The sky above Hunter Academy had turned an ominous shade of red.
At dawn, students from Class A-2 stood in uniform rows at the edge of the arena. A pulsing red vortex—unnatural, humming with power—hovered inside the summoning circle. The Blood Gate. Its presence made the ground vibrate, and even the most confident students looked uneasy.
Zian's fists clenched at her sides. Her instincts screamed. She had never been inside a Blood Gate, but something about it felt familiar. Too familiar.
Professor Drayven—stoic and scarred as ever—stepped forward, flanked by two other faculty members.
"This trial," he announced, "is not meant to test your strength. It's meant to test your survival instinct… and your will."
A screen behind him flashed the team pairings once more. Squad One stood out:
Zian Kael
Kaen
Mira Valen
Leon Raskov
Drayven nodded at them. "Your team will go first."
Mira cracked her neck and summoned her energy blade. Leon just grunted, adjusting his silver-plated gauntlets. Kaen, of course, ate a chocolate bar while staring into the swirling blood-red gate like it was nothing.
"Stay close," Zian said, trying to calm her pulse.
Kaen grinned. "Don't worry. Shadows cling to light."
They stepped into the gate.
---
🌌 Inside the Blood Gate
The world twisted.
The team landed in a warped forest. Trees bled mist. The ground pulsed like a living thing. Echoes of laughter and screaming came from nowhere and everywhere. A dreamscape fed by memory and fear.
Mira knelt and scanned the air. "Magic levels are unstable. The terrain changes every few minutes."
Kaen glanced at Zian. "This place remembers you."
Zian blinked. "What?"
He smiled, but didn't answer.
Suddenly, black silhouettes emerged from the mist—twisted beings shaped like people they'd seen before. Each one wore a warped version of the Academy uniform.
"Hallucinations?" Leon muttered.
"No," Kaen said, licking his lips. "Projections. Of your past... and your guilt."
Zian's eyes narrowed as one of the figures stepped forward—its face identical to her own.
Kaen whispered, "Let's see what truths this place pulls out of you."
The real trial had begun.