SHATTERED REALM: FORGOTTEN ECHOES

"Well, what's your decision?" Elira asked, raising the bell to make them aware of what she could do.

Aramith looked at the gaping hole left in the ground, thinking of what ability she had.

Was it her attribute, or that bell is an artifact?

"I'll go with you," Aramith decided.

"What?" Mozrael couldn't believe him.

Elira blinked, uncertain if she'd misheard.

"I expected you to put up a fight, at least. Too bad expecting the bare minimum was still too much."

Mozrael grabbed Aramith. "What are you thinking? You can't just go on with her just because she said so. We can still fight her and escape."

Aramith looked at her calmly. "Your hand is still shaking from your fear. You can't fight if the need arises."

Mozrael couldn't say anything to that.

The words stung, and she couldn't accept them just like that. "Aramith, don't be—"

"Don't," he warned without turning back.

Elira chuckled, and when he was close enough, she raised her bell to ring, but just then, Aramith moved his fingers and thin threads of darkness shot for the bell, wrapping around it and preventing it from making a sound.

Elira's face changed to one of shock, then irritation.

"You said you won't trouble me!" She spat. "You're not stronger than me, if that's what you think?"

Aramith didn't reply yet.

He raised his hand, and dark tendrils shot from the ground, wrapping around her.

She didn't struggle one bit, but the scowl on her face was ugly.

"You'll regret this," she said.

The ground quivered, and cracks split like lightning.

They spread all over, then—

BOOM!

The ground exploded outward, leaving the same gaping hole from before.

Mozrael was covered in the same dread from before and unable to move.

Worse yet, the hole was three times the first time it appeared.

Aramith jumped back and pulled Mozrael onto a tree.

Elira grabbed the tendrils and, without much effort, casually tore them, leaving them to disperse like smoke.

For the first time, Aramith froze.

His darkness had never been broken before. Not by fire, or even blades, and certainly never by bare hands.

She's powerful.

"Don't even think of escaping!" She screamed at them.

A deep groan escaped from the pit, and when Aramith looked inside, a shiver ran down his spine.

The pit wasn't a pit at all. It was a mouth — a colossal set of jaws yawning open beneath them.

Rows of teeth the size of giant blades lined within, ready to rip apart and devour.

No wonder Mozrael was paralyzed in fear.

"Release!" Elira exclaimed.

The moment her voice landed, a thick fog burst from the ground, covering the whole area and rising even above the trees.

It was so thick, they couldn't even see right in front of them. The only reason he could make out Mozrael's form was that she was right next to him, and her marks glowed.

Aramith immediately realized things were going to be more difficult now. He had no chance against her.

Escape was the only right choice.

"Mozrael, shoot a fireball forward," he said.

Mozrael couldn't see him, but she understood and shot a bright fireball forward.

Just as he'd thought, the fog swallowed its light, and he couldn't see it after it passed him.

"Stay close," Aramith muttered, his voice barely audible against the hiss of spreading mist.

He immediately formed the darkness into a strong rope, carefully wrapping it around his and

Mozrael's hands so they don't get separated.

He heard the low groan from before, only louder this time, and it vibrated through his bones.

It suddenly screeched, and Aramith felt a force coming straight at them.

He grabbed Mozrael's hand and dodged, landing on the ground.

He couldn't see it, but he was certain all the trees in the area where he was standing had collapsed.

From a distance, he heard Elira's voice.

"All you had to do was come with me, but you chose to make things difficult."

Aramith summoned all the wolves in his space, surrounding him and Mozrael with them.

He made them spread out, giving them the instruction to attack Elira if she came close.

And since he knew the location of each wolf, he used them to know if that creature was moving toward them as well.

He was prepared, but not for the powerful aura that settled over them, making it difficult to even breathe.

Watching from the orb above, Lynnor noticed the fog that suddenly burst like a cloud.

It intrigued her.

Who could pull off something like that?

That was when she noticed the fog didn't just sit where it appeared from. It was slowly spreading to other areas as well.

She tried to check what caused that, but felt a powerful presence that frightened her.

No.

Someone or something outside their calculations was in there.

POOF!

The fog exploded again and started spreading faster.

"That isn't natural," she whispered.

Her heart skipped. "No… this isn't part of the exam."

"All remaining participants have passed!"Lynnor's voice rang through the forest, though it shook faintly with panic. "A spreading fog is devouring the area! Enter the portals before you — now! Anyone who stays will be left behind!"

The command echoed across the forest. Portals blinked open like desperate eyes, glowing faintly through the haze.

Some students sprinted, silhouettes flickering in and out of the thick fog. Others hesitated, searching for friends they could no longer see. Their shouts remained muffled, swallowed whole by the mist.

"Run!" someone screamed, but the sound faded mid-word.

The fog pulsed once and surged forward, consuming like an angry tide.

From where she observed, Lynnor's hand trembled above the orb. "No… It's accelerating."

One by one, the portals sealed. The few who didn't make it in vanished under the rolling tide of white.

Not even a shred of sound or light left the fog.

And in that silence, Lynnor realized.

Where's Aramith and Mozrael?

The orb moved to where the fog started from.

Wasn't that where Aramith and Mozrael were?