Threads Beneath the Moon

Chapter 14: Threads Beneath the Moon

Leaves snapped under Robert's boots as he sprinted through the misty underbrush. A blistering heat pulsed behind him—the Red Basilisk had caught his scent. Its hiss split the air like a war horn.

"Dammit," Robert muttered, ducking under a low branch. "I told them splitting up was a bad idea."

The forest around him warped—his perception shifting as memory and illusion bled into each other. He activated Astral Thread, weaving small distortions in the path behind him, illusions of himself branching off, sprinting in opposite directions.

But the Red Basilisk wasn't fooled for long.

A branch above cracked. The beast loomed atop a stone outcropping, its massive, plated body gleaming crimson in the afternoon sun. Its seven eyes glowed like molten rubies, locked on him.

Its tongue lashed out, snapping a tree in half.

Then—

"DUCK!"

The voice rang out through the air, urgent, unfamiliar. Robert dove to the ground just as a boulder-like fist slammed down, not on him—but on the basilisk.

CRUNCH.

A humanoid golem, ten feet tall, shimmering with arcane runes and dusted in moss, grappled the creature. The two titans collided—stone and scale grinding in a violent wrestle.

Before Robert could question who had sent the golem, something even stranger happened.

A shimmering veil pulled across the sky, and from its folds stepped a ghost-like creature, translucent, robed, with a spiraling mask of moonlight. It radiated memory magic, the kind that didn't just confuse—but rewrote perception. The Red Basilisk reeled, its claws swiping at illusions, momentarily dazed.

Robert's eyes narrowed. "Not an illusion I made. Then whose...?"

A rustle echoed behind him. More students emerged from the mist—Kaelin Voss in half-dragon form, flanked by Meloy and Arlo. Steven jogged behind, knives at the ready, sweat dripping despite his casual smile. Sana, Ryll, Ivan, and Leihara formed the second rank.

Tessaline Vire arrived last, breath even, gaze sharp. She didn't speak, but nodded toward Robert. "You're leading this, right?"

Robert blinked. "I... yeah. Yeah, I am."

The basilisk recovered, smashing the golem aside with a violent tail sweep.

"FRONTLINE," Robert shouted. "Hold the beast!"

Kaelin surged forward, glaive spinning, releasing arcs of storm Qi. Meloy slammed down his shield, spreading Verdant Barkwall across the clearing, while Arlo deployed another golem—this one smaller, spikier, faster.

"Midfield! Lock it down!"

Ivan vanished in a puff of shadow, reappearing on the basilisk's back with Phantom Stitch already embedding in its scales. Ryll darted around its legs, drawing blood with rapid strikes. Leihara chanted sylvan words, laying down runic snares that glowed like emeralds. Sana's spirit gauntlets blazed, fists colliding with seismic force into the beast's tail, pushing it back.

"Support group, focus!" Robert barked, forming complex Celestial Threads in the air with glowing gestures. "Steven—buff the frontline!"

"Already on it," Steven said, slicing the air with his cleaver. Flames and golden mist burst around Kaelin, Meloy, and Arlo, enhancing speed, strength, and focus.

Tessaline Vire stood near Robert, silver time-sigils pulsing across her arms. "We'll need a finishing blow. I'll delay its senses—you shatter them."

"Understood." Robert's eyes glowed faintly. The Dwarf Moon Neros shimmered in his mind, three of its seven phases burning behind his irises. Celestial Map—Delta Lyra Sector... activate.

The battle dragged—midfield was nearly overrun twice. Ivan was bleeding from the shoulder, Ryll's breathing was sharp and shallow, and even Kaelin's scales were chipped.

"Defenses are cracking!" Steven yelled, cooking up a new field meal while dodging a tail strike. "Ten more seconds and they're toast!"

Tessaline's fingers arced lightning-fast as she invoked her spell.

"Chains of Time: Temporal Imprisonment!"

The air snapped into stillness. Gold-and-blue time anchors spiraled from her hands, binding the Red Basilisk's limbs. Time slowed around it—its movements fractured, delayed, bent.

But the spell was already unraveling—too much raw mass and power.

Robert closed his eyes, pulling from the sky, from the past, from the stars themselves. He whispered:

"The Threads of the World Cannot Be Broken."

Seven silvery strands rose around him, shimmering with moonlight. Each one glowed like the mark of a god, converging toward the basilisk.

"Moon Shards: Final Pattern — Starfall Entanglement."

The sky cracked open—actual shards of light fell, weaving through the Threads, aimed like arrows toward the creature's core.

The combined spells struck true.

With a deafening screech and a blinding pulse of energy, the Red Basilisk fell—entangled, frozen, severed from the flow of time and light. Its seven eyes dimmed, and it collapsed, half-sunken into the forest floor.

Silence followed.

Then—cheers, shouts, panting relief.

"We did it," Ryll muttered, slumping to the ground.

"That was one hell of a spell," said Sana, patting Robert on the back.

Kaelin turned, bruised but steady. "You're a strategist. A dangerous one."

But before celebration could take root, a new tremor rippled through the trees.

Everyone turned.

A smaller basilisk burst from the underbrush, covered in soot and leaves, hissing—but not attacking.

Instead, it bounded past the frontline. Sana raised her gauntlets, but Robert raised a hand. "Wait. It's not aggressive."

The beast ran straight to Steven, stopping inches from him.

Steven blinked. "Ah. Right."

Everyone stared.

Robert spoke first. "Steven. You want to explain...?"

Steven rubbed the back of his neck, sheepish. "So, during the start of the test, I kinda... found a basilisk egg."

"You what?" Ivan blurted.

"I made a Beastaming Pact with it. Didn't know it would trigger the mother. Oops."

The small basilisk nuzzled his leg like a puppy, and he gave it a scratch under the chin. "I named her Smoky. She's a good girl."

The others groaned.

Robert just stared, then laughed. "Of course. You cooked a bonding meal, didn't you?"

"I made it spicy. She liked it."

Before more questions could be asked, glowing blue sigils rose from the treetops—the completion signal. A second later, holographic panels shimmered across the clearing.

FINAL RESULTS DISPLAYED:

Astralis Academy – Forest Trial Rankings: S-Class Inductees (Top 15 Students)

1st – [Name Withheld] – Classified Record – Achievement: Unknown

2nd – [Name Withheld] – Classified Record – Achievement: Unknown

3rd – Dr. Robert Starfield – Strategic Kill of Red Basilisk with Multi-Team Coordination

4th – Tessaline Vire – Chrono-locking E-rank Drake Solo with Time Prison

5th – Barun of Zar'aleth – Solo Kill of E-rank Bone Reaper – Dual Necrosteel Execution

6th – Kaelin Voss – Storm Qi Frontline Leadership

7th – Ryll Mosswood – High Mobility Execution + Lightning Reflex Recovery Operations

8th – Ivan Venn – Midfield Surgical Strike – Shadow Cloak/Disruption

9th – Leihara El'Venn – Defensive Field Control / Healing Ward Construction

10th – Steven Cross – Combat Buffing & Basilisk Pact Completion

11th – Meloy Conners – Defensive Root Bastion + Heal Rotation

12th – Sana Cruz – Empathic Aggression Transfer & Anchor Punch Support

13th – Arlo Reyes – Combat Golem Deployment / Support Fire Engineering

14th – Mirae Thornbell – Aether Bow User from Vaelrin Expanse (Long-Range Confirmed Hit on D-rank Beast)

15th – Zayn Loress – Glassblade Duelist from The Maw Below (1v1 Victory Over Awakened Pantherkin E +)

Juno Wraithvale – Human Chrono-Gunner from Cresciaa – High accuracy, but no E-rank kills. Flag collected 15 plus l.

Theren Nightshade – Beastkin Tracker – F-rank monster control; great fieldwork control.

Kass Fenmere – Hybrid Human – Alchemical Slinger – Support-heavy performance. Little to no offense.

Vylra Dentari – Elf Illusionist – Disoriented foes but lacked final execution in crucial moments.

Mako Greel – Dwarf from Rooted Reach – Rune Shieldbearer – Relies on Excellent defense, few offensive contributions to team and Solo fights.

Naomi Kess – Human (Earth) – Sonic Dancer – Crowd control, no beast kills but 20 flags recovered.

Orin Duskwing – Skyborn – Wind Magus – Dispersed enemies, but relied heavily on group attack.

Lina Trevane – Beastkin Spearfighter – Good mobility, overwhelmed by mid-battle chaos.

Bragg Stonehelm – Dwarf – Hammermaster – Crushed multiple G-rank threats, poor teamwork and attitude.

Fen Sato – Beastman– Gunmetal Alchemist – Strong offense but erratic aim under stress bad precision.

As the names shimmered in the air, several students turned to Robert.

"Third…" Ivan said, adjusting his torn cloak. "Who the hell beat you?"

Robert frowned. "That's the problem—I don't know. Their records are hidden."

"Probably nobles," Ryll muttered.

"Or worse," Kaelin added, eyes narrowed.

Tessaline glanced at the ranked list. "If they're first and second in this year's test, then they're dangerous. Hidden or not."

Steven looked at the bottom of the list. "Hey, at least we all made it. Fifteen out of hundreds, right?"

Meloy offered a tired smile. "Guess we're officially elite student now."

They stood as one, surrounded by fading light and lingering exhaustion. The forest faded completely as the return glyphs pulled them into the Academy gates.

---

Cut to: Monitoring Room – Astralis Academy

Principal Raevius Altharn stood with arms crossed, eyes gleaming as the battle replay unfolded in a projection behind him.

Professors, examiners, and regional envoys stood watching silently.

"They're rough," muttered one instructor. "No polish. But they work together like they've been training for months."

"They've only been here a week," another replied. "Imagine them after a year."

Raevius sipped his tea. "I'm not imagining. I'm preparing for it."

He turned toward the projection.

"Because this year's students…" he said softly, as the Red Basilisk fell again in slow motion, "...will shape stop just this world future but everything they touch or put there minds two ."