"Contact!" Yu Xi shouted, firing his plasma rifle. The bolt seared through the air, grazing the beast’s flank. Its thin hide hissed under the impact, but more shadows moved in the brush. The pack was here.
The raptors dove in coordinated waves, talons slashing, teeth snapping. Vigil, met the first strike head-on, his aura flaring crimson as he deflected a claw swipe. Rowland and Arya, both Guides, pushed resonance barriers outward, stabilizing the Espers’ focus against the shrieks. Alessia and Kye unleashed psychic bolts, piercing the thin hides of two attackers, forcing them back.
Adonis shouted, "Left flank!" as another raptor dove. Reign spun, his aura forming a blade that cleaved through its wing. Nalani’s guiding resonance steadied Zayn, who fired a concentrated psychic lance that impaled the beast mid-air.
But the pack synergy was relentless. The raptors regrouped, shrieking in unison, their speed amplified by their collective aura. They struck again, harder, faster. The circle broke under the pressure. Yu Xi’s team was forced apart, scattered into smaller groups across the clearing.
Yu Xi found himself with Vigil and Arya, three against four raptors. Plasma fire lit the shadows, emerald aura blazing as Yu Xi fought like a storm. Vigil’s strikes were brutal, but the shrieks kept breaking his rhythm until Arya’s resonance steadied him. Together, they cut down two beasts, their hides pierced by coordinated fire.
On the other side, Alessia and Kye fought back-to-back, their psychic bolts weaving into a deadly rhythm. Rowland and Adonis struggled to keep them stabilized as three raptors circled, diving in waves. Alessia screamed as a talon grazed her arm, but Kye retaliated with a surge of psychic flame, burning through the beast’s thin hide.
Reign and Nalani were pinned near the treeline, Zayn beside them. A raptor lunged, its teeth snapping inches from Nalani’s throat, but Zayn’s emerald lance tore through its chest, dropping it instantly. Reign’s aura blade carved another, while Nalani’s resonance pushed the last one back long enough for Zayn to finish it.
Yu Xi’s voice rang out across the chaos, commanding, unyielding. "Regroup! Push them apart—they lose power when separated!"
The team obeyed, driving wedges between the raptors, isolating them from one another. Without their synergy, their speed faltered, their shrieks weakened. One by one, the beasts fell—pierced, burned, shattered by psychic strikes and plasma fire.
The clearing was littered with their bodies, the air thick with the stench of scorched hide. Yu Xi wiped blood from his lip, emerald eyes still glowing faintly. His chest heaved, but his voice was steady. "We survived the first wave. Stay sharp... This forest won’t forgive mistakes."
The team regrouped, battered but alive. They began to move into the thick forest guns still drawn. This was completely different from fighting in a simulation. It was more intense and terrifying.
Yu Xi moved at the front, his posture sharp and commanding as his team followed close behind. The map displayed their path, and ahead lay a field of white thorns.
Rowland edged beside him, his voice hesitant. "We... we have to go through that."
Rowland was timid around Yu Xi, always careful with his words. He had once tried to pursue Yu Xi, but failed, and though the sting of rejection lingered, he still sought moments to speak to him. More than once, he had been caught staring, his gaze lingering longer than it should.
Yu Xi’s response was a simple "Mm," as he studied the map. Rowland pursed his lips, embarrassed, and turned his eyes away. That was when he noticed a pink and red flower blooming on the thorny bramble. "So pretty," he murmured, reaching out instinctively.
Yu Xi’s hand shot out, gripping his wrist firmly. "Don’t touch," he warned.
Rowland’s heart skipped, his face flushing at the contact. But before he could dwell on it, Yu Xi raised his weapon and fired. The thorn bush shrieked, its illusion shattering. Purple blood sprayed as its skull burst open. The flower dissolved into grotesque tendrils—the true form revealed.
It was a psychic beast. The Mirrorthorn Wight, hidden in the bramble-choked hollows of the Whispering Thorns, was a predator of deception. Its body mimicked the gnarled brush, indistinguishable from the thicket. It lured prey with psychic mirages, striking with barbed limbs and a shriek that split minds, leaving victims paralyzed.
Its strengths lay in near-perfect camouflage, psychic manipulation, and the ability to fracture perception. The Mirrorthorn Wight was no ordinary predator—it didn’t simply project illusions. It read the psychic signatures of its prey, especially those with latent or active abilities. Once it locked onto a resonance, it twisted it into a weapon. A lost sibling, a forbidden ambition, a buried guilt, or a desperate hope—whatever burned brightest in the soldier’s mind became the Wight’s lure.
This process, known as Desire Echoing, allowed the beast to craft hyper-personal illusions that bypassed standard psychic defenses. Military-grade dampeners, designed to block generic hallucinations, were useless here. The Wight’s illusions were only as strong as the target’s ignorance of their own desires. Those who were self-aware could shatter the mirage like glass.
Rowland faltered, shaken by the phantom visions clawing at his mind. Vigil smirked, his voice dripping with disdain. "So stupid."
Nalani’s tone was sharp. "It’s a Mirrorthorn Wight."
Yu Xi’s command cut through the tension. "Move in pairs. Kill as many of them as you can."
The team surged forward, weapons raised. Vigil grinned, his arrogance unshaken. "Team leader, see you on the other side. I will have more kills than you."
Alessia snapped, her voice fierce. "This is not a competition, you dumb fuck!"
Vigil bristled. "Who the hell are you cursing at?"
Yu Xi’s voice thundered, silencing them both. "Not a place to argue. Focus."
Vigil mouthed with a glare, "Watch your back."
Alessia sneered, her tone sharp as steel. "Watch yours too."
The tension between them hung heavy, but the team had no time to dwell on it. They split into five groups, each moving into the thorn field where danger lurked unseen. Yu Xi, calm and commanding, turned to Rowland. "Stay alert."
Rowland nodded quickly, plasma gun raised. "Yeah."
Yu Xi led the way, his psychic threads unfurling like invisible tendrils through the dense thorns.