The afternoon trials began two hours after the morning session’s grim conclusion. Three deaths, six new Champions, and one saboteur restrained in security holding. Eighteen candidates remained, their fates uncertain.
Sekar had called a brief recess. Families needed ti to process the morning’s horrors—watching Siti die from System rejection, then Sari and Gita murdered by ntal attacks. The observation room still echoed with grief. Siti’s mother had been sedated. Sari’s mother was inconsolable. Gita’s family had withdrawn entirely, unable to watch anymore.
But eighteen candidates still waited. Eighteen families still hoped. And the void war would arrive in thirty-two days regardless of grief or fear.
The trials had to continue.
Rama stood in the trial preparation area, addressing the remaining candidates personally. They deserved to know what happened. Deserved to understand the danger wasn’t just System rejection—it was sabotage.
"Two of this morning’s deaths were murders," he said bluntly. "A Dragon’s Gate operative infiltrated the candidate pool. Used ntal attacks through System connections to cause catastrophic failures. We identified and stopped him. He’s in custody. The threat is neutralized."
Murmurs of fear and anger rippled through the group.
"I’m telling you this because you deserve truth. The trials are dangerous. Fifteen percent mortality from System rejection is expected. But sabotage adding extra deaths? That’s unacceptable. We’ve eliminated it. What remains is honest trial—you versus the System. No interference. No attacks. Fair judgnt."
A female candidate nad Lina raised her hand. "What if there’s another saboteur you didn’t find?"
"Then I’ll find them during trials and terminate their chamber imdiately. Like I did with Dimas." Rama’s voice hardened. "No more candidates die to Dragon’s Gate’s gas. You have my word."
Another candidate—Adi, the angry one from earlier screenings—spoke up. "When this is over, when trials are done, what happens to Dragon’s Gate? They murdered two people. They tried to murder more. Do they just... get away with it?"
"No," Rama said coldly. "They don’t. After trials complete, we’re building a criminal case. Mass murder conspiracy. Arif Santoso and anyone else involved will face consequences."
"Legal consequences," Adi pressed. "Or real consequences?"
The question hung in the air. Everyone knew legal consequences for powerful guilds were often minimal. Fines. Sanctions. Rarely actual justice.
Rama t Adi’s eyes. "All consequences necessary. Legal and otherwise."
Adi nodded, satisfied with the ambiguity.
The third batch of ten candidates entered their chambers as afternoon sun stread through the observation room windows. Rama and Sekar returned to monitoring stations, watching vital signs and compatibility readings with exhausted vigilance.
Six hours of trials had drained everyone. dical staff looked haggard. Security teams were tense. Families watching their children face potential death were barely holding together.
But eighteen candidates remained. The trials would continue until completion.
Phase 1 began. ntal fortitude testing.
Three candidates failed within minutes. Panic responses. System rejection. But alive. Evacuated to recovery.
Seven remained for Phase 2.
Physical integration proceeded more smoothly than morning sessions. No sudden catastrophic drops. No ntal attacks disrupting compatibility. Rama watched neural activity scans constantly, searching for dual processing patterns that would indicate another saboteur.
Nothing. All seven candidates showed normal trial patterns.
Two failures occurred naturally—bodies unable to handle Champion transformation despite adequate ntal fortitude. But no deaths. Both candidates survived rejection.
Five reached Phase 3. Worthiness judgnt.
Two successes erged by mid-afternoon. Both Level 33 Champions. Exhausted but alive.
Three failures at worthiness—the System deed them incompatible despite surviving physical integration.
Third batch complete. Two more Champions. Zero deaths. Five rejections, all alive.
"Eight Champions total," Hendra calculated as the third batch concluded. "Three deaths—one natural, two murdered. Fifteen rejections alive. Twenty-eight candidates processed. Ten remain for evening sessions."
"We’re ahead of expected pace," Sri noted. "Eight Champions from twenty-eight candidates is twenty-eight percent success rate. Higher than predicted."
"Because we stopped the saboteur," Sekar said. "Without ntal attacks killing high-compatibility candidates, natural success rate is better than baseline estimates."
The fourth batch of eight candidates entered chambers as afternoon stretched toward evening. Rama’s exhaustion was mounting, but he forced himself to maintain [Tactical Overseer] vigilance. Every candidate deserved his full attention. His best effort to keep them alive.
Phase 1 eliminated one imdiately. Seven remained.
Phase 2 proceeded steadily until Chamber 31 showed sudden complications.
Candidate nad Ratna. Female, age twenty-four, dical student. Her compatibility had reached sixty-eight percent when her body began rejecting. Not catastrophically like murdered candidates. Just... failing. Cells unable to complete transformation.
Sixty-eight to sixty-four to fifty-nine. Steady decline.
dical team monitored helplessly. This was natural rejection. No sabotage. Just incompatibility between her biology and Champion transformation.
[CHAMBER 31: FATAL REJECTION - PHYSICAL INCOMPATIBILITY]
[COMPATIBILITY: 47%]
Fourth death. First natural death of the afternoon. A candidate who’d done everything right, whose worthiness was never in question, but whose body simply couldn’t handle the change.
Her family in the observation room wept quietly. No screaming. No rage. Just profound sadness. They’d known the risks. Understood the fifteen percent mortality. But understanding didn’t make loss easier.
Rama felt the weight of it. Four deaths. Thirty candidates processed. Thirteen percent mortality so far. Within expected range. But every death was a person. A family destroyed. A future erased.
Necessary sacrifice, he reminded himself. Four deaths now save thousands later. The math is clear.
But math didn’t make it easier.
The remaining six chambers in batch four completed trials over the next hour. Three more Champions erged. Three failures, all alive.
By late afternoon, thirty candidates had been processed. Eleven Champions created. Four dead. Fifteen rejected but alive.
Eight candidates remained for the final evening session.
And that’s when Hendra Wijaya arrived.
The commotion started at the main entrance around four in the afternoon. Security alerted Sekar imdiately.
"Guild Master, we have a situation. Dragon’s Gate Guild Master Hendra Wijaya is at the front gate with dia entourage. Twenty reporters. Five cara crews. He’s requesting entry to ’observe trials and offer support for candidate safety.’"
Sekar’s expression went from exhausted to furious in an instant. "Absolutely not. He’s banned from guild premises. Deny entry."
"He’s holding a press conference at the gate. Caras are rolling. He’s making statents about trial safety concerns."
"Of course he is." Sekar stood abruptly. "I’m handling this personally. Rama, continue monitoring the break period. I’ll deal with our uninvited guest."
She stord out. Rama watched her go, then pulled up security cara feeds showing the front gate.
Hendra Wijaya stood before a cluster of dia, looking concerned and professional. Expensive suit. Sympathetic expression. The perfect image of a caring guild master worried about candidate welfare.
"—simply want to ensure no more unnecessary deaths occur," he was saying as Rama tuned into the audio feed. "Dragon’s Gate has extensive experience with System trials. Our dical expertise, our safety protocols—we’ve offered to share them with Eternal Bond. But our offers have been rejected. We can only hope that pride doesn’t cost more young lives."
The reporters ate it up. Caras recording every word. Social dia would be exploding within minutes.
Sekar appeared on cara, approaching the gate with controlled fury.
"Guild Master Wijaya. You’re trespassing on Eternal Bond property. Leave imdiately."
Hendra turned, smiling warmly for the caras. "Guild Master Aditya. I’m not on your property—I’m on public sidewalk outside your gate. Perfectly legal. I’m simply expressing concern for candidate safety."
"Your concern is noted and rejected. We don’t need Dragon’s Gate’s interference."
"Interference? I’m offering help. Four deaths already, I’m told. Four young people dead in trials that perhaps could have been safer with proper support."
"Four deaths from thirty candidates is thirteen percent mortality. Below our predicted fifteen percent. Within acceptable paraters."
"Acceptable?" Hendra’s tone was sharp. "You find four dead children acceptable?"
"I find sacrifice necessary when preparing for extinction. Those four knew the risks. Their families knew the risks. They chose to try anyway because becoming Champions saves thousands of lives."
"Or perhaps they died because Eternal Bond lacks the resources and expertise to conduct trials safely." Hendra gestured to the caras. "Dragon’s Gate could have provided additional dical support. System researchers. Safety consultants. But you refused. Out of pride. And now four families grieve."
Sekar stepped closer to the gate, voice ice cold. "You want to talk about deaths? Let’s talk about Sari and Gita. Two candidates murdered by ntal attacks during trials. Murdered by your operative. Your saboteur. Dimas Santoso—currently in our custody, confessing to being trained by Dragon’s Gate to disrupt trials and cause deaths."
Hendra’s expression flickered. Just slightly. "That’s a serious accusation."
"It’s a fact. We have evidence. Confession. Brain scan data showing dual processing during trials—attacking other candidates while maintaining his own trial. He murdered two people. On your orders."
"I have no knowledge of any operative. If soone claiming Dragon’s Gate affiliation committed cris, that’s news to ."
"Convenient denial. But Arif Santoso—your asset acquisition specialist—recruited and trained both infiltrators we’ve caught. Fajar this morning. Dimas during trials. Both confessed to working for Dragon’s Gate. Both trained to cause deaths and force us to accept your ’help.’"
The reporters were recording frantically. This was explosive—public accusations of murder conspiracy between rival guilds.
"Again, serious accusations without proof," Hendra said smoothly. "But if you have evidence of cris, present it to authorities. I’m sure investigations will clear Dragon’s Gate of any wrongdoing."
"Oh, we will. After trials complete. Full criminal case. Mass murder conspiracy. Your guild, your specialists, your operatives—all facing charges."
Hendra smiled coldly. "Good luck with that. Now, about the trials—eight candidates remain, yes? I’d hate for more deaths to occur because of insufficient support. The offer stands. Dragon’s Gate resources. dical expertise. System researchers. All available if you ask."
"We don’t need your poisoned help."
"Then I hope the remaining eight survive without it. For their families’ sake." He turned to caras. "I’ve made my offer publicly. If more deaths occur, everyone will know Eternal Bond had alternatives and refused them."
Before Sekar could respond, Hendra shifted topics smoothly.
"Guild Master Aditya, while I have your attention—I wanted to extend a personal offer as well. One professional to another."
"I’m not interested in anything you’re offering."
"Hear out. You’re S-rank. Level 67. Indonesia’s third-strongest hunter. You have incredible potential." He paused. "Yet you’re wasting it at Eternal Bond. Small guild. Limited resources. And worse—" His eyes flickered with disdain. "—burdened by dead weight."
Sekar’s expression went dangerous. "Excuse ?"
Hendra gestured dismissively toward the guild headquarters. "Your husband. E-rank for years. Suddenly ’Champion’ after convenient System awakening. Convenient timing, don’t you think? Right when you needed credibility boost for these trials."
Rama, watching through security feeds, felt sothing cold settle in his chest.
Here it cos. The public insult. The provocation.
"Dragon’s Gate could offer you so much more," Hendra continued, caras recording every word. "Real partners. A-rank hunters. International connections. Not... this." Another dismissive gesture. "Not an E-rank husband playing at being special."
Sekar’s voice could have frozen fire. "You’re insulting my husband. To my face. On cara. Publicly."
"I’m offering you an escape. Join Dragon’s Gate. Leave the dead weight behind. Beco the hunter you deserve to be without being held back by—" He paused, choosing words carefully. "—unfortunate personal attachnts to incompetent partners."
In the observation room, Rama stared at the screen.
Tiline 1, you died screaming. Void corruption eating you alive three months after Herald arrived. I watched you die because you refused to prepare. Refused to believe until too late.
Should I warn you? Tell you what’s coming? Save your life?
Or let history repeat?
On screen, Sekar stepped even closer to the gate. Dangerous smile. Yandere energy radiating.
"Let be absolutely clear, Hendra. Rama is my husband. My partner. My Champion. He led thirty hunters to perfect execution. Zero deaths. Record ti. He’s preparing humanity for extinction while you play corporate politics. He’s worth more than your entire guild combined."
"Protecting the E-rank. How touching." Hendra laughed. "We’ll see how protective you feel when void entities don’t arrive. When his ’prophecies’ prove false. When you realize you’ve tied yourself to a fraud."
"Thirty-two days," Sekar said coldly. "The Herald arrives in thirty-two days. Level 73 void entity. When it appears exactly as predicted, you’ll understand your mistake. But by then, preparation ti will be wasted. Your guild will be unprepared. And you’ll die screaming while Champions you mocked save everyone else."
"Bold claims from soone married to dead weight." Hendra straightened his suit. "The offer stands, Guild Master. When you’re ready to leave the incompetent husband behind and join a real guild, Dragon’s Gate will welco you."
He turned and walked away, dia entourage following.
Sekar stood at the gate, shaking with fury.
And Rama, watching from the observation room, made his decision.
Tiline 1, I could’ve warned you. Could’ve told you void entities were real. Could’ve saved your life.
Tiline 2? You just called dead weight. Insulted my wife. Used murdered candidates for political theater.
So no. No warning. No salvation. No second chance.
You die in thirty-two days when Herald arrives and you’re unprepared.
So people earn their fates.
You just earned yours.
His phone buzzed. ssage from Yanto.
Yanto:Hendra’s press conference is everywhere. #DeadWeightHusband trending. Dragon’s Gate supporters celebrating. Your move?
Rama typed a response.
Rama:No response. Let him celebrate. In 32 days, Herald arrives. He’ll understand then. Too late, but he’ll understand.
He looked at the remaining eight candidates preparing for final evening session.
Eight more trials. Hopefully more Champions. Hopefully no more deaths.
Then the real war with Dragon’s Gate would begin.
Because Hendra Wijaya had just made it personal.
And personal wars had personal consequences.
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