The white space shimmered softly as more teams began appearing, one after another.

Figures materialized out of thin air, each group looking dazed, exhausted, or relieved after surviving Phase One.

Ron, Lia, Selene, and Jax turned toward the familiar voice calling out to them.

"So you're here too."

A familiar silhouette approached through the glowing space.

Maera Raynhart stepped forward with her group behind her.

Beside her stood Col Alven, calm and composed, and Drevin Solveil, who scanned the surroundings with sharp, calculating eyes.

Their fourth member stood slightly behind them—a timid girl with dark green hair, clutching her sleeves nervously.

Lia brightened immediately.

"Maera! You're here too!"

Ron tilted his head.

"You all cleared the first phase?"

Maera nodded.

"Well, we did. Took us some time, but we managed."

She let out a small breath.

"Honestly, I was shocked when I ended up in that maze. The last thing I remember is going to sleep… and then suddenly waking up there."

Selene's eyes softened.

"You too…"

Maera nodded, then gestured gently to the girl behind her.

"Anyway, you already know Col and Drevin."

She stepped aside slightly.

"I want you to meet our last member—Iselde Velmira."

The girl lowered her head further, avoiding eye contact.

Her voice was barely audible.

"N-n-nice t-to m-meet y-you…"

Lia smiled warmly.

Selene gave her a small nod.

Jax waved awkwardly, trying not to intimidate her.

Maera placed a reassuring hand on Iselde's shoulder.

"She's shy. She's a friend of Col… that's why we brought her into our group."

Ron nodded approvingly.

"You all make a good team."

Maera smiled faintly.

Around them, more teams flickered into existence, but the number was drastically smaller than before—barely a fraction of the hundreds that had started.

The first phase had already eliminated most of them.

And the real difficulty was still ahead.

.

.

.

.

Time passed slowly in the white space as more surviving teams appeared one by one.

The once–crowded expanse that had been filled with hundreds of students was now sparsely populated. Small clusters of teams stood together, whispering among themselves, trying to recover from the exhaustion of Phase One. The atmosphere had shifted—no longer chaotic, but heavy with tension, caution, and the weight of what might come next.

Ron's group stood near Maera's, both teams quietly observing the others. Some students looked confident, standing tall with a sense of accomplishment. Others seemed drained, barely keeping their composure after the harrowing maze. And a few simply stared blankly into the white void, still trying to understand what exactly they had been thrown into.

Then, cutting through the stillness of the space, a familiar sound echoed.

Ding.

Ding.

Ding…

A soft ripple passed through the students. Heads turned. Conversation ceased.

Eira's cheerful, ringing voice filled the white space once more.

"Phase One is officially completed, participants~!

Anyone who hasn't cleared Phase One by now… is eliminated!"

A wave of shock rolled through the late-arriving teams.

Some students stepped forward with disbelief and frustration etched across their faces.

"What—!? There was a time limit!?"

"You never mentioned any time limit!"

"How is that fair!?"

Their voices rose in protest, frustration echoing in the empty space—

but Eira didn't respond.

She didn't even acknowledge them.

Her voice continued, bright and perfectly unfazed, as if their complaints didn't exist at all.

"Now then~!" she chimed.

"It's time for Phase Two!"

Instantly, the mood in the white space hardened.

The scattered tension tightened into focused silence.

Students who had been complaining moments ago closed their mouths, their eyes sharpening as they realized they were no longer in a position to argue.

Ron straightened his posture, the shift in atmosphere pulling him instantly into alertness.

Lia's expression firmed, her fingers gently curling at her sides.

Selene kept her gaze calm but intense, as if she were already reading the air for clues.

Even Jax's usually carefree expression faded into seriousness.

A short distance away, Maera's group reacted just as sharply.

Maera's eyes narrowed slightly in anticipation.

Col Alven folded his arms, grounding himself for whatever came next.

Drevin's gaze sharpened like a blade.

And Iselde quietly gripped her sleeves, trying to steady her trembling breath.

Every participant stood ready now.

Eira's voice softened slightly, though her cheerfulness remained unmistakable.

"Let me explain Phase Two~!"

The moment Eira's cheerful voice finished her last sentence, the world seemed to collapse around everyone.

FLASH.

Ron, Lia, Selene, and Jax felt the ground vanish beneath their feet—

and when their eyes opened again…

they were no longer in the white space.

They stood on a narrow stone ledge at the very edge of a massive, cavernous chasm.

Cold air brushed past them, carrying the distant echo of shifting stone.

The space stretched into darkness in every direction, an endless abyss broken only by faint glimmers of light reflecting far below.

Across the impossible gap, far in the distance, they could see it:

A single stone platform illuminated by a pale glow.

The exit.

Jax swallowed.

"…That's far."

Before anyone could take a step, Eira's voice echoed through the cavern—resonant and playful as always:

"Welcome to the Second Phase of the Competition~!"

Her voice vibrated through the chasm, bouncing off the cavern walls.

"The Elemental Balance Crossing!"

Ron and the others straightened, every sense on high alert.

Eira continued with a bright hum:

"As you may have noticed, all of you are in separate spaces right now."

The four exchanged glances, tightening their formation on the narrow ledge.

"Now look forward," Eira said cheerfully.

They did.

And saw them—

Four separate floating platforms, hovering silently between the ledge and the exit.

Each platform was spaced perfectly apart, just far enough that none could collide, and each one shimmered faintly with a different elemental aura.

Light. Wind. Earth. Water.

Jax's surprised.

"Those are… floating platform."

Lia bit her lip.

"This is going to be… complicated."

High above them, a spherical glow appeared.

A luminous orb, levitating at a great height, its floating scale-like pattern glimmering faintly.

Ron frowned.

"That… is that supposed to watch us or something ?"

Eira answered immediately:

"That, dear participants, is the Sync Orb!"

The orb pulsed once, responding to her voice as if it understood.

"This orb will calculate your team's synchronization."

Selene's eyes narrowed.

"So that's what this test is about…"

"And now~ let me explain the rules," Eira continued happily.

"You must pour your mana into the elemental platforms in front of you.

Each platform will adjust its nature to match your element affinity."

The platforms pulsed lightly, almost in response.

"When you channel mana into your style's platform, it will begin to move toward the exit."

Selene's eyes widened slightly.

"So we ride the platforms?"

"That's right~!" Eira chimed.

"But!"

Her voice brightened dangerously.

"There's a catch!"

Ron tensed.

Lia focused.

Jax groaned.

Selene stayed calm.

"All four members of a team must channel mana at similar quantity and speed to a certain degree."

The Sync Orb pulsed again—its glowing scale shifting gently.

"If your syncing matches, the orb will show a stable balance… and the platforms will move swiftly."

"But…"

Her voice lowered playfully.

"If even one of you goes out of sync—

or stops channeling mana—"

A deep rumble echoed from below.

Ron's eyes widened as they looked down.

Underneath the floating platforms was nothing but endless blackness.

A cold, devouring void.

"If you fall out of sync," Eira finished brightly,

"your entire team will lose balance and fall into the darkness below!"

Jax stepped back instinctively.

"Hey—hey—no falling! Falling is not allowed—!"

"And," Eira added sweetly,

"there will be a few… difficulties along the way trying to stop you.

So be careful~!"

A faint wind began to swirl, as if something was already preparing to challenge them.

"Best of luck, participants!"

Her voice faded.

And silence returned.

Ron inhaled slowly, eyes locked on the glowing orb.

"Alright… we can do this."

Lia nodded.

Selene stepped forward, calm and focused.

Jax gulped but braced himself.

One wrong move, and they fall.

Phase Two had begun.

.

.

.

Meanwhile,

In another space identical to Ron and his group's,

another team stood together on a narrow ledge, staring at the same impossible chasm and the same four floating elemental platforms.

The voice had already explained the rules to them.

The air was heavy with tension.

One of the boys stepped forward, cracking his knuckles with forced confidence.

"Alright, we can do this. How hard can it be…?"

The other three exchanged uncertain glances, but they nodded and stepped onto the floating platforms with him.

"Let's start!" someone said.

All four placed their hands downward and began pouring mana into their respective platforms.

Immediately, their elements lit up:

— The first boy had fire mana; his platform flared with a deep red glow.

— The girl beside him channeled water mana; her platform shimmered bright blue.

— Another boy possessed earth mana; his platform rumbled with a dark yellow-brown glow.

— And the last boy had thunder mana; his platform crackled with bright yellow light.

High above them, the Sync Orb reacted.

Its glowing scale tilted slightly… then moved… then steadied…

and finally stopped.

Their platforms began to move forward—

but very, very slowly.

The fire user clicked his tongue.

"At this pace we'll lose! We need to move faster!"

The earth user glared back.

"We have to pour mana equally, idiot!"

The girl snapped.

"You think we're not trying!?"

They kept arguing—

voices rising—

frustration growing—

and none of them noticed the scale on the Sync Orb beginning to shift…

downward.

Their synchronization was dropping.

The orb pulsed once.

The platforms wobbled.

The water girl's eyes widened.

"W–wait! Something's wrong!"

Then they all noticed it.

The thunder-element boy—Winston—

was standing unnaturally still.

His eyes were blank, unfocused, staring into complete nothingness.

A dark, shadowy shape clung to his back, whispering into his ear.

Its smoky fingers wrapped around his head like tendrils.

The fire user's heart sank.

"Winston—!?

WINSTON!! Snap out of it!!"

But Winston didn't respond.

His mana output faded…

then stopped completely.

The moment his mana ceased—

His entire platform vanished.

All three yelled in horror.

"WINSTON!!"

The instant his platform disappeared, the others destabilized violently.

CRACK—!

The remaining three platforms shattered beneath their feet, dissolving into mana fragments.

The chasm roared below them, endless and silent.

The fire boy's scream echoed into the abyss.

"Nooooo—!!!"

They plummeted into the darkness—

their figures swallowed whole—

and the space around them shattered like glass.

Their team was eliminated.

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