It began, like many conversations between the three, with a question from Gloria.
"Guruji," she asked, a glimmer of restlessness in her eye as they stood atop the frost-slick tower of the palace, "should we explore beyond the island? There's still two and a half years left…"
Guruji's response came slowly, like mist parting before a forgotten truth. "Leaving this island… is death."
She blinked.
"In a mystic way," he added, his tone threading between myth and warning. "What roams outside are not like the ones we've conquered. They are not test beasts. Not even guardians. They are… old. Tier 3 at least. Maybe higher. The ones we fought were left behind, like cubs in a sandbox."
Everett, leaning lazily against a pillar, nodded. "So we keep walking within."
And so they did.
---
The Island Within
For the next two and a half years, the three of them fought each other—not out of anger or ego, but for clarity. For polish. For the invisible sharpening of mystery and will. They clashed with such joy that sometimes the island shook, and other times it laughed back.
They journeyed through the island's many realms—through forest temples that whispered forgotten names, snowy hills that once buried whole wars, deserts that breathed like lungs, and frozen peaks so high they kissed the auroras.
They found wonders. In an ancient glade of the Evergloom Pines, Gloria discovered a tree whose leaves played songs from the future. In the heart of a desert crater, Guruji summoned a mirror that showed them each the beasts they feared most. Everett met an owl who taught him the difference between instinct and intention.
They grew not just stronger—but stranger, wiser, and more tuned to the island's pulse.
Two and a half years since the Trial began.
The three stood in the great hall of the Ganso Palace. A new creature lounged beside them—a Glimmer Wolf, the descendant of Everett's original summon, now matured and radiant. It was strong—stronger than most beasts now—and Everett patted its head solemnly.
"If anything happens to us, you're king," he whispered.
Then, Everett stood before the ancient system panel and pressed the Return button.
Dust swallowed them.
White swallowed the dust.
---
The Realm of Decision
Everett awoke in that familiar non-place—where color ceased to be, and only thought had form. The mist of white. The cloud of nowhere.
A familiar screen hovered before them.
Mission Complete: Conquer the Island
Extra Time Detected: Rewards Increased
Team Size Below Minimum (3 of 5): Rewards Increased
Choose 2 of the following rewards:
1. Complete the Picture of the Cube: Gain access to the Realm of Thousand Islands.
2. Merge Frost Realm with Thousand Island Realm
3. Time Skip in Frost Realm: 1,000 Years
4. Step into Tier 2 Mystery Master; Unlock Second Mystery Slot
5. Enhance All Nine Beasts
6. Merge Ganso Kingdom with Frost Realm
Everett stared long and hard.
"I want all of them," he muttered.
He imagined what Gloria would pick—probably the mystery tier, always aiming at the edge of knowledge. But Everett's path had always been different.
After a long silence, he made his choices:
Merge the Kingdom of Ganso with the Frost Realm
Time Skip Frost Realm by 1,000 Years
---
As soon as his decision was made, he found himself watching—no longer inside, but outside, as if witnessing the dream of a god forming itself.
From the cold nothing of the Frost Realm, islands emerged.
One massive island—100 times Earth's size—drifted above the frost-sun like a jewel. Around it, 8 guardian isles, each ten times Earth's size, formed a perfect ring. Around those, 36 smaller Earth-sized islands settled into position, like orbiting moons of a greater destiny.
The central island bore the Ash Storm Mammoth. The 8 surrounding islands housed Everett's remaining eight beasts. The 36 tribes below bore the demon beast families—their strength, rank, and pride carved into frost and bone.
Everett watched centuries pass like moments. Beasts birthed from frost and flame. New generations were not born through mating alone, but sculpted by the will of the realm itself. Only the Glimmer Wolf mated naturally, for it alone had met its kind in the Thousand Islands Realm.
These descendants—some replicas, some living extensions—each led their own tribes. Some were Tier 0, others reached Mystery Apprentice peaks. Over the centuries, their influence grew, and the Kingdom of Ganso became legend—its architecture a blend of tribal spires, icy thrones, and mammoth-carved obelisks.
As Everett watched the culmination of 1,000 years unfold in an eternal instant, he felt something shift—inside and outside.
He felt like he was breaking a mirror—yet simultaneously becoming the mirror. His body dissolved into concepts. His soul flared and curved into a glyph.
System Notification:
Tier 2 Mystery Master Achieved
Second Mystery Slot Unlocked
Mystery Unlocked: ["Chrono-Strain Eyes"]
And then—
Black.
In the distance, as if whispered through snow, Gloria's voice echoed in the frost:
"Yo… awake?"
But Everett did not answer—yet.
His soul was painting itself into the world again.
------