Ryn approached the stone platform first, the tablet he'd found tucked under his arm. He knelt, brushing away centuries of dust and sediment from the shallow groove carved into one side of the platform.

"Do we need to insert something in there?" Jay asked from behind him.

Ryn shrugged. The pedestal was intact, which was the only encouraging thing he could say about it.

He glanced between the crystal orb and the cracked stone tablet he'd scavenged from the library earlier. The drawing etched into the tablet was… generous to call "clear."

From what he could gather of the manual, the only decipherable part was the orb having to be in a certain orientation.

The rest of the instructions had lines missing and a corner that chipped off completely. It looked like someone had tried to explain a complex mechanism using a child's drawing.

Jay asked, "Do you… know what orientation that means?"

"No," Ryn said. "But it seems to have something to do with the sun?"

Jay went pale. "That doesn't narrow anything down!"

Ryn left the plate on the ground and grabbed the orb with both hands, trying to rotate it. It resisted at first, centuries of rust and sediment locking it in place—but with enough force, it groaned and shifted a few degrees.

He compared it again with the tablet.

The tablet offered nothing helpful. There was no clear indication of where the sphere was facing. After all… it was a sphere.

Ryn exhaled slowly. Time to cheat, just a little.

[Enhanced Senses].

His eyesight sharpened, motion more distinct. Ryn raised his gaze to the broken ceiling.

A faint, barely-visible thread of sunlight traced through the dust in the air—something no normal human eye could follow. It hit a reflective shard embedded high in the wall, then scattered into an almost invisible fan of rays.

Yeah…there's no way Rora figured this out. He definitely got lucky.

Jay, of course, saw nothing. He squinted at the ceiling.

"Are you looking at… dust?"

"No," Ryn said. "Light."

Jay blinked. "What light? It's just sunlight."

Ryn didn't answer. He was already moving, aligning the orb along the exact angle the reflected beam would hit.

It was subtle—off by even a few degrees, and the light would miss entirely. He nudged the orb a fraction of an inch left. Then right. Then tilted it a bit upward.

As the sun continued its crawl across the sky, that faint ray shifted…

Closer…

When it reached high noon, that's when everything clicked.

Ryn adjusted the orb one last time.

And then—

FWASH.

The sunlight hit the orb dead-on.

The crystal ignited with brilliant white light.

Jay shrieked. Ryn felt the platform hum beneath his feet.

He whispered, "Got it."

They both watched as the light inside the orb fractured, splintering outward. Then, it collapsed into a single beam that shot downward into the shallow groove on the stone platform.

The entire floor trembled.

Jay latched onto Ryn's arm. "It's humming, Ryn. Why is it humming?!"

"Because it's activating."

"That is NOT comforting!"

A deep, resonant vibration rolled through the temple, shaking dust loose from the walls. The groove lit up in a perfect circle, lines of light racing around the platform like a spinning wheel.

The orb flared brighter.

The air thickened.

Ryn felt a pull—gentle at first, then firmer, as if invisible fingers were wrapping around his torso.

"Oh no," Jay whispered. "Oh no no no—Ryn, we're being pulled—"

Light surged upward around them in a cylindrical column, enclosing them like a cage.

Jay grabbed Ryn with both hands now. "WE'RE GOING TO DIE—"

"We're not," Ryn said, mostly sure.

The pull increased as the platform lifted into the sky.

It blew past the several layers of water until they finally emerged over the land. The pressure that should've crushed them simply… didn't. The light shielded them, pushing the sea aside like parting a curtain.

The lift kept rising. Up past the waves, clouds, and the scenery below them. From here, they could see Lumen, a giant collective of light, appropriate of its title.

Ryn squinted through the glare.

The Isle came into view.

Dozens of floating landmasses drifted through the sky at different heights and angles, like an archipelago torn free from the world below and suspended in the heavens.

The largest island sat at the center, a sprawling stretch of emerald plains and dense forest, bathed in sunlight. Smaller fragments orbited it at a leisurely pace, some mountainous terrains, others vast jungles.

Jay gaped. "This is… impossible."

Ryn didn't disagree.

A network of bright rivers snaked between the islands, forming floating streams that drifted and reconnected as if guided by invisible hands. Birds and strange creatures glided from one island to another with effortless ease, wings catching wind currents that shouldn't exist.

Ryn scanned the nearest islands. Wildlife roamed freely—horned deer on the grassy plains, brightly feathered creatures perching upside-down on hanging roots, something massive moving between treetops with slow, rhythmic steps.

A whole ecosystem built into the place, a sanctuary of sorts.

But also a place where monsters far stronger than ground-level beasts would naturally evolve.

"Stay close," Ryn said quietly.

Jay swallowed hard. "Do we… pick an island? Or does one pick us?"

Ryn didn't answer.

Because the moment they landed, the platform behind them started descending again, leaving them stranded among the Isles of the Lost.

Ryn steadied himself on solid ground. Warm soil. Soft moss. Humid air thick with the scent of wet leaves and blooming flowers.

They had landed in what could only be described as a rainforest sitting on top of the sky.

Massive trees arched overhead, their canopies woven so tightly that sunlight filtered through in fractured emerald beams.

Strange flowers, those that Ryn has never seen before, bloomed on the jungle floor.

Ryn scanned the clearing.

The landing point was a small plateau of smooth stone jutting out from the forest floor, cracked from age but untouched by moss. It almost felt… placed. Like someone had built it.

Jay pushed himself upright and stared around, awe and fear warring on his face.

"This is insane Ryn, I wanna go back!"

Ryn nodded once. "Tough luck, Jay. We're stuck here for a week."

He stepped off the stone slab and into the forest proper.

Jay's voice wavered.

"Okay… fine. So first step is… orient ourselves, right? Figure out where we are? Which way is—uh—north? Or maybe we should just… find a path?"

Ryn didn't answer.

Not because he didn't know.

But because something was wrong.

Too quiet.

He scanned the shadows between the trees, letting his senses stretch outward. The forest pulsed faintly with energy, thicker than anything in the real world, dense enough to prickle against his skin. Every breath felt charged.

Jay kept talking nervously behind him. "Ryn? Ryn? Please don't be silent at a time like—"

"Jay," Ryn murmured without turning.

"…Yes?"

"Stop moving."

Jay froze instantly.

Ryn's gaze locked onto a dark patch between two massive roots. A patch that wasn't just shadow.

Something was there. Its eye shone through the shadow, like an illuminated light bulb.

Low to the ground, waiting for them to get careless.

Ryn's heart rate didn't change, but his hand drifted to his ring, ready to arm his sword at a moment's notice.

"We're not alone."

Jay's exhale was almost a whimper. "I—that—what—where?!"

Ryn didn't look away from the darkness.

"Don't run. Don't shout. Don't turn your back."

The eyes blinked once.

"Jay," he whispered, tone razor-sharp.

"Yeah?" Jay squeaked.

"On the count of three, we run."

"Wh—what? Ryn—wait?!"

"Three."

"Hold up! What's—"

"Two."

"Wait! I said wait!"

"One."

"Ugh… fine—"

"Go!"

Ryn bolted through the foliage, boots pounding against the mossy ground. Jay scrambled after him, already tripping over roots and branches.

Behind them, a low rumble, a vibration in the earth.

And then…

RRRROOOAAAAAR—

The forest exploded.

A white blur burst from the shadows, tearing through undergrowth like it wasn't even there. The air itself shivered under the force of its roar.

Jay screamed. "WHAT IS THAT?!"

Ryn didn't answer.

The creature was enormous, easily twice the height of a normal tiger, with fur like fresh snow that seemed to glow faintly under the filtered sunlight. Its stripes weren't black, but silver, shimmering like molten metal. Every step it took left dents in the earth.

And it was fast.

Much faster than either of them.

CRASH!

A fallen tree exploded behind them as the tiger barreled straight through it.

"Don't look back," Ryn said, breath tight.

"I ALREADY DID!"

Leaves whipped past their faces. Branches snapped under their feet. The forest blurred around them as Ryn pushed himself harder, lungs burning.

The tiger was gaining.

Too fast.

Not something an Aura Trainee could even scratch.

"Left!" Ryn barked.

Jay veered, nearly slipping on wet moss. The tiger pivoted effortlessly, claws carving trenches into the ground as it redirected mid-charge.

Then Ryn heard it, the sound of cascading water.

It was a waterfall.

His mind kicked into overdrive, devising countless of plans and scenarios while he feet kept running like his life depended on it…which to be fair, it did.

But only one plan of action came, the only way they could survive.

"Jay," Ryn said, calm despite the chaos.

"WHAT?!"

"When I say jump, we jump."

"EXCUSE ME—?!"

The trees thinned as they approached a cliff, there the waterfall was. Its rapid currents threw almost everything within it with great speed, disappearing down into what seemed to be a white abyss.

Jay stared over the edge and instantly screamed,

"NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE—"

The tiger burst from the trees behind them, eyes burning, claws carving trenches into the earth as it charged.

Ryn grabbed Jay's arm.

"JUMP!"

"WE'RE GOING TO D—"

They leapt.

The tiger lunged as well—

Its claws snapped shut around empty air as Ryn and Jay plummeted past the waterfall's edge and disappeared into the mist below.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.