There was silence — not the kind born of peace, but the kind that devours sound itself.A vast, endless blackness surrounded Avin. There was no air to breathe, no light to see, no body to feel. He existed, and yet he didn't. He was a soul stripped bare, floating in a void that had no beginning, no end — a world where even time was afraid to move.

For what felt like forever, and yet not at all, he drifted.He could not think, but he knew he was thinking.He could not feel, but he felt the weight of everything.It was like being both alive and dead, aware and unaware, trapped in the contradiction of existence itself.

In that nothingness, he was the world — and the world was him. He had become zero, the point before creation.

Then, a pulse.

It started faint — a vibration rippling through the dark, like a heartbeat echoing in the distance. The pulse became stronger, brighter, tearing through the stillness. Avin's soul quivered. He began to sense again — pressure, sound, the strange weight of being.

And then came the eye.

It tore through the dark like a god awakening. A single, colossal iris opened before him — crimson and unblinking, its pupil deep enough to swallow galaxies. Avin didn't just see it. He felt it staring into his soul, dissecting everything that made him real. Its gaze was infinite — eternal. It had always been there. It had always been watching.

Then the voice came.

No mouth moved, but the words slid into his mind, thick and heavy like oil.

"Clive… you must not forget—#&@&$@—"

The sound fractured, distorted into static and silence.Avin tried to scream — to ask what? — but no voice came.

His head rang in on itself, like loud churchbells being beaten over and over againAnd then came the pull.A violent force dragged him down, down through the endless dark until—

GASP!

Avin's body shot upright.

He clutched his chest, gasping for air, the world spinning around him. His lungs burned, and his throat felt raw. For a second, he didn't know if he was alive or still dreaming. The sound of voices crashed into him — loud, familiar, chaotic.

"—I told you, you don't even know what you're talking about!""I don't know? You nearly burned my hair off, Eira!"

Avin turned, blinking through the haze. There they were — Sylas and Eira, in the middle of what looked like yet another argument. Their voices echoed through the clearing like dueling storms.

He tried to speak, but his throat refused. He cleared it once, quietly.Nothing.

He tried again, louder this time. "H–hey… guys…"

Both froze. Then, as if a spell had broken, they turned toward him.

Sylas was the first to move — calm as ever, though his eyes betrayed a glimmer of relief. "Well, look who finally woke up," he said, stepping closer. "You got yourself knocked out pretty good."

Eira crossed her arms, tilting her head. "Wow, sleeping beauty's finally alive. What'd you do this time — pick a fight with a mountain?"

Avin managed a weak chuckle, then sighed. He looked down at his shaking hands, the phantom burn of poison still crawling beneath his skin. "Yeah… something like that."

His tone was heavier than his words. Sylas caught it immediately. "You don't sound too thrilled," he said, crouching beside him.

"I failed," Avin said quietly. "The test, the survival, all of it. I… I died."He looked at them with hollow eyes. "Guess that's it. I'll be lucky if my family even lets me live after this."

Eira blinked, then let out a laugh — loud and incredulous. "Wait—what? You failed? Are you joking?"

Avin didn't answer. His expression stayed still.The laughter died in Eira's throat.

Sylas stood, crossing his arms. "You didn't fail, Avin. None of us did. The exam's over — we all passed."

Avin looked up sharply. "...What?"

Sylas nodded. "You were unconscious for two days. They pulled everyone out of the field once the time was up."

Eira stepped closer, crouching to meet his eyes. "Whatever happened to you, you're still here. So yeah — congratulations, genius. You survived."

Avin didn't smile. Instead, he looked down at the dirt, hands trembling."Survived," he echoed. "You don't know what that means anymore."

Sylas looked at him, and then at Eira, both with concerned looks on their face

Eira frowned. "Then tell us." She answered

And he did.

He told them everything.About the red-haired woman — her calm eyes, her words, her poison.About the lake and the monster that tore him apart.About the eye that haunted his every near-death.And about the darkness that wasn't just death, but something deeper — a place where existence itself broke.

He spoke slowly at first, his voice uncertain, like a man remembering a nightmare he wasn't sure he'd dreamed. But as the words poured out, the emotions came — fear, confusion, anger. His voice cracked more than once, and Eira's smirk faded completely. Sylas stood silently, his jaw tense, listening to every word.

When Avin finished, the silence that followed was heavier than the air.

Eira looked away, muttering, "That's… insane."Sylas, still staring at Avin, said softly, "And the woman — you're sure she was real?"

Avin met his gaze. "If she wasn't, then why does my arm still hurt?"He lifted the bandaged limb slightly — the fabric darkened with dried blood. "And why do I still remember her smile?"

Neither of them had an answer.

The three sat there for a moment, the world holding its breath around them.

Then, a faint rumble.It started deep beneath their feet, subtle at first — like distant thunder.Eira glanced around. "...What the hell was that?"

The ground trembled again — harder this time. Trees groaned, dirt cracked, and a sharp gust of wind tore through the clearing.

Sylas's eyes widened. "Everyone, back—!"

But before he could finish, the earth split open beneath them, a blinding light shooting out from the crack.

And just like that, the silence was gone.

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