As we touched the crystal, several notifications appeared.


    Welcome to the Mission Panel. Please select between a Team Mission or a Solo Mission.


    Team/Solo


    “I would like to enter with my team, please.” I asked.


    But oddly enough, it didn’t react. I felt a sinking sensation, and then that familiar dread returned. It was like I was standing on the edge of a cliff, that reached deep into the unknown, mysterious symbols beating in tune with my heart all around me.


    The System asked again.


    Please select between a Team Mission or a Solo Mission.


    Team/Solo


    “TEAM!” I shouted at it.


    Once again, it completely ignored me.


    Please select between a Team Mission or a Solo Mission.


    Team/Solo


    The dread surged, sharp and overwhelming, like the ground beneath me had crumbled, leaving me teetering on the edge of an abyss. I couldn’t understand what was happening—the System didn’t fail, did it? And yet, here I was, staring at an error that felt personal, deliberate. The notification changed.


    Error CCTM-19367047


    No Team found.


    Calculating. . . Please Wait . . . Solution Found . . .


    Solo Mission Selected


    Please select trial difficulty:


    Easy     Normal     Difficult     Hard     Extreme     Impossible


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


    “Wait! What!” I panicked. “No, no, no! Stop! What’s happening!”


    All the trial options except for ‘Impossible’ were crossed out, and, to be honest, I started to freak out again. I swallowed hard, forcing myself to think, but my thoughts scattered in every direction, like leaves in a storm.


    After panicking for two or three minutes, I calmed down again, just to see those exact same options. Naturally, I stayed perfectly calm and considered all of my many options very deeply, before making my final choice. Yeah, no. Not what happened.


    All this is to say, I completely panicked, and screamed. I tried to press the ‘Easy’ difficulty, but it wouldn’t let me. Of course, as soon as I tried this, those same geometrical symbols appeared, hovering in my vision like fragments of an ancient language I couldn’t read but somehow felt. The edges of the patterns glowed faintly, tracing spirals, hexagons, and shapes that defied description, flickering faster as my panic rose. They weren’t just inert marks—there was intent behind them, a logic I couldn’t hope to understand.


    As they pulsed, I noticed the symbols weren’t random. They moved in time with the thrum in the air, aligning and rearranging themselves in intricate loops that seemed... deliberate. It was as if they were adjusting to my thoughts, responding to my choices—or maybe guiding them.


    The sinking feeling in my gut deepened as one particularly large symbol stopped mid-pulse. It shifted, its outer edges glowing brighter, and I swore I could hear something—a faint hum that vibrated in my chest, low and resonant. The symbol began to spin, slower now, pulling at my gaze. For a fleeting moment, I felt like it was alive, watching me as much as I was watching it.


    And then it was inside me. Not physically, but in some intangible way that made my skin crawl. It wasn’t pain—it was worse than pain. It was the undeniable sense that something far bigger than me had brushed against my very existence, leaving a mark I couldn’t erase even if I wanted to.


    The instant the symbol entered me, the world tilted. My vision blurred, and for a moment, I wasn’t standing on the crystal platform anymore—I was somewhere else. Flashes of light, towering shapes, and whispers too faint to understand filled my head. It lasted only a heartbeat, but when my vision cleared, I was still trembling, my breath coming in shallow gasps. Whatever had just happened, it had left something behind—a presence I couldn’t shake.


    “Why is this happening?” I muttered, the words barely audible as the patterns dimmed. But instead of an answer, another message appeared, stark and final.


    Please select trial difficulty. If you do not select trial difficulty within one minute, it will be chosen for you.


    Time remaining: 57 seconds


    As I read this, it ticked again,


    Time remaining: 56 seconds


    “Well.” I thought to myself. “ Either I select ‘Impossible’ difficulty and I die, or I wait—I checked the timer again—17 seconds and probably have it chosen for me, making me die. To be honest, I don’t think my options are very good.


    The timer hit zero.


    The world around me twisted and stretched, the space itself warping as though reality were being unraveled like thread. That same unnatural pull seized me again—stronger this time—dragging me forward with an irresistible force that pressed against my chest and clawed at my mind.


    A cacophony of whispers erupted around me, no longer faint but deafening, layered with countless voices speaking in languages I couldn’t understand. The sound reverberated in my skull, each word sharp and jagged, carving into my thoughts. It wasn’t language—it was knowledge, raw and incomprehensible, burning its way through my mind like a blazing comet.


    And then, for one horrifying moment, I felt it: a vast, ancient presence, its attention fixed entirely on me. It wasn’t just watching—it was probing, searching, as though I were no more than a speck of dust beneath its gaze. My breath hitched, and a cold sweat broke across my skin. I didn’t know what it wanted, but it felt like it already knew everything about me.


    The whispers stopped abruptly, leaving a silence so profound it felt like the universe itself had gone still.


    And then, for one terrifying instant before the silence, I felt something remain—an echo of that probing gaze, like a handprint pressed into my thoughts. It wasn’t completely gone; it was waiting, watching, even as the void swallowed me whole.


    And then I was gone—torn from everything I knew, hurled into the unknown with nothing but the mark left behind.