What is that?

In the land of the Cursed, there were two main groups: the Vibe users and the civilians. The civilians were those who chose not to engage in combat or use their Vibe abilities. They decided to live regular lives. They focused on trades, education, economy, healthcare, food industries, engineering, infrastructure, and other professions that kept the society running. They made up the majority of the population.

Most of them lived in a large town called Velcrest—an island situated at the center of the land, surrounded by rivers and rough terrain. Velcrest was the largest non-combatant zone in the region. It served as a hub for business, education, and internal development. The MTO and the government's main face office were located there, although the military base and main academy were much farther south. Despite being a civilian zone, Velcrest played a major role in stabilizing the region's economy, especially through tech manufacturing, food production, energy distribution, and logistics.

To the east of Velcrest was the Thalron Bridge, a massive connection point that linked the island to major industrial areas. One of the first was Auralex Industries, a high-tech facility that worked closely with the MTO. Auralex specialized in Vibe-tech weapon enhancements, combat gear upgrades, and prototype equipment developed specifically for Vibe users.

Nearby was Zethral Labs, a more secretive facility focused on Curse manipulation, rare mutations, and experimental biological studies involving Vibe exposure. Zethral had a reputation. Most civilians didn't trust it. It was heavily secured, and rumors about strange experiments and missing test subjects were common.

There was also Cresco Point, a dockside zone responsible for shipping and logistics. It managed the movement of heavy cargo—military equipment, weapon stockpiles and industrial supplies. Large businesses in Velcrest relied on Cresco Point to keep their inventory stable and operations smooth.

To the west was the Ligard Bridge, which connected Velcrest to the more rural outskirts of the land. These were mostly underdeveloped countryside zones but still home to many locals. These included Frosted Valley, a cold and quiet region that earned its nickname from the weather; Duskmire, a once-thriving civil town that had fallen into lawlessness after the Draveth tribe vanished; Lightning Waterfalls, a cliffside area known for its intense currents; Little Garden, a small agricultural village; and Limbo Village, the forbidden land.

Limbo Village was believed to be surrounded by an unstable Curse field. It was off-limits. Dangerous. People stayed away. But that wasn't the truth, there was no such thing as a Curse field.

Hidden in its thick forest was the Council's headquarters—the highest governing authority in the land of the Cursed. Most people didn't even believe the Council existed. They were treated like a myth. But they were real. And from Limbo, they pulled the strings.

Farther south to Velcres, across the Lamard Bridge, was the MTO Base—a heavily guarded military zone. The base was also home to the Academy of Music, where Lyra and the other Band-In students had been training for years. They were supposed to graduate that day. The academy wasn't just a school; it was the starting point for every Vibe user. It trained, filtered, and sent out many into battle across the regions.

***

In Velcrest, the panic hadn't gone down. If anything, it had gotten worse. Sirens were still going off. Fires burned in the distance. Helicopters circled above, dropping ropes to pull people up, people mainly from the wealthier districts. The rich were already halfway gone.

On the ground, common folks overcrowded the streets.

"WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST! MOVE THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN!"

A man in MTO armor stood at the entrance of an underground shelter, yelling over the pandemonium. His voice was strained. His uniform was stained and dusty. The shield over his left arm was cracked, probably from blocking a hit earlier.

A barricade had been set up far in front of the sector entrance, a steel gate. The crowd was pressing against it, trying to shove their way through. People were yelling, pushing. Some were crying. Few had kids in their arms.

At the back of the crowd, more people were arriving, running as fast as they could. Behind them, distant roars—monsters getting closer.

A few MTO Vibe users were stationed along the path, fighting to hold the creatures back. Others were dragging injured civilians to the front, pointing them toward the sector entrance.

But the officer at the gate kept holding people off.

"Women and children first!" he repeated, pushing a man back with his hand.

The man was older, maybe in his fifties. "My wife's already inside! Please!"

"Not until all the women and children are in!" the officer gave him a side eye.

Another Vibe users ran up from the rear lines, a Resonator maybe, out of breath. "Captain, we've got a breach. Creatures are pushing past the barriers. We can't hold them for long."

The captain didn't turn. He waved another child and her mother through the gate. "Then hold them longer. We don't change protocol just because things get tough."

The young Resonator hesitated, then looked back at the road behind them. They were screaming. One of the Vibe users had fallen. A monster tackled him.

People started panicking even harder.

"They're coming!" someone screamed.

More civilians tried to force their way through. A few managed to slip past, sprinting for the stairwell. The MTO officer grabbed one and threw him back into the crowd. "Get in line!"

Another soldier shouted from afar. "Sir! At this rate, we're going to lose control. The civilians are going to trample each other!"

The captain didn't answer.

The young Rssonator beside him became furious. With anger, he looked at at captain dead in the eye and punched him hard on the face.

***

The Band-In group made their way toward Ligard Bridge. It was getting darker, but they kept walking, lined up behind the Harmonics.

"We've been walking for hours," one of the students sighed, sounding exhausted.

"Yeah… it's like there are no monsters anymore," another added.

"Maybe they killed all of 'em."

Lyra slowed down and turned to glance at the three who were talking. She squinted her eyes. "Wait a minute… why are these guys talking?"

Levi, just ahead of her, looked back. "Been wondering the same thing. Aren't they NPCs?"

"I know, right?" Lyra said, almost, "Eclipsed_Soul137… you motherfucker."

"Lyra," Goldie cut in from behind her, "I don't think it's a good idea to call our writer a motherfucker. He totally is… but like, just don't say it out loud."

"Wait a minute that's your take?" Camille turned. "She just called half our class NPCs."

"Ex-classmates," Michelle corrected casually. "And they're extras. I know it, you know, they know it."

"Know what, Camille? You should be thankful you're not one of 'em," Lyra said, giving her a wink. "Or… maybe."

Camille blinked. "Wait..... what was that? What'd she just do? Why'd she wink like that?"

Michelle sighed. "Come on. We really have to spell it out?"

"She just did the fourth wall thing," Goldie said.

Levi looked around. "You know… there might be, like, fifteen NPCs here."

"I'm pretty sure it's fourteen," Spencer said. He counted in his head.

Then paused.

"Oh.... Camille."

Camille turned slowly to look at him. "You know what? I hope we do get attacked. I hope you get torn in half."

Goldie patted her shoulder. "Don't take it personally. If it makes you feel better, half the people have weird AI generated last names like 'Virelle'."

"...Wait. My last name is Virelle."

Everyone went silent.

"…Oh no," Camille whispered.

"Keep quiet," Samuel said, his voice firm like always.

"Come on, Cap," Elira replied, "Don't you find them interesting?"

"They remind me of us when we were Echoists," Cale added with a small smile.

"No," Damon said, his tone cold as ice. "We weren't like this. Not in any way. I don't know if you've noticed, but they're pretty strong for Echoists. We didn't even come close."

That quieted the group for a second. Samuel didn't respond.

But then, he stopped walking.

"Silence," he said again.

Everyone behind him paused too. He raised one hand slowly.

Nox looked back and saw—

"WATCH OUT!!!!"