They didn't speak again for the rest of the journey to the Evacuation Point. Only the sound of footsteps on the soft ground and ragged breaths broke the silence. The mist slowly thinned, a sign they were nearing the safe zone.
Rin walked at the back,slightly separated from the others. Her hand was hidden in her jacket pocket, but she could feel the green pattern on her palm moving faster than before. As if something had woken up, and now couldn't go back to sleep.
Every time I use that ability, something changes. I can feel it.
Mei occasionally glanced back,her gaze not like the others'. Not fear. Not suspicion. But worry. As if she knew what was happening to Rin, and she couldn't do anything about it.
Akira walked beside Rin a few steps away,not too close, but not too far. As if he still wanted to protect Rin, but didn't know how.
"Rin,"Akira whispered softly, without turning. "Are you okay?"
Rin didn't answer immediately.Because she didn't know what to say.
Am I okay? I just released green roots from my hand. I hear voices that shouldn't exist. And most terrifying, I'm starting to feel comfortable with it.
"I don't know,"Rin finally answered, her voice barely audible.
Akira finally looked at Rin,and for the first time, Rin saw real fear in her best friend's eyes. Not fear of monsters. But fear of what Rin might become.
"You're still you,right?" Akira asked softly, his voice trembling.
Rin looked at Akira,and for a moment, she wanted to say, "yes, I'm still me." But the words didn't come out. Because she herself wasn't sure.
Before Rin could answer,Kai suddenly stopped ahead.
"We're here,"she said softly.
In front of them,the mist disappeared completely, revealing a large green light. Evacuation Point Alpha.
A large platform with a bright green beacon,surrounded by tall metal fences. The gate was wide open, as if welcoming them.
"Finally,"Jian muttered with a long sigh. "I thought we were going to die here."
Kai gave a faint,tired smile. Shun almost cried in relief, his hands still trembling as he held his tablet.
But Rin didn't feel relief.She felt something else. Something wrong.
Mei felt it too.She looked at the Evacuation Point with a sharp gaze, as if analyzing something.
"Too easy,"Mei whispered.
"What do you mean?"Jian asked.
"We only faced one Class-B Mycelite.Usually a simulation like this has at least three major threats." Mei looked around warily. "Why did we suddenly arrive without further obstacles?"
Jian frowned."Maybe they're giving us a break. We almost died earlier."
"Or,"Rin said softly, "they're waiting for us to get here, for something else."
Everyone looked at Rin.
"What do you mean?"Akira asked.
Rin looked at the Evacuation Point and felt the vibration again.But not from behind them. From ahead. From within the Evacuation Point itself.
"There's something inside,"Rin whispered.
Mei tensed."You sure?"
Rin nodded slowly."I feel it. Something big. Something waiting."
Jian cursed softly."Damn. So it's a trap?"
"Maybe not a trap,"Mei answered. "But a final test."
Shun looked at them all with a pale face."If we don't go in, we fail the simulation. But if we go in, we'll face something more dangerous than a Spore Warden."
Silence for a moment.
Then Jian smiled cynically."So we choose between failing or dying. Great choices."
Kai looked at the Evacuation Point with an empty gaze,as if she saw something but couldn't say it.
"We have to go in,"she said softly. "No other choice."
Akira looked at Kai with a worried expression."Kai, you sure?"
Kai nodded,but her hands trembled.
Rin looked at her team,five people who had fought together so far. Five people still alive because of the decisions she made.
But this decision could be the last.
"Okay,"Rin finally said. "We go in. But we keep formation. Don't separate. Whatever happens inside, we face it together."
Everyone nodded,though their faces were full of fear.
They walked slowly towards the Evacuation Point gate.And as they stepped in, the gate closed behind them with a loud sound.
CLANG.
No way back.
Inside the Evacuation Point. The room was larger than they thought, like a small arena with a high ceiling. The walls were made of metal coated with thin fungi, as if this arena had long been neglected.
In the center of the room,there was nothing. Just an empty space with a cold metal floor.
"This is weird,"Jian muttered. "Why is there nothing?"
Kai knelt,touching the floor. "There's a vibration. Very faint. Like something moving beneath us."
Rin felt it too.A familiar vibration. Like a giant heartbeat.
And then,the floor in the center of the room suddenly cracked.
CRACK.
The cracks spread rapidly,like a spiderweb.
"GET BACK!"Mei shouted.
They all immediately retreated to the edge of the room,but it was too late.
The floor in the center exploded.
BOOM!
From the explosion emerged something enormous.
Rootbound Titan.
Its body was like a giant human,but made entirely of black roots intertwined to form muscles and bones. It was ten meters tall, with long arms reaching the floor. Its head had no face, only a large hole in the center emitting thick green spore mist.
From its back grew dozens of long roots moving like living whips.
Its eyes,three red light points on its chest, stared at them without blinking.
GROOOAAAARRRR.
The sound wasn't a scream,but a low rumble that made the floor vibrate.
"Oh shit,"Jian muttered, his face pale. "We're dead."
Kai fell to her knees,her body trembling violently. "I can't. It's too big."
Shun was already crying,hugging his tablet as if it could protect him.
Akira stood with his rod raised,but his hands trembled hard. "Rin, what do we do?!"
Rin looked at the Titan.And for the first time since the simulation started, she felt real fear.
Not fear of Mycelites.But fear because she knew they couldn't defeat this.
Mei stood beside Rin,her knife raised. But even Mei, who was always calm, looked tense.
"We have to run,"Mei said softly. "Now."
"Run where?!"Akira asked. "The gate is closed!"
"Then we find another way."
The Titan raised its arm and smashed the floor.
BOOOOOM!
A shockwave spread,the floor cracked, they were all thrown back.
Rin hit the wall hard,her breath choked. Pain spread throughout her body.
Jian tried to get up,but his legs were unsteady. Blood flowed from his temple.
Akira coughed,trying to reach his rod that had fallen a few meters away.
Mei got up faster,but her knife was broken. She only had one knife left.
And the Titan wasn't done.
It walked closer,each step making the floor shake.
THUD.THUD. THUD.
Rin felt her chest tighten,not from pain, but from fear.
We can't run. We can't fight. We'll die here.
And then,she felt something.
The green pattern on her hand suddenly grew hot.Extremely hot, like burning from within.
And the voice came again,clearer than ever.
"Use us.Let us out. You can't fight it alone."
Rin shook her head hard.No. If I use it again, I don't know what will happen.
"If you don't use us,your friends will die. All of them. Including you."
Rin looked at her team,Jian wounded, Akira gasping, Mei ready to fight to the death, Kai terrified, Shun crying.
They'll die. If I don't do something.
The Titan was very close,its arm raised, ready to crush them.
Rin closed her eyes and made a decision.
Forgive me.
She opened the connection completely,letting the voice in without resistance.
And the green pattern on her hand shone very brightly.
From her palm came green roots,but this time far more.
Dozens of roots extended,moving like living whips, attacking the Titan from all directions.
SLASH!SLASH! SLASH!
The roots wrapped around the Titan's legs,pulling hard.
The Titan roared,trying to break free, but there were too many roots.
Rin stood slowly,her eyes glowing faintly green.
Her voice changed,slightly deeper, slightly more echoing.
"Back off."
The Titan stopped moving,as if listening.
Then slowly,it retreated.
The green roots released its legs,and the Titan stood still in the center of the room.
Not attacking.Just waiting.
Rin looked at the Titan and whispered with a voice that wasn't entirely her own.
"Leave."
The Titan turned and walked back into the hole in the floor.Disappearing into the darkness.
Complete silence.No one moved.
Everyone looked at Rin with an indescribable gaze,a mix of awe, fear, and horror.
The green roots in Rin's hand slowly retracted into her skin,disappearing as if never there.
But the green pattern on her palm now covered almost her entire left hand.From the palm, to the wrist, to the forearm.
Rin looked at her hand and felt something cold creeping into her chest.
What have I done?
She looked at her team and saw their gazes.
Jian looked at her with a mix of fear and anger,as if he wanted to run but couldn't.
Kai looked at her with an empty gaze,as if she had just seen something that shattered her world.
Shun didn't dare look at Rin at all.He just stared at the floor while trembling.
Akira looked at Rin with the most painful gaze,a gaze of loss. As if he had just lost someone he knew.
And Mei looked at Rin with a serious gaze,but not fear. More like acceptance. As if she already knew this would happen.
"Rin,"Akira spoke with a trembling voice. "What did you do?"
Rin opened her mouth,but no sound came out.
Because she herself didn't know.
I don't know who I am anymore.
Before anyone could speak again,a large screen on the wall lit up.
CONGRATULATIONS.TEAM 07 HAS COMPLETED THE YELLOW ZONE SIMULATION. TIME: 5 HOURS 47 MINUTES. STATUS: PASSED.
The gate behind them opened with a loud sound.
Blinding bright light entered,light from the world outside the simulation.
Instructor Yashida stood at the threshold,his face serious, but there was something in his eyes. As if he had just witnessed something that shouldn't have happened.
"Out.Now," he said in a flat tone.
They walked out one by one.No one spoke.
Rin walked last,her hands hidden in her jacket pockets.
But she knew.
They had all seen.
And there was nothing she could do to change that.