Silence settled over the room after their third win in the trust test. Then the mechanical voice echoed:
"Trust test is completed. You have won three rounds… and now the harder part begins. The leader must choose two people to go with him through the first door, and two others for the second door. Each team will face a different path… but the final outcome depends on all of you."
Their expressions shifted between anticipation and uncertainty, while Ken remained still. He had just finished his cigarette and dropped it to the floor, recalculating everything in his mind.
'I need to make sure Akio isn't alone… that idiot might fall into the first hole he sees. And Mabushi will turn every step into a new problem just because he refuses to listen. If those two end up together without supervision… that's the worst scenario imaginable.'
'Silvara can read situations before they happen. And Ann… despite her chaos, she moves lightly, and her eyes pick up the smallest traps. A perfect pair for the other door.'
He didn't wait long. Ken stepped forward, scanned their faces, and said seriously:
"I'll choose the teams now."
He turned to Akio first.
"You're with me."
Akio snapped his head toward Ken instantly, his eyes were widening, as if someone had hit him with the happiest news of his life.
"M–Me? With you? Really?"
He didn't wait for confirmation. He took two fast steps toward Ken, grabbed his arm with both hands, nearly hugging him.
"Man! I knew you trusted me! I knew it! I swear I won't let you down, we'll pass this door and crush every—"
Ken cut off his excitement with a short sentence, pushing his head away with visible coldness:
"Take your hands off."
Akio froze, still holding Ken's arm for half a second before letting go slowly. He smiled with childlike delight, then stood proudly at Ken's side. Ken inhaled slowly… desperately trying to contain his annoyance, before lifting his eyes to the next person.
He turned left and looked straight at Mabushi.
"And you… you're coming with us."
Mabushi didn't like it. It showed in the raise of his brow and his half-sarcastic smile. He glanced aside, then looked back at Ken with guarded coldness.
"Of course… because you don't trust me enough to leave me alone. And you think standing next to me will stop me from ruining things… isn't that right?"
Ken didn't answer. Mabushi let out a short, hollow laugh.
"Arrogant… thinks he's smarter than me."
Akio leaned closer to Ken, whispering with annoying enthusiasm:
"We're gonna be an amazing team! I'm so happy you accepted me as your fri—"
Ken grabbed his shoulder and pushed him aside without care.
"Quiet. Just walk next to me."
Akio went silent immediately… but he was still smiling.
At the front of the room, two massive doors stood side by side, surrounded by faded carvings spreading across the walls. The left door bore the image of a wolf with interlocked fangs, while the right had the carving of a large bear.
Ken approached the right door with his team and placed a hand on the carving.
"We'll enter here."
He turned sharply, looking at Akio who stood stiff and ready, and Mabushi who leaned back slightly as if refusing to take orders.
Ken raised his chin and pointed towards the other door, the wolf door.
"Silvara… Ann. You two take the second door."
Ann nodded quickly:
"Got it!"
Ken placed his left hand on the handle, opened the door, and said coolly:
"Follow me."
He entered without looking back. Akio rushed after him.
"Ken! Do you think the inside will be—"
Ken raised his hand without looking:
"Akio… stop talking."
Akio froze instantly, then whispered to himself:
"Okay… I'll stop… just don't yell at me…"
Mabushi entered after them, grumbling under his breath, his temper simmering.
'Great… now I'm stuck behind this walking frown. Leader… leader… what a stupid title. If I weren't forced to, I wouldn't follow him for a single step.'
He bit his lip as he followed reluctantly:
'I'll show you later who's the smarter one, you gloomy bastard.'
On the other side, Silvara stood before the wolf door and opened it. Ann entered behind her. As soon as the door closed, Ann exhaled with relief.
"Finally… a place without Akio's yelling, Mabushi's attitude, and Ken's coldness. I feel like I can breathe for the first time in hours."
She raised her hand wearily, then continued with a wide smile:
"I don't know why… but I'm glad I'm with a girl like you. It feels like we're an actual team away from those idiots."
Silvara replied softly:
"Silence restores clarity to the mind."
Ann smiled lightly and nodded:
"Exactly. This is a good start."
Only a few seconds passed before the mechanical voice boomed through the room. Glowing lines ignited across the walls. The floor began to shimmer with thin strands of blue light rising upward… intertwining in the air. The strands glowed sharply, moving like laser wires pulsing with an unfamiliar energy.
The mechanical voice said:
"Welcome to Gate Two: the Threads of the Vaken. It is an extremely sensitive network. Touching just one thread… resets the challenge to the beginning."
A small circle appeared on the ground and moved beneath Ann's feet.
"Contestant Ann: you are the crosser. The responsibility of crossing lies with you."
Another circle appeared under Silvara.
"Contestant Silvara: you are the guide. With your abilities, you can move the threads and widen the passages… if you can."
Ann stepped back with a wide eyes.
"I… cross from here?! This is just like the fire mazes my teacher used to threaten me with!"
Silvara raised her hand calmly and touched one of the threads. The thread trembled, then slowly shifted aside, opening a narrow passage.
Ann leaned forward, her excitement was mixed with nerves:
"Wow… you can do that? Amazing! Alright… I'll be counting on you a lot!"
Silvara spoke in a soft, breeze-like voice:
"The speed of your steps will be crucial. I move the threads, and you follow the shadows."
Ann took a deep breath, fixed her eyes on the narrow path in front of her, then smiled widely.
"Alright… let's get through this hell together, Silvara."
The threads around them rose, and the light flared until it filled the entire room… marking the start of the real challenge.
Ann stepped forward carefully, placing her foot into the path Silvara had opened. She tilted her body and slipped between the first and second threads with the ease of a ninja used to tight spaces.
She smiled with relief and said:
"It's easier than I thought… looks like we'll finish the second test before the boys' team."
Silvara moved her second hand, and the third thread slid aside, forming a straight path ahead. Ann passed between three threads without touching any of them. But… as she stepped toward the fourth thread, they began to shake violently. Silvara clenched her fist slightly, and the two side threads suddenly brightened, resisting her pull.
Silvara muttered through clenched teeth:
"These… are stronger. It's not just energy… they're moving with an inner pulse."
Ann paused for a second, thinking quickly to herself:
'Alright… no panicking now. Timing is your key, Ann.'
She moved cautiously, lifting her right foot, then leaning left to dodge a thread that suddenly tried to drop like a blade from above.
She let out a light laugh despite the tension:
"Oh! Someone's getting aggressive! … Silvara, are you controlling these or are they acting on their own?"
Silvara raised her hand slowly as faint winds curled around her fingers.
"I'm controlling them… but it's far harder than it looks."
Even so, Ann managed to complete the second phase.
"See? We're not that bad."
But the third phase didn't spare them. Suddenly, three threads shot down from above with blinding speed, turning the room into a forest of light spears. Two more threads rose from the floor to meet them mid-air.
Silvara whispered sharply:
"Ann! Move now!"
Ann leapt forward, her body bending like a bow, her heel brushing the air. But the threads accelerated without warning, as if they sensed her final step. One thread rushed from the right and brushed Ann's arm. The room flashed red.
"Thread touched. The challenge will restart from the beginning."
Ann yelled immediately, stepping back and waving her arm as if scolding the air itself:
"Oh come on! I was halfway through! Why did it move like that at the last second?! That thread has a personal problem with me, I swear!"
Silvara lifted her hand calmly and said, trying to soothe her:
"It's alright… start again."
Ann exhaled deeply, watching the threads return to their original positions. She ran her fingers through her hair as she walked back to the start.
"Heeuu… fine."
She dashed back to the starting point, planting her feet firmly on the floor, her eyes tracking every glowing thread around her.
She told herself:
'Alright… same steps. No repeating mistakes. Focus, Ann. You're not stupid.'
Silvara signaled her to begin as she raised her hands again. Ann launched forward and cleared the first phase easily. Then she crossed the second without trouble. But the third waited for her like a trap that already knew her weak point.
Three threads rose from above, and two from below, now moving twice as fast as before… as if the room had learned Ann's reactions and was preparing to strike her again.
Silvara whispered sharply this time:
"The one from above will hit first. Then the left. Then a fast cross from the right."
Ann planted her feet, her focus locked onto the light paths pulsing like a wild heartbeat.
'Upper… then left… then the final cross…'
The threads moved. The upper one dropped fast, so she lowered her head and slipped under it by a hair. The second lunged from the left, she hopped over it in a short jump, her body knowing the timing instinctively. Then came the third… faster and deadlier, cutting across her path like a glowing dagger.
Ann lifted her right leg and hurled herself forward, bending sharply until her cheek almost grazed the light… but she passed.
She landed on her feet on the other side, breathing hard, her hands resting on her knees as she let out a broken laugh:
"Ha…! Ha… I did it…?!"
Silvara smiled.
"Yes… you actually crossed it."
Ann raised her fist and grinned with fierce pride:
"Yesssss!"
Silvara said seriously:
"This is not the time to celebrate. You still haven't finished the test."