The wind was thinner on the ninth night.
Not colder.
Just emptier.
Eokimo noticed it while sitting against a broken stone pillar, staring at the dim blue countdown hovering at the edge of his vision.
[Time Remaining: 18:43:12]
Less than a day.
Nine days of walking.
Nine days of rationing water.
Nine days of avoiding things that moved wrong in the dark.
Rye sat a few meters away, sharpening the edge of his short blade against a flat rock. The scraping sound was slow. Steady. Controlled.
Neither of them talked much anymore.
They didn't need to.
Eokimo finally broke the silence.
"Tomorrow."
Rye didn't look up. "Yeah."
No excitement. No relief. Just acknowledgment.
Because both of them knew something simple:
If the Safe Zone was real, other Candidates would be heading there too.
And desperation made people worse than monsters.
They started moving before sunrise.
The sky was still gray when the terrain began to change. Fewer broken structures. More flat ground. The trees thinned out as if something had forced them back.
Eokimo felt it before he saw it.
A pressure.
Not like danger.
Like… structure.
The air ahead felt heavier, almost organized.
Rye stopped walking first.
"You feel that?"
Eokimo nodded.
No system notification.
No map marker flashing.
But something was definitely ahead.
They climbed the last rocky incline slowly.
And then they saw it.
A circular barrier of pale silver light, stretching wide across an open plain. It shimmered softly, almost calm. Like water suspended in the air.
Inside the barrier, faint silhouettes of ruins stood untouched. No broken edges. No distortion. Just stillness.
The Safe Zone.
Eokimo exhaled a breath he didn't realize he was holding.
But he didn't move.
Because they weren't alone.
Three figures stood near the edge of the barrier.
Watching it.
Waiting.
One was tall and broad-shouldered, holding a long spear made of dark metal.
One sat casually on a rock, spinning a coin between her fingers.
The third leaned against a cracked signpost, hood up, face mostly hidden.
They turned when they heard footsteps.
Silence stretched.
The spear-user spoke first.
"Day ten rushers, huh."
His voice wasn't hostile.
But it wasn't friendly either.
Rye stepped slightly in front of Eokimo — not dramatically, just enough to show readiness.
"No rush," Rye said evenly. "We made time."
The girl with the coin smiled faintly.
"Everyone says that."
Eokimo's eyes flickered to their status windows instinctively.
Nothing visible.
No shared info.
Good.
The hooded one finally pushed off the signpost.
"You two traveling together?"
"Yes," Eokimo answered calmly.
No hesitation. No weakness.
The spear-user studied him.
Then his gaze shifted — just slightly — toward Eokimo's right hand.
A subtle pause.
Eokimo noticed.
He didn't react.
But he knew what that meant.
Candidates could sense power changes.
Not details.
Not abilities.
But growth left traces.
And Eokimo had grown.
The coin stopped spinning.
"Relax," the girl said lightly. "If we were going to fight, we wouldn't be standing this close to the barrier."
That was true.
The Safe Zone shimmered softly behind them.
And then—
A faint pulse ran across the silver field.
A system message appeared before all of them simultaneously.
[Safe Zone Opens In: 00:32:14]
The countdown began.
No one moved.
The spear-user rested the butt of his weapon on the ground.
"So," he said. "We wait."
But tension didn't leave.
Because now there were five of them.
Five Candidates.
Five different survival stories.
And only the System knew what would happen once the barrier opened.
The wind passed through the plain.
Quiet.
Uncertain.
Day ten had begun.