The gate to Floor Three opened slowly.

  Cold air poured through the stone corridor beyond it.

  No one moved at first.

  The players who had survived the previous floors stood in uneasy silence, staring into the darkness ahead.

  The hallway beyond the gate was narrow and dim. Torches burned along the walls, casting long shadows across the stone.

  Someone behind Yuna whispered,

  “Another dungeon…”

  No one sounded excited this time.

  Floor One had been chaos.

  Floor Two had nearly killed them.

  Everyone understood the truth now.

  The Tower was not a game.

  It was a filter.

  And most people would not survive it.

  Yuna stepped forward first.

  Her twin spirit blades rested quietly in her hands.

  Jin followed a few steps behind her, silent as always.

  The rest of the survivors slowly began moving as well.

  Only about twenty people remained from the original entrance chamber.

  The others had died along the way.

  The corridor stretched forward for several minutes before finally opening into a wide stone doorway.

  Beyond it waited something completely different.

  A forest.

  But not a normal one.

  The sky above the trees glowed a dim purple twilight. Thick fog crawled across the forest floor like slow moving smoke.

  Massive black trees rose high into the darkness.

  The branches twisted together so tightly that very little light reached the ground.

  The entire forest felt… wrong.

  Unnatural.

  Yuna stepped across the threshold.

  The moment her foot touched the soil, a voice echoed in her mind.

  System message.

  Floor three reached.

  Dungeon type: hunting forest.

  Survive until the exit gate appears.

  The message vanished.

  For a moment nothing happened.

  The players looked around nervously.

  “Survive?” someone muttered.

  “That’s it?”

  No objective.

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  No enemies.

  Just a silent forest.

  The fog shifted slowly between the trees.

  A branch cracked somewhere in the distance.

  Everyone froze.

  Then the forest exploded into chaos.

  Something lunged from the fog.

  A black shape slammed into one of the players near the back of the group.

  The man screamed as claws ripped across his chest.

  Blood sprayed across the ground.

  “MONSTERS!”

  More shapes emerged from the darkness.

  Wolf-like creatures with glowing yellow eyes burst out from between the trees.

  Stalker wolves.

  They moved like shadows.

  Fast.

  Silent.

  Deadly.

  Players scattered instantly.

  Weapons clashed.

  Screams echoed through the forest.

  Yuna moved before the panic spread further.

  Her blades flashed.

  One wolf lunged toward her.

  She stepped sideways and cut through its neck in one smooth strike.

  The monster collapsed in the fog.

  Another wolf circled behind her.

  Jin’s sword cut it down before it could attack.

  He didn’t say a word.

  More monsters appeared deeper in the forest.

  The fog shifted as shapes moved through it.

  Too many.

  This floor wasn’t a simple fight.

  It was a hunt.

  And the players were the prey.

  A man nearby shouted,“Run!”

  Half the survivors fled deeper into the forest.

  Yuna clenched her jaw.

  Running blindly would only make things worse.

  But it was already too late.

  Another scream echoed through the trees.

  Then another.

  The forest swallowed the sound.

  Yuna scanned the darkness quickly.

  Movement everywhere.

  The monsters were circling.

  Watching.

  Waiting.

  Then she heard something else.

  A voice.

  “Stay still! I’m trying!”

  It came from deeper inside the fog.

  Yuna turned toward the sound.

  Through the mist she saw a small group of players gathered near the base of a large tree.

  One man lay on the ground.

  Blood soaked his armor.

  Kneeling beside him was a young woman.

  Golden light glowed from her hands.

  Healing magic.

  “Just hold on,” she said desperately.

  “I almost have it.”

  The wounded man gasped for air.

  His breathing was uneven.

  Too much blood.

  Yuna’s steps slowed.

  The scene triggered a memory.

  A ruined street.

  Flames burning across the sky.

  Lily standing in the middle of chaos, healing injured civilians while monsters closed in.

  The same determined expression.

  The same desperate hope.

  The healer.

  Lily Aoki.

  The wound on his chest slowly began to close.

  For one brief moment it looked like the healing might work.

  Then the man’s body went still.

  The light faded.

  His eyes stared upward.

  Empty.

  The girl froze.

  “No…” Her voice cracked. “No, wait… I can still…”

  The forest moved.

  Three shadows burst from the fog behind her.

  Stalker wolves.

  They lunged.

  The girl didn’t even see them.

  Yuna moved.

  Her blade flashed.

  The first wolf dropped before it touched the ground.

  Jin appeared beside her.

  His sword cut through the second monster in a clean arc.

  The third wolf leapt toward the healer.

  Jin’s blade pierced it in midair.

  The creature collapsed at her feet.

  Silence returned for a moment.

  The girl stared at the dead monsters.

  Then slowly looked down at the man she had tried to save.

  “I… I almost…” Her voice faded.

  Yuna felt it then.

  A sudden pressure inside her mind.

  Not a full vision this time.

  Just fragments.

  A child laughing.

  A photograph held in trembling hands.

  A quiet voice in the dark.

  The echoes vanished instantly.

  Yuna inhaled sharply.

  Her chest tightened.

  Death Memory.

  It was happening again.

  But now the memories came in pieces.

  Sharper.

  Faster.

  More painful.

  The girl lowered her head.

  Her shoulders trembled.

  “I was too slow…”

  Yuna studied her quietly.

  She recognized that expression.

  Determination mixed with guilt.

  The same look Lily had always worn.

  Even in the previous timeline.

  Even on the day she died.

  More movement shifted in the fog.

  Jin glanced toward the trees.

  “They’re still here.”

  His sword rested loosely in his hand.

  Calm.

  Waiting.

  The forest answered him.

  Branches rustled.

  Leaves shifted.

  Shapes moved between the trunks.

  Yuna turned slowly.

  Yellow eyes opened in the fog.

  One pair.

  Then another.

  Then another.

  Dozens.

  The pack had surrounded them.

  The healer stiffened.

  Her voice came out small.

  “Th-that’s a lot…”

  Jin rolled his shoulder slightly.

  “Yeah.”

  He didn’t sound concerned.

  Yuna stepped forward.

  Her blades rose.

  The fog thickened as the monsters began to move.

  Slow.

  Patient.

  The hunt wasn’t over.

  It had only just begun.

  Jin glanced sideways at Yuna.

  “You planning to keep her alive?”

  Yuna didn’t hesitate.

  “Yes.”

  The healer looked up in surprise.

  Yuna extended a hand.

  “Stay behind us.”

  After a moment, the girl took it.

  The wolves began circling closer.

  Growls rumbled through the twilight forest.

  Jin lifted his sword.

  “Well.”

  His voice remained perfectly calm.

  “Looks like we found the main pack.”

  The fog shifted again.

  And deeper within the forest…

  Something much larger moved between the trees.

  The wolves suddenly stopped growling.

  As if waiting.

  Yuna’s eyes narrowed.

  Whatever was coming…

  It wasn’t just another monster.

  And it was getting closer.