CHAPTER 180: PHASE ONE: DEEPER INTO THE ISLAND

The first hour of base-camp construction unfolded smoothly enough—smoothly in the way calm waters still hid deep, unseen currents. The island wind carried a faint brine scent, brushing through the treeline like a breath that had been held for too long. Birds cried—unfamiliar ones, with notes that echoed like chimes caught in a storm. As the sun drifted higher, the moist heat of the island settled heavily on every student, wrapping around necks like a slow, simmering pressure.

Arios felt that pressure acutely.

He stood at the edge of the clearing, a stake in one hand, the small sledge in the other. The ground was slightly softer than it should’ve been—like the soil here was recently disturbed. He pressed his boot lightly into the earth, noting how it sank just a little too far.

Strange.

Lucy, crouched nearby marking the perimeter with chalk outlines, noticed his pause.

"Arios?" she said, brushing sweat from her forehead. "You’re thinking too hard again. Floor plan issues?"

He shook his head.

"Not the plan. The ground is odd. Like something’s been burrowing recently."

Liza, who had been inspecting the treeline, turned toward them. Her green hair swayed with the breeze, and her narrowed eyes flashed with curiosity.

"Burrowing? As in animals?"

She made a clicking sound with her tongue. "Or something less cute?"

Arios drove the stake into the ground with one decisive strike.

"Not sure yet. But this terrain is... active."

Lucy’s shoulders stiffened slightly, her expression tightening with concern, but she said nothing more. She trusted him—implicitly, quietly, fully. She simply shifted the chalk lines slightly wider, giving them more space between forest and tents.

Around them, other students clattered about with their own tasks—some assembling makeshift cook stations, some setting up perimeter lanterns, some struggling with the larger canopies. The instructors remained on the cliff above, observing with the detached expression of people who had already decided the rules long before the students took their first step.

The island was big—much bigger than the brief suggested.

Arios suspected that wasn’t an accident.

The Camp Takes Shape

By early afternoon, base camp resembled a functional—if imperfect—temporary settlement. Poles stood upright, tents stretched taut, and the central firepit had been dug deep into the sand-covered soil.

"Arios, help me with this beam!" Liza called, struggling with a thick bamboo-like pole they had harvested. He walked over and lifted it with ease, and she let out an exaggerated sigh.

"You make the rest of us feel weak," she complained, but the small smirk at her lips softened the words.

Lucy, adjusting the canvas over the shade canopy, added lightly,

"He can’t help it. His body’s built wrong."

Arios looked up.

"That’s rude."

She fluttered her fingers dismissively.

"You know what I mean. You’re too strong to be normal. It’s not natural."

Liza leaned in.

"Actually, it is natural. Arios is just... different. Special."

Then she flicked his arm. "But you also need to stop looking so serious. We’re on a beach."

He let out a breath, realizing they were trying to keep things light. The tension humming through the forest had already wrapped itself around him like a warning wire. But Liza and Lucy were right—this was still Phase One.

Just camp-building.

Nothing had attacked them yet.

Strange Signs Begin

As the group gathered driftwood for fire kindling, Liza paused and crouched beside a tree whose bark was gouged. Deep claw marks raked through the surface—parallel lines, evenly spaced, still fresh enough that sap slowly bled from the wounded wood.

Lucy stepped closer.

"That’s not from an animal we learned about, is it?"

Arios ran his fingers lightly over the grooves.

"No. Too clean. Too purposeful."

He looked toward the darker parts of the forest. "Something’s watching us."

The forest didn’t answer, but the rustling leaves felt heavy, almost deliberate.

Liza swallowed hard. "Should we alert the instructors?"

"We will," Arios said. "After we finish the base camp. Panicking the others would make things worse."

Lucy nodded in agreement, though her knuckles stayed tight around the coil of rope she carried.

Behind them, the other students laughed at something trivial—someone had dropped a bundle of fabric and another tripped trying to catch it. The usual chaos of youth, oblivious to the quiet violence carved into the tree not twenty meters away.

The island’s calm façade was thinning.

The Campfire Sparks to Life

By dusk, the first real flame flickered in the center of camp. Students gathered around it eagerly—some exhausted, some proud, some simply hungry.

Lucy handed Arios a hand towel.

"Your face is still dirty," she said, then hesitated a moment before gently wiping a streak of dust off his cheek herself. Her eyes softened, and her voice lowered. "You worked too hard today."

Liza twisted her hair into a loose ponytail and sat beside them.

"We all did. But Arios outworked everyone. As usual."

Arios handed her a water bottle.

"You kept the border secure. That matters more."

Liza blinked, as if the compliment momentarily short-circuited her thoughts, then she grinned with a small flush on her cheeks.

"Well... yeah. Someone has to keep you two safe, right?"

Lucy nudged her.

"Sure. Because Arios is the one who needs protecting."

Liza crossed her arms stubbornly.

"Emotionally, he does."

Arios stared at her.

"What does that even mean?"

They both ignored him.

The fire crackled, sending sparks upward into the thickening night. Shadows danced across the treetops.

The instructors, from their vantage point on the cliff, lit no lanterns. They stood with arms folded, too still, too composed. Watching. Waiting.

The unease in Arios’ gut grew.

Nightfall Brings Uneasy Stillness

After dinner—a mix of rationed meal packs and hastily roasted forest fruit—the three of them took the first perimeter watch. They were positioned slightly beyond the treeline where the foliage formed arching silhouettes from moonlight.

Liza tapped her foot restlessly.

"Why is it so quiet? The forest was noisy earlier."

Lucy kept her eyes on the shadows.

"That’s what’s bothering me too."

Arios scanned the forest with steady eyes. The wind had died. Insects had quieted. Even the distant crash of waves seemed muffled, like the island had swallowed all sound.

The silence pressed on them from all directions.

Liza whispered,

"It feels like a storm’s brewing."

"Not a storm," Arios said quietly. "Something else."

A twig snapped deeper inside the forest.

All three turned sharply.

But nothing stepped out.

No creature. No wind. No movement.

Just the promise of something watching.

Back to Camp

When they rotated off watch, the camp had settled into sleepy murmurs. Lanterns cast dim yellow pools of light, swaying slightly with the ocean breeze. Students chatted softly, some already drifting into their tents.

Arios set down his pack.

Lucy stretched her arms overhead with a tired groan.

"I’m showering. Don’t let Liza eat all the fruit before I get back."

"I don’t eat that much," Liza argued—while hiding three fruits behind her.

Lucy only stared.

Liza caved. "Okay, I eat some of it."

Arios exhaled through his nose.

"You’re both hopeless."

As Lucy disappeared into the tent, Liza stepped closer to him, her expression dropping its playful tilt.

"Arios," she whispered. "This island... you feel it too, right?"

"Yes."

"You think this exam is normal?"

He stared at the treeline again, where the forest looked too dark and the shadows no longer matched the branches creating them.

"No. Something else is happening here."

Liza nodded, then leaned lightly against his shoulder—not flirtatiously, but seeking grounding.

"We’ll be fine," Arios said quietly.

"Because of you?"

"Because we’re together."

Her smile warmed but didn’t fully erase her worry.

Not tonight.

The Forest Makes Its First Move

Sometime past midnight, a low pulse quivered through the soil beneath their tents—a vibration too soft for the average student to notice, but Arios felt it like a whisper against his heel.

He sat up instantly.

Liza stirred next to her bedroll. "Arios?" she mumbled. "What’s wrong?"

He put a finger to his lips.

"Stay quiet."

He scanned the canopy through the cracked tent flap. The lantern outside flickered—once, twice—then steadied.

Lucy, on the other side of the tent, blinked awake.

"You felt that too?"

"Yes."

They listened.

The forest rustled.

But this time, it wasn’t the gentle sway of leaves.

Something large shifted. Something slow. Something deliberate.

A deep, resonant thud followed.

Then another.

Then silence.

But silence of a different kind—one that didn’t merely lack noise, but actively consumed it.

Liza whispered, "Should we wake the others?"

"Not yet," Arios said. "No panic until we know the direction."

He stepped out of the tent quietly, scanning the clearing.

Every shadow had lengthened.

Every tree stood unnaturally still.

At the far edge of camp, where the forest began, something glinted in the darkness—two faint, luminescent orbs staring back at him.

Eyes.

They vanished the moment he blinked.

Arios Signals Lucy and Liza

He returned to the tent with a calm expression, but his heartbeat had sharpened.

Lucy sat upright now, gripping her staff.

"What did you see?"

Arios whispered,

"Eyes."

Liza stiffened.

"Humanoid?"

"No."

Lucy took a long breath.

"Arios... this island isn’t normal, is it?"

"No. And tomorrow, the exam truly begins."

Dawn Arrives With Tension

When morning broke, the sunlight cut through the trees like blades instead of warmth. The air smelled different—metallic, sharp.

Students woke up tired, uneasy, complaining about strange dreams, about hearing noises they had assumed were insects or animals.

Arios, Lucy, and Liza exchanged a look.

They hadn’t been dreaming.

The island had made its presence known.

But no instructor made mention of it.

No changes to the schedule.

No warnings.

Instead, their voices rang clear across the clearing:

"Phase One concludes at noon. Continue final adjustments. Phase Two will begin immediately after."

Students cheered.

Arios did not.

Neither did Lucy or Liza.

The three of them stood together, facing the deeper parts of the forest.

Liza exhaled shakily.

"So... Phase Two is going to kill us, isn’t it?"

Lucy elbowed her.

"Don’t be dramatic."

Arios stepped forward, gaze locked on the shadows.

"No. Phase Two won’t kill us."

He tightened his grip around the straps of his pack.

"But something on this island might."