"Suzaki, wakey wakey!"
I jolted awake, gasping for air, my body still on edge from everything that had happened. My head snapped toward the voice, only to find Carter leaning against the bed, grinning.
"Whoa, chill, man! It's just me," Carter laughed.
I let out a breath. (What a relief…)
Carter gestured toward the door. "Dude, you gotta come check this out. This place is insane!"
I rubbed my eyes, still groggy. "Carter…"
"Yeah, what's up?"
"Don't you think this is crazy? I mean… we were just listening to a masked man who supposedly killed 500 million people."
Carter's grin faltered slightly. "Yeah… I know. And I'm scared too. But we don't have a choice."
I met his eyes. He was right. There was no escaping this game. I sighed and nodded before pushing myself off the bed.
As we stepped outside of our rooms, my jaw dropped.
The place was massive—like a futuristic survival complex. There was a little fighting arena, a cafeteria, and countless training areas, each packed with people testing their weapons.
"Whoa… this is insane," I muttered.
"I know, right?" Carter smirked. "Oh, and check your hologram system—click 'Weapons,' and it'll assign you one automatically."
I asked "how do you know how to do this?"
"Oh well i was just tapping a bunch of buttons and suddenly i got a weapon"
I hesitated before tapping the option. A bright flash engulfed my hand, and when the light faded—
I was holding a sword.
"A sword?" I muttered, tilting it in my hand.
"Oh, nice! I got a scythe!" Carter grinned, twirling it around.
"Damn, that's actually badass," I admitted.
I glanced at the clock on my hologram. 3 hours left.
"OH SHIT, Shouldn't we be preparing or something?"
"Yup! That's why we're heading to the training room." Carter grabbed my arm, dragging me along.
The training room was packed with people sparring, testing their weapons, and strategizing.
Carter and I squared off, but he kept knocking me to the floor every time.
"Bro, you need to stop eating dirt," Carter laughed, holding out a hand to help me up.
From behind, I heard snickering.
A group of people stood near the edge of the room, whispering and pointing.
"That guy? He won't even make it past the next game."
"Yeah, dead weight. Might as well quit now."
My hands clenched into fists. I wasn't usually the type to care about what people thought, but their words hit a nerve.
Carter noticed. He sighed, giving me a pat on the shoulder. "Ignore them. They're just scared and trying to act tough."
Before I could respond, someone shoved me hard from behind.
I stumbled forward, catching myself before hitting the ground. My eyes narrowed as I turned around.
Roy Dunn.
Of all people… why did it have to be him?
He stood there, arms crossed, a smug grin plastered on his face. Behind him, his guild—already formed and looking well-prepared—watched in amusement.
"Heh, I'm surprised you even survived the first game with those puny-ass arms," Roy sneered.
I gritted my teeth. Why was he in my tower?
"Piece of shit…" I muttered under my breath.
Roy's smirk vanished. "What'd you just say?! I'll beat your ass right here and now!"
He cocked his fist back, ready to swing—
Until Carter shoved him.
Roy stumbled, barely catching himself. His guild members tensed, waiting for his reaction.
"You got a problem, freak?" Roy said.
Carter let out a calm breath before speaking. "We shouldn't be fighting before a life-or-death game."
Roy clicked his tongue, glancing at the clock. 10 seconds left.
"Tch. You got lucky," he muttered, stepping back. "Stay out of my way, dickhead." With that, he turned and disappeared into the crowd.
Then, the announcement came.
"Attention. The game will commence in 3 seconds."
"3…"
"2…"
"1…"
"Let the game begin."
The massive doors creaked open, revealing a sprawling cityscape.
It was massive—almost too massive to believe it was inside a tower.
"Is this whole city inside the tower?" Carter muttered.
I shook my head in disbelief. "Is this even real…?"
Our holograms blinked, displaying the game's objective.
GAME 2: JUGGERNAUTS
"In this game, two colossal beings—as large and powerful as elephants. Your goal is simple: Defeat one of them. The other will perish automatically. Good luck!"
We moved cautiously through the empty streets, scanning our surroundings.
"Come on, team! Let's prove we can take down a Juggernaut ourselves and show these losers who we really are!" A random player led a group of seven deeper into the city.
I looked up—and froze.
From the rooftop of a crumbling building, something dark gray lunged down at inhuman speed.
"WAIT, THAT'S THE JUGGERNAUT! LOOK OUT!" I screamed.
The guy turned, frowning. "Huh? I don't see anythi—"
SPLAT.
The Juggernaut landed on them, crushing them instantly.
Blood splattered across the pavement. Their bodies were completely destroyed.
I couldn't move. My breathing stopped.
All I could see was blood and shattered bones.
Carter grabbed my arm. "Suzaki, we need to go. NOW!"
I snapped out of my trance, my legs moving on instinct as we sprinted into a nearby building.
Carter and I peered through a broken window, his breath unsteady. Outside, the sounds of battle echoed through the streets—clashing weapons, desperate screams, and the thunderous stomps of the Juggernaut.
They were cornered in a narrow alleyway—seven people armed with whatever they could find: pipes, crowbars, hammers, even broken glass tied to sticks. They circled up, eyes wide, chests heaving, waiting for death..
It smashed through a dumpster like it was made of paper, sending one of them flying backward into a wall. The crack of bones was loud.
One charged with a metal bat, screaming in fear more than courage. The blow landed—but the bat bent around the Juggernaut's leg like rubber. The monster grabbed the attacker by the throat and slammed them into the concrete until their screams stopped.
Another tried throwing a Molotov, but their hands shook too much. The bottle shattered short of the target, flames flickering uselessly on the ground.
The Juggernaut roared.
Three ran.
One tripped.
She crawled, crying out for help, but no one looked back. The Juggernaut caught her leg, lifted her, and hurled her into a nearby window. The glass exploded, followed by silence.
Those who kept fighting were met with the same fate.
One swung a sharpened rod, stabbing into the beast's side. It barely flinched. It grabbed the rod—and shoved it back through the attacker's chest.
Another tried hiding behind a car.
The car was flipped.
Screams, metal crunching, blood spraying.
"Everyone out there is barely scratching it," he muttered. His grip on his scythe tightened.
I sat in the corner, my body trembling, my mind replaying the gruesome scene from earlier. The blood. The shattered bones. The way the Juggernaut crushed them like insects. My fingers dug into my arms, my breathing uneven.
"I… I don't wanna do this…" I whispered, the words barely leaving my mouth.
A new voice cut through the air, sharp and emotionless.
"Then don't. Just die like the others."
I stiffened. My head snapped up, and standing a few feet away were two unfamiliar figures.
Carter turned as well, his scythe gripped tightly, his stance ready for anything. "Who the hell are you guys?"
The shorter one, a 12-year-old-looking kid, smirked, his sharp dark black eyes glinting with amusement, like he was enjoying this whole situation. "I'm Kyle Young, and this guy here is Malik West."
Malik, a tall, sharp-eyed fighter, crossed his arms, analyzing us like we were just numbers on a screen. His expression was unreadable, his voice calm yet completely devoid of empathy.
"Those idiots out there?" he said, nodding toward the window where the battle raged on. "They have no clue what they're doing."
He turned his gaze toward me and Carter, his eyes darkening.
"And that thing?" His voice dropped slightly, like he was waiting for the right moment to strike. "It has a weakness. A pressure point somewhere. We just need to find it."
Kyle grinned, stepping forward and extending his hand toward Carter, his confidence almost unnerving.
"Join us. We could be stronger together."
Carter hesitated, his eyes flicking between Kyle's outstretched hand and me.
"And what about Suzaki?" he asked, his voice firm, unshaken. He gestured toward me.
Malik didn't even bother looking at me. Instead, he scoffed, his expression full of disinterest.
"No."
I flinched. Just like that? I wasn't even worth a second glance?
"He's already breaking down from seeing a few dead people," Malik continued, his voice colder than before. "He'd slow us down. We need people who can **keep up—**not liabilities."
My fingers curled into fists. I wanted to say something, prove him wrong, but no words came out.
Carter's fists clenched at his sides, his knuckles turning white. I could see the rage boiling inside him.
"Then forget it," he snapped. "I'm not leaving him."
Kyle sighed, his grin faltering just a bit, like this was some kind of mild inconvenience. He stepped back, shrugging.
"Alright, man," he said, slipping his hands into his pockets. "Suit yourself. But don't come crawling to us when you realize you made the wrong choice."
With that, Kyle turned on his heel, Malik following without a word.
We watched as Kyle and Malik disappeared into the shadows, their footsteps fading into the chaos outside.
Silence hung in the air for a moment.
Then, Carter turned to me. His expression was serious, but his eyes held none of the disappointment I expected.
"Suzaki," he said, voice steady. "We need to stop this thing."
I swallowed the lump in my throat. My body was still shaking, but… I couldn't let this fear hold me back.
I gritted my teeth and forced myself to stand.
"I won't slow you down anymore," I said, my voice stronger this time.
Carter gave a sharp nod, then glanced toward the stairwell.
"When we were climbing," he said suddenly, "I saw it—through one of the blown-out windows on the tenth floor."
"Saw what?"
"Smoke. Fire. Coming from one of the upper levels—real high. Looked like something up there's already burning out of control."
I stared at him, confused. "And?"
"And maybe," he said, stepping closer, lowering his voice, "just maybe… we can lure the Juggernaut into it."
"You want to drag that thing up?"
"Look, I'm not saying we go up to the roof and fight it mid-air like some anime final boss," he said, smirking faintly. "But if we can pull it toward the upper floors—guide it, piss it off enough—it might follow. That fire up there? Could melt its systems. Overload it. Or at least trap it."
It was insane. Risky. Desperate.
But it was something.
I nodded slowly. "Alright. Let's make it chase us."
Carter's grin widened as he spun his scythe, the blade gleaming.
"That's more like it."
Then we stepped onto the 10th floor—and the heat hit us like a wall.
Flames crawled up the walls and spread across the floor, crackling loudly, the air thick with black smoke. Every breath burned my throat, and sweat dripped down my face. The lights overhead flickered violently, casting everything in a sick, stuttering orange glow.
Carter wiped soot from his forehead and looked around, eyes narrowed. "Damn. It's worse up here than I thought."
I coughed into my arm , blinking against the smoke. "So, this is your big idea? Run straight into hell?"
"Not the whole plan," he said. "Just the start."
I shot him a look, but he was already scanning the far end of the corridor like he was mapping the whole thing in his head.
"Alright," Carter started, "the west side of this floor connects to the emergency stairs. If we can push up two more levels, we'll hit the fire zone I saw earlier—open structure, flames everywhere, possible gas leaks. If we get the Juggernaut up there…"
"It fries," I finished. "Or melts. Or explodes. Either way, we win."
"Exactly." He pulled the scythe from his back and spun it once in his hand. "We just have to make it follow us."
I frowned. "You really think it'll chase us through all that?"
"It went through walls, Suzaki. It's not subtle. If we make ourselves the threat, it'll come."
"And if it gets smart?"
"Then we make it angry. Scream, throw something, hit it if we have to. These things aren't tactical—they're aggressive."
I exhaled slowly. "This is such a dumb plan."
"But it's our dumb plan," Carter said, grinning.
We stood there for a second, the fire crackling around us, the air heavy with smoke and tension.
Then it hit me.
I straightened up suddenly, my voice cutting through the fire.
"Wait. Carter—wasn't there another Juggernaut?"
"I think so, but we can definitely beat bot—"
Something moved.
Before I could react, a massive shadow shot out of the smoke. My stomach dropped as Carter was yanked into the air.
His eyes widened. "What the—?!"
And then he was gone.
The Juggernaut hurled him through a shattered window, tossing him like a ragdoll into the night.
I froze.
"CARTER!!"
My scream ripped through the air, but there was no answer. No sign of him. Just the wind howling through the broken glass.
And then…
The Juggernaut turned toward me.
Its glowing red eyes burned through the smoke, locked onto me with pure, murderous rage.
I barely had time to think before it lunged forward and wrapped a massive hand around my legs.
The next thing I knew, I was dangling upside down, my head pounding as blood rushed to my face.
I kicked, struggled, gasped for air, but its grip wasn't budging.
Shit. I'm gonna die.
"GET THE HELL OF ME YOU SON OF A BITCH"
Panic kicked in. I yanked my sword and started stabbing its leg—hard.
Over and over and over.
The Juggernaut grunted, growling deep in its chest, but I didn't stop. I couldn't. I kept driving my blade into its flesh, each stab getting more desperate.
Finally, its grip loosened. It staggered backward—
Right into the fire.
Flames exploded around it, crawling up its body, engulfing it completely.
The Juggernaut let out a deep, guttural scream, the kind that made my entire body lock up in fear. It thrashed wildly, the heat making its armor glow red-hot as the metal melted into its skin.
I hit the ground with a hard thud, gasping as my lungs fought for air.
For a second, I thought it was over.
Then—
Through the roaring flames, something moved.
I stared, my chest tightening.
The Juggernaut crawled out of the fire.
Its skin was charred, its armor melted and fused to its body—but somehow, it was still standing. Still breathing.
Its eyes locked onto me again.
And now?
I was pissed.
I didn't wait to see what it would do next.
I ran.
I sprinted down the stairwell, my breath ragged, my legs burning with exhaustion. My mind was screaming at me to move faster.
Behind me, I heard it.
CRASH.
The Juggernaut was ripping through the walls, smashing through doors, tearing apart everything in its path.
It wasn't stopping.
And I was running out of time.
Finally, I stumbled onto the first floor, my legs burning with exhaustion. My chest heaved, every breath coming out in ragged gasps.
I didn't slow down.
I burst through the doors, nearly tripping over myself as I staggered outside.
The cool air hit me like a wave, a sharp contrast to the suffocating heat I had just escaped from. But I didn't have time to enjoy it.
Ahead, in the distance, I saw it—
A crowd of people.