Phased out

As everyone prepared to head out, Kacey couldn't shake one lingering thought.

She frowned slightly, then finally spoke. "Wait… who's going to look after Johnathan?"

The question hung in the air.

Ethan's expression shifted. He had been so focused on preparing the team that he hadn't considered that.

His gaze flicked to Ivy. "Ivy, is everything clear with Johnathan?"

Ivy nodded. "I've bandaged him, cleaned the wounds, made sure nothing's infected. He's stable for now."

A pause.

Then she added, "But if you want me to stay with him, I will."

Ethan hesitated.

Ivy continued, "Realistically? My coming along won't do much. I'm not a fighter. You need strong people in there, not a medic."

Nathan and Samuel immediately shook their heads.

Nathan crossed his arms. "I disagree. Ivy, your brain is not something we can afford to leave behind."

Samuel nodded. "Exactly. We don't just need fighters—we need thinkers. And you're one of the smartest here."

Ivy exhaled. "I get that, but—"

"She's not the only one with brains," Toby cut in.

Everyone looked at him.

Toby adjusted his glasses, looking unbothered. "No offense, Ivy, but you're not carrying the entire intellectual weight of this team. I'm still here."

Milo smirked. "Damn. Man just gave himself an IQ award."

Toby rolled his eyes. "I'm just saying, I know strategy. I can handle logistics. If Ivy absolutely had to stay, I could fill in."

Ivy sighed. "Toby, this isn't about who's smart. It's about what makes sense."

Ethan ran a hand through his hair, exhaling. "Alright, let's make this simple. If Johnathan is stable, then we don't need to leave anyone behind. But if something happens—"

Ivy finished for him. "Then I'll come back immediately to check on him and make sure he doesn't get worse."

Kacey still looked uncertain. "Okay, but who's going to tell you if something happens?"

A brief silence.

Then—Noah raised a hand.

"I'll stay."

Everyone turned to him.

Noah shrugged. "Look, I won't be much help in the tower. You need fighters and thinkers—I'm neither. But I can stay behind, keep an eye on Johnathan, and let Ivy know if anything goes wrong."

Ivy nodded. "That works."

Ethan glanced around. "Any objections?"

Nobody spoke.

The plan was set.

As the group finished finalizing the plan, people started gathering near the exit, ready to leave.

But Milo wasn't moving.

Instead, he walked over to Noah, his expression less playful than usual.

"Hey," Milo muttered, keeping his voice low. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

Noah turned, sensing the shift in Milo's tone. "Yeah. What's up?"

Milo exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked away for a second, then back at Noah.

"Dude… what happened?" His voice was quieter now, almost hesitant. "Last night, you said you were coming with us. You said we'd stick together."

Noah's jaw tightened slightly. He knew this was coming.

Milo crossed his arms. "Look, I get it—someone needs to stay back. But why you? You were the only one who really got what I was feeling about all this… apart from Ethan."

Noah hesitated.

A flicker of guilt crossed his face.

He took a slow breath, gathering his words. "I was already scared of going."

Milo's brows furrowed slightly, but he didn't interrupt.

Noah continued, "I know myself. I'm not like you or Ethan or Kacey. If I go into that tower, I'll just slow you guys down. And now… now that there's a role I can actually do—one where I'm not a burden—I decided to take it."

He swallowed hard, guilt settling deeper. "But… this isn't how I wanted to tell you."

Milo didn't respond immediately.

His lips pressed into a thin line, his usual carefree energy gone.

Noah shifted awkwardly. "I'm sorry, man."

Milo sighed through his nose, shaking his head. "I get it." His voice wasn't angry, but it was heavy.

"I really do."

A pause.

"Doesn't mean I'm not kinda pissed, though."

Noah gave a weak chuckle, but it lacked his usual spirit. "Fair."

Milo glanced toward the others, who were starting to organize into groups.

His shoulders slumped slightly.

"Guess I should get going."

Noah nodded. "Be careful in there."

Milo forced a small grin, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "You too, man. Don't let Johnathan die while we're gone."

Noah smirked. "I'll do my best."

Milo gave him a final nod before turning back toward the gathering group.

Even though he understood Noah's choice, it still didn't feel right. And now he felt betrayed by a friend.

The group left the building, stepping into the cool evening air as the sky slowly darkened.

They walked together, their footsteps echoing softly against the empty streets of Phase 11.

The roads were eerily quiet—too quiet. No people. No movement. Just the faint whispers of wind brushing against abandoned structures.

Samuel and Ethan took the lead, guiding the group. They were the only ones who knew the proper directions.

The others followed, murmuring quietly among themselves. Conversations were hushed, voices low—a mix of nervous anticipation and unspoken fears.

That gut-twisting, uneasy feeling settled in all of them.

The kind that came from knowing there was no turning back.

And yet—

For a brief moment, they couldn't ignore it.

The sunset.

It painted the sky in deep oranges and soft purples, casting long shadows across the ruined streets.

The glow reflected against broken windows, making them shimmer like untouched glass.

It was beautiful.

Almost like the world wasn't ending.

Alice walked quietly, her gaze lingering on the sky before shifting forward again.

Her steps naturally fell in sync with Ethan's.

She didn't say anything.

Ethan noticed.

Even while discussing the route with Samuel, his eyes flicked toward her for just a second.

But he didn't say anything, either.

He didn't mind.

He liked it.

Alice remained quiet, her expression unreadable as they approached their destination.

A sudden chill ran through the air.

It wasn't just the night settling in—it was something else.

Something unnatural.

A slow, crawling dread that crept up their spines, making their skin prickle.

Riley exhaled sharply. "Oh, shit… this is about time."

Jace tensed, his stance shifting slightly as he raised his guard.

Samuel followed suit, fingers curling into fists, his eyes sharp and focused.

Everyone could feel it now.

Like the air itself was shifting, warping.

Like something was about to force its way into existence.

Milo, despite the tension, let out one last dry chuckle.

"Well… good luck, everyone. Try not to die."

A few people huffed, but no one laughed.

Because at that moment—

The last bit of sunlight disappeared.

It started as a whisper.

A faint, curling mist that hugged the ground, creeping over their feet like an unseen force wrapping around their ankles.

At first, it was harmless—just a light fog rolling in with the night.

But then—it thickened.

Fast. Too fast.

The air became heavier, colder.

Within seconds, the fog was everywhere.

Dense. Blinding.

Shapes blurred, silhouettes fading into the overwhelming gray abyss.

A creeping dread clawed at the group's chests.

Their instincts screamed—this wasn't natural.

Then—panic.

"GUYS! I CAN'T SEE ANYONE!"

Ethan's voice cut through the suffocating fog.

"COME TOWARD MY VOICE! KEEP EACH OTHER IN TOUCH!"

Immediately, hands reached out.

Fingers brushed against arms, shoulders, gripping tightly—a silent confirmation that they weren't alone.

Alice moved first, her hands instinctively finding Ethan.

She clung to him, her arms wrapping around his torso. Not out of fear—but to ground herself. To ground him.

One by one, the others did the same—grasping onto one another, forming a fragile, unseen chain in the void of the mist.

And then—

A sound.

Deep. Low.

A rumble from beneath their feet.

The ground shook.

Vibrations rippled through the earth, sending small rocks and dust trembling.

Then came the roar.

A metallic, ear-splitting scream erupted from below, a noise so loud and unnatural that everyone's hands flew to their ears.

The sound wasn't just noise.

It was pressure.

A deep, resonating force that vibrated inside their bones, rattling their very cores.

And then—

It began.

From the very depths of the earth, the structure emerged.

A monolith of impossible size clawed its way out of the ground—as if the world itself was birthing something ancient and forgotten.

Stone and metal ripped free from the earth, dust and debris exploding outward as the foundations took shape.

It didn't just rise.

It unfolded.

Layer by layer, the structure expanded upward, stretching toward the heavens with terrifying speed.

The fog swirled violently around it, sucked into its form as if being devoured.

Higher.

Higher.

Higher.

The tower did not stop.

It pierced the sky, vanishing into the darkness above—so tall, so endless, that its peak was nowhere in sight.

It wasn't just a building.

It was a presence.

A structure that shouldn't exist—yet now, it did.

And now—they had to enter

The roaring vibrations faded.

The tower stood before them—impossible, unnatural, towering into infinity.

For a moment, no one spoke.

No one could.

Their bodies still buzzed with the aftershock of what they had just witnessed, the deafening noise still echoing in their skulls.

Then—Nathan let out a slow, shaky exhale.

"Okay… so, uh…" He rubbed his arms, looking up at the endless monolith. "That wasn't normal, right? Like, we all agree on that?"

Derek scoffed, shaking his head. "Dude, 'not normal' doesn't even begin to cover it."

Milo, still pressing a hand against his ear, winced. "Yeah, my eardrums are gonna need therapy after that one."

Zara exhaled, arms still folded tightly. "It didn't just spawn… it rose."

Lena nodded slowly, her eyes locked on the massive structure. "Like it was waiting for something. Or someone."

Kacey clenched her jaw. "It's alive."

The words hung in the air.

Toby adjusted his glasses, his expression grim. "Not biologically, obviously. But… structurally?" He let out a dry chuckle. "Yeah. It might as well be."

Alice, still standing close to Ethan, finally spoke. "What if it was always here?"

Everyone turned to her.

She continued, voice low. "What if it wasn't 'rising' at all? What if it was just… shifting? Coming into our reality?"

A heavy silence.

No one wanted to admit how much sense that made.

Samuel sighed, rolling his shoulders. "Theory or not, it's here now. And we have a job to do."

But Ethan?

Ethan wasn't speaking.

He was staring at the tower.

His hands had curled into fists.

His mind was racing.

That was too much.

That wasn't just some 'game structure' spawning in.

That was something else.

Something far worse.

And for the first time since they made this plan—

He started rethinking if this was a good choice at all.

Ethan inhaled deeply, steadying himself.

His gut was screaming at him, but he couldn't afford to show it.

He turned to the group, his voice firm, commanding.

"Alright, guys. Now it's here."

Everyone shifted their attention to him, the weight of his words sinking in.

He scanned their faces, making sure they were listening.

"Remember— we do not split apart. We stay together, no matter what."**

His tone was strong, unwavering.

"If one of us needs to explore something, we all explore it. No exceptions. No wandering off. No 'just checking something real quick.' We move as a unit."

His gaze hardened.

"We don't split. At all."

A beat of silence.

Then, one by one, heads nodded.

Nathan: "Crystal clear."

Samuel: "Understood."

Alice, still close to Ethan, gave a firm nod.

Milo smirked slightly but didn't joke this time. "For once, I actually agree. No splitting up."

Lena exhaled. "Yeah. Makes sense."

Toby adjusted his glasses. "Logical choice."

Ethan's eyes swept over the group one last time.

"Are we clear?"

A unified response—

"Clear."

No doubts. No hesitation.

Because once they stepped inside—

There was no room for mistakes.