From the Exam Straight Into a Death Plot

The title read, "Mass Casualty at the Test Site. 43 Confirmed Dead at Redmont High School".The article was published 30 minutes ago.My fingers began to tremble. I scrolled down, but the crime scene photos were heavily blurred, showing nothing more than yellow police tape and white body bags.43 people.Excluding me, there were exactly 43 people in that room."How…" My voice seized up, barely a whisper. "How did they die?"Isaac said nothing. He reached for my phone and pressed the power button. Then he rolled down the window and hurled it outside."What are you doing?" I yelled."That thing can track us through phones," Isaac replied. "From now on, no phones."I stared him down. "How do you know all this? What the hell are we running from?"Isaac went quiet for a few seconds before speaking up. "I can't tell you. You'll understand once we reach Mount Aethel.""What?""I can't say it out loud." He turned to me, his eyes full of conflicted emotion. "You have to figure it ou

Mount Aethel. It all started at Mount Aethel. Whether it was the relentless hunt or this whole nightmare, the source and the only solution lay on that mountain.After waiting for a while, the noise outside died down completely. Isaac eased the door open, checked the corridor, and ushered us out of the maintenance room."We don't have much time," he muttered. "They're closing in. Our only option now is to fly."Half an hour later, with Dad pushing us to hurry, we rushed through the terminal and finally made it to the airport.I never imagined I'd be standing in a departure hall, listening to news that the very train we were supposed to board had just derailed.The loud audio from someone's phone drifted over to me. A middle-aged man in a floral shirt stared at his screen, where a blood-red headline screamed, "Mount Aethel Line Derailment. All Passengers Confirmed Dead, Investigation Underway."I froze.Isaac's back was still bleeding through his shirt, Dad's face was completely d

The aircraft shuddered violently as every cabin light snapped off, leaving only the sickly glow of emergency lighting.I slammed my fists against the door in a frenzy. "Mom! Mom!"Inside, the lavatory fell dead silent for a second.Then, Mom's voice drifted out, trembling on the edge of tears. "Trevon, it's Mom. Open the door, sweetie. Let me out…"My hand froze in midair.It was the same voice Mom used to coax me to open the door whenever I woke crying from nightmares as a child.Exactly the same—the same tone, the same pauses, and even the same upward lilt at the end."Trevon, I made your favorite honey-glazed ribs. Can you open the door for me?"A cold shudder ran through me.When I was seven, I had locked myself in my room and refused to come out. Mom had stood outside the door with a plate in her hands, saying those exact words.That was 14 years ago. How could she possibly still remember?"Don't open it!" Dad's voice cracked with strain. "Trevon, that's not your mom an

I watched Dad swing the wooden stick, his movement stretching out like a frame-by-frame freeze.I saw Isaac standing tall in front of me, the wound on his back bleeding out drop by drop.I saw the black threads oozing through the cracks in the door, inching forward.And then I saw it—the maintenance room in the tunnel from that day.Mom crouched before me, gently cupping my face, while Dad stood nearby with a shovel in hand. Across from us, Isaac slumped against the wall, one hand pressed over his wound.All three of them opened their mouths at the same time, speaking a single sentence to me.I couldn't hear it that day. All I could hear was a chaotic wall of noise.But now, I heard every word.Aegis Blade surged forward, sweeping past my face. Aegis Wisdom Blade could cut through ignorance, shattering the veil of delusion.Their three voices fused into a crystal-clear choir. "You are the reincarnated Saint!"Suddenly, a burst of golden light erupted from Aegis Blade once mor