The entrance to the Chamber's headquarters was almost impossible to notice unless one already knew where to look. It was like looking for a needle in a bunch of needles.
Fallen trees leaned against one another in a chaotic pile, their massive trunks broken and tangled together with thick vines. Jagged rocks filled the spaces between them, forming a natural barricade that looked no different from the rest of the forest floor.
Hidden within that mess was a narrow opening.
So narrow that most people had to twist their shoulders and squeeze sideways just to enter.
Doeg pushed through first.
The stone scraped his arms as he forced his way inside. Behind him, the other survivor followed with similar effort. Slightly less actually, as he wasn't as chubby as Doeg.
The moment they passed through the opening, the forest disappeared.
Darkness swallowed them.
The tunnel inside the cave was damp and cool. Moisture dripped steadily from the ceiling, forming small puddles along the uneven stone floor.
Torches burned along the walls.
But they were few.
Too few. Too far apart.
Their dim orange light barely pushed back the darkness, leaving long stretches of the tunnel in shadow.
Despite the gloom, the cave wasn't silent.
Low murmurs echoed faintly through the passageways.
Footsteps.
Soft voices.
The occasional scrape of stone against stone.
Human activity buzzed quietly in the background, like insects humming in the night.
It created a strange tension.
Life existed here.
But it felt fragile.
Doeg and the other survivor walked deeper into the tunnel.
Neither of them spoke. Neither we wanted to.
Something heavier than simple failure weighed on their shoulders.
It was something far worse.
Powerlessness.
No matter how carefully they had planned the mission… none of it had mattered.
The tiger had simply been stronger. Power over preparation.
There had been nothing they could do.
The tunnel slanted downward gradually as they walked.
The deeper they went, the colder the air became.
This underground network extended almost a kilometer and a half into the cave,branching tunnels split away at irregular angles, creating a maze of passages that stretched nearly twice that distance in total length.
The Chamber had chosen the location carefully.
Defensible.
Hidden.
Secure.
Yet despite its size, the cave felt empty.
The Chamber didn't have enough people to truly fill it.
Most of the tunnels remained unused, swallowed by darkness.
Eventually Doeg turned into a side passage and entered a small room carved directly into the stone.
This was one of the breakout rooms.
It served as an office for the few individuals responsible for organizing the Chamber's operations. The brains of the body.
They were called Ushers.
The man inside the room looked to be around forty.
His hair was thinning and streaked with grey.
In front of him sat a rough slab of stone that served as a desk. Beside it was a shallow wooden bowl filled with murky swamp water.
He dipped a sharpened stick into the water and slowly scratched symbols onto the stone surface.
Primitive ink.
Primitive records.
But records nonetheless. It was a strange kind of documentation.
Doeg stood silently.
The other survivor stood beside him.
Neither of them spoke.
The man continued writing.
Seconds passed.
Then more.
Doeg could feel pressure building in his chest.
Every moment of silence made the weight of their failure feel heavier. Like silver and bronze piling up on their backs.
Finally, the man stopped writing.
He looked up.
His tired eyes scanned the two of them.
"Why are you in my office?" he asked.
Doeg stepped forward slightly.
"We've come to report the outcome of our mission."
The man leaned back slightly.
"How did it go?"
The second survivor spoke before Doeg could.
"Terribly."
The man's brow furrowed.
"The tiger was much stronger than expected," the survivor continued. "Everyone else died."
Silence filled the room.
The man's expression hardened.
He thought for a long moment. His breaths almost telling his thoughts.
Then he sighed.
"Understood."
His tone carried no sympathy.
Just quiet calculation.
"You're dismissed."
Doeg blinked.
"That's all?" He couldn't catch his words.
"For now," the man replied calmly. "Expect another mission soon."
He picked up his stick again and returned to writing, with the same focus as someone that was performing a surgery.
The conversation was over.
Doeg and the survivor exchanged a glance before leaving the room.
The moment they stepped back into the tunnel, both of them released a breath they hadn't realized they were holding.
Relief.
At least they hadn't been blamed.
But that relief didn't last long.
Doeg rubbed the back of his neck.
"I can't even rest," he muttered.
"Why?" asked the other.
"Scouting rotation."
The survivor groaned in sympathy.
Doeg sighed.
The exhaustion in his body screamed for sleep.
But he forced himself to keep moving.
Scouting was dangerous.
But it was also the fastest way to rise through the Chamber's ranks.
And if he wanted power…
If he wanted to survive this trial…
He had no choice.
***
Mira drove the sharpened stick forward with a quick jab.
The wooden point buried itself into the side of the predator that Thea had just tripped.
The beast screeched and stumbled.
Its balance broke. It twitched.
Mira twisted the stick and yanked it free as the creature collapsed to the ground.
The two girls had traveled far from where they first met.
Their reckless sprint had scattered the pursuing predators across a wide area.
That had given them an opportunity.
They had agreed to eliminate as many beasts as possible before the predators regrouped.
Mira still had enough energy to fight. She had more than enough.
She stepped forward and slashed again.
Another predator burst out of the underbrush.
Her strike missed.
But it forced the creature to recoil instinctively.
That moment of hesitation was enough.
Thea darted behind the beast and struck it.
Her attack lacked strength. It was mediocre.
If anything it was more annoying than harmful.
The predator turned toward her immediately.
But that distraction was all Mira needed.
She lunged. Covering the distance in a short instant.
The sharpened stick sliced across the beast's side.
The blow landed.
But it wasn't fatal.
The predator staggered backward and released a loud roar.
Not a roar of anger.
A call.
It was summoning the others.
As if the glowing mark on Thea's arm wasn't already doing that job.
"Not happening!" Mira shouted determined.
She swung again.
The predator was forced to abandon its call as it defended itself.
Bleeding and limping, it lunged toward Thea.
The girl hastily stepped aside.
"Aren't you going to fight?" Mira shouted while attacking again.
"Stop running!"
The predator swiped suddenly.
Its claw blocked Mira's strike.
Thea winced.
"I can't!" she said nervously.
"My ability isn't for fighting!"
Mira gritted her teeth.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm utility and reconnaissance!" Thea replied.
For a moment Mira paused.
Then her eyes lit up.
Not with anger.
With excitement.
People like Thea were incredibly valuable.
Most entrants focused entirely on combat.
But scouts…
Information gatherers…
They were far rarer.
Far more useful in the long run.
Mira's grin widened.
Then she drove the stick forward again.
This time the sharpened tip pierced the predator's throat.
The creature collapsed.
Dead.
But the moment the fight ended—
Thea suddenly dropped to her knees.
Mira spun around.
"Thea?"
The girl wasn't unconscious. Definitely wasn't dead.
Her eyes were wide.
Frozen.
Filled with something that looked almost like reverence. Revere. Wistfulness. Remembrance.
She stared at something in the distance, or was just stuck that way.
***
Saul and Pluto had searched far longer than they expected. Not in hours, but days since they had met.
And found nothing.
No footprints.
No broken branches.
No traces.
No signs of Mira.
It was as if she had simply vanished into the forest.
Pluto scratched his head.
"This is getting ridiculous."
Saul didn't respond.
They stood in silence for a moment.
Eventually Pluto sighed.
"Well… if we can't find her, we might as well change plans."
Saul glanced at him.
"Explain."
"We need allies," Pluto said. "Other entrants."
Saul considered that. He really did.
"And how do you propose we find them?"
Pluto grinned.
"Noise."
Saul frowned slightly.
Pluto continued.
"It's simple math. Humans are attracted to noise."
"But predators are too."
"Humans are just more cautious."
He shrugged.
"With enough noise and a little patience, someone will show up."
Saul thought about it.
Then he shook his head.
"I don't like it."
"Me neither," Pluto admitted. But shrugged nevertheless.
What they really needed was simple.
For the numbers to drop.
Without them dying in the process.
So instead of causing chaos…
They simply walked.
Quietly.
Carefully.
Hoping the forest itself would solve their problem.
What neither of them realized…
Was that just ahead of them—
Four other entrants waited silently behind the trees.
Preparing an ambush.