The fourth tree-creature crashed toward Jason Beecroft with splintering limbs.
Its bark-covered arms lashed through the clearing, snapping the air like whips.
Jason staggered backward, chest burning.
"Not again," he muttered.
His HUD flickered across his vision.
VITALITY ▰▰▰▱▱ 60/100
FOCUS ▰▰▱▱▱ 40/100
ENERGY ▰▱▱▱▱ 20/100
The creature lunged.
Jason swung wildly.
"Stay down!"
The blade scraped bark but barely slowed the monster.
Roots burst from the ground, curling around his ankles.
Jason cursed.
"You've got to be kidding."
Another creature slammed into him from behind.
The impact knocked the breath from his lungs.
"Too many," he gasped.
The clearing erupted with movement.
Dozens of long-limbed monsters crawled through the shadows.
Their branches scraped the sky like broken fingers.
Jason raised his weapon again.
"Fine," he growled. "Come on then."
A branch pierced through his side.
The impact tore through him like current.
His HUD screamed red.
VITALITY ▰▱▱▱▱ 10/100
WARNING: SYSTEM FAILURE
Jason dropped to one knee.
"Great," he whispered.
Another branch slammed into his chest.
Everything went dark.
---
Silence.
Darkness fractured into pulses of amber light.
Jason's HUD flickered wildly.
REGENERATION INITIATED
Air slammed into his lungs.
Jason shot upright on the checkpoint platform, chest heaving as the Construct rebuilt his body.
He stood on a metal platform suspended over endless gears.
Wind rushed upward through the machinery below.
His HUD flickered into view, numbers sharp against the dim light:
VITALITY ▰▰▰▰▰ 100/100 — green, steady and full.
FOCUS ▰▰▱▱▱ 60/100 — yellow, wavering slightly.
ENERGY ▰▱▱▱▱ 20/100 — red, almost drained.
Jason blinked.
"What…?"
The mechanical world shifted around him.
Platforms slid across enormous turning gears.
Chains creaked. Iron clanged.
An artificial modulation vibrated through the sensory overlay.
"Warm-up iteration registered. Advancing to Gear Fields Level 2."
His eyes moved across the platforms, each one turning on its own rhythm.
"You're joking."
The modulation continued, dispassionate.
"Initializing Gear Fields — Level 2. Engage protocols."
Jason laughed bitterly.
"All that for a warm-up?"
Something moved beneath the gears.
Tiny shapes crawled upward through the spinning teeth.
Jason leaned forward.
"What are those…?"
The first creature climbed onto the platform.
Small.
Quick.
Its glowing eyes fixed on him.
Behind it, hundreds more began to rise.
Jason tightened his grip.
"Whoa," he said quietly. "That's a lot of them."
---
The tiny creatures spread across the platform.
Rodent-sized bodies.
Bristling fur.
Amber eyes that glowed like sparks.
Their teeth clicked constantly.
Jason crouched slightly.
"Alright," he said carefully. "Let's talk about this."
One creature darted forward.
It bit his ankle.
Jason jumped.
"Hey!"
FOCUS ▰▰▱▱▱ 40/100
TIME LOSS DETECTED – 5 minutes missing
Then another.
And another.
TIMER: 01:00:00 → 00:45:00
Jason frowned.
"You're stealing time?"
Another creature snapped at his wrist.
Then another.
Soon dozens scurried around his boots.
Jason swatted one aside.
"Back off!"
The swarm scattered briefly.
Then they returned.
Faster.
More confident.
Jason stepped onto the next moving platform.
The gears beneath him groaned as they turned.
Wind whipped through his hair.
One Nibblefang leapt at his shoulder.
He slapped it away.
"Persistent little rodents."
But his mind drifted.
For a moment he saw his mother's kitchen.
Margaret Beecroft stood beside the stove, wiping her hands on a towel.
"You're awake early," she said gently.
Jason leaned against the counter in the memory.
"Couldn't sleep."
"You worry too much," she told him.
A small voice chimed in.
Samuel peeked around the doorway.
"Jason, can we go out to play later?"
Jason smiled faintly.
"Maybe."
Then another memory crashed in.
---
Richard Beecroft's shadow fell across the workbench.
"You're bending it wrong," he snapped, yanking the drill from Jason's hands. "Faster doesn't mean done right."
Jason adjusted his grip and tried again, the efficient way, not his father's way.
Richard corrected him immediately. No patience. No room for thinking. His voice dropped to something flat and final.
Do it exactly like I showed you. No shortcuts
---
The Construct snapped back into view.
Nibblefangs covered the platform.
Jason froze.
"When did you all get here?"
FOCUS ▰▱▱▱▱ 20/100
Jason's eyes widened.
One Nibblefang lunged.
Then there were two.
Then four.
Then the platform was covered.
Jason stared in disbelief.
"Wait… you multiply?"
One Nibblefang bared its tiny teeth.
Jason backed away slowly.
"Oh," he whispered.
"So that's the rule."
Another bite struck his wrist.
He screamed.
The swarm surged forward.
And Jason realized the terrifying truth.
Every time his attention drifted…
More of them appeared.
---
Jason forced himself to breathe slowly.
"Okay," he said quietly.
The Nibblefangs crept closer.
Tiny claws scratched across the metal platform.
Jason lifted his head.
"Let's test something."
He stepped onto the next gear.
The platform rotated beneath him.
Three objects moved in his view.
A swinging chain.
A sliding bridge.
A rotating gear.
"You," he said. "You… and you."
His eyes tracked the chain.
Then the gear.
Then the bridge.
"Stay with it," he whispered.
The Nibblefangs hesitated.
Jason blinked in surprise.
"Oh?"
One creature crept forward.
Jason shifted his focus instantly.
"Nope."
The creature stopped again.
Jason smiled faintly.
"So that's how this works."
He paced across the moving platform.
Eyes shifting constantly.
Chain.
Gear.
Bridge.
His HUD flickered.
FOCUS ▰▰▰▱▱ 60/100
The swarm shrank slightly.
Jason laughed under his breath.
"I get it. You hate attention, don't you?"
One Nibblefang lunged suddenly.
Jason's thoughts slipped.
Just for a moment.
Clara's smile.
The Construct snapped back.
Too late.
The swarm surged forward.
FOCUS ▰▱▱▱▱ 20/100
Nibblefangs swarmed his boots again.
Jason groaned.
"Right. Lesson learned."
He lifted his gaze again.
Chain.
Gear.
Bridge.
"Focus," he whispered.
The creatures retreated slightly.
Jason exhaled slowly.
"Everything you ignore grows stronger."
He repeated it quietly.
"Every shadow you ignore grows taller."
The Construct responded instantly.
A deep mechanical bell rang across the Gear Fields.
Jason's HUD flashed violently.
TIME LIMIT UPDATED
The timer accelerated.
00:30:00
00:15:00
00:05:00
Jason stared at the rapidly dropping numbers.
"You've got to be kidding me."
The platforms began moving faster.
Chains swung wildly.
Gears spun violently.
The swarm started multiplying again.
Jason swallowed.
"Well," he muttered.
"Guess we're doing this the hard way."
Jason unsheathed his blade.
He swung.
It took the nearest Nibblefang clean off the platform.
Two more replaced it.
He swung again. Again. Each strike landed but meant nothing.
He cut through a dozen in thirty seconds and the platform was fuller than when he started.
Jason stopped swinging.
He stood in the middle of the swarm, blade raised, and did the math.
He could fight perfectly and still lose.
The swarm surged higher.
Then stopped.
All at once, without signal or reason, they released him. They poured back through the gears in a single wave, dozens then hundreds, until the platform was empty.
Jason stood alone.
Blade still raised.
Chest heaving.
He dropped to his knees.