Chapter 2:Descent

Seol Ji-Hwan blinked as the blinding light above him pulsed like a broken strobe. The sky boiled with a blood-orange haze, casting long shadows across jagged, molten-black terrain. His chest heaved—every breath tasted like charcoal and metal. The stench was unbearable.

He was no longer in Seoul.

Not even close.

He sat up, disoriented, one hand pressed to the scorched ground. Heat radiated upward, biting at his palm through his clothes.

Where the hell am I...?

A low, ambient hum filled the air like a dying machine. His eyes narrowed at the surrounding rock formations—twisted, sharp things, shaped like ribs stabbing out of the earth. The ground cracked in some places, glowing faintly red beneath the surface. This place wasn't just foreign—it was hostile. Alive.

"This… isn't any place I've ever read about."

He stood slowly, still grounded in his analytical instincts. Mind racing, scanning for signs, threats, answers.

That's when the silhouette emerged—slow, deliberate steps echoing through the air. The heat didn't seem to touch him.

Ji-Hoon.

Same face. Same cocky smirk.

Except something was off.

"Yo," Ji-Hoon grinned. His tone was casual, but his eyes burned—literally. Flickers of orange danced behind his pupils. "Welcome to hell, little bro."

Ji-Hwan's jaw tightened. "What is this place?"

"The Demon Realm," Ji-Hoon replied, spreading his arms like a game show host. "Or, as they call this particular spot—The Maw. Trial grounds for the damned."

Ji-Hwan's eyes darkened. "Trial?"

Ji-Hoon nodded. "Yeah. Kill or be killed. No tutorials, no second chances."

"You've been here before."

"Long enough." He stretched his fingers, embers dancing across his skin. "Long enough to stop asking questions and start surviving."

Suddenly—

BOOOOM

The ground beneath them shuddered.

A voice thundered across the air—not from above, not from below, but inside their minds.

> "Trial One begins. All participants: Kill or die. The last one standing will receive the Key to the Demon Gate."

Ji-Hwan staggered slightly. The voice felt like it stabbed through his skull with each word. He exhaled sharply.

"No instructions? No judges?"

Ji-Hoon's mouth twisted. "What, you want a referee too?"

A rumble echoed in the distance.

A shadow passed overhead—followed by several.

Ji-Hwan turned slowly as grotesque figures emerged from behind the jagged cliffs. Hulking demon beasts, their flesh split open by protruding bone. Six arms, mouths where eyes should be. Dozens of them. More than that.

The other participants—the scattered group of people Ji-Hwan hadn't noticed until now—screamed. Some rushed forward like maniacs. Others fled into the shadows.

It was chaos.

"Welcome to the real tutorial," Ji-Hoon said, fire flaring in his hand. "Let's see who makes it out."

Without waiting, Ji-Hoon leapt into the fray. A wave of fire exploded from his palm, engulfing a demon in flames. He twisted midair, kicking another across the jaw with a burning heel. His movement was brutal—like he'd done this a hundred times already.

Ji-Hwan stood frozen. He hadn't awakened any power. He didn't even know if he had one.

The only thing he had was the memory of that devil's smile.

Ji-Hoon shouted without turning, "You'll figure it out, Ji-Hwan! Or you won't!"

The trial wasn't about fairness. It was a culling.

Screams echoed. A girl with glowing blue eyes was crushed by a demon's claw. Another guy tried to run—he didn't make it two steps before he was skewered by an axe-shaped tail.

Think.

Ji-Hwan ducked behind a warped boulder. His heart pounded in his ears. He checked his surroundings—no weapons, no map. Just the cracked earth and dying bodies around him.

A flicker of motion caught his eye.

A beast—sleek and low to the ground—crept toward him. Catlike. Its eyes gleamed with eerie intelligence. Muscles tensed, claws ready.

Ji-Hwan didn't run.

He grabbed a chunk of sharp bone protruding from the rock nearby. Not a weapon—but better than nothing.

The demon pounced.

Ji-Hwan rolled, slashing upward on instinct. The bone grazed its leg. The creature hissed, rearing back—but not leaving.

I'm not fast enough. Not strong enough.

He sucked in breath, crouching lower. The demon came again.

This time, Ji-Hwan moved toward it.

Never let fear decide your move.

He slammed the bone shard into the demon's eye with both hands.

It screeched, flailing wildly. Ji-Hwan rolled away, blood spraying across his shirt.

It wasn't clean. It wasn't cinematic.

But it worked.

He turned in time to see another participant impaled on a thorned spear. Ji-Hwan didn't flinch. He was adapting fast.

He looked at his hands. Blood. Dirt. No power yet. But something in him was changing.

Ji-Hoon's voice rang out over the clash and fire—

"Power's useless without guts, bro!"

The sky dimmed further, cracks appearing in the clouds like bleeding veins. Roars from above winged demons began to descend.

Ji-Hwan tightened his grip on the bone shard.

Still breathing. Still standing.

That was enough for now.

Another announcement rang in their heads

> "Participants who survive the first wave will be marked. The mark grants progression. Failing to kill… means disqualification."

Ji-Hwan's breath hitched.

Disqualification probably means death.

Ji-Hoon landed next to him, flames circling his hands like gauntlets. His shirt was half-burnt, his face smudged with soot—but his eyes gleamed.

"You still alive?"

Ji-Hwan nodded. "Barely."

Ji-Hoon grinned. "Good. I didn't want to carry your corpse out."

Ji-Hwan glanced around some demons dead, others still charging. A few participants had gathered in a loose cluster, watching each other with equal suspicion and fear.

Ji-Hwan asked quietly, "What's the key?"

Ji-Hoon didn't answer.

Instead, he raised his hand and pointed across the battlefield.

At a glowing red cube floating midair. It pulsed like a heartbeat—ominous and out of place.

Ji-Hoon whispered, "That's what they want. Only one gets it."

Ji-Hwan stared at the cube.

A sinking feeling settled in his chest.

Ji-Hoon turned to him. "You want to live? Then fight like you mean it. Or move aside."

Without waiting for an answer, Ji-Hoon launched himself back into the storm of battle.

Ji-Hwan watched the flames dance in his brother's wake.

This place isn't a trial. It's a purge.

He clenched his fists something deep inside stirred. Not a voice. Not a whisper.

A presence.

The devil's words echoed faintly in his head:

> "When the moment comes, the choice is yoursburn or rise."

The moment was now.

Ji-Hwan looked toward the cube, toward the chaos, toward his own future

And ran straight into the war.