The pawn stepped forward.
*Click.*
The sound echoed across the board like a hammer striking glass.
Above them, white letters formed.
BLACK TURN COMPLETE
WHITE TURN
For a breath
Nothing.
Then White's side ignited.
Light traced outward from every White tile at once.
Not one piece.
All of them.
Pawns had a single square glowing ahead.
Knights had bent L-shaped paths.
Rooks projected rigid straight corridors.
Bishops burned with long diagonals.
The Queen's square radiated in every direction.
The King's glow was small.
One square only.
The board wasn't moving.
No one had acted.
These were options.
And suddenly, the ignorance showed.
A woman with ♙ on her ankle stared at the square in front of her.
"Is that… the only place I can go?"
"Yes," someone answered instinctively — then faltered. "I think."
A man with ♘ rotated slowly, watching his strange angled paths.
"What kind of piece moves like that?"
"It's chess," a voice muttered.
"What's chess?"
That question hit harder than the glow.
Because too many people didn't answer.
The Queen turned slowly in place, watching the web of light surrounding her.
"I have more options than all of you."
No one disagreed.
But none of her paths touched an enemy piece yet.
They were too far apart.
This wasn't combat.
It was positioning.
The King swallowed.
"Who knows how this works?"
A few hands lifted.
Not many.
White's glow pulsed gently.
Waiting.
The system did not rush them.
But it did not last forever.
A thin timer appeared overhead.
00:45
Forty-five seconds.
Panic threatened to return.
"Just move someone!"
"Who?!"
"If we don't move, does it kill us?!"
The Queen's jaw tightened.
"No random movement. We think."
Across the board, Black watched from darkness.
Still.
Silent.
Ji-Hoon tracked White's formation carefully.
They were disorganized.
If they advanced recklessly—
Lines would open.
00:12
White's side grew frantic.
"Move a pawn!"
"Which pawn?!"
"The center!"
A man marked ♙ inhaled sharply.
He stepped forward—
The glow locked.
**Click.**
WHITE PAWN TO D4
White's light vanished instantly.
Black ignited.
Clean.
Clear.
One move.
Now it was real.
Ji-Hoon looked down as his diagonal path flared into existence.
♗
Long.
Controlled.
Dangerous later.
No confusion.
No half-movement.
The board only responded to commitment.