**December 2000. Evening.**
The low hum was driving everyone mad. For seventy-two hours, the lab had been vibrating with a deep, constant thrum. Twenty of the world's smartest people sat around computer screens, their faces pale from the blue light, surviving on bad coffee and adrenaline.
In the center of the room, behind thick glass, it hung in the air: a perfect, gray circle. It didn't just shine; it pulsed. Electricity snapped around its edges, spinning toward a calm center. It was a doorway to another world. No one knew where it led, but everyone hoped it was the answer to Earth's problems—new energy, new land, or cures for the sick.
"Robot feed is live," someone called out.
Dr. Beth Croft, the leader, leaned over the console. "Send it in."
A small, six-wheeled robot rolled forward. It touched the gray light and vanished. On the big screen, the picture flickered and then cleared.
It was a world of gray and black. The robot's light cut through a heavy darkness, showing nothing but jagged rocks and dust. Above, the sky was a crowded riot of unfamiliar stars.
"It's just… rocks," a scientist whispered. "I was hoping for a blade of grass. Just to know we aren't alone."
They watched for hours. The robot traveled fifty kilometers. The only sound was the lonely wind.
"That's enough," Dr. Beth said, rubbing her tired eyes. "Bring it back. We'll send people in tomorrow. We need boots on the ground."
---
The next morning, the lab was tight with tension. Ten people stood ready in bulky suits like deep-sea divers. Five were soldiers with guns; the other five were scientists.
Dr. Cooper, a geologist with sharp blue eyes, was the team leader. Beside him stood Dr. Seuz and Dr. Tom.
"Team Alpha, are you ready to cross?" Beth's voice came through their helmets.
"We are green, Control," Cooper replied.
They walked toward the humming gray circle. They reached out to touch the surface. But the moment their fingers brushed the light, something went wrong.
The scientists didn't walk through. They collapsed. Their bodies went limp, hitting the floor with a heavy thud.
"Get them back!" Beth screamed. "Medics, now!"
Fifteen minutes later, the doctors were confused. "Their hearts are fine. Their brains are active. They just… turned off. It's like they're in a deep sleep."
---
"Everyone stay close, check your—"
Cooper stopped mid-sentence. The words died in his throat.
He wasn't in the lab anymore. He wasn't in his suit. He was standing on ground that felt like obsidian glass, under a sky burning with nebulae he didn't recognize. He was wearing his favorite flannel shirt and jeans—the clothes he had worn that morning.
"Seuz? Tom?" he yelled. Silence. The portal was gone. He was totally alone in an alien cathedral of stone.
Then, a voice boomed inside his head. It was deep and heavy.
**"WELCOME TO THE FIRST TRIAL. THE PATH TO POTENTIAL BEGINS HERE."**
Cooper's heart pounded. "Who are you? Where is my team?"
**"DEFEAT YOURSELF TO GAIN THE KNOWLEDGE OF SELF."**
"The God observes. He suggests the Claymore for your trial. Take it, or choose your own fate."
In front of Cooper, a row of weapons appeared, floating in the air: a slender rapier, a heavy axe, a simple spear, a massive double-handed greatsword, and a claymore.
"What is the meaning of this?" Cooper was confused. He looked around, but there was only the glass ground and the strange sky. He was a geologist, not a fighter, but he felt he had to follow the voice. He reached out for the **Claymore**.
When his fingers touched the hilt, the sword dissolved into golden dust and flew into the sky. The other weapons melted into silver sand.
Fifty feet away, the black ground began to bubble like boiling tar. It rose and shaped itself into a man. It had Cooper's face and hair, but its eyes were empty, dead holes.
The horror wasn't just the face. The creature's body was twisted. Its head faced Cooper, but its chest, arms, and legs were turned completely backward. Its spine and shoulder blades were where its chest should be.
Light flared in the creature's backward-facing left hand. A massive, gleaming claymore appeared there.
A second later, a heavy weight slammed into Cooper's own left hand. He looked down, stunned, to see an identical sword gripped in his fist.
The monster didn't wait. With its backward legs churning at a terrifying speed, it charged. It held the sword high, sprinting straight at Cooper's skull.