3. Trial by blood

"Didn't think he'd be the first to awaken."

The remark came from one of the soldiers watching the monitors. His rifle was slung lazily over his shoulder, posture relaxed despite the carnage unfolding on-screen.

"I didn't expect any of them to," another muttered, his hand resting on the sword at his waist. His tone was indifferent, like he was commenting on the weather rather than the bloodshed below.

On the monitor, 26B sat motionless near the corpse of the Vein Stalker. His body was caked in dried blood, but the only thing that truly mattered was his right arm Rift Claws pulsing faintly with unstable energy.

His left arm was gone, yet he was still here. Still breathing.

Captain Ryuji exhaled through his nose, a smirk tugging at his lips.

"This is normal for Fractured." His voice was casual, but there was a weight to it that made the room fall silent.

He leaned against the console, arms crossed, watching 26B with amusement.

"Half-human, half-Rift Creature. That's what they are. No matter how much they try to act like us, this was always going to happen."

No one spoke.

"This isn't some miracle. It's not luck. It's instinct." Ryuji's gaze flicked to the nervous younger recruit. "You act like he's special, but he's not. Any of them could have awakened first—it just happened to be him."

On the screen, 26B flexed his right hand, staring at it as if it belonged to someone else. His breathing was steady. His mind elsewhere.

"What happened to me?"

His whisper went unheard.

Back in the control room, Ryuji chuckled.

"They'll all awaken, eventually. Some sooner than others. Some won't last long enough to." His smirk widened. "That's the beauty of it, don't you think?"

No one answered.

The trial continued. More bodies fell.

But none of them looked away from 26B.

"10 had entered the arena."

"How many were left?"

A low hum filled the air as monitors flickered, displaying live feeds of the surviving test subjects. Rift Response Division officers stood at their stations, watching the trials unfold in silence.

Commander Ryuji stood at the center, arms crossed, eyes locked onto the largest screen. A smirk played at his lips.

"Six remain."

He said it like a passing thought—like he was talking about the weather, not the deaths of five people.

One of the younger officers hesitated. "The casualty rate is already over sixty percent…"

Ryuji barely acknowledged him. His gaze shifted to one of the monitors

A jagged stone pillar crumbled under the force of the Rift Creature's strike, sending debris crashing into the bloodstained ground.

14A wiped sweat from her brow, gritting her teeth. "This thing won't go down."

The Rift Creature—a hunched, wolf-like beast with exposed muscle and six burning eyes—let out a guttural snarl. Its elongated limbs tensed, ready to pounce.

Beside her, 09C adjusted his grip on a rusted metal pipe. His face gave nothing away.

"Move when it does," he muttered.

14A shot him a glare. "You're acting real calm for someone about to die."

09C didn't react. "If you have time to complain, you have time to think."

She scoffed, rolling her shoulders. "Yeah? You better start thinking fast, then."

The creature lunged.

14A barely rolled aside in time, cursing under her breath. 09C sidestepped effortlessly, almost lazily. The pipe in his hand swung like an afterthought, cracking against the creature's forelimb. A sharp snap echoed as its joint dislocated, making it stumble.

But it wasn't enough.

The Rift Creature let out a shriek, its limb twisting back into place with a sickening pop. Then—

It vanished.

A blur of motion. A flash of fangs.

14A barely had time to gasp before claws raked across her stomach. Blood splattered the ground.

"Not good—"

09C reacted instantly, grabbing her collar and yanking her back. The creature's second strike missed her throat by inches, its claws carving deep into the stone where she had stood.

14A winced, clutching her stomach. "This thing's getting faster."

09C's cold gray eyes never left the creature.

It was adapting.

[Observation Deck ]

"14A and 09C are struggling."

One of the higher-ranking officers tapped at the monitor, narrowing his eyes. "The creature's learning."

Shiori Asano crossed her arms. "No. It's testing them."

The young recruit from before hesitated. "Do you think they'll make it?"

Commander Ryuji chuckled. "14A's reckless. She won't last long." He gestured toward 09C. "But that one… he's interesting."

The air was thick with the stench of decay. Blood pooled in the cracks of the ruined floor, mixing with dirt and shattered debris.

A Rift Creature loomed over two figures.

It wasn't like the others.

Its body was stretched and warped, as if something had torn it apart and put it back together wrong. Its face still had traces of something human—twisted beyond recognition. Its jaw hung open, revealing layers of needle-thin teeth. Its empty eye sockets leaked black fluid. Its arms dragged against the ground, ending in clawed, bony fingers.

It wasn't moving. Just watching. Waiting.

Subject 12F shivered, gripping the metal shard in his hands. "I—I don't think we can kill that."

Beside him, Subject 07B remained still. His dark eyes were unreadable. "Then don't think."

12F swallowed hard. "Easy for you to say."

The creature lunged.

12F screamed.

07B moved first, shoving him aside as a clawed hand ripped through the air where he'd been standing. The shockwave from the impact sent cracks through the ground.

"Get up," 07B ordered.

12F scrambled to his feet, gripping his weapon tightly. His breathing was ragged. "I—I can't do this—"

07B didn't look at him. "Then you'll die first."

The words barely had time to settle before—

A wet, sickening tear filled the air.

12F gasped. His body jerked. His weapon clattered to the ground.

He looked down.

A gaping hole where his stomach had been.

His breath hitched. Blood poured from his lips. His arms twitched as he reached toward 07B, eyes wide with terror.

Then—

The Rift Creature grabbed his upper body.

And ripped him in half.

A grotesque snap echoed through the arena. Blood splattered across the cracked ground. His lifeless eyes remained frozen in horror.

07B didn't react.

He exhaled slowly, tightening his grip on his broken blade.

"Weak ones die first."

Then he moved.

07B darted forward, weaving through the creature's attacks. His cold precision took over—analyzing, adapting. Each strike was calculated, every movement designed to exploit a weakness.

The Rift Creature swung. He dodged.

It lunged. He countered.

It learned.

So did he.

His strikes became sharper, faster. A deep cut across its torso. Another along its limb. A third against its jaw.

It reeled back, screeching.

He could win this.

He just had to—

His foot caught against a jagged rock.

His body lurched forward.

For the first time, his eyes widened.

A clawed hand rammed through his chest.

07B gasped. His body convulsed as his lungs collapsed, blood flooding his throat.

The Rift Creature didn't hesitate.

It crushed him.

His form twisted, contorted—then snapped.

His last thought before everything faded:

"Tch… should've moved faster."

Observation Deck - RRD

Ryuji smirked.

"Four remain."

The young recruit swallowed hard, his face pale. The screens flickered, the bodies of 07B and 12F lying in pools of blood. Silence settled over the control room, thick with the weight of inevitability.

"They're dropping faster than expected," one officer murmured.

Shiori Asano remained unreadable, her gaze shifting to another monitor. "Not all of them."

The feed refocused on 26B.

He was still sitting near the Vein Stalker's corpse. Still staring at his right hand. His Rift Claws pulsed erratically—unstable, but growing stronger.

He had barely moved since his awakening. The others fought desperately, clinging to survival, yet he remained still.

Not out of fear.

Not out of exhaustion.

He was thinking.

Testing his own body. Feeling the flow of Rift Energy coursing through him.

Finally, he exhaled, his breath steady. His grip tightened. The unstable energy around his claws condensed, flickering between forms—sharp and jagged one second, smooth and refined the next. Controlled.

A realization settled in his eyes.

Something cold.

Something dangerous.

Then, slowly, he rose to his feet.

Ryuji's smirk widened.

"Oh? Looks like he's finally getting serious."

The trial wasn't over.

Not yet.