The sky was turning red.
Not from sunset — but from fires burning across the city. Smoke rose in thick black columns, blotting out the sunlight as the survivors moved in a tight group toward the old highway bridge. Every step felt like walking through the ruins of a dead world.
Kai walked at the front.
Not because anyone appointed him.
But because everyone was afraid to walk ahead of the man who seemed to know what was coming.
Behind him, Maya followed closely, holding onto the strap of her small backpack like it was a lifeline. Her eyes kept drifting to Kai's back, like she wanted to say something but didn't know how.
Kai could still see the glowing text above her head.
FATE: DIES SAVING KAI
It burned into his mind.
Every time he blinked, it was still there.
"Not happening," he whispered under his breath.
The bridge came into view — long, cracked, and silent. Beneath it, dark water flowed slowly, reflecting the burning city like a broken mirror.
Kai stopped suddenly.
The group nearly crashed into him.
"What now?" the blue-spear man snapped.
Kai stared at the space just before the bridge.
AMBUSH ZONEMONSTERS: 4HIDDEN PLAYER: 1
"There's something waiting for us," Kai said.
The others drew their weapons.
"What kind of monsters?"
Kai squinted.
NAME: GRIM HOUNDLEVEL: 6SPECIAL: PACK COORDINATION
And…
HIDDEN PLAYER: LENA VOSSLEVEL: 9CLASS: ASSASSINFATE: WILL BETRAY THE GROUP
Kai's stomach twisted.
"We're being hunted," he said.
Before anyone could ask more, a black shape leapt out from beneath the bridge.
Then another.
Then another.
Grim Hounds.
They moved like shadows, eyes glowing, teeth bared.
"Fight!" someone screamed.
Players rushed forward, skills flashing.
Fire.
Ice.
Steel.
Kai didn't move.
He was staring at Lena.
She stood behind the group, daggers hidden, eyes locked on Maya.
TARGET: MAYA REED
Kai's heart dropped.
"This is it…" he whispered.
The moment that future was going to try to become real.
The Grim Hounds crashed into the front line.
Steel clashed with claws. Fire exploded. One of the monsters was cut in half mid-air, its body dissolving into blue particles. The survivors shouted, fighting for their lives.
But Kai wasn't watching the monsters.
He was watching Lena.
She moved like a shadow, slipping behind the chaos, her footsteps silent. To everyone else she looked like just another frightened survivor.
To Kai, she was a knife pointed at Maya's heart.
FATE: WILL STAB MAYA IN 12 SECONDS
"Move, Maya!" Kai shouted.
"What?" she cried, startled.
"Get behind me!"
Lena lunged.
Her blade flashed toward Maya's back.
Kai didn't think.
He stepped in front of Maya.
The dagger sank into his side.
Pain exploded through him, hot and sharp.
Above Kai's head… nothing.
No health bar.
No damage numbers.
Just blood.
Lena's eyes widened. "What… you should be dead."
Kai grabbed her wrist, his teeth clenched.
"I'm not in your system."
He slammed his head into her face.
She fell back, stunned.
The blue-spear man finished off the last Grim Hound and turned just in time to see Kai bleeding.
"What the hell happened?"
"She betrayed us," Kai said.
Lena tried to run.
A fireball took her in the back.
She collapsed.
Above her:
FATE: DIES A TRAITOR
Maya stared at Kai, tears in her eyes.
"You got stabbed because of me…"
Kai looked at the glowing text above her head.
FATE: DIES SAVING KAI
It flickered.
Then changed.
FATE: UNSTABLE
For the first time…
Her future was unclear.
Kai smiled weakly through the pain.
"Looks like we're rewriting things."
But deep inside, he knew something worse was coming.
Because the System hated unstable futures.
And it had just found one.