Zack's POV
As soon as Ambrose opened the door, the cold air blowed in their faces. I was behind him when he opened it. Arya and Jake followed, maybe curious. Clark and Nicole watched us from a distance. While Mark and Ellie were hesitant at first to enter, but they eventually did.
I scanned the room. A small round table stood in the middle of the plain white room. Strange symbols covered its surface, glowing faintly as if alive. The walls were bare, smooth, and colorless, making the space feel empty and unnatural. A single black door stood behind us, stark against the white surroundings, as if it didn't belong.
In the center of the round table, eight strange carvings formed a perfect circle. They weren't just etched into the surface; they were raised, solid, and metallic, their silver sheen catching the dim light. Each one had a different shape—some with sharp, jagged edges, others with smooth, flowing curves. Thin, almost invisible lines connected them, forming a pattern too precise to be random. Though their meaning was unclear, the weight of their presence was undeniable, as if they were meant to be there, waiting to be claimed.
Then, I heard the door closed. It was Clark and Nicole who entered last. They walked towards the table.
"It's only silver?" Nicole said disappointedly.
"Yeah, I guess so, at least it wasn't bronze," Clark said, letting out a small laugh.
Clark was about to grab the metallic round object in the table, but, Ellie stopped him.
"No—wait. We don't know what is that," she said.
Clark shifted her gaze at her, then he patted his pockets as if searching blindly for something. When he found it, he grasped it for a moment before pulling it out.
It was the same as the metallic object in the table, but it has a different color—it was bronze.
"How—why do you have that? What is that?" Mark asked, voice laced with full confusion.
I am also confused because we haven't encountered anything like this from our previous trials. But, maybe Clark and Nicole did, because they are one trial ahead of us.
"According to the system's voice, this is a sigil. Just, wait for it. They will explain this to you, since this is your first time and it is our second," Nicole said, while grabbing one of the so called sigils in the table and putting it in the pocket of her leather jacket.
Then, the system's voice echoed through the room.
[Attention, Survivors.]
"There it is," Clark let out a chuckle.
[In front of you is a silver sigil.]
[There are three sigils given after third trial. Each sigil is given depending on the difficulty of the trial.]
[Bronze sigil is for entry level trials—meaning for easy ones. Survivor meets the basic survival requirements.]
[Silver sigil is for intermediate trials. Survivor has demonstrated advanced tactical awareness.]
[And gold sigil is for high-risk trials. Survivor has surpassed expected survival parameters.]
[Each of you will be given sigils, determined by your trial performance.]
[These sigils serve as proof of your achievements and may grant access to future opportunities within the system. However, be advised: the sigil you receive reflects your survival capability. The greater the sigil, the more dangerous the trials ahead.]
A moment of silence followed the announcement as we exchanged glances. The weight of what the system had just revealed settled heavily in my mind. These sigils weren't just trophies—they were a measure of our worth, a sign of what lay ahead.
Clark tossed his bronze sigil into the air and caught it effortlessly. "Well, that explains it. Looks like we're moving up in the world."
"Wait, you said that you encountered a group before?" Arya paused. "They were on their sixth trial, right?"
"Yes," Nicole replied.
"So, they already have four sigils since they have completed six trials, and this appears after trial three. Arya mused. "That means… if we meet someone with a gold sigil, we should assume they've been through something far worse than we have."
"Exactly," Clark said. "And if anyone has more than three sigils, that means they've gone beyond the standard trials."
Damn, this is far worse than I thought. First, the new attributes, then the new abilities and point system and now, this?
I clenched my fists, feeling an uneasy weight press down on my chest. So this was what the system had been tracking all along—our performance, our worth, our capability to survive. Was this why some people got easier trials while others were thrown into nightmares? The higher the sigil, the greater the risk. But did that mean those with bronze would always be stuck in the safer trials? And if someone had gold, would they be forced into something worse?
Then another thought hit me—was there a sigil beyond gold?
Mark, Ellie and Jake approached the table and claimed each of their sigils. Ambrose and Arya followed them.
Finally, I stared down the table, I looked at the silver sigil. It gleamed under the dim light, a symbol of both achievement and impending doom. It was carved with different patterns I could not comprehend.
If we kept moving forward, what else would the system throw at us? And more importantly… would we survive it?
"You know…we also heard a rumor about these sigils," Clark said. I finally turned my head to face them, while grabbing the only sigil left on the table and putting it in my pocket.
"There is also a black sigil," he continued.
"Well, the system didn't mention anything, but what is it for?" Jake asked, his voice full of curiosity.
Clark hesitated, glancing at Nicole before continuing. "The group we met—when they talked about the black sigil, they said it wasn't given to one of them."
I frowned. "What do you mean?"
Nicole shifted uncomfortably. "They were in the middle of a trial—a brutal one, worse than anything they'd faced before. The system told them that if they survived, they'd be granted a gold sigil. It was like the trial itself was designed to push them to their limits."
I didn't like where this was going.
Clark leaned forward slightly, his voice dropping lower. "But here's the thing, one of them saw something they weren't supposed to. During the trial, there was someone else with them. Someone they never noticed before. They only caught a glimpse, just a shadow, slipping through the chaos but for a split second, they saw the black sigil."
A heavy silence followed.
Jake furrowed his brows. "Wait, are you saying… someone in their group had it, and they didn't know?"
Clark shook his head. "No. That's just it. Whoever had the black sigil wasn't one of them. They didn't recognize them at all."
A cold feeling settled in my gut. "Then who the hell was it?"
Nicole's expression darkened. "That's the question, isn't it? The moment they realized what they were looking at, the person ran. Bolted out of sight like they weren't supposed to be seen. And before anyone could react, the trial ended. The survivors were transported out, and that… thing was gone."
I stared at them, my thoughts racing.
The system had always been watching us. We knew that much. But this? If someone—or something—had a black sigil, was present during the trials, and then vanished the moment they were noticed…
Then they weren't just another survivor. They weren't like us.
They were part of the system.
Ellie exhaled sharply. "So the system doesn't just test us. It sends things to watch us?"
Clark tossed his bronze sigil in the air again, but this time, there was no amusement in his face. "Maybe more than just watch."
I clenched my jaw, gripping my own sigil tightly. If the system was planting its own people—or whatever they were—inside our trials, then we weren't just fighting for survival anymore.
And I had the sickening feeling that the worst was yet to come.
Then, we all went out the black door, but beside it was the red door. I wonder what is behind it. And just so you know, Clark thought the same thing.
He reached for the handle without hesitation and pushed it open.
"Wait!" Ellie yelled, but it was too late. Clark went in, then Nicole followed. Ambrose, Mark and Ellie had a choice but they chose to follow them.
I can see the hesitation on Jake and Arya's face while they were exchanging glances. But, knowing them, they wouldn't want to leave anyone left for dead.
I, on the other hand was really curious but I didn't move forward. I had no choice when Arya immediately grabbed my arm.
A wave of artificial light spilled into the sterile white hallway, revealing something none of us had expected.