Zain stood still, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the monitor Velra was working at.
He broke the silence.
"Our next stop is the Fla God Cult."
Velra’s fingers paused on the keyboard. "...We still don’t know where they are."
Zain nodded. "Let’s see if the Hero Association has anything. Check their files."
Velra spun back to the screen, tapping rapidly. Her brows furrowed.
"Nothing on their base," she said after a mont.
"They moved. The Hero Association noticed the shift, but the current location isn’t logged."
"I see," Zain muttered, tapping his foot once. "What is logged?"
Velra kept digging. Her expression changed. "Found sothing."
She turned to him.
"Because the Fla God Cult returned, the Association is planning a preemptive strike."
"They’re forming a task group while the cult is still small."
Zain’s lips curled. "They want to wipe them before they grow."
Velra nodded. "There’s going to be a public screening."
"Combat evaluations. Strategy drills. The usual tests. Any registered hero can apply."
Zain stepped closer. "Can you forge our hero profiles?"
She smirked. "Yes."
"The signup list is open to anyone with credentials. I just need to input hero nas, and we’re in."
"Do it," Zain said without hesitation.
Velra hesitated. "What about our bodies? Our ether signatures?"
"In the lower zones, we’re already flagged as villains. They might have our data."
Zain walked behind her, resting one hand on her shoulder.
"I’ll take care of that. They will never know we are the sa."
Velra’s eyes glimred. "Then I’ll create our new identities."
He nodded. "New nas. New power descriptions. Keep it simple but believable."
"Yes, Master," she said with a grin, fingers already typing again.
Zain paced the room slowly, eyes scanning the ceiling as he could see through it.
"Savra... Zelia... if you’re really there, I’ll find you."
His hands clenched behind his back. He closed his eyes briefly.
"Fla God Cult," he whispered. "Let’s see how hot your fire still burns."
A few minutes passed. The soft clicking of keys filled the silence.
Velra leaned back. "Done. Two new heroes registered."
Zain turned and headed for the door.
"Good. Next move: join this test group. Get inside. Find the cult’s trail."
Velra followed. "And if they’re not there?"
Zain didn’t stop walking. "They will be. If Savra’s rebuilding the cult, she’ll be watching the test group."
Velra narrowed her eyes. "Watching for threats... or new allies."
"Exactly," Zain said. "We’ll be both."
---
Seraine Vellin stood at the edge of the training platform.
Her violet eyes scanned the row of instructors lined up in front of her.
They stood straight, silent, waiting.
She raised one hand.
"Have you all prepared the tests?"
One by one, the instructors nodded.
The first, a tall man with cybernetic arms, stepped forward.
"Obstacle zones are set. We randomized layouts between strength and mobility tracks."
Another instructor, a woman with visor lenses, followed.
"Illusion scenarios are calibrated. We’ve included stealth and rescue paraters."
A third added, "Combat drones synced and cloaked. They’ll engage once phase two begins."
Seraine listened, hands behind her back. She tilted her head slightly.
"And the application list?"
"Over 200 entries," soone replied.
"We filtered for low to mid-tier. No suspicious activity flagged yet."
Seraine’s eyes narrowed.
"Yet."
She stepped forward.
Her boots clicked softly across the floor as she walked past them.
They all turned to follow her with their eyes.
"The Fla God Cult is returning," she said. "We can’t allow them to rebuild."
Silence. Tension hung in the air.
She turned her head halfway.
"The Apex Guardian has already given his directive."
No one spoke.
"Do not underestimate this group," she continued.
"Last ti, they set half the zone on fire with only three mbers."
Soone shifted nervously in place.
Seraine turned fully to face them again.
"This is not a drill. This test is the net. Anyone even hinting at cult behavior—report it."
The cyber-arm man spoke again. "What if they pass the trials?"
Seraine stared at him.
"Then they pass. We watch longer."
She walked down the row, scanning each instructor.
"If they are fakes... we make them believe they succeeded."
Her hand rested on the hilt of her ether katana.
It hovered slightly at her side, flickering with light.
"And then we strike."
The room stayed quiet.
Seraine nodded once.
"Begin stage prep."
The group broke formation.
Each went to their assigned terminals, pulling up data, adjusting layouts, and confirming trap chanisms.
Seraine stayed in place, eyes scanning the digital map on the nearby wall.
She scanned each line carefully.
No red flags. No strange records. No mismatched data.
Nothing suspicious.
Her hand rested near her sword, fingers tapping slowly on the hilt.
She let out a quiet breath.
"So clean," she whispered. "Too clean."
She didn’t move. Just kept staring.
Part of her wanted sothing to be off.
A false na. A wrong power match. A trail of edits. Anything.
Because if soone slipped through, it ant danger.
And danger made heroes stronger.
Her fingers curled around her blade. The tal vibrated faintly.
"If any cult mber or outsider is here," she said to herself, "don’t reveal yourself too fast."
She stared harder at the list.
"If you do... my sword will drink first."
She looked up at the test field through the glass.
Platforms, terrain shifts, and drones—ready and waiting.
Her reflection stared back at her from the glass. Calm, cold, steady.
"This test will be good for them," she muttered.
Whether they faced intruders or just each other, the heroes would bleed.
And the ones who stood up after... would be worth keeping.
She turned away from the screen and walked toward the control panel.
One press of her hand started the first wave of simulations.
The test had begun.
---
One of the participants stood at the edge of the platform, arms crossed, lips curled into a smirk.
"Good. I’m in."
His eyes scanned the course ahead, watching the other heroes stretch and prepare.
"I’ll make sure this whole test falls apart."
He chuckled under his breath.
"Heh... let’s see how strong your heroes really are."
The tir clicked down.
The trial had begun.
And chaos was already walking in.
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