Almost an hour into their jog toward Galt, another alarm siren forced them to stop. Isaac shared a glance with the others, and without even a word, they all looked up at the now fully blue barrier protecting them from the rest of the world. The countdown had reached zero. The transformation was complete.

The following notification only proved that.

Initialization of Sacramento Safe Zone successful. Support Nexuses shall arrive after the beginning of the Integration Stage. Hosts may now leave this zone to explore the new Earth. Good luck. Grow strong. Retake what's yours or perish at the doors of the Broken Realm.

Broken Realm… this again.

Isaac frowned, recalling the last time he had heard this name. It was during the Pioneer Trial, and to be honest, back then, he didn't care much about it. Surviving was his only focus. But now? Now, the name definitely mattered. Otherwise, the Interface wouldn't have mentioned it again.

"Judging by your faces, you both got it, too?" Elaine asked, snapping him back to reality.

"Yeah," James agreed. "Is it just me, or does that last part sound way too ominous? Perish at the doors of the Broken Realm… Not exactly a warm send-off."

"Either of you heard about it before? In a notification or something?" Isaac asked.

It took a moment for anybody to speak up.

"The Minotaur," Elaine whispered. "When the Interface announced its appearance, it also mentioned this Broken Realm. Something about the guardian coming from its low-ranked levels."

Right. Isaac mentally kicked himself. He had completely forgotten that detail. "Okay, that's something. Anything else? Even just a mention?"

But his teammates just shook their heads.

He clicked his tongue. "Then I'm the only one who heard of it before the Minotaur. Great… Now I feel stupid for ignoring it until now."

"Wait!" James called out. "You did? Where?"

"The Pioneer trial," Isaac answered, his gaze on the distant sky. "It took place in a Quarantine Dimension, and apparently, if I failed, I would have been trapped in this Broken Realm forever. At least that's what the Interface told me."

Almost absolute silence followed this admission. Only Elaine's quiet, thoughtful hum could be heard.

"So, to sum it up," she began. "Broken Realm is… well, a separate realm from where we are now. We do not know how large it is, but it has multiple levels with different ranks. And to end it all, you can get trapped there forever."

"So like a prison," James commented.

"But for what?" Elaine continued, frowning. "For monsters? The Broken Strain? If that's the case, why are we fighting it? Why is it being let out? Doesn't make much sense to me."

"Because we don't have all the information," Isaac said. "Or this is just one big game to some beings way beyond our understanding."

"And here I thought I was supposed to be the pessimist today," James muttered.

Isaac snorted. "Either way, no point in overthinking it now. We're just guessing, and that never ends well. Let's just take a five to rest, and then we can continue. I will be back in a moment."

Before his team could question him about what he meant by that, he transformed and shot into the sky. With each beat of his wings, he climbed higher and higher until the edge of the blue barrier was within his reach. Then, with one more push, he shot through it, sending a shiver down his spine as some weird energy washed over his body.

Whoa… Why is it so damn cold?

The difference between the inside and outside of the Safe Zone was like night and day. One moment, he was comfortably warm, and in the next one, the air bit at him like ice, almost freezing the edges of his wings.

Even worse, a sudden weight settled over him once he passed the barrier. It wasn't as suffocating or vile as a Quarantine Site's aura, but it still made him feel strange. It was almost like the air here was thicker, heavier. And it definitely wasn't an altitude issue; he wasn't high enough for pressure to be a factor.

And what do we have here?

Now entering: No Man's Land.

The notification caught him by surprise. But he quickly got over it and tried to ask the Interface more about this new message. Of course, the entity remained silent. In hindsight, he shouldn't have expected anything else. He was literally flying above the Safe Zone. No man's land described this place quite well.

Time to go back, I guess.

After a final look at the ruins of Sacramento's outskirts beneath him, Isaac tucked his wings and dived back into the Safe Zone. The warmth returned right away, while the phantom weight vanished from his shoulders.

There was definitely something strange going on here.

"Home sweet home," Isaac muttered as Galt's first buildings—or what was left of them—came into view. Just like the road they used to come here, the city ahead was barely recognizable, especially now after the sun had disappeared behind the horizon.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Sure, Galt wasn't completely dark, but it was close. A few scattered flashlights and the faint glow of small fires or lanterns were the only things keeping it from becoming a ghost town.

"Looks like they are doing fine," James commented as they passed yet another small group of survivors.

This had been happening for over an hour now. Where exactly those people were going this late, they had no idea. They could have asked, but after jogging for over four hours, none of them were in the mood for small talk. They just wanted to reach their destination, check in with Daryl, and get some rest before the arrival of the next stage.

"Think there is a split in the group?" Elaine asked, eyeing a roadside camp of three shabby tents. An older man sitting outside gave them a silent nod as they passed.

"No," Isaac said, keeping his voice low. "With no Wretched anywhere close, there is no reason for everyone to stay in one place. It's probably for the best, too."

Elaine hummed. "Maybe you're right. I still think sticking together is the safer call. You can never know…"

With that, Isaac couldn't argue. In the end, Wretched weren't the only threat in this world. And even if they were, he still didn't trust the Interface to keep them safe. Too many lies.

Not my problem, though. It's Daryl's call on how he wants to run things—assuming he's still the one in charge.

The deeper they went into Galt, the more smaller camps popped up at the sides of the streets. Some looked deserted, while others buzzed with quiet life. At the very least, not many people paid attention to their group. Aside from some looks and nods thrown in their direction, they went ignored.

"This doesn't look too bad," James commented as the main camp appeared in their sight.

Unlike what they saw on the way here, this place was as alive as it could be. People were milling about, talking, testing their skills, or just running around without a reason—though those were mostly kids. Light also wasn't a problem here. Electric lamps connected by a spiderweb of cables lit the area in soft yellow light.

Daryl obviously must have gotten more generators running. The question was, how long would they survive?

Isaac shook his head. Again, not his problem.

"James? Isaac?!" a very familiar voice pulled him back to reality. "What are you doing here?"

At once, the three of them turned toward the source, and there she was. Marie, looking no worse than when they were leaving, a small plastic crate in her hands. Her eyes were wide as she looked at them.

"Ari!" James exclaimed, pushing toward the small woman. He took the crate out of her hands, put it down, and pulled her into a tight hug. "How are you, my fair lady?"

Meanwhile, Isaac and Elaine shared a look, rolled their eyes, and approached the duo.

Marie returned the hug at first, but after a few seconds, she started pushing against him. "All right, let me go, you dumb oaf. I've missed you too, all right?"

James laughed and stepped back. "It's good to be back."

"I'm sure." Marie smiled and turned to pull Isaac into a brief hug. "Good to see you, Isaac." Once they separated, she nodded to Elaine. "You too, Miss Blake."

"Just Elaine is fine," the taller woman replied.

Marie nodded again, but as she looked them over, her expression shifted. A small frown crept onto her face. "Where's Mr. Thomson? Already went off on his own?"

That made them all flinch, and the woman before them didn't miss it. Her frown deepened. "What? What's with those faces? What happened?"

"Tyler is dead, Ari," James muttered, his gaze downcast.

Marie's eyes widened. "What? How? Is this about the Guardian notification we all received earlier today?" She shook her head. "No, never mind. Are you all okay?"

James offered her a weak smile. "Getting better. Don't worry about it."

She scoffed. "Don't worry, he says…" She turned to Isaac. "Does Mr. West or Cooper know about this already?"

He shook his head. "No. We just arrived. You know where they are?"

Marie nodded and motioned for them to follow. "Cooper is still out of town, but Mr. West should be in his tent with his family. This way."

And so they trailed after her, moving through the labyrinth of tents and people. Finally, they arrived in the backyard of a collapsed house, which Isaac was pretty sure belonged to Daryl. There, Marie approached a large tent and knocked on one of its supporting beams.

They didn't have to wait long for someone to come out.

"Marie?" Mrs. West—Mia—poked her head out with a smile. "What can I do for you, dear?"

The younger woman looked over her shoulder and gestured to Isaac and his team. Mrs. West's eyes widened in recognition.

"Oh my! You're back. Give me a moment. I will get my husband."

With that, she disappeared back into the tent, leaving them all befuddled. Isaac would have laughed if not for the news they were bringing.

"Think she noticed?" Elaine muttered close to his ear.

He shook his head. "No. Definitely not."

A moment later, the flap lifted again, and both Wests stepped out. Daryl only needed one look at their group and faces to realize something was wrong. He turned to his wife and whispered something in her ear. Mia nodded and returned inside.

"I'm glad to see you back, but something is telling me you aren't here to bring me just good news," Daryl stated, taking another look around the backyard. "Where's Tyler?"

Something must have shown on their faces again, as it didn't take long for him to realize the truth. "Oh…" he let out quietly. "What happened?"

As the one who knew Daryl the best here, Isaac stepped forward. "The Guardian. It wasn't just a fight—it was a slaughter. Hundreds died."

The older man's eyes widened a bit. "Come, you all," he said quickly. "Let's not talk here. No reason to let others overhear something like that."

Isaac nodded, and after gesturing to the others, they all followed Daryl out of the backyard. They went out of the camp and into the growing darkness. Once it became certain there was no one else close by, they sat in the ruins of some random house.

"What happened?"

Just two words, but they were more than enough.

Isaac began explaining everything that had happened on their journey to Sacramento. Elaine and James helped, while Marie and Daryl listened to everything that left their mouths. Before long, they reached the fight with the Minotaur and what came after.

Silence followed as Elaine recounted just how many people had died.

"I…" Daryl shook his head. "I don't even know what to say. 'Sorry you had to go through that' doesn't seem to cut it." He scoffed. "I cannot even imagine such power. For hundreds to face it and still almost fail. And Tyler, too… he was a good man."

"He was," James muttered.

"Dammit," Daryl cursed under his breath. "At least it's over. But losing so many peop—"

He was cut off as yet another alarm siren boomed above their head. Isaac looked up, looking for an answer on the blue barrier. Yet, there was nothing there. Instead, another notification arrived.

Attention all new Hosts of the 49th Cycle! Hibernation Stage is officially over. Do not fret; do not panic. The time for answers shall arrive soon. Pre-Integration Stage transmission will begin in <47m:43s>, directed by the one and only Overlord Broadcast. Take this time to familiarize yourself with the Interface and the powers you now wield.

Good luck! The games shall begin soon!

Isaac blinked as he reread the message again and again.

What?

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