The mana stone pulsed softly on the shattered gym floor, casting a faint purple glow across the scorched wood. No one dared touch it.
The silence didn't last.
A scream echoed from the hallway—high-pitched, raw, and cut short far too abruptly.
Lucas's grip on Leon's shoulder tightened. "We're out of time."
As if to confirm his words, the System chimed again, this time no longer selective, no longer quiet.
[Global Announcement – Sector: Eastern Continent / Node: Urban School Zone]
[First Gate Breach Stabilized]
[Warning: Secondary Entities Detected]
[Difficulty Rating: Rising]
Students began crying again. Some tried to run. Others froze where they stood, staring at translucent blue screens only they could see.
Elena wiped her tears with the back of her sleeve. "Lucas… Leon… what do we do?"
Lucas already knew the answer. He had watched this moment once before—watched this very school turn into a slaughterhouse because people panicked, clustered, trusted teachers who couldn't protect them.
"We split," he said immediately.
Leon snapped his head toward him. "What? No—"
"Listen to me," Lucas cut in sharply. His blue eyes were hard now, focused, older than they should have been. "The next wave won't come through the gym. It'll come through the classrooms and the stairwells. If everyone rushes the exits, they'll bottleneck and die."
Elena paled. "Die?"
Lucas swallowed. He hadn't meant to say it so plainly—but there was no time to soften the truth.
"Yes," he said. "So here's what we do."
He pointed toward the equipment room. "Elena, take whoever can still run and barricade yourselves in there. Thick walls. Only one entrance. Don't open it for anyone unless it's one of us."
She hesitated. "What about you?"
"I'll draw attention," Lucas said. "I'm Vanguard-class. That's what we're for."
Leon's eyes narrowed. "And me?"
Lucas met his gaze. For a fraction of a second, the mask slipped—and Leon saw fear. Not for himself.
"For you," Lucas said quietly, "I need you invisible."
Leon scoffed. "After what I just did? That's not happening."
"It has to," Lucas snapped. "Leon, you don't understand what you are."
That strange pressure returned—the same one Leon had felt when the Chimera died. The System flickered at the edge of his vision, lines of text glitching and rewriting themselves.
Lucas saw it.
His stomach dropped.
The Architect is already indexing him.
"Leon," Lucas said, lowering his voice, "if the wrong things notice you too early, they won't send monsters next time. They'll send solutions."
Elena looked between them, confused and terrified. "You're scaring me."
Lucas forced himself to breathe. He softened his tone. "Elena, please. Trust me. Go."
Another roar shook the building. This one was deeper. Heavier.
The walls began to crack.
That decided it.
Elena nodded, grabbed the arm of a nearby freshman, and shouted, "Equipment room! Now! Move!"
As students scrambled, Leon stepped closer to Lucas. "You still haven't told me how you knew."
Lucas drew his broken practice sword from the floor. The wood was splintered, useless—but his status window told a different story.
[Weapon: Practice Sword (Broken)]
[Condition: Reinforced by Willpower]
[Temporary Effect: +15% Durability when user's resolve exceeds threshold]
Same as last time, he thought. So small. So fragile.
"Because," Lucas said finally, "I've seen this world end."
Leon stared at him.
"I died," Lucas continued, eyes fixed on the widening cracks in the far wall. "Everyone did. And somehow… I woke up yesterday morning instead."
The roar came again—closer now.
From the ceiling above the bleachers, black veins spread like spiderwebs. Reality thinned. Twisted.
Leon's System chimed.
[New Observation Detected]
[Target: 'Temporal Anomaly – Lucas']
[Analysis Restricted: Insufficient Authority]
Leon clenched his fists. "Then stop trying to carry this alone."
Lucas smiled grimly. "That's the problem. If I don't… you'll burn too bright."
The ceiling finally gave way.
Something massive began to descend—too many limbs, too many eyes, its body half-formed as if the world itself was still deciding what it should be.
Lucas stepped forward.
"Stay back, Leon," he said. "And whatever happens next—don't copy this."
Leon opened his mouth to argue.
The thing screamed.
And the Second Gate fully opened.