We had minutes, maybe less, before the next test. The swirl of tension in my chest felt heavier than the battered guillotine blade in my hands. The overhead lights flickered again, making shadows leap across the cubicles and the barricaded portal. The rest timer hovered near eight minutes, each second evaporating into the stale air.

  Barry stood to my left, his wrench resting across his broad shoulder. He looked like a statue carved from granite—cold, silent, and immovable. His new skill, Precision Strike, hadn’t yet seen action, but a part of me took comfort in knowing Barry had something deadlier than a random piece of metal to swing now.

  Trevor slumped against a battered desk, absently rubbing his bruised shoulder. He’d made a few halfhearted jokes about “office synergy” earlier, but now he just stared at the swirling black-and-silver portal that seemed to pulse in time with our heartbeats. Next to Trevor was Gerald, arms crossed tightly, one foot tapping the torn carpet in restless energy. Even though he’d acquired Lumic Flash, he looked anything but confident.

  Claire, at the center of our makeshift formation, stood with her rod angled defensively, her posture rigid. I found no comfort in the tightness of her jaw, the tension in her shoulders. If someone as calm as Claire looked worried, I knew we were in deep.

  Ned and Izzy hovered a few steps behind us—still locked out of the System, still determined not to cower in the storeroom. Izzy cradled her injured hand carefully, while Ned clutched his makeshift pole like it was the only anchor he had left. They both wore the same expression: fear mixed with fragile resolve. If a new wave hit, they were stuck fighting as bystanders who lacked even the simplest System support.

  A muffled beep from the overhead timer made everyone glance upward. Rest Period: 00:07:56. Faint static crackled through the room, a subtle reminder of how close we were to that dreaded zero. Another wave, maybe multiple, could descend the moment that clock ran out.

  I swallowed. Focus, Ethan. You’ve got Enhanced Senses—use them. But all I picked up was the hum of the portal, the ragged breathing of my teammates, and the faint whiff of ozone that clung to the air since our last confrontation. Tension hung so thick I could almost taste it.

  Barry exhaled slowly, his voice low. “We hold here. We don’t scatter.” His gaze swept the group, lingering on Trevor and Gerald as if daring them to argue. Neither did.

  Trevor offered a weak grin. “All for one and one for not dying.”

  No one laughed, but a flicker of grim amusement tugged at the corner of my mouth. Trevor’s still trying. In these final minutes, I appreciated the effort.

  Claire’s eyes flicked to me. “Anything off with your senses?”

  I closed my eyes for half a second, letting my Enhanced Neural Sensory Threshold stretch out. A trickle of awareness flitted at the edges of my perception—like an unstable current or a vibration too low to hear. “Not sure,” I said, opening my eyes. “Something… uneasy about the portal. But I can’t tell if it’s me or the environment.”

  She nodded, not pressing further. “Stay alert. The moment you sense anything, speak up.”

  The overhead lights flickered again, this time so violently that Ned let out a startled yelp. A deep chill rolled through the conference room, as if someone had cranked the air conditioner well below freezing. My breath stuttered in my chest. The portal in front of us began to shimmer in erratic pulses, its color shifting from murky gray to something darker.

  Claire tensed, rod gripped in her hands. “Shadows… they’re moving.” Her voice was soft, but it cut through our quiet like a knife. “Something big is pushing through.”

  A subtle drone filled my ears—a low, vibrating hum that seemed to set my teeth on edge. “I hear it too,” Barry added, hefting his wrench. “Something’s changing in there.”

  Ned’s fingers fumbled on his pole, knuckles whitening. Izzy edged closer to him, her injured hand pressed against her chest. Trevor’s breathing quickened; I saw him swallow hard, as though forcing down another joke that refused to come out.

  Then the System took over, a shimmering notification sliding across my field of view in harsh, stuttering text:

  [Portal energy source unstable. Higher-tier entity detected. Prepare for escalation.]

  My heart dropped. A “higher-tier entity”? That didn’t sound like just another wave of Lumic Beetles.

  Trevor snorted, though it came out shaky. “Great. Because the last waves were so friendly.”

  Barry didn’t reply, his focus fixed on the portal. Claire shot Trevor a warning glance but didn’t scold him this time. We were all too tense to do more than wait and watch.

  The temperature plummeted further. Condensation formed on the metal edges of the portal barricade we’d pieced together. My Enhanced Senses spiked an alarm in my head, and I took a step back, gripping the guillotine blade so hard my fingers hurt.

  Something white and impossibly long slid through the portal’s surface. It twisted in a slow, deliberate motion—a limb, humanoid in shape but grotesquely elongated at every joint. My stomach turned.

  Ned nearly dropped his pole, managing a strangled, “What is—?”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Izzy let out a half-choked scream, clamping her uninjured hand over her mouth. The thing’s pale skin looked stretched like old parchment, veins and sinew visible beneath. It moved with horrifying grace, claws sinking into the tabletop with a wet crunch that made me swallow back bile.

  A jolt of shock raced through me as the monstrous limb pulled itself further in, revealing more of that misshapen anatomy. Dark, viscous fluid clung to its claws—Beetle ichor from whatever it had torn through to get here. The sight made my skin crawl. If it could shred those beetles, what chance did we have?

  Gerald’s face was a mask of frozen horror, yet he lifted his small club as if it might matter. “What is that thing?”

  No one answered. The portal rippled, sending a spasm down the creature’s limb. Another System prompt blinked frantically:

  [Illegal Entity Detected. Initiating Containment Protocol—Stand By…]

  Claire’s eyes darted to the words, her grip on the rod tightening. “Containment protocol?” she echoed, voice trembling but firm.

  The monster’s claws sank deeper into the wood, carving out ragged grooves. I could feel each slice in my bones, like nails on a chalkboard amplified a hundredfold by my senses. Get it together, Ethan. But my knees wobbled. If that entire creature made it through…

  A piercing whine erupted from the portal, shrill enough to set Trevor and Gerald clapping their hands over their ears. Ned gasped, staggering sideways. The swirling colors at the portal’s edges shifted to an angry red, arcs of violet sparks dancing across the limb.

  Then it happened in a flash: a shriek of energy tore through the air. The entity’s limb convulsed, and the portal seemed to fold in on itself. In an instant, a razor-thin line of light appeared, slicing cleanly through that ghastly arm, severing it mid-joint.

  A wet thud reverberated through the room as the limb crashed onto the table. Ichor splattered, black and vile, coating the battered barricade. The stump still protruding from the portal twitched once, then vanished in a swirl of sparks. The hum crescendoed—then died.

  For a breathless second, none of us moved. The dismembered limb lay twitching, claws scraping weakly against the wood. My stomach lurched.

  Trevor broke the silence first, a half-strangled noise escaping his throat. “That is… not how I wanted my day to go.”

  Barry exhaled, eyes locked on the severed appendage. “The System… actually forced it out?”

  Claire inched forward, gaze flicking from the oozing limb to the portal’s now-shrinking circumference. The charred outline on the table crackled, the faint smell of burnt ozone stinging my nostrils.

  [Containment Successful. Illegal Invasion Halted.]

  Another beep, almost smug in tone. My heart hammered so loudly it hurt.

  Izzy whimpered, stepping back until her shoulders hit the conference room wall. Ned’s eyes were huge, pen trembling in his grip. “That… was bigger than a Beetle,” he whispered.

  A new swirl of color raced across the portal’s surface—like a film rewinding at high speed. Tendrils of green light bled in from the edges, dissolving what was left of the old silvery shimmer. The limb on the table twitched one last time, then lay still, pale claws curled like dead spiders.

  My attention drifted back to the new portal, its green hue swirling almost invitingly. "Does it lead to the same place?" I muttered to myself. "Or somewhere worse?"

  "You're not seriously thinking about going in there," Claire said sharply, noticing my gaze.

  "No," I lied quickly, shaking my head. Not yet.

  My Enhanced Senses picked up the sizzle of necrotic flesh interacting with the air. Why do I have to smell everything with such clarity? My stomach did a slow roll. I forced myself to stand straighter, swallowing bile.

  Trevor forced a humorless laugh, stepping forward just enough to peer at the limb. “Anyone else think it smells like overcooked calamari?”

  Barry cast him a dark look. “Not the time.”

  Gerald, still gripping his short club, exhaled shakily. “I… That thing was no Beetle. If the System didn’t force it out, we’d be dead.”

  Claire nodded, her expression tight with exhaustion and relief. “We owe the System—just this once.” She shot the severed limb another wary glance. “But look.”

  We all turned to see the portal re-forming into a swirling, green-hued vortex. Gone was the harsh red swirl of that monstrous entity. This glow was sinister in a subtler way, pulsing with an almost rhythmic calm. A slight flicker of overhead lights told me the rest period’s final seconds were nearly up.

  My gaze shifted to the battered digital overlay: Rest Period: 00:00:15… 00:00:14…

  Trevor let out a hollow laugh, though it lacked his usual edge. "Rest period? This was rest?" He gestured at the severed limb with a wild wave. "If this is what we get for resting, I'm good. Let's just skip to the nightmare part."

  The System chimed again, its tone dripping with infuriating smugness.

  Right on cue, the System chimed:

  [Rest Period Over. Good luck—you’ll need it.]

  A single, unified exhalation went through the group as we realized we were out of time. The severed limb was quiet, but the new portal definitely wasn’t. A faint crackle skimmed its edges, as if building energy for another wave.

  “Figures,” Trevor muttered, adjusting his grip on the mop handle. “All that drama, and we still gotta fight.”

  Barry nodded, shouldering his wrench. “At least we’re alive.”

  Izzy let out a shaky breath, brushing her hair from her face with her uninjured hand. “So… what now?”

  Gerald approached the green vortex carefully, prodding the air near it with his club. “We get ready for the next wave, obviously.” Anxiety bled through his gruff words. “And hope it’s not another… limb.”

  “That was no normal monster,” Ned murmured. “Illegal… The System used the word ‘illegal.’”

  Claire squared her shoulders, stepping up beside Barry. “We can’t worry about what almost got through. We should worry about what’s coming next. Everyone—stay on guard.”

  I felt my heartbeat in my throat as I lifted the guillotine blade again, trying to push aside the memory of that severed appendage. “No telling if it’ll spawn something bigger or smaller,” I said quietly. “But we’re in this.”

  A hush settled, so thick I could hear my own heartbeat. The overhead fluorescents flickered, but we barely noticed. All eyes locked on the newly minted green portal. Its edges crackled faintly like static, no immediate sign of another creature forcing its way in. Yet.

  “Get ready,” Claire said softly, voice trembling at the edges. “Because it’s not done.”

  A final beep. The rest timer vanished from view, replaced by a loaded silence. We stood in tense formation—Barry in front, me and Claire flanking him, Trevor and Gerald forming the sides, Ned and Izzy just behind. Weapons raised, hearts pounding. A swirl of adrenaline, fear, and grim determination coursed through me.

  We survived a monstrous entity’s near-invasion, but the Trials are far from over. My Enhanced Senses twitched, picking up subtle changes in the air. Some new threat was brewing behind that swirling green maelstrom.

  I inhaled slowly, forcing my voice to stay steady. “Here we go,” I murmured, more to myself than anyone else.

  In that breath, we all braced. Because though we didn’t see the next wave yet, we knew it was coming. The System’s rest was gone, the illusions of safety stripped away. The same question weighed on every mind: What comes after an ‘illegal entity’?

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  Stay on your Path, and Ascend.

  Stardust Nexus