Jason leaned back against the wall, looking unbothered, even as the air in the room grew heavier with tension. He folded his arms and gave the Prime Minister a cold stare.
"When are the Primordials arriving?" he asked flatly.
'Damn brat. Talking to me like I'm one of his guards.' The Prime Minister cursed as he answered.
"In an hour or so."
Blake slammed his hand on the table. "Jason, don't play games! You need to find her—now!"
Jason turned to his father, almost annoyed. "The days when older siblings had control over their younger siblings are long gone, father," he said.
"Let's say I find her—what then? You think I can drag her back by force?"
He paused and looked away, his face twitching slightly as a painful memory resurfaced.
His voice dropped lower, almost bitter. "I'm not doing that again."
Blake was breathing hard, his mind was filled with worry and frustration. "Then what do you suggest?" Jason had always been smart—a quiet genius.
Jason's gaze drifted to the large screen, where Ravenloch was blinking red. "If she left on her own, there could only be one reason," he said.
"Earlier, she pointed to Ravenloch. She seemed panicked. Said we had to go there."
He exhaled and continued, "That kind of reaction doesn't come from strategy—it comes from fear. Fear for someone. Fear for Zane."
Jason turned fully now, facing his father as his voice grew firmer.
"She's the only one in this family who still knows where Zane is. If she's gone, then she's headed for Ravenloch."
"At this point…" Jason continued, "no one can stop her."
Blake, let out a long breath, then scoffed in frustration.
He ran a hand down his face, clearly struggling to keep his composure. "Jason, I've already sent your brothers to the other Zones. That means you'll have to go to Zone S alone."
Jason raised an eyebrow. "And what about Ariel?"
Blake sighed. His shoulders dropped slightly, as if the fight had gone out of him.
"We leave her be… for now. The Prime Minister said the other Primordials are heading to Ravenloch too, so she won't be alone. It's out of my hands now." He looked down at the polished table, his reflection staring back at him with tired eyes.
"She made the choice to leave."
He shook his head slowly.
"She's just eleven. Yet she's causing this much trouble."
His voice was laced with a mix of disappointment and worry. Ariel's presence had boosted their chances of survival by a huge margin. Her power alone could have changed the course of the final battle.
There were only a few days left before the tutorial ended. A few days before the real chaos began. And now, when they needed her just a little longer, she was gone.
Blake clenched his fists beneath the table, his jaw tightening.
"Zane," he muttered bitterly under his breath, "as usual… you're such a damn pain."
"What about you, aren't you going to participate? If you join them, things might not go smoothly, but their chances at victory would increase." Jason said just as he was about to leave.
"I may have awakened as a Primordial Supreme but I'm still in my early fifties, I'd rather not fight if I can help it. Bedside, there has to be a rear guard." Blake said in a low tone.
"Fine, suit yourself." Jason said and left.
Meanwhile, far from the safety of the zone walls, Ariel was on the move.
She had been running nonstop for a while now, her golden hair whipping behind her like a radiant banner. The landscape blurred around her, buildings flashing by, trees swaying from the force of her speed. Her boots barely touched the asphalt as she sprinted through abandoned roads and broken highways.
"Wooow," she whispered under her breath, amazed by how the world seemed to slow around her. "I've really gotten faster, and stronger too."
But there was no time to stop and admire it. Her heart pounded not just from the run—but from worry. Every second felt like a countdown. The closer she got to Ravenloch, the heavier her chest felt.
She leapt over a rusted school bus, flipped mid-air, and landed cleanly on the other side. A gust of wind followed in her trail, blowing up dust and loose debris.
She whispered under her breath, 'By now, father must be worried, but it doesn't matter. Big brother Zane… please be safe.'
With Ravenloch not too far away—or that's what it seemed to a person running faster than a car, she was going to reach it soon.
Ariel suddenly stopped in her tracks. A distant scream echoed from the left, not too far away, maybe just a few blocks down. The wind carried the desperate cry through the streets, and her sharp ears picked it up instantly.
She glanced in the direction of the sound. The area ahead looked like what used to be a small shopping district, but now it was broken and silent—rows of shattered glass storefronts, rusting metal signs swinging in the breeze, and the faint smell of smoke lingering in the air. Overturned cars sat abandoned in the middle of the road, and the only thing that moved was a few loose flyers fluttering across the pavement.
Ariel narrowed her eyes. The scream had come from somewhere just beyond the collapsed convenient store. It wasn't far. She knew she didn't have much time, but her instincts told her to check it out at least.
Back then, when the chaos first began, Jasmine, the English teacher, had managed to rescue a little over thirty students. She had no choice but to leave the rest of the students behind, or so she told herself.
There were still a few school buses left behind that day, but she had no way of knowing whether the other teachers or students had made it out alive. She avoided the most chaotic routes as she drove, trying her best to keep herself and the children safe.
As soon as the apocalypse started, the world leaders acted fast—too fast. They picked certain locations as strongholds and rushed their armies there, placing heavy weapons and elite soldiers to guard each one. These places were named Zones—fortified shelters scattered across the globe. Some were schools, some hospitals, others shopping malls or office buildings. The goal was to save as many people as possible... but there was a catch.
Because the decision had been so rushed, space was limited. People were evacuated based on social rank, government connections, or value to society. The rich and powerful were at the top of the list. Everyone else had to wait—or be left behind.
That's why people from Ravenloch, a neighborhood already struggling with poverty, had no chance. No one came for them.
They had been rejected by every Zone they went. They were forced to fend for themselves while the world burned around them.
Jasmine's bus had made it about halfway through the outskirts when disaster struck again. A low ranked Gemini had ambushed them as they turned sharply down a narrow road.
The monster moved like a shadow. Out of the thirty-four students she'd saved, only twelve survived the attack. Some were badly wounded. The rest... torn apart.
And all of that happened because they had nothing. No weapons and no special abilities.
It should've been the end.
Just when all hope seemed lost, the sky shimmered with glowing text. A system message blinked in front of their eyes, informing them that the errors had been fixed.
And right then, one by one, they began to awaken, though only six awakened.
It was as if fate had changed its mind—just in time.
They had struggled to kill the first Gemini after six of them awakened—but that was just the beginning.
More came.
And then more.
With no place to rest, no time to breathe, and barely any food or water, they'd been running and fighting nonstop for what felt like forever.
Their bodies were bruised, their clothes torn, their spirits hanging by a thread.
They were exhausted, hungry, and completely out of options. This time... it really felt like the end.
Ariel sprinted toward the scream. Her heart raced as fast as her feet hit the cracked pavement.
She was moving like a blur through the ruined city, past broken buildings, burned cars, and corpses of civilians.
The sky above was dark and cloudy, casting shadows over the streets.
Everything smelled like smoke and ash.
She was in a hurry, but her conscience wouldn't let her ignore someone crying out for help.
Then suddenly, in front of her, a notification blinked into view with a sharp chime.
[SYSTEM NOTICE – GLOBAL BROADCAST]
Congratulations, all players. You've made it halfway through the tutorial.
TUTORIAL PHASE – TIME REMAINING: 5 Days, 8 Hours, 58 Minutes, 12 Seconds
OBJECTIVE: Survive. Adapt. Evolve.
Current Planetary Evaluation: RANK F (Low Risk)
Global Clearance Rate: 39.8%
Awakened Individuals Detected:
(Classified)
Highest Known Combatant: (Classified)
World Guardians: [2]
Hero Candidates: [3]
Potential for Apex Evolution: < 0.1%
Hope Index: 37.2%
Ariel stared at the floating message for a moment before gritting her teeth and pushing forward.
'What's with this system? It delayed our awakening and it's also delaying simple messages. It's almost like the ones controlling the system want us to fail.'
***
"Fucking bastards... What does it matter if we're halfway through? At this rate, we won't live to see the end!." Mario cursed, blood dripping down his arm, but he kept his holographic blue shield raised high.
He stood like a wall in front of the others, his awakened ability focused on defense. His skin glowed faintly, hardened like armor, as he blocked strike after strike from the low-ranking Geminis closing in from the shadows.
Around him were seven others—eight if you counted Jasmine. But only six were standing. One of the Awakeners lay groaning on the ground, blood seeping from a wound in his leg. Mario was doing his best to hold the line, but it wasn't enough.
Jasmine stood beside a younger girl, one of the only ones who hadn't awakened yet. Her hands trembled as she clutched a crowbar. She'd done her best to stay brave, but the fear in her eyes was impossible to hide.
Celine, the quiet girl with soft eyes and steady hands, knelt beside the wounded Awakener, her breathing calm despite the chaos around her.
Now, her palms glowed with a gentle light as she pressed them firmly against the injured boy's leg. Warm waves of healing energy spread through his wounds, slowing the bleeding and dulling the pain. Her forehead was damp with sweat, strands of hair clinging to her skin, but she didn't stop or hesitate.
She was the backbone of their survival. Without her, more than half of them would've already died.
Behind Mario, the remaining Awakeners were launching attacks from a distance.
"From Earth's womb and canyon's cry,
Let sharp shards rain down from the sky.
With crushing force, only death shall remain,
Earth Domain: Terra Rain!"
Leon, one of the students who had awakened as a Beta-ranked mage and served under Mario's leadership, muttered the chant with a shaky breath.
His eyes glowed faintly, and the ground beneath him trembled.
A moment later, the sky above darkened as jagged stone spikes materialized, each a meter long. It rained down like deadly spears. The rocks pierced through several of the approaching Geminis.
A few collapsed immediately, torn apart by the sheer force of the attack.
But the victory was short-lived.
Almost as soon as they fell, the monstrous creatures began to twitch.
Their bodies began to knit themselves back together, though a few of them remained dead. It was clear that as long as the attacks weren't fatal, they'd keep regenerating.
Leon's shoulders slumped. "That was my last spell," he muttered, his voice barely a whisper. He wiped blood from his lip, a side effect of pushing himself too hard.
"You could at least pretend to be dead," he muttered, flashing a tired, frustrated grin at the regenerating enemies.
Up ahead, Mario stood like a battered wall. He was the last thing standing between the team and the Geminis, his arms bruised and trembling from the constant blows he deflected.