Levi didn't resist.
There was no point.
The figures around him moved with absolute certainty. They didn't touch him, didn't restrain him—yet every step he took was already decided.
Forward.
Across a surface that felt wrong.
Too flat.
Too perfect.
Not ground.
A place made for one purpose.
Evaluation.
They stopped.
Levi didn't.
Not immediately.
His eyes moved first.
Scanning.
Counting.
Measuring.
There were others.
Dozens.
All of them—
the same species as the ones who had taken him.
But smaller.
Not weaker.
Incomplete.
They stood in loose formation, bodies angled just enough to show tension.
Not relaxed.
Not calm.
Waiting.
And now—
watching him.
Not hostility.
Not fear.
Curiosity.
Levi met their gaze.
Didn't look away.
Inside, something tightened.
Mình không thuộc về nơi này.
A low murmur spread.
Not sound.
But meaning.
"They are not of our line."
"Still accepted."
"Observe."
Levi's eyes narrowed slightly.
He didn't question it.
He understood.
That was enough.
Above—
a presence.
Levi looked up.
One stood higher than the rest.
Larger.
Still.
Watching everything.
It didn't speak.
It didn't need to.
A small motion.
Barely visible.
But the entire field responded.
Every figure aligned.
Silence fell.
Absolute.
Then—
the spheres appeared.
In front of each of them.
Floating.
Perfect.
Transparent.
Too transparent.
Levi stepped closer to the one before him.
Inside—
something moved.
Not light.
Not liquid.
Something else.
Alive in a way he couldn't define.
Around him—
others had already begun.
Hands extended.
Contact.
The moment they touched—
the spheres reacted.
One burst with violent sparks.
Another filled with a dense, shifting cloud.
Another stayed still—
then suddenly flared.
Unstable.
Unpredictable.
Levi watched.
Didn't rush.
Different responses.
Different outcomes.
The murmurs returned.
"Incomplete."
"Unstable."
"Proceed."
Levi stepped forward.
Slow.
Deliberate.
His hand rose.
Paused—
just before the surface.
Then—
he touched it.
—
Nothing.
—
For a moment.
—
Then—
movement.
Inside the sphere—
something began to form.
Not appearing.
Growing.
A structure.
Rough.
Fragmented.
Then clearer.
Pieces locking into place.
Wood.
Metal.
Interwoven.
Wrong.
Impossible.
Yet—
it was his.
Levi's gaze locked onto it.
Focused.
Narrow.
Beside him—
a sudden surge.
He glanced.
The sphere of the one ahead—
lit up completely.
Stable.
Final.
A signal.
It was done.
Above—
the large one moved.
Just enough.
And then—
it spoke.
"Axis Protocol… complete."
The voice was not loud.
But it filled everything.
"Evaluation finished."
A pause.
Then—
"Formation will be imposed."
No choice.
No negotiation.
Figures began to move.
Groups forming.
Not chosen.
Assigned.
Forced.
Levi remained still.
Until they came.
Three of them.
They stopped at equal distance.
Left.
Right.
Behind.
Not surrounding.
Positioning.
Levi turned slightly.
Observed.
Measured.
No names.
No words.
Only one thing was clear.
They didn't choose this.
Neither did he.
Above—
the voice returned.
"Imperfect units…"
"…will act as vanguard."
No reaction.
No resistance.
Only acceptance.
Levi looked forward again.
The sphere before him—
had not stopped.
The structure inside—
was still growing.
Still changing.
Not stable.
Not complete.
Something in his eyes shifted.
Almost nothing.
But real.
This isn't over.
Above—
no reaction.
As if—
it had expected this.
"Next phase… begins."
Levi didn't move.
Didn't speak.
Didn't look away.
But for the first time—
he understood something.
This place—
was not testing strength.
It was creating something.
And whatever he had just been given—
was not finished.
—
It was evolving.