The cavern roared with silence.
Not the silence of peace—no, this was the silence before a blade pierced flesh, the silence before a storm ripped the earth apart.
Kyle stood between two predators. His lungs burned, his body screamed, but his spirit refused to collapse. Every nerve inside him throbbed with one truth: this was the first true test.
The betrayer smirked, eyes glinting with venom. He was exactly as Kyle remembered him—the comrade who once shared fire, bread, and blood. The man who had driven a blade through his chest.
And opposite him, Player #2. The silent hunter. Calm, cold, his presence exuding a killing intent that felt almost mechanical. Where the betrayer burned with spite, this one radiated inevitability. He wasn't fighting out of hatred. He was fighting because it was simply what the game demanded.
Two predators. One prey.
[Quest Updated: Dual Threat Encounter]
[Survival Rate: 28%]
Kyle's teeth clenched.
Twenty-eight percent.
Not zero.
The betrayer's voice slithered into the cavern. "Do you remember, Kyle? The day we swore we'd rise together? You believed in me." He tilted his head, the same mocking tilt that once reassured Kyle during training. "And that belief is why you died."
Rage boiled in Kyle's veins, but rage alone wouldn't save him.
Player #2 broke the silence. "Stop talking. Kill him. Or I will." His voice was sharp, clinical, as if time itself couldn't be wasted on conversation.
The betrayer chuckled. "Impatient, aren't we?"
Both moved at once.
Kyle's vision blurred as instinct took control. [Battle Instinct Lv.1] flared again, dragging the world into slow motion. His ears caught every scrape of boot against stone, every shift in weight.
The betrayer lunged low, blade flashing red. Player #2 descended high, his obsidian sword carving arcs of death through the air.
Kyle had less than a heartbeat.
He leapt backward, twisting, and for the first time—not by chance, not by desperation—he chose his escape route.
Two blades clashed against each other where his chest had been a second ago. Sparks exploded, ringing through the cavern.
The betrayer snarled at Player #2. "Stay out of this."
"No," Player #2 answered coldly. "He's mine."
Kyle's chest heaved. They weren't allies. They weren't even partners. These two killers were just as ready to strike each other as they were him.
A system chime rang in his ears.
[Hidden Menu Detected]
[Would you like to Open? Y/N]
Kyle froze. A hidden menu? Now?
The betrayer noticed his hesitation and pressed forward, blade aimed straight at Kyle's throat. Kyle ducked under, feeling steel graze his cheek. Blood spilled warm and hot down his face.
[Open Hidden Menu: Y]
His vision blurred white for a heartbeat. Then—
A new interface unfolded. Unlike the clean, sterile blue of the normal system, this one dripped with crimson edges and jagged fonts.
[Blood Oath System Unlocked]
[Requirement: Life or Death Encounter]
Kyle's breath caught. Blood Oath?
The menu pulsed. Three lines appeared:
Oath of Survival: Exchange permanent vitality to gain temporary strength.
Oath of Vengeance: Bind your soul to a target. Death will not release you until vengeance is claimed.
Oath of Defiance: Reject system rules. Risk permanent erasure for a chance to bend reality.
Kyle's eyes widened. This wasn't power. This was a gamble. Each choice was a chain—and a key.
The betrayer charged again. Player #2 mirrored him. The cavern was collapsing into chaos.
Kyle's mind raced. He had seconds.
"Choose, Kyle…" whispered a voice that wasn't his own. It slithered through his skull, ancient and mocking. "Choose, or be erased."
His fingers trembled. He clenched them into fists. "No. I'm not choosing chains."
Instead of selecting an oath, he did something reckless. Something insane.
He slammed both palms into the menu.
[Error: Multiple Selections Detected]
[Warning: System Instability]
[Proceed? Y/N]
Kyle roared, "YES!"
The cavern erupted in light.
His veins burned like molten iron. Pain ripped through him as though every nerve was being rewritten. His scream tore through the cavern, and for the first time—the betrayer and Player #2 both paused.
System text flickered violently:
[Blood Oath Fusion Detected]
[Classification: ???]
[Title Earned: The Defiant]
[Ability Granted: Breaker's Will Lv.1]
Breaker's Will?
Kyle staggered forward, eyes glowing faint crimson. His wounds sealed instantly, but the cost was clear—his vitality dropped by half.
[HP: 50/100]
[Warning: Vitality permanently reduced]
The betrayer's smirk faltered. Player #2's expression shifted—not shock, but calculation.
Kyle's voice was a growl. "You both wanted prey." His body trembled as new strength coursed through him, unstable but intoxicating. "Now you've found something else."
The betrayer sneered. "Even with tricks, you can't—"
Kyle vanished.
No warning. No buildup. One moment he was in front of them, the next he was behind the betrayer, fist glowing with crimson light.
The punch landed. Bone cracked. The betrayer flew into the cavern wall, stone shattering on impact.
Even Player #2's eyes narrowed at the speed.
Kyle turned, panting, crimson energy dripping from his skin. "Come, then." His words cut the air like blades. "Test me."
[Quest Updated: Survive or Overcome]
[New Modifier: Paths Diverge]
Player #2 raised his sword again, but his voice lowered. "Interesting. The System has chosen you differently."
The betrayer coughed blood, rising shakily. "You… will still die…"
Both enemies circled him again, but something had changed. They weren't just hunters anymore.
They had recognized him.
Not as prey. Not as a victim.
But as a contender.
And the game—the real game—had only just begun.
---