle.
He observed.
"Evaluation parameters?" he asked calmly.
The envoy tilted its head slightly.
"Combat capacity. Cognitive adaptability. System compatibility."
"And if we refuse?" Qanata demanded.
The envoy answered without pause.
"Non-compliance results in territorial exile."
The ranking board flickered again overhead.
Several names dimmed faintly.
A cold realization sank in.
Exile didn't mean relocation.
It meant removal.
The glyph brightened.
The basin vanished.
—
Qanata staggered as solid ground reappeared beneath him.
They stood inside a vast circular arena carved entirely from black stone. No ceiling visible. Only darkness stretching upward.
White lines etched across the floor formed complex geometric patterns.
Yokai stood beside him, steady as ever.
Across the arena, a single figure materialized.
Not an envoy.
Not masked.
A woman.
Tall. Composed. Wearing dark robes lined with silver thread that shimmered faintly with embedded sigils.
Above her floated a title.
High Magister — Astrael.
Unlike the envoys, her eyes were visible.
Sharp. Intelligent.
Studying them.
"So," she said softly, her voice echoing clearly through the arena, "two brothers. High leaderboard consistency. Competitive specialization and exploratory specialization."
Qanata's chest tightened.
She knew too much.
Yokai inclined his head slightly. "You've been monitoring Earth players."
Astrael smiled faintly.
"Monitoring implies distance. You misunderstand."
The arena floor shifted.
Stone pillars erupted upward between them, rearranging the battlefield into a fractured maze.
"This is not punishment," Astrael continued calmly. "This is calibration."
The air behind Qanata distorted violently.
He spun—
A Dangun materialized mid-lunge.
But this one was different.
Sleeker.
Faster.
Its surface seemed partially phased, flickering between solid and translucent.
"Adaptive construct," Yokai muttered.
The creature attacked instantly.
Qanata barely raised his blade in time. The impact sent him skidding across stone.
Too fast.
Yokai engaged from the flank, releasing a precise energy arc aimed at its core.
The Dangun shifted mid-motion.
The attack passed through harmlessly.
"It's adjusting to output patterns," Qanata realized.
Astrael's voice echoed lightly.
"Adaptability test initiated."
The construct split.
Two identical forms now circled them.
Qanata exhaled slowly, forcing his thoughts to steady.
"This isn't about strength," he said under his breath.
Yokai's eyes flicked toward him briefly.
"Thinking?"
"It's reading predictable attack patterns. We have to break rhythm."
The first construct lunged.
Qanata didn't counter normally.
He stumbled intentionally, shifting off-balance and attacking from an awkward angle.
The blade scraped across the construct's shoulder.
This time—
It connected.
Yokai immediately changed tempo, abandoning precision for erratic, rapid bursts of power.
Unpredictable.
Unstructured.
The constructs faltered.
Their movements stuttered.
Qanata seized the moment.
He drove forward, channeling energy not into brute force—but into destabilizing the flicker frequency he sensed in its body.
The blade pierced through.
The first construct shattered.
The second roared and attempted to retreat—
Yokai appeared directly in front of it.
His hand closed around compressed dark energy.
He didn't release it as a wave.
He detonated it point-blank.
The arena shook.
When the light faded, the second construct dissolved into fading particles.
Silence returned.
Astrael stepped forward slowly.
"Combat synergy acceptable. Adaptive response time above threshold."
Qanata lowered his weapon, breathing hard.
"This was planned," he said quietly. "You knew we'd adjust."
Astrael regarded him carefully.
"Of course."
The white lines across the arena began glowing brighter.
"Earth-Origin players were not brought here randomly."
Qanata's heart pounded.
"What do you mean 'brought'?"
Astrael's gaze shifted briefly upward—toward the unseen darkness above.
"This world has entered its third cycle."
The words felt heavy.
"Previous cycles failed," she continued calmly. "Stagnation. Predictability. Collapse."
The arena began to fade.
"External variables were required."
Understanding struck Qanata like a physical blow.
"You pulled us here."
Astrael did not confirm.
She did not deny.
Instead, their system windows flared simultaneously.
Evaluation Complete.
Status: Provisionally Acknowledged.
Special Access: Pending Future Qualification.
The arena dissolved.
The cavern basin returned around them.
The envoys stood where they had been.
The crowd stared.
IronReign looked tense.
The central envoy spoke.
"Evaluation recorded. Earth-Origin Subjects designated as Strategic Variables."
The glyph beneath their feet vanished.
Before Qanata could speak again—
The massive ranking board flickered violently.
A new column appeared beside select names.
Marked.
Highlighted.
Yokai's name glowed faintly.
Qanata's flickered.
Then—
Above the entire board, a new global notification appeared.
Cycle Three Initiation Phase Complete.
Sovereign Trial will commence in 48 Hours.
A hush fell over the basin.
Even the envoys paused briefly.
Yokai's expression hardened slightly.
"Trial?" he murmured.
Deep below the cavern systems—
The ancient bell rang again.
Louder.
And far away, atop the obsidian structure—
The watching figure smiled faintly.
"Let the Sovereigns rise."
To be Continued...