Instructor Elara voss exhaled, pressing a few buttons on her wrist monitor. It had been a long day, and she was in the middle of her routine check of the equipment. The planetary field stabilizers were all within expected parameters, the automated sentry drones showed no signs of unauthorized intrusions, and the mana saturation levels—
Her breath caught in her throat.
A wave of crushing pressure slammed into her chest.
The air grew dense, thick with something unnatural. The ground beneath her feet vibrated, her bones rattling from the sheer weight of the energy pressing down on her. Her vision swam as her lungs struggled to breathe.
This was more than just a surge in mana.
This was something alive.
Her fingers trembled as she activated her scanner. The readings were off the charts—the entire planet's mana field had shifted violently in an instant. The source? Unknown.
No, not unknown.
It was coming from the direction of the students.
Her stomach twisted.
Something was very, very wrong.
She turned on her heel and ran.
---
A Vanishing Nightmare
Elara's boots pounded against the jungle floor as she weaved through thick foliage, pushing faster than she ever had before. She tapped her wrist monitor, switching it to a planetary mana-tracking interface.
The results made her stop dead in her tracks.
A singular, massive energy signature was pulsing ahead of her, far beyond anything a Veil-Tier beast could produce.
But then—
It disappeared.
Gone.
As if it had never existed.
Voss' heart raced. No entity, no matter how powerful, could just vanish like that. Mana didn't just evaporate. It left traces, disturbances.
But this?
This was like reality itself had been altered.
Confused, wary, and now more desperate than ever, she pressed forward—until she emerged into a devastated clearing.
Her breath hitched.
Something had happened here.
The trees were shredded, massive claw marks gouged into the trunks. The ground was torn apart, chunky of rock and dirt blasted away as if an explosion had gone off.
The battle that took place here hadn't been a simple skirmish.
It had been a massacre.
And at the center of it all—
She saw them.
---
Vivian – Barely Holding On
Elara voss sprinted forward.
Vivian lay on the ground, her uniform soaked in blood, her breathing shallow and erratic. Her body twitched slightly, as if caught between consciousness and oblivion.
"What happened?!" Elara voss demanded, eyes darting between the students.
Lena's head snapped up.
Her face was pale, her hands clenched into fists, shaking with barely contained emotion.
"We were hunting..." Lena's voice cracked. She forced herself to speak. "We were hunting for beasts when a Dominion-Tier monster lunged at Vivian—she took most of the hit."
Elara voss' blood ran cold.
A Dominion-Tier?
Here?
On a planet like this?
That was impossible.
"We grabbed her and ran," Lena continued. "We were lucky to get away."
Elara voss' eyes flicked to the others.
Darius, Jace—even Kyle—looked utterly stunned at Lena's explanation.
Not because it wasn't believable—
But because Lena had never been the type to explain anything first.
She was always the one analyzing, waiting, speaking only when necessary.
And yet, she had jumped in immediately.
Elara voss noted that.
This entire situation was off.
But now wasn't the time for questions.
She snapped her fingers. Her familiar, a luminara serpent , materialized at her side. It hovered over Vivian, spreading its delicate wings, a gentle healing energy flowing from its body into Vivian's wounds.
"She's still alive," voss gritted out, stabilizing her as best she could. "But she won't last long if we stay here."
She activated her wrist communicator.
"All students, return to the designated extraction point immediately. No exceptions."
She repeated the message.
Then—she turned to the others.
"Get her up. Now. We're leaving."
---
The Return – Leaving the Planet Behind
Slowly, the students trickled back.
Some arrived unscathed, others sported minor injuries—nothing life-threatening. But there was an unspoken tension in the air.
They had all felt it.
That brief, horrifying moment when the planet itself had shifted.
Voss' eyes flicked over her roster, counting heads.
Everyone was accounted for.
She moved swiftly to the portable portal device, pressing several keys. The construct hummed, glowing brightly as the gateway flared to life.
One by one, the students stepped through.
And then—
They were home.
---
Back on Their Planet – A Breath of Relief
The moment they stepped back into the academy's secure zone, everything felt lighter.
The gravity was softer.
The air, while filtered and artificial, felt stable.
Compared to the suffocating atmosphere of the jungle, this was a welcome relief.
For many of the students, it was the first time they had truly exhaled in hours.
Several sank to the ground, exhausted. Others muttered, whispering about the things they had seen.
But Kyle?
Kyle didn't react.
His eyes were locked on the medical personnel, who were already rushing forward, lifting Vivian onto a stretcher.
His fists clenched.
His breathing was slow, controlled—but his mind was anything but calm.
Would she be okay?
Did she even stand a chance?
This was his fault.
All of it.
---
Elara voss' Final Instructions – The Gemite Crystals
Elara voss stepped forward, clapping her hands.
"Alright. You all made it back. That's what matters. Now—drop the Gemite Crystals into the depository."
She gestured to a large, sci-fi storage unit, a sleek black chamber embedded with energy conductors designed to absorb and process high-tier materials.
One by one, students began unloading their collected crystals into the system, their movements slow, drained.
"We'll analyze the results soon," voss continued, "but for now, rest. A full debriefing will happen later."
The students nodded, still dazed.
But Kyle?
He didn't care about the crystals.
His mind was on Vivian.
And the monster inside him.
---