Alys POV
The moment the screen changed—
everything felt heavier.
Like the air itself knew something we didn't.
"GAME THREE: THE PAST"
I looked at Drake.
For the first time since I met him—
he looked… shaken.
Not angry.
Not calm.
Not in control.
Shaken.
"Drake…" I said softly, "what is this?"
He didn't answer.
Kiefer didn't either.
Even Ace—silent.
That's when I knew.
This wasn't just another game.
This was something they were hiding.
System Voice
"All players will now witness the truth."
The floor beneath us shifted again—
but this time, we weren't separated.
Instead—
the entire space transformed.
Walls dissolved.
Lights dimmed.
And suddenly—
we weren't in the corridor anymore.
THE WAREHOUSE (3 YEARS AGO)
Jay POV
"This… isn't real," I whispered.
But it felt real.
Too real.
We were standing inside an old warehouse.
Broken windows.
Dust in the air.
Chains hanging from the ceiling.
Gorya clutched Thyme's arm.
"This is the place…?"
Drake stepped forward slowly.
"…yeah."
His voice was low.
Like he hated even being here again.
Alys POV
Figures appeared.
Blurry at first—
then clearer.
My breath caught.
"That's… you."
Drake.
Kiefer.
Percy.
Matt.
Younger.
Standing right there.
"This is a replay?" Zien asked.
"No," Ace said quietly.
"This is memory."
Past Drake (Memory)
"We don't have time," his past self said. "The game already started."
Past Percy laughed lightly—
"Relax, we've got this."
Kiefer rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, until someone messes up."
Matt added—
"Or until the system changes rules again."
Present Alys POV
"You were joking?" I asked.
Drake clenched his jaw.
"We didn't understand it back then."
"What it really was."
System Voice
"Observe carefully."
"This is where it began."
THE FIRST MISTAKE
Zien POV
A screen appeared in the memory.
Just like ours.
"GAME ONE: TRUST"
Same as ours.
"They went through the same thing…" I said.
Ace nodded slightly.
"But not the same outcome."
Past Scene
Percy stepped forward.
"Easy," he said. "We just match choices."
But—
someone hesitated.
A girl.
Unknown.
Her hand trembled.
"I don't trust this," she whispered.
Kiefer snapped—
"Then trust us!"
She didn't.
She chose differently.
System Voice (Past)
"…MISMATCH."
The room went silent.
Present Gorya POV
"Wait… what happened to her?" I asked.
No one answered.
Because—
we were about to see.
THE TRUTH
The floor opened.
Just like before.
But this time—
it didn't stop halfway.
The girl screamed—
and disappeared below.
The sound echoed.
Then silence.
Alys POV
My hands started shaking.
"No…"
I looked at Drake.
"You said no one dies in the first round."
He didn't look at me.
"…I lied."
That hurt more than the scene itself.
Jay POV
"So people DID die?" I snapped.
"Yes," Kiefer said.
Straight.
No hesitation.
"We just didn't tell you."
THE REAL GAME
System Voice
"They failed to understand the rule."
"This is not a survival game."
"This is a selection system."
Ace POV (rare)
"They weren't testing survival," I said.
Everyone looked at me.
"They were testing… choices under pressure."
Drake glanced at me.
"…you remember more than you should."
I didn't respond.
THE BIG REVEAL
Alys POV
"Then why are we here?" I asked.
"Why us?"
Silence.
Then—
The screen changed.
Names appeared.
All of ours.
Then—
another list.
From 3 years ago.
Some names matched.
Some didn't.
But one stood out.
ALYS
My name.
Already there.
Three years ago.
"…what?"
My voice barely came out.
"That's not possible."
I looked at Drake.
"Tell me that's wrong."
He didn't.
Zien POV
"That means…" I whispered.
"You were already part of this?"
Drake POV
I closed my eyes.
This was the part I didn't want her to know.
"You were there," I said quietly.
Alys stepped back.
"No… I would remember."
"You weren't supposed to."
MEMORY BREAK
The warehouse shifted again.
Another scene appeared.
A smaller room.
A girl—
unconscious.
On the floor.
Drake standing near her.
"…Alys?"
Present Alys POV
"That's me…"
Everything felt unreal.
"What happened to me?"
Drake POV
"You were part of the game," I said.
"But you weren't supposed to be."
"They brought you by mistake."
"And when things went wrong…"
I hesitated.
"…I got you out."
Jay POV
"You WHAT?" I shouted.
"You broke the system?" Kiefer added.
Drake didn't deny it.
"I didn't care about the game," he said.
"I cared about her surviving."
FINAL TRUTH OF GAME 3
System Voice
"Rule violation detected (past)."
"Subject Alys was removed illegally."
"System correction required."
Alys POV
My chest tightened.
"Correction…?"
Drake's expression hardened.
"No."
But the system continued—
"Game Three Objective:"
"Restore the broken outcome."
Silence.
Dead silence.
Gorya whispered
"…what does that mean?"
No one answered.
Because everyone understood.
FINAL LINE (Cliffhanger)
The system spoke one last time—
cold.
Final.
Unforgiving.
"One player who escaped…"
A pause.
Then—
"…must now complete the game."
All eyes slowly turned—
toward me.
My breath stopped.
"Drake…"
He stepped in front of me instantly.
"Not happening."
But deep down—
we both knew—
this game wasn't asking.