The noise in the hall got heavier every minute.
Fear had a sound now. It came as shouts, quick breaths, and the scraping of shoes against the floor.
Students fought over plans that meant nothing. Alliances broke as fast as they formed.
The moment the Goddess said that only six would survive, everything human in the crowd started to die.
Dante stood with his team. They were silent while chaos boiled around them.
He watched the panic spread. He saw every argument and every desperate grab for control. His mind stayed cold.
Inside their small circle, order still existed.
He turned to the last two who had not gone to the Goddess yet. Rina and Talia. Both stood tense. Their faces were pale in the dim silver light that came through the shattered ceiling.
"You two are last," Dante said. His voice was even and steady. It cut through the noise like a blade. "Your questions decide everything that comes next. Ask them well."
He looked first at Rina. She met his eyes. She was nervous but composed.
"We have power," Dante said, "but we do not have recovery. Ask the Goddess about healing. How life can be restored in this world. Magic, medicine, anything. If healing exists, we need to know how."
Rina nodded. "Understood."
Then Dante’s eyes found Talia.
The fencer stood straight. Her hands were calm. Her expression was unreadable.
"Your question is the most important," he said in a quiet voice. "Ask her this. What enforces the rule that only six people survive? What happens to the seventh?"
Talia’s eyes flickered with understanding. She did not look afraid. She only looked thoughtful. She already knew the answer would not be kind.
"Go," Dante said. "Get your skills. Get the truth. Then come back."
They turned and stepped through the glowing door.
Waiting was worse than fighting.
Every minute stretched thin. The sounds of panic around them became background noise. It was dull and constant like a heartbeat.
Some students still begged the Goddess to change the rules. Others screamed at each other over who deserved to live.
It did not matter. The light was fading.
Inside Dante’s circle, no one spoke. They stood shoulder to shoulder. They were still and tense.
Then the door opened.
Rina walked out. Her expression was calm but heavy. She held up her hand. A faint green-gold light appeared in her palm. It was soft, alive, and strangely peaceful.
"I asked about healing," she said in a quiet voice. "The Goddess told me that even in a world of death, life finds a way to survive. Then she gave me this."
The light pulsed once. It was as if it was breathing.
"She called it Vitae Weaving," Rina continued. "I can control life energy. I can heal wounds, remove poison, and cleanse sickness. But it costs me energy. I cannot fix everything. No regrowing limbs. No resurrection."
Masha stepped closer. Her eyes were wide. "So you can actually heal?"
Rina nodded. "Yes. As long as I am still standing."
The tension in the air eased just a little. For the first time since the lightning struck, hope flickered in their circle.
Dante placed a hand on her shoulder. His tone was firm but sincere. "You just became the most important person in this team. You are our lifeline. If you go down, we all go down. So we will make sure that never happens."
Rina lowered her head a little. She hid a nervous smile. "I will do my best."
A few minutes later, Talia returned.
Her usual composure was cracked just a little. The color had drained from her face.
"She answered," Talia said. Her voice was quiet but steady. "And she did not like the question."
The team waited. No one interrupted.
"She said the law of this world was written long before she became its guardian," Talia continued. "The Bone Dragon does not just guard the exit. When it dies, its soul splits into six fragments called Hero’s Marks. Each mark binds itself to whoever claims it. Those with a mark can pass through the gate into a kingdom. But there are only six. Once the marks are taken, the gate opens for a short time. Then it closes forever. Anyone left behind is consumed by the forest."
The silence that followed was thick.
Even the sounds of chaos around them seemed to fade.
Dante’s eyes hardened. "So that is the rule," he said. "The system is not just about surviving. It is about forcing us to turn on each other."
Erica muttered under her breath. "That is insane."
Rina shuddered. "It turns us into predators."
Dante nodded once. "Exactly."
He looked at Talia’s hand. She was still holding the weapon she had received from the Goddess. It was a sleek silver rapier.
"What about your skill?" he asked.
Talia drew the blade and took a slow breath. Her eyes shimmered faintly with light. "Kinetic Eye," she said. "I can see the flow of movement. The way energy travels through bodies and objects. I can predict attacks before they happen and see where things will break."
Jin let out a low whistle. "That is deadly."
"It is," Dante said. "And it is exactly what we need."
Now the picture was clear.
Fire and ice. Sword and defense. Knowledge and healing. Logic and instincts.
Every piece of the team had fallen into place.
And still, Dante felt the cold weight of what was coming.
The fight was not against the monsters in the forest.
It was against time, fear, and the people who would eventually turn their weapons on each other.
The last glow of divine light faded completely.
The Goddess was gone.
The hall dimmed. Shadows stretched long across the cracked floor. The forest outside whispered. It was alive and watching.
The world around them changed from a stage into a hunting ground.
Gasps and curses spread through the crowd as reality hit. Without the Goddess, they were on their own.
Dante’s eyes swept across the room.
He spotted a tall boy near the back. The boy was gathering strong students around him. The boy met Dante’s gaze and smirked. Slowly, he raised his hand and dragged a finger across his throat.
Dante did not flinch.
He turned away. That boy still thought this was a game about strength. He had no idea the real game had already started.
He faced his team. "The Goddess is gone," he said in a quiet voice. "The trial has begun. We move northeast. Stay together. Stay alert. Do not talk to anyone else."
Neil whispered. "It begins."
Dante looked at them one by one. His voice was steady and low. "From here on, every step matters. Every word. Every choice. We are not going to die in this forest. We will outlast them all."
He turned toward the open doorway. The forest beyond waited. It was dark and endless.
Leaves rustled. The wind carried faint whispers that almost sounded like voices.
Dante stepped forward first. The others followed without a sound.
The Trial of Verdant had begun.
And with it, the slow birth of both heroes and monsters.