Rachel looked back to find Paul behind her. Charles held Evelyn's hand while Diana tried to keep up with them. Nathan rushed ahead like a bull, flickering in and out of the light that speared through the forest. Rachel heard the many other people running with them. She jumped over someone, moaning, holding their bleeding leg.

"Don't stop!" Rachel called back, knowing one of the others would have wanted to. Her heart raced against her ribs. Her eyes roamed around, scanning the dark spots for hiders. Every shadow seemed to carry a shape, a grinning face waiting to attack. She blinked the fear away, focusing on Nathan as he weaved through the trees.

"Is there any end to this damn…" Diana cursed as she stumbled, almost fell, and caught herself again. Rachel pushed forward, putting more space between her and Paul. She didn't want to leave him behind, but she'd realized Nathan was rushing toward another group hiding in wait.

"Nathan!" She called as Nathan ran into the coming swing of a large tree branch. It slammed into his chest and shattered, tossing him back into Rachel.

"What the h—"

Rachel pulled him up. His hands were bruised, and a thin line of blood ran down where his skin had broken against the swing. But he was lucky to have protected himself that quickly. He glared at the man coming out from behind the tree as he cleaned the blood on his shirt.

Paul joined them just as the second and third members of the group emerged from their hiding place. These were all in their mid-twenties, and Rachel saw them go from smug to worried when Charles, Evelyn, and Diana joined them.

"More douchebags?" Diana asked.

"Look," the man with the shattered branch said. "We don't want any trouble. You just wai—"

"Screw this," Nathan growled. Rachel agreed, moving in synch with Nathan. The man and the two others were initially shocked but quickly recovered. That didn't help them, though. Nathan's fist crushed the first man's nose before he could defend himself.

Rachel heard the crunch of bone breaking. The man staggered back, his eyes wide with shock as the pain spread through him. He passed out immediately.

The woman to his left tried to run, but Rachel caught her. She pulled the woman by her dark hair and slammed her elbow into the woman's face. Rachel ignored her cry, spinning her around before smashing her with a punch. The woman staggered back, her face bleeding.

She waved her hand in front of her, crying. "Stop, stop! I don't want to fight! You can lea..."

Rachel ran past her. The third person had fled, and it was difficult to tell if Nathan was chasing the man or running for the training ground.

She glanced back to find her friends behind her. They looked tired, but they were holding on. Paul pulled Diana, his eyes focused as he ran a few steps behind Rachel.

Rachel saw a passing silhouette, a flash of shadow. It moved so fast she almost didn't catch it. It moved behind Charles and Evelyn, passing the light in an instant.

She wanted to stop but thought against it. If there were something in the woods with them, it would kill them if they stopped. She decided not to tell the others, but it influenced her thoughts and her decisions.

"Nathan!" Rachel called again, and the man stopped almost immediately. He turned on her when he didn't see any threat. "Up ahead. I think we are reaching the end soon."

"Can't be," Nathan said. "This place feels like it will go on forever." He started running again when she caught up with him.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"We've seen some," he said, pausing to catch his breath. He pointed toward a figure slumped against the base of a tree, their head resting back, a harsh gash streaking across their temple. Their chest rose and fell, but their eyes remained closed. "Not enough yet, though. As we push closer to the end, there'll be more of them. The fights are only going to get worse from here."

As if on cue, they ran through the trees into a small clearing, where what looked like a small gang battle was taking place.

"Maybe you are right," Nathan said. He turned around to find the others joining them to watch the chaos. While some fought, Rachel saw some sneaking away to continue the race. Some were using the shadows, slinking away under cover.

"We should go," Rachel said. "We don't have to stop and fight. But if you have to fight, do it quickly. The plan is to keep moving."

"This is insanity. Who would do this to us?" Diana said, muttering a curse. Rachel ignored her. Paul gave her a helpless shrug, and Nathan moved before she could tell him about her plan. But his direction told her he knew what she wanted to do. They veered left, moving toward the edge of the skirmish. She wasn't interested in fighting. The quest had nothing to do with proving she could fight.

"Rachel!" Paul warned, but she'd already noticed the man coming from her left. She whirled, spinning with a fast kick to his head that knocked him out immediately. She frowned, torn between checking if he was alright and running.

She ran.

Another attack came from her right; this one took her by surprise. She'd been distracted by that moving shadow again. The punch pushed her head back. Her vision swam for a moment, and Rachel blinked rapidly. She was lucky the punch hadn't carried any actual weight in it. She huffed as her vision returned.

"Paul, Charles, go," Rachel said, hating the sparks of silver in her vision. But she could see her attacker. A square-jawed woman, tall and ugly. She sneered, bringing her fists up.

Paul hesitated, but Charles was already pulling Evelyn along. Rachel gestured for them to go. "I will be right behind you."

"You sure 'bout that, sweetpea?" the taller woman asked, advancing slowly toward Rachel. She looked like she'd had a rough life, but it had nothing to do with actual fighting. Her arms were too broad, and her feet moved too much. Rachel sighed. Even before she started martial arts training, she would have chewed the woman up in a fight. And yet, there was something else to consider.

Whatever happened to her and her friends had happened to her, too. That punch shouldn't have been able to disorient her, and yet it had taken the lights from her eyes for a few seconds. Behind the woman, she could see Paul jogging away, but Nathan was far gone.

That wasn't a problem, though. Rachel knew she could catch up with them if she put real effort into it, but she didn't want others to join this fight.

"You talk big for someone that's not attacking," the woman said, and Rachel did just that. She pushed herself forward on her left foot, leaping through the small space between them. The woman tried to lean back and dodge her attack, but Rachel's fist had been a feint. She rammed her knee into the woman's chest, with all her weight behind the attack.

The woman groaned, folding forward as she fell. Rachel hit the ground in a roll, coming up so fast she was stunned by the speed. She launched herself at the taller woman, storming her exposed face with punches until she felt the woman go limp under her.

She stood and glanced back to see two people pulling away from the chaos, coming toward her. She spun around in the direction her friends ran and bolted.

Once again, she felt the wind pull as she ran, the exhilaration of sweet freedom in her new speed. Her hair whipped into her face, and she hurriedly parted it just in time to see another shadow run past her to her left.

Rachel didn't break her stride, even as a new storm of fear filled her. The first shadow she saw had seemed thin and long, like a human whip. This one was different. It had eyes that twinkled weirdly. She wanted to change her direction and move away from the path it ran. But leaving that trail would mean abandoning the others.

She ran harder, passing trees with dark, brown bark. Strong scents of spring and wet sand assaulted her nose. As she ran, she heard the blast of water below hitting rocks. That felt strange, but she felt the chill in the air on her exposed skin. The world was a brilliant black and golden orange splash reflecting on grass and woods. It was beautiful.

Yet, everywhere she looked, she saw the shadows. Both of them. They moved with her as if torturing her with their presence. Rachel tried to ignore them. She saw Paul first. Diana had left him behind but wasn't so far away from him.

They are alright.

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She was so relieved that she didn't notice the shadows were gone at first. When she did, relief pushed through her, easing her. She felt lighter, as if her insides had been excavated and hollowed out.

Rachel caught up with Paul first. He tried to hide the relief, but Rachel had watched him for too long not to catch the twitch of his mouth. She waved at him and blew past him, leaving him behind. He would guard the rear while she went, ensuring Nathan didn't get into trouble.

I can do this, she thought as she left Diana in her wake, too. She stared around, searching for the shadows, but if they were there, they were hidden too well for her to see.

"Where's Nathan?" Rachel asked Charles and Evelyn. Charles looked like he was about to check out of the race. But then he'd looked like that for the last hour and still ran.

"Up…ahead," Evelyn said while Charles waved forward.

Rachel nodded. She could smell something different in the air. She ran for Nathan, realizing that perhaps she'd been too focused on reaching the end of the race. But what if there was no end? What if this whole thing was a trick, and they were supposed to run forever?

Her thoughts crashed and shattered when she saw Nathan fighting three burly guys. He was trying to stand up even as they repeatedly kicked him down. She launched herself at one of the three. Shoving her shoulder into the side of the first man. He staggered away from Nathan, but he was otherwise unfazed. The other two stepped away from Nathan, turning to face her.

"Another idiot," The first man said. "We can't waste any more time here."

Rachel ignored them, moving toward Nathan. He was bloody from all the beating he'd taken. His lips were split, and something was broken from the way he leaned toward his right when he stood.

"Are you alright?" She asked, then shook her head. "Of course, you are not."

Nathan grinned, shaking his head. He swiveled to face the men. "These morons are working for… an idiot like them. Except he managed to…" he spat out a glob of blood, wincing at the pain. "I will hold them off while you stop the idiot."

"Or we kill you two and go join Trowbridge?' One of the muscle heads asked with an arrogant smirk. Rachel sighed. She wanted to win badly but was the only one who could fight in her group. She couldn't leave.

Paul and the others were not far behind. Leaving to chase after whoever these men worked for would extend the beatings to her other friends. She couldn't abide by that. The thought made her stomach churn. She shook her head, resigning to her loss.

"I can't," Rachel said, facing the three men squarely. She tried to work the probability of her winning the fight. It was slim. She would take some hits, heavy ones. But if she was careful, she could win.

"You think you can take one of them?" Rachel asked. Nathan chuckled, straightening up. Rachel grinned.

She attacked first; there was no time to wait. She took the man on the far right. He was taller than her, bigger by a lot, perhaps even half of her weight. He was so slow that she could have leaped up to smack him.

She kicked up, crushing his balls. She moved on to the next man as the first went down. This one jumped back to create space between them. Smart. But he didn't know what to do next, so he attacked recklessly.

His body was a burden for him and stank of fear. Rachel crouched below his first swing. She knew her punches wouldn't do much damage unless she hit the right places. She danced away when he tried to grab her, searching for a possible weakness.

She found it when he made a slow turn. His ankle. That would be enough to slow him down. She attacked furiously. She threw herself far left of his right swing and stomped on his leg with both feet. She didn't weigh much, but it was enough to crack his ankle. He wailed, lowering himself to one knee. Low enough for Rachel to leap on his shoulders and slap both his eyes. She ignored his wailing, snuffing the sound out of him by crossing her legs around his neck, tightening their hold on his throat. Partial blindness followed by asphyxiation. Rachel gritted her teeth, trying to maintain the correct pressure. He tried to stand, but he'd lost way too much strength. And he was stupid. Too dependent on his size.

The man tapped her legs, choking, mumbling. Rachel couldn't hear most of it. Her heart hammered in her chest, clanging as if her ribs were anvils. She squeezed harder. It was so easy to kill a man. The willingness was all she needed. Blood thrummed in her veins, loud in her ears. She could feel him fade slowly, like sand leaking through the space between her fingers. I should stop now.

"Rachel!"

Paul's voice tore her from that sweet balance. That space where she didn't need control to float.

Her eyes opened to find hands pulling her away from the dying man. She unhooked her legs, letting Paul and Nathan pull her away from the limp body. Paul rushed forward to check on the man, tapping his whitened face before putting a finger under his nose.

"Christ! Rachel, you almost killed him," Charles said behind her. Nathan chuckled, rolling on his back, his face a bloody mess. His chuckles became a deep laugh punctuated by wincing and hissing as his bruises bit at him. Paul sat beside the man, staring at her. She didn't want to look at him but couldn't look away forever. His eyes were calm, weighing. She imagined the wheel of his thoughts spinning, groaning under the weight of their duties as his thoughts churned unbelievably fast.

Rachel sighed. She felt hollow in her chest, but she wasn't sure about the cause. She couldn't take her eyes off Paul. And it seemed like he had the same problem, too. They were silent when the next series of messages appeared.

Summoning Prime Core hosts… initiated!

Location: Training Ground (Titan's Grave)

"You are glowing," Charles said. "All of you are glow—"

His voice vanished, and so did he. Evelyn screamed, trying to douse away the shimmering light eating away at her skin. The hand she flailed around vanished, and then the rest of her disappeared in a flash. Rachel saw a countdown in front of her. It started from her feet. She watched Paul disappear first, and when her bottom half had vanished, Nathan was gone.

Rachel staggered back into Nathan when she opened her eyes. He cursed, wincing. She'd jabbed his sore side.

"Sorry," Rachel whispered, turning to search for the others. Nathan pulled her back, groaning as they pushed through bodies. She could taste the smell of everyone pushing against them. And she perceived the acrid smell of the place itself. There was no roof above them, only a dark sky full of distant stars. The ground was soft and covered in ankle-length grass.

"Where are we?" Rachel asked, but Nathan didn't have an answer either. Charles held onto Evelyn, and Paul stood beside Diana, trying to calm her down. Once they were out of the swarm of bodies, she could finally see the stretch of land. It was too dark to see, but she could see the shadow of mountains in the distant west, curved toward them like fingers about to make a fist.

"I thought you were left behind," Charles whispered, his glasses reflecting light.

A loud groan pulled all their attention. Those with sharper senses felt the subtle vibration below them, and the ground in front of the crowd stretched up, lifting three silhouettes above the rest of them. The one in the middle, a man from his gait and size, waved at them, and the sounds of murmurs died to absolute silence.

"Welcome to Titan's Grave."

Rachel could have sworn his words were whispers in her ears. Or thoughts growing in her mind.

"For some of you, this is your first time seeing us. But for others, they saw us while they ran. We followed you and monitored your progress. We are caretakers of The Grave."

"You are the ones that will let us go home?" Someone said in the crowd. Nathan snorted.

"No," the man said, his shadow moving slightly. "We will make you strong for what's to come. We will equip you for the trials you must pass to go home. We will prepare you as best as we can. Your world has connected to the powers of old, and the enemies of times past will descend once more. You must be ready."

"First," the silhouette to the left said. A woman. "We must pass judgment on the first test."

"Indeed," the shadow to the right replied. "Will you step forward, champion?"

The sky parted as if on command. A full moon spilled light on the crowd below. Rachel noticed how the light seemed to bend around them. The crowd split, creating space for someone to pass. Rachel hadn't noticed, but there were some people on the floor—the wounded, the unconscious.

The dead.

She looked away, hoping not to see the man she'd almost killed.

She almost missed the man walking to the front, flanked by two others. Compared to the two others, he was smaller. She could only see his back, but he walked proudly, stepping over those unable to stand.

"Larry Trowbridge," the shadow in the middle called down. "You reached the boundaries of the woods of Firnia first; what did you find there?"

"Nothing," Larry said. "Something like a barrier, I guess, but nothing else. But I got there first."

"Yes," the shadow on the left said. "But you found nothing. You sacrificed your people. You threw them as though they were trifles. And yet, you met nothing. You reached the boundary, the end, and won…nothing."

"You never saw us," the one in the middle said.

"You never met us," the silhouette on the right added.

"But you," the shadow on the left vanished from where it stood on the elevated platform and flickered into sight before Rachel. "You saw us. You met us. And we saw you. We know you. Your burden and your gifts. We saw it all. And for that, we, The First Ones, give you the title. The first of many to come. The beginning of a story unfolding. You, Rachel Hughes are the The One Above All."

The woman smiled as the shadow fell off her face, revealing stoic eyes piercing Rachel's face. She touched her fingers to Rachel's face, and the HUD appeared before her.

Title: The One Above All (Rare)

Description: Through courage and unwavering resolve, you have fought not just for survival but to protect those who stand beside you. In times of great distress, you see what others overlook, guiding them through chaos with clarity and purpose. The First Ones have acknowledged you, your name etched into the stones of memory alongside the greats who came before. The path ahead is yours to forge, but now, you walk it with the strength of those who once shaped the world.

Effects:

First One's Legacy

: Gain 2x experience for every task completed during the tutorial, accelerating growth and mastery.

Pillars of Strength

: Increases Endurance and Constitution by 5%, reinforcing your physical resilience.

Inheritance of the Titans

: Grants the skill Will of Titans (Passive, Rare).

Skill: Will of Titans (Passive, Rare)

Description: The mad giants of old embodied unbreakable endurance, their resilience forming the foundation of the Primordial rule. The Will of Titans pulses within you, fortifying your body with their relentless strength. Without drawing on mana, your endurance and constitution rise naturally, a testament to the raw power you now command.

Effects:

Titan's Fortitude

: Increases Endurance and Constitution by 10%, enhancing durability and physical resistance.

Unyielding Flesh

: Reduces the impact of exhaustion and physical strain, allowing for extended exertion.

Primordial Resilience

: Increases the natural recovery rate for health and stamina by 15%, ensuring faster regeneration from wounds and fatigue.

Nathan tried to contain his laughter while Rachel focused on the messages, trying to ignore Larry Trowbridge and his minions' glares.

"You just made an enemy," Paul whispered, holding her hand. Rachel took comfort in his touch. The woman gave her a slight nod and walked through the crowd, her hands clasped behind her. She was dressed in leather, a whip tied to her waist. She reached the front of the crowd and leaped onto the platform she'd been on before, turning mid-air so she was facing them all again.

Well, that is impressive. Just who are these people that they are called the First Ones?

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