Ernan's heart hammered against his ribs. The chains rattled as he leaned toward the blonde woman.
"Where is Alice?" he demanded, his voice cracking. "The police said she was home, but I saw that man take her! I saw the horse walk on air!"
The woman didn't flinch. Her emerald eyes remained calm, almost pitying. "She is with us and she is safe."
Ernan blinked, his mind spinning. "What? That's impossible. She was screaming for help!"
"She was," the woman said softly, "because she forgot what happened to her. But now? Everything is fine."
Ernan stared at her, his jaw set. He didn't believe a word. The woman reached into her pocket and pulled out a phone, sliding it across the table toward him. "Here. You dropped this earlier. Why don't you video call her? I assume you have data or some way to communicate."
Ernan looked at his bound wrists. "How am I supposed to use it while I'm chained?"
The woman smiled with quiet confidence. Ernan watched in horror as the heavy metal around his wrists began to vibrate. The iron didn't break—it melted. The solid links turned to a shimmering liquid that poured onto the table like silver water. Before it could spill onto the floor, the metal reshaped itself, thickening and lengthening until a metallic snake hissed on the tabletop.
Ernan sat frozen, his breath hitching as the snake slithered across the table and coiled around the woman's arm, eventually resting its head on her shoulder.
"What... what are you people?" Ernan whispered, his eyes fixed on the silver scales.
The woman sighed. "You can call us Seekers. As you can see, we possess abilities that a normal human doesn't."
Lenea looked at the ceiling, ticking off fingers as if going through a mental checklist. "I know you have questions. Who, why, and what? Maybe I should start with the 'what.'"
Ernan just stared. He didn't know whether to scream or stay silent. Lenea seemed friendly, even funny, but he couldn't forget that he had been abducted.
Lenea's expression suddenly shifted. The playfulness vanished. "Or maybe I should start by saying your life is in danger."
The shock jolted Ernan to his feet. He turned toward the door, but the silver snake on Lenea's shoulder rose, its hood flaring as it hissed.
Lenea shook her head, wagging a finger at him. "Don't run. As I said, your life is in danger. The information I'm about to give you is the only thing that might save it." She placed a hand on the snake's head, stroking the metal. "Don't be so tense. You're scaring my little pet."
Ernan's pulse thudded in his ears. He had no choice. He pulled his chair back and sat down, his hands trembling in his lap.
"You are in danger because you are cursed," Lenea said. "All humans are. We are cursed to be blind to the truth of God and the worlds beyond our own. But those who catch a glimpse of that truth... they are doomed to face a trial. You will have to fight a version of yourself. A corrupted version."
"I don't know anything about God!" Ernan snapped, his fear turning into a sharp, desperate anger. "I don't know any 'truth'! Why am I here?!"
"Because you saw an ability given by God," Lenea said firmly. "And just like that, the curse was triggered."
Ernan went cold. He had been an office boy this morning. Now, he was being told his soul was a target.
Lenea's voice softened. Her conscience weighed on her; she knew her team's failure to mask the abduction had dragged this boy into the fire. "Listen carefully. In this trial, your soul will be pulled into a battlefield. You will fight, and you will die. But you will be revived just to fight again. It is an endless loop until you either defeat your shadow or you surrender."
She leaned in, her eyes burning with intensity. "Whatever pain you feel, whatever suffering you face, do not surrender. If you give up, your soul perishes. No revival. No second chances. You simply cease to exist."
"I didn't want any of this," Ernan whispered, his voice shaking.
"I know. And I'm sorry," Lenea said. "One of my colleagues was supposed to cast an illusion over the area, but there were too many people. The veil slipped. You saw what you weren't meant to see."
"How will the battle go?" Ernan asked, his hands gripped so tight his knuckles were white. "And Alice... is she facing this too?"
"At the start, you will hear a voice," Lenea explained. "It will suggest a weapon. You can choose it or pick your own. Whatever you choose, your opponent will wield as well. The goal is to stay strong, study their movements, and win. As for Alice... her case is different."
Ernan looked up sharply. "What do you mean?"
Lenea hesitated. "Witnessing a blessing used to be the only trigger. But lately, the curse has been activating for no reason at all. Alice is one of those people. She faced her trial and passed it before we even found her. Most people forget the trial once it's over. The only way to remember is to pass the Gate."
"The Gate?" Ernan began, but the word died in his throat.
The lights flickered violently. A wave of nausea hit Ernan, and the room began to spin. A high-pitched ringing erupted in his ears, drowning out the world like a deafening explosion. He saw Lenea's lips moving—she was shouting something—but he couldn't hear her anymore.
He tried to stand, but his legs gave way after two steps. He collapsed to his knees. Lenea rushed toward him, but an explosion of pain erupted behind his eyes. He fell to his side, clutching his head as a thousand voices began to scream inside his skull.
*"You are a human; you are flawed."*
*"You are a human; the God has blessed you."*
*"You are a mistake."*
The whispers became a roar, merging into one final, booming message: **"YOU ARE HUMAN. YOU ARE FLAWED. THE GOD HAD BLESSED YOU."**
Ernan thrashed, reflexively pushing Lenea away. "Stop! Stop!"
His eyes rolled back, leaving only the whites visible. His mouth hung open, his body contorting as if invisible wires were pulling his limbs in different directions. His fingers locked into jagged, unnatural angles.
Then, the world vanished into a void of absolute black.
**"WELCOME TO THE FIRST TRIAL. THE PATH TO POTENTIAL BEGINS HERE."**