Chapter 39: Months has passed! Moon and Selene materialized back in the First Sanctuary with a flash of light, the portal depositing them onto familiar frozen ground. The transition was jarring, one moment surrounded by the ancient temple’s oppressive atmosphere, the next standing under the familiar two moons of the sanctuary. Before Moon could even orient himself, movement caught his eye. Five wolves prowled nearby, their eyes turning toward the new arrivals with interest. Level six or seven, based on their size. Normally, they would have posed a threat, especially in a zone where death cost five lives. Selene didn’t even break stride. She raised her hand casually, and a basic wind blade manifested—nothing complex. The attack traveled the air at an alarming speed. When it landed on the targets, all five wolves collapsed simultaneously, their bodies severed cleanly. Moon stared at the corpses, then at Selene. "Well, that was quick." Moon smiled. Selene nodded her head. "The gap between us is too high." They’d grown so much stronger. What would have been a genuine fight before was now trivial. Neither bothered harvesting materials. They had more important things to address. "Let’s head back to the base," Moon said. Selene nodded, and they began the trek through the forest landscape. The journey that had once felt dangerous now seemed almost mundane after everything they’d survived. The weather was warm, nothing like the frozen hell they had survived for long. The punishment for death was lower too. When they finally reached the main human base—the one where they’d first entered the sanctuary together—Moon spotted an awakener near the gate. The man looked to be in his mid-twenties, wearing practical gear and carrying a worn sword. "Excuse me," Moon called out, approaching. "What day is it?" The awakener glanced at them, taking in their battle-worn appearance and scorched equipment. "Third of the month. Why?" Moon’s stomach dropped. They’d entered the hidden realm on the fifteenth. If it was now the third, that meant time had somehow...reversed, unless... "Wait," Selene said, her voice tight with confusion. "What month?" The awakener frowned at the strange question. "It’s the fourth month of the cycle. Is something wrong with you two?" Fourth month. They’d entered during the first month. Fifteenth day of the first month, to be precise. Moon’s mind raced through the calculations. If it was now the third day of the fourth month, that meant... Nearly three months. They’d been in the hidden realm for almost three full months. Moon turned to look at Selene, seeing his own shock mirrored perfectly in her expression. Her face had gone pale, her eyes wide with disbelief. Three months. It had felt like half a month at most. Two weeks, maybe three if he was generous with his estimate. The days had blurred together in the constant struggle for survival, but surely not that long. Surely not three entire months. But the man didn’t lie, there was no reason to. The time difference was staggering, and yet undeniable. The awakener was looking at them strangely now, clearly confused by their reaction to such a simple question. "You two okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost." Moon forced himself to respond. "We’re fine. Just... lost track of time." That was the understatement of the century. The awakener shrugged, already losing interest. "Whatever. I need to join my team. Good luck with... whatever you’re dealing with." He walked away, leaving Moon and Selene standing in stunned silence. Three months in that frozen hell. Three months of fighting, surviving, watching people die. Three months compressed into what their minds perceived as mere days. "How is that possible?" Selene whispered. Moon shook his head slowly. "Hidden realms exist outside normal space. Maybe they exist outside normal time too. Some kind of temporal distortion." It made a twisted kind of sense. The realm had been a trial, a test. Perhaps extending the perceived time was part of that test—making awakeners endure more than they thought possible, breaking them down through duration as much as danger. Three months. Moon looked down at his hands, at the calluses and scars that had formed. At the equipment that was worn far beyond what two weeks would justify. His body had known, even if his mind hadn’t fully processed it. "Everyone we knew..." Selene started, then stopped. Moon understood what she was thinking. Everyone they’d entered with—Derek’s team, the others who’d been pulled into the realm—they were all dead now. And the world had moved on without them for three months. Sarah was probably long gone from the beginner base by now. She and Marcus’s team would have leveled up, moved on to better hunting grounds or possibly even started preparing for the trials to reach the second sanctuary. Not that it mattered. Moon had stopped caring about Sarah the moment she’d abandoned him in his darkest hour. "We should rest," Moon said finally. "Actually, rest. In a real bed. With actual warmth." Selene nodded, still looking dazed. "Yeah. Rest sounds good." They walked into the base together, two survivors who’d lost three months of their lives to a frozen nightmare, carrying powers they shouldn’t possess and secrets they couldn’t share. Inside the base, near the shimmering rifts that transported awakeners back to Earth, Selene and Moon stood facing each other. "So, what are you planning to do after resting?" Selene asked, looking at Moon with genuine curiosity. Moon considered for a moment before answering. "Probably head back here after a few days, then try to find transport to a more advanced base. As you know, the beasts around here will no longer allow us to level up efficiently. We’re too strong for this area now." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢 "That’s true," Selene agreed, nodding. "I’ve planned the same thing, actually." She paused, then added with careful casualness, "Want to exchange numbers? You know, maybe we can hang out on Earth? Get actual food that doesn’t taste like frozen monster meat?" Moon remained silent for a moment, weighing the request. There were implications to exchanging contact information, connections that went beyond simple friendship. But they’d survived together. Fought together. That had to count for something. "Sure, we can do that," he said finally. Selene’s expression brightened noticeably. "Great! Can I have your number?" Moon shook his head. "Wait, I wanted to get yours instead. I didn’t memorize my number. Can you write it on my armor or a piece of parchment?" Selene quickly rummaged through her belongings and produced a small piece of parchment, pulling out a charcoal stick to write with. Her handwriting was neat and precise as she jotted down the digits. "Here," she said, handing it over with a smile. "Call me when you’re free or just to talk. Whatever." "Sure," Moon responded, carefully folding the parchment and tucking it into his armor. After their brief exchange, both turned toward the portal. The swirling energy beckoned, promising warmth and civilization and all the comforts they’d been denied for three months. Although they had survived a trial together, faced death side by side and emerged victorious, Moon was still unable to fully trust Selene. By giving her his number, he would be practically handing her his identity on a platter. Phone numbers were tied to government records, addresses, family information. If she had a powerful family—which he strongly suspected she did, given her rare class and general demeanor—she could easily use those resources to dig into his background. Where he lived. Who he was. Everything. He couldn’t allow that to happen. At least not yet. He couldn’t afford to trust anyone completely, even someone he’d survived a life-and-death battle with. There was still more to uncover about people. More layers to peel back before real trust could form. Just like how he had hidden his true nature—his Classless anomaly, his ability to copy classes, his Grim Reaper talent—he was certain Selene was hiding things too. Everyone had secrets in this world. Everyone had cards they kept close to their chest. That was simply how survival worked. The portal shimmered before them, its surface rippling like disturbed water. According to the information they’d been given during orientation, the portal would return new awakeners directly to the location they’d been transported from during their first summoning. For Moon, that meant the small apartment that he used to live in. "See you soon, Moon," Selene said, offering him one final smile before stepping toward the portal. "Yeah. See you," Moon replied. Selene walked through first, her form dissolving into light as the portal accepted her. Then she was gone, returned to Earth and whatever life awaited her there. Moon took a breath, steeling himself for the return, and stepped through.