the shifting wastes (1)
After everyone read over their new weapons and armor, they saw Phineas hop into the black portal.
"OK, everyone—remember what Guild Master Phineas said!" a person yelled, and many others agreed loudly.
This made the group realize they'd been so engrossed in their new gear that they'd missed the full instructions from Phineas.
"Umm, hey… you mind repeating what he said?" Riven whispered to Emmett.
"What? Phineas's voice is as loud as a horn—how did you not hear him?" Emmett questioned.
"I blanked out."
"Phineas said he was going to scout for five minutes. After that time has passed, we follow him into the portal. Me and you guys are the last ones to go so the others can get set up to protect us," Emmett answered. While he spoke, Riven began relaying the instructions to the group through their telepathic link.
When he looked at them, they offered subtle nods to show they understood and stepped back.
"Hey… I don't want to be a buzzkill or doubt Guild Master Phineas…but who are those people? Those hooded figures—they cover their faces so well I can't see any features. By their height, they might be kids," a man asked as they moved toward the portal while others jumped through.
"Most likely Phineas's spies from the Academy. Maybe he brought them here for experience," the woman next to him suggested.
"But don't they already have experience? Remember at the debriefing, Phineas said the Academy put kids on an outing, even though they weren't second-years," another woman added. "Then they spun that cover story. Most older folks in Wallborn don't even know about other worlds. Who's to say the kids graduating from the Academy don't tell their parents? Most of us didn't learn about other worlds until our evolutions got us into guilds," she continued.
"Truthfully, none of that matters to us. Guild Master Phineas wants us to protect them, so we will. What happened to those first-years was tragic, but they need to wake up—they must realize this world is not all sunshine and rainbows." With that, their group entered the portal.
"Hey—did you guys hear them talking about us, or was it just me?" Tessa asked.
"Oh no, I heard them," Leo replied. "I just don't care."
"How good is your hearing? I saw them glancing at us a few times, but I didn't hear any actual talking," Emmett said, confused.
"It's nothing, anyway," Jordan said, trying to calm him down. He could tell Emmett was on edge. They all were—after the last outing, they'd thought it might be their last. Yet here they were again.
The group arrived at the portal entrance. Once they got the go-ahead from the person stationed there, they jumped in.
⸻
Back at the Academy
Harkel sat with his brother in the dean's office.
"Was there something you wanted?" Harkel asked.
Axel answered by punching Harkel, slamming him into the door—surprisingly, it didn't break.
"What was that for?!" Harkel yelled.
"Why didn't you come see me after the outing? I had to get a full report from the deans and the principal to understand what went down," Axel said, visibly worried and angry.
"Why send us there at all? You knew outings were only for second-years, yet you sent us—with teachers! Now look what happened: only a quarter of first-years remain, most of our teachers are dead, and one squad was nearly wiped out. Only one teacher survived. How do you explain that?" Harkel argued. It shocked Axel—his little brother had never confronted him like this before.
Axel sighed.
"Truthfully, I'm just glad you came back alive," he said, forcing a small smile.
"Mr. Sable, my homeroom teacher, explained how things work in the other worlds. So… how do you explain all this? Most of the first-year students and teachers are dead—how do you tell their parents that?" Harkel asked.
Axel fell silent.
"Can't tell you that, lil' bro…"
"But I told Dad, and he said he was proud of you," Axel continued, sitting at his desk. Harkel paused—this was the first time he remembered Dad saying proud in reference to him. He hardened his face and sat down again.
"So… what do you want? I know it wasn't just to talk about me surviving. You could've asked sooner. So what is it?"
Axel sighed once more.
"You and the other surviving first-years are being bumped up to second-years."
"What?!" Harkel yelled.
"Yeah. Since you survived an outing, the school wants you in second-year classes as well. In three days, the remaining first-years will take an assessment. You and your friends will likely be placed in the Awakening Class—designed to help those who've reached first-stage awakenings adjust to their new powers and aim for the next stage. With your true awakening form—and rumored true forms from your friends—you're all guaranteed a spot. But be careful: the second-years aren't happy about new kids awakening early and true. Don't cause trouble," Axel warned, his concern clear.
Harkel nodded, ready to leave—but Axel stopped him again.
"Stay safe. Also… watch out for a girl named Samantha. She probably hates you most," Axel said with a hard-won smile.
As Harkel exited, he saw Wren in the hallway as if she'd been waiting for him.
"So… what did you find out?" he asked.
They compared notes and realized they'd been told the same things.
"Oh yeah—before I left, my brother told me to watch out for a girl named Samantha. Said she hates us the most," Harkel added with a grin. He wasn't taking it too seriously.
Just before the exit, they were stopped by a third-year girl.
"Say the devil's name and she appears," she sneered. They both recognized her uniform which means she was a third-year student.
⸻
Back in the Shifting Wastes
When the students jumped through the portal, they stood still—surrounded by a crowd that formed a rough barricade. Riven and the others stepped forward unimpeded, but Emmett struggled before vomiting on the ground.
"You owe me 1000 units!" a woman yelled.
"Dang—I thought all of them would manage to hold it in!" another man shouted, swiping his wrist to transfer payment to her.
At the back of the barricade stood the same group who had spoken about them earlier.
"This proves it—at least one of them is clearly a student. Or someone who's never entered a portal. But I don't believe Guild Master Phineas would bring someone that weak," the woman declared as others nodded in agreement.
They laughed at Emmett—but the student group helped him up andgave him time to acclimate to the terrain.
The world they'd arrived in was known as the Shifting Wastes, a chaotic desert where dunes moved like tides. Every few hours, the terrain transformed—valleys becoming hills, flatlands sinking into hidden ravines. The sand shimmered with golden flecks and rippled as if something alive slithered beneath. The wind carried a whisper-like hum, and strange rock spires jutted unpredictably from the ground.
Heat shimmered on the horizon. Above, the sky was a pale, dusty yellow—crystal clouds floated overhead, sparking with static energy. Lightning cracked without warning, striking the ground and fusing into molten glass.
"This is inhumane—no one could live here," Jude commented. "I don't even think beasts could live here naturally."
"You're right," a man replied. "Beasts probably couldn't live here originally—but they adapted. And that adaptation made them powerful. The lowest-level beasts out here are Level 8."
Phineas began to speak, but a sudden crack caused everyone to look up. A bolt of lightning shot down from the clouds—aiming straight at Riven. It was too fast; he couldn't react. And it was huge—enough to kill the entire group.
Yet in a flash, they were all teleported out of harm's way.
"Good job with that teleportation, Riven," Jordan thought, through the telepathic channel.
"That wasn't me," Riven responded.
A woman appeared before them.
"I don't know who you are, but Guild Master Phineas assigned us to protect you. So we will. But you need to stay on guard while you're here, got it?" she said, and the group nodded—even Emmett.
Many nearly dropped to their knees; their lives had flashed before them.
"Get up," the woman snapped. "You need to be ready to fend for yourselves—we may not always be able to protect you."
Her words hit hard. They all stood up, even Emmett. He was used to fear after nearly dying to wolves—but this place felt so much more frightening.
The group formed a protective circle around the students as they began moving.
"What exactly are we doing here?" Riven yelled.
"Did you not pay attention?" someone snapped.
"The Evolaris Family wants us to collect five Level‑9-or-under gemstones, and two Level‑10 gemstones," Phineas said.
"He says it like it's casual," Tessa muttered.
"He knows it's not. He's probably the most afraid of all of us. He realizes this was a ploy by the Evolaris Family to thin our ranks. That's why we're all on guard—and why none of us even thinks about a break," the woman explained.
Suddenly, the guild snapped to attention.
"What's happenin—" Riven was cut off as a massive purple snake-like beast burst from beneath the shifting sands.
Riven locked on with his skill.
Level 8 beast.
The beast lunged at one of the guildmates. Riven tried to stop it using gravity, but it broke free easily and continued its rampage. The woman stepped forward with dual longswords and attacked.
"Too shallow," she whispered as the beast struck back. It forced her toward a shard of glass. Just then, Phineas appeared, lifting her out of harm's way.
"Fall."
At his command, the beast slammed into the ground, forming a deep crater. Then Phineas leapt and aimed a mace strike at its head—but the scales resisted.
"Rewind."
At his word, the serpent's scales softened. It tried to rise—but Phineas struck again, smashing its skull.
Purple blood spattered across his face.
"Someone take the gemstone out of this beast," Phineas said, walking away. A guildmate stepped forward and extracted the gem into a sack.
The group resumed walking.
⸻
Far above—so high even Phineas couldn't sense it—a green beast soared through the air like a rocket. Luckily, it hadn't spotted the group.
As they moved on, their pace slowed.
"Hey Riven, you see this?" Jude asked.
"Yeah… Harkel and Wren's HP dropped a ton."