“Okay… okay, Neelam,” she whispered to herself. “You just have to survive one more day. One day, one night, that’s all. You’ve got this.”

She stepped lightly over a branch, her breath steady. The fog around her shimmered faintly with a blue hue, bending shadows and distorting shapes. To any Smiler, it would look like there were dozens of Neelams moving in the mist.

Her Fear Emotion made her unpredictable—terrifying even to monsters who thrived on human emotion. And despite her lack of brute strength, she had already slain more Smilers than most students. She even had five fingers hanging from her belt—proof of survival, proof of strength.

But survival also meant loneliness. She sighed. “I miss those idiots…”

Then, as if fate had heard her complaint, she noticed something strange—a boy sleeping soundly under a large oak tree, arms crossed behind his head, snoring loud enough to shake the leaves.

Neelam squinted. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

She walked closer, her footsteps silent as smoke. The boy didn’t move. Not even when a squirrel darted over his leg.

“…Is he dead?” she muttered, lowering herself beside him. But then she saw his face—calm, careless, slightly tilted to the side. That dark brown hair, the faint scar near his right eyebrow.

Her jaw dropped. “Wait a second… KYRON?!”

He snored louder in response.

Neelam’s eyebrow twitched. “Oh no, you are not sleeping through an exam that’s been killing people!”

She pulled her katana from its sheath and poked his cheek with the tip. Once. Twice. Thrice.

Kyron groaned. “Mmm… five more minutes…”

Neelam glared. “Wake up, you walking disappointment.”

Kyron’s eyes snapped open, fiery red with irritation. “Who the hell—?!” He sat up, blinking blearily, then frowned. “Oh. It’s you.”

“Yes, it’s me!” Neelam snapped, crossing her arms. “The person you abandoned the moment this exam started!”

Kyron rubbed his eyes and yawned. “Abandoned? I call it ‘strategic solo training.’”

“Strategic?!” She threw her hands in the air. “You ditched me, Ali, and Luca before we even made a plan!”

Kyron stretched lazily, unfazed. “Plans are overrated. Besides, look at me. I’m alive. Clearly, it worked.”

Neelam stomped her foot. “You’re alive because you were sleeping in the middle of nowhere like some forest monk!”

Kyron smirked. “Hey, maybe the Smilers were too scared to wake me. My aura’s that intimidating.”

“Your snoring is what’s intimidating,” Neelam shot back. “I’m pretty sure every Smiler within a mile knows where you are now!”

Kyron shrugged, completely unbothered. “Then let them come. I’ll burn them before breakfast.”

She facepalmed. “Unbelievable. You’re the first person I’ve ever met who naps through a death exam and still manages to sound cocky about it.”

He grinned faintly. “Thanks. I try.”

Neelam rolled her eyes but couldn’t help the faint smile tugging at her lips. “You’re impossible, Kyron.”

“And you worry too much,” he replied, leaning back against the tree again. “So what brings you here, Fear Queen?”

“Fear Queen?” she said, blushing slightly. “I swear, if you make that a nickname—”

“Already did,” Kyron said, closing his eyes again. “Has a nice ring to it.”

Neelam sighed, but this time it was softer—relieved, even. “You know… as much as I want to yell at you, I’m kind of glad you’re here.”

Kyron cracked an eye open. “Why?”

“Because,” she muttered, turning away, “if another Smiler shows up, you’ll probably make enough noise to scare it off.”

Kyron chuckled. “Fair deal. You handle the brains, I handle the naps.”

She huffed, unsheathing her katana again. “You mean I handle everything while you snore.”

Kyron grinned. “Details.”

And as the two continued their bickering under the pale moonlight, neither noticed the faint rustle of leaves above them

The moon hung faintly above the mist as Neelam and Kyron sat near the quiet oak. The tension from their earlier argument had melted into a soft silence, only the distant cries of other aspirants echoing through the forest.

Kyron stared up at the sky, his sword resting on his shoulder. “You never answered me,” he said suddenly. “What brings you here, anyway? I didn’t think you were the type to join this crazy exam for fun.”

Neelam paused for a moment, tracing her fingers across the hilt of her katana. Her voice softened. “I didn’t have anywhere else to go after my grandfather died. He was… the only family I had left.”

Kyron’s eyes shifted toward her. She continued, her tone steady but quiet. “He was a retired Hunter. Taught me how to use my Fear Emotion to confuse Smilers. After he passed, one of his old friends—an ex-Elite Fear user—took me in for training. Said I had potential. So… here I am.”

Kyron nodded, his expression calm but sympathetic. “Sounds like your grandpa raised a fighter.”

She gave a faint smile. “And what about you, Anger Boy? What brings you to the forest of nightmares?”

Kyron leaned back, exhaling slowly. “Smilers killed my parents. And displayed their corpses with such brutality I can't explain in words my blood was boiling with rage.”

Neelam’s eyes widened slightly, the wind stilling between them.

He continued, voice deep and calm. “That night… I awakened my Anger Emotion. Almost burned the whole house down trying to kill them. After that, I started hunting answers. Met two real Hunters on the road—they took me to Ayush Sharma. Then Ayush Sharma found me.”

Neelam’s brows lifted. “Elite Seven Ayush Sharma? The Blazing Bird?”

Kyron nodded. “Yeah. He trained me for a month. Helped me control the rage instead of letting it control me. I learned Bird Style—Flame Rush, Flame Slash, and Bird Dash. I’m still nowhere near his level, but I’ve been training with swords since I was a kid. Martial arts too. Killing, though…” He hesitated. “That’s new.”

Neelam smiled faintly. “Well, considering the mess we’re in, you’re adapting pretty fast.”

Kyron smirked. “Guess trauma’s a good motivator.”

Neelam chuckled softly, shaking her head. “You’ve got the most depressing humor ever.”

For a moment, there was quiet again. The forest seemed peaceful—too peaceful. Kyron’s gaze drifted lazily across the clearing… until something strange caught his attention. A long, thick shadow stretching across the ground beside them.

He frowned. “Hey, Neelam… is it me, or does that look like a spider’s shadow the size of a horse?”

She blinked. “What?”

He pointed upward. “There. On the tree.”

Neelam followed his gaze—and froze.

Clinging to the massive oak trunk above them was a creature straight out of nightmare. Eight glistening eyes shimmered in the dark, reflecting the moonlight like blood diamonds. Its fangs dripped with saliva that hissed when it hit the ground. Its entire body—pale, veined, and twisted—was wrapped in tattered remnants of human skin.

The Smiler grinned—wide, grotesque, and impossibly human.

“Oh my,” it hissed, voice echoing like scraping glass. “My food woke up? Because of this noisy girl? No worries… I’ll just eat you both.”

Neelam’s eyes widened. “It… it talked?”

Kyron’s grip tightened on his sword. “That’s not a normal one.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, stepping back instinctively.

“These are magical Smilers,” he said grimly. “They’re not mindless like the others. They’ve survived for years—some even decades. They can talk, strategize, and use special super powers called Laughter Skills.”

The spider Smiler tilted its head, saliva dripping from its mouth as if savoring their fear.

Kyron continued, his tone sharp. “They regenerate faster than we can react. One of them nearly killed me at the start of the exams.”

Neelam exhaled, half impressed, half annoyed. “You’re like a walking dictionary, you know that?”

Kyron shot her a glare. “Sorry for being the informed one here!”

The Smiler’s laughter crawled through the air. “You two talk too much.”

Then it moved.

With a screech that split the night, the creature lunged—six bladed legs tearing through the earth like scythes. The ground shook as trees cracked and splintered under its weight.

Kyron unsheathed his sword, flames flickering at the edge of the blade. “Guess nap time’s over.”

Neelam’s fog burst outward, the air instantly thick with illusionary shapes. “You think!?”

The Smiler’s eyes glowed crimson through the mist. “Run all you want… fear makes the meal sweeter.”

[TO BE CONTINUED]