The hallway buzzed faintly with electricity as Jack made his way back toward the dorms. His boots hit the metal floor with quiet, rhythmic taps, echoing softly against the walls. The silence here was a different kind of silence—not peaceful, but restrained. Like the building itself was holding its breath.
Jack's body ached. Not the sharp pain of battle, but the deep, worn-out kind that lived in the bones. Still, he walked steadily, fingers brushing the edge of the AI box in his hand. It was quiet now—powered down after hours of analysis.
His door slid open.
The dorm was dim, lit only by the faint yellow strip along the ceiling. Jack's eyes immediately found her.
Nova.
She was curled up in his bed, her knees pulled close, one arm hanging off the side. Her breathing was slow and even, and a soft line of her white hair fell across her face, brushing her lips as she slept.
Jack stared for a second—just enough to catch that small twitch of her nose, the way she moved just a little when the door hissed open. She looked fragile like this. Like someone who hadn't belonged in a place like this but was surviving anyway.
He stepped in quietly and moved past her without a word.
---
The bathroom lights flicked on as Jack entered, reflecting his tired face in the cracked mirror above the sink. His hair was damp with sweat, and dirt clung to his jawline. He peeled away his training-worn clothes—just scraps of fabric fused into the seams of his battle suit—and stepped into the shower.
The water was cold. It always was.
He didn't flinch.
As the spray hit his body, he leaned forward, palms against the wall, letting the water trail down over the scars, bruises, and cracked skin. He let out a breath.
Then he checked the worst of it.
His side—where Karn had smashed his ribs. It was healed, more or less. No more blood, no more swelling. But a deep purple bruise still marked the flesh, and the skin was tight from where it had mended.
> "Healed… but still hurt."
That summed up a lot of things lately.
After a few minutes, he stepped out, grabbed one of the thin gray towels from the shelf, and dried off. The fabric scratched against his skin, but he barely noticed anymore.
He walked over to the wall hook where his battle suit hung. The suit—organic in design, grown more than stitched—wrapped around his body as he pulled it on. Tight, armored at the joints, scarred from past fights. It was the only thing he had.
No spare shirts.
No pants.
No softness.
> "I've seen others with clothes… Some get boots. Jackets. Even gloves. Where the hell do they get them?"
He adjusted the strap on his shoulder and stared at himself in the mirror.
No answers.
Just more questions.
---
The bathroom door opened with a hiss as Jack stepped out.
He turned toward his bed—and froze.
Nova was already moving.
She rushed toward him and jumped up onto him in a quick, desperate hug, arms wrapping tightly around his shoulders, legs briefly pulling off the ground. Jack stumbled slightly, but caught her, one hand instinctively gripping her waist to keep her from falling.
"Jack!" she whispered into his neck. "You were gone again…"
He felt the tremble in her voice—barely held back emotion.
"I'm fine," he said quietly, voice low against her hair. "I just needed to think."
"I thought… maybe they took you. Maybe you went somewhere you couldn't come back from."
Jack didn't speak at first. He just stood there, arms wrapped around her, letting the warmth between them fill the gaps neither of them could put into words.
Finally, he whispered:
"I always come back."
Nova pulled back slightly, her eyes glassy but focused. "Promise?"
Jack hesitated… then nodded.
"Yeah," he said. "Promise."
The quiet was broken by a sharp, rhythmic knock.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Jack's body tensed instantly. Nova clung a little tighter to him, but he gently lowered her back to the ground.
He walked to the door.
The metal slid open with a hiss, revealing two guards in black armor, visors hiding their faces. One held a shock baton lazily at his side.
"You're up," the taller one said flatly. "Arena time."
Jack didn't flinch.
Nova's voice was a whisper behind him, "Be careful."
He gave her a small glance over his shoulder—just a flicker of connection—and nodded once.
Then turned, stepping into the hall without a word.
---
The arena lights burned bright this time—blinding white beams that illuminated the cold steel floor. The stands above were already filled with shadows—observers, gamblers, sick people waiting to be entertained.
Jack stepped into the ring. No mask. No nervousness.
And across from him stood Karn.
Bigger than last time. Shoulders swollen, chest puffed out like a swollen beast. Muscles flexed with every twitch. But it was the grin that said the most—sharp, cocky, confident.
"I'm going to kill you this time," Karn said, flexing both arms with a loud crack of bone. "No little tricks. No lucky hits. Just pain."
Jack didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
Because this time, he wasn't scared.
He was ready.
---
Karn roared and charged, thunder in his steps. The floor rattled beneath him as his mutated legs pushed him into a sprint. Foam built at the corner of his mouth. A monster in a man's skin.
Jack calmly raised one hand.
A small fungus bomb launched from his palm, arcing through the air before splatting near Karn's path—releasing a thick cloud of spores.
Karn didn't stop.
He pushed right through the fog, swinging wildly.
Jack dropped to one knee.
> Now.
From the ground beneath Karn's charging feet, Wrap Around erupted—a thick, vine-covered creature with six arms, each one coiling around Karn's limbs and waist in an instant.
Karn stumbled, caught mid-sprint. His arms flailed like a beast caught in a snare.
He screamed, shaking violently, muscles bulging as he tried to tear himself free.
But he couldn't.
It looked like a bear throwing a tantrum, raging against a trap it couldn't understand.
---
Jack stood and summoned his barbed whip—the spikes gleaming like serrated teeth.
He began to wrap the whip slowly around the trapped Wrap Around, coiling the entire vine construct like a python around Karn's body.
Then, Jack whispered, "Return."
Wrap Around melted into the whip, leaving the barbed coils to fully grip Karn alone.
The thorns dug in deep. Every twitch from Karn ripped his own skin more.
Karn snarled and twisted hard to break free.
The whip tore deeper.
"RAAAGHH—!!"
Blood sprayed.
And Karn turned to run, panic flashing in his wide, angry eyes.
But Jack didn't move.
Instead, from his back, five thin tendrils sprouted—Split Ends, lashing downward and anchoring Jack to the arena floor.
Then he pulled.
The barbed whip yanked backward, the tension slicing across Karn's back with a sickening tear. Skin and muscle split, blood painting the floor in wide arcs.
Karn collapsed, gasping—bleeding heavily, one arm dangling uselessly.
Jack began to walk forward.
Slow. Cold. Focused.
Karn, now trembling, looked up as Jack neared.
Then—desperate, furious—Karn swung one last time with his remaining good arm.
A right hook meant to shatter a skull.
But before it could land—
Chainline appeared behind Jack in a flash of dark mist. Silent. Towering. Its black-furred form lunged forward, biting down on Karn's arm with brutal force.
CRACK.
Then rip.
Karn's arm was torn from his body like paper.
He screamed—truly screamed—not in rage… but in fear.
Real, raw, choking fear.
He fell backward, clutching the gushing stump, sobbing now.
"P-please… wait…" he whimpered. "Please… mercy…"
Jack stopped in front of him, eyes shadowed by the arena lights.
He looked down at the monster who once made him afraid.
Then at Chainline, whose mouth still dripped red.
"…Eat," Jack said quietly.
Chainline lunged.
The screams that followed echoed in the arena.
And Jack didn't blink.