As the platform began to descend, the air around us shifted. It wasn’t just a sensation—it was a fundamental change in reality itself. The walls of the shaft dissolved into an endless expanse of shimmering colors, rippling like liquid metal. For a brief moment, I felt like the colors bent toward me, as if the entire expanse had singled me out. It was fleeting, and I couldn’t be sure if it was real or my mind playing tricks, but a strange heaviness settled in my chest. No one else seemed to notice.


    Time felt strange here. I couldn’t tell whether we were falling for seconds, minutes, or hours. The platform didn’t seem to move in a straight line—at times, I felt we were rising, spiraling, or even turning upside down, though we never lost our footing.


    As I stared into the infinite expanse around us, faint shapes began to emerge. At first, they seemed like distant stars, but as they moved closer, I realized they were symbols—complex geometrical patterns not unlike the ones I’d seen on the door. My breath hitched as one symbol lingered directly in front of me, pulsing slowly, as if reaching out. I thought I heard a faint whisper—my name, or something that sounded eerily like it—but when I turned to the others, none of them seemed to notice.


    And then the sounds began. A low hum filled the air, vibrating in my chest like the deep drone of a massive engine. It shifted into a haunting melody, notes bending in and out of tune as if the music itself was alive. Whispers accompanied it, faint and unintelligible, as though the very fabric of this place was trying to communicate.


    For a moment, I thought I caught movement out of the corner of my eye—a large shadow gliding through the shifting colors. It was there, and then it wasn’t, but in that brief moment, I felt something unsettling. Not fear exactly, but something stranger, something closer to familiarity—like the shadow knew me, and I should know it. I turned my head sharply, but there was nothing there. Or at least, nothing my eyes could comprehend.


    Just as I thought we might be trapped in this otherworldly limbo forever, the platform slowed. The swirling expanse around us collapsed inward, the kaleidoscope of colors shrinking into a single pinprick of light. For a heartbeat, the silence was absolute, until a low hum rose from below, vibrating through the platform and my chest. I could’ve sworn the patterns around us pulsed faster, almost as if they were... aware.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    And then we burst out of the ground, blinding light assaulting us from the sun. Looking around, we were on grass, with a forest arou-.


    My mind cut out.


    Wait. Grass. Where the stone was. We were in a clearing of uneven grass, and around us was a forest. It was very densely packed, but there was one dirt path leading into the forest.


    Before I could mention this, I spoke up, saying:


    “Okay guys, look at the Tutorial Panel.” I urged. “It says that there are only 9,992 people left. And do you know what that is, or really, isn’t. It’s not divisible by 5. But do you know what is, and is a nice, even number. 10,000, which is 8 off. All this tells me that at least 2 people might have lashed out and killed their whole group.”


    The others flinched at my grim logic, but before anyone could reply, the numbers on the panel flickered—just once. A brief flicker, like the System itself, or the thing controlling it was... amused. The others didn’t seem to notice, but unease crept up my spine.


    “Okay. That’s quite dark.” Jake said, “But can we just focus on ourselves right now, not others.”


    “Fine. . .” I said.


    “Okay!” Thomas chirped, “Why don’t we just figure out our plans from now on, eh?”


    “Well, there’s a trail that looks as good a place to go as anywhere,” Maria pointed out, then asked Thomas, “Do you think that there will be any beasts outside of missions?”


    “I’m not sure, but I’m sure we’ll find out.” He replied.


    I thought to myself, “Yup, we’ll find out alright. We’ll find out when we’re gored on the tusk of a giant boar or something.”


    Jake then said, “Well, if we’re going to do this, then we’ll probably need a leader, so I nominated Thomas, as he seems to be capable, and with his previous job as a manager, he should be good at this, and have experience dealing with people, right?”


    Leah seconded it, “Yeah, good idea, he seems great!”


    Maria also agreed, with an excited, “Yes!” That made me wonder what she was playing at.


    Finally, I agreed, saying, “Sure,” even though internally, I did not entirely agree.


    Thomas spoke up. “Well, if you guys are happy to let me lead you, it would be an honor to have you guys.”


    Thomas immediately jumped into his new role, saying, “Now that we’re all set, why don’t we head down that trail, and see what we find.”


    Maria agreed, “Yeah, and hopefully there is a camp or something down there.”


    The group began to move, but as I stepped off the platform, a twinge of resistance shot through me—like an invisible thread tried to hold me back. I froze for just a moment, the faint sense of being watched returning. I turned, but there was nothing. Shaking my head, I followed the others, the unease sticking with me.


    And so, we set off down the trail.