Alys POV
The moment the system finished speaking—
everything collapsed.
The warehouse faded.
The memories vanished.
And we were thrown back into darkness.
I couldn't breathe properly.
My past.
Three years ago.
I was here.
And Drake—
"You lied to me…" I whispered.
He stepped closer immediately.
"I was going to tell you—"
"When? After this game decides something for me again?!"
Silence.
That silence hurt more than the truth.
Before he could answer—
The system interrupted.
System Voice
"Game Three complete."
"Proceeding to Game Four."
The ground shifted violently.
This time—
no warning.
No slow transition.
We were dragged apart again.
NEW SETUP
Each of us landed in separate glass chambers.
Not pairs.
Alone.
I hit the floor hard.
"Agh—"
I looked up.
Transparent walls.
And beyond them—
I could see everyone.
But not reach them.
"Drake!" I shouted, hitting the glass.
He was there.
Just a few feet away.
But it felt like miles.
Jay POV
"What now?!" I yelled.
"This is getting annoying!"
Kiefer smirked slightly, even now.
"Relax. Panic later."
"Not helpful!"
Screens lit up in every chamber.
Same message.
GAME FOUR: BETRAYAL TEST
"Each player will make a private choice."
"Your choice will affect someone else."
"You will not know who."
My stomach dropped.
"That's messed up…"
Zien POV
"Private choice?" I muttered.
Ace watched the screen carefully.
"That means no coordination," he said.
"No trust."
I looked at him.
"…that's literally the worst thing for us right now."
Gorya POV
"I hate this," I whispered.
Thyme hit the glass lightly.
"Hey—look at me."
I did.
"You're not alone," he said.
"I know but—"
"Trust yourself."
That didn't help.
Not really.
But his voice did.
THE CHOICE
Two options appeared on every screen:
A — Take the pain yourself
B — Transfer the consequence to someone else
Alys POV
"What kind of choice is that…?"
My hands started shaking again.
If I choose A—
I get hurt.
If I choose B—
someone else does.
But I don't even know who.
"Drake…" I whispered.
He shook his head slightly.
Like he already knew—
we couldn't communicate.
Jay POV
"Oh hell no," I muttered.
"Classic manipulation."
Kiefer crossed his arms.
"They want us to break."
"Yeah, well I'm not playing their game."
"Too late. We already are."
I looked at the options again.
A… or B…
This isn't about pain.
This is about—
what kind of person you are.
Drake POV
This game…
I remember it.
But not exactly like this.
"They changed it," I muttered.
Of course they did.
My eyes went to Alys.
She looked scared.
Confused.
I clenched my fists.
"If anything happens to her…"
But I couldn't protect her here.
Not this time.
CHOICES (Intercut Tension)
Alys
"…I can't hurt someone else."
She pressed—
A
Jay
"…I'm not selfish."
She pressed—
A
Gorya
"…I won't risk Thyme."
She pressed—
A
Zien
She hesitated.
Then looked at Ace.
"…trust goes both ways."
She pressed—
A
Kenning
"…I'd rather take it myself."
Pressed—
A
Ace
Silent.
Thinking.
Then—
A
Kiefer
Smirk faded.
"…figures."
Pressed—
A
Thyme
Didn't even hesitate.
Pressed—
A
Kavin
Quiet.
Steady.
Pressed—
A
Drake
Last.
Looked at Alys.
"…I'm not letting this touch her."
Pressed—
A
RESULT
Silence.
Then—
The system spoke.
"All players selected self-sacrifice."
Pause.
A long one.
Jay frowned.
"Is that good… or bad?"
Drake's expression darkened.
"…neither."
SYSTEM REACTION
"Unexpected outcome."
"No betrayal detected."
Lights flickered.
Glitched.
Like the system itself was confused.
"Re-evaluating…"
Suddenly—
All chambers opened.
Everyone stumbled out.
No pain.
No punishment.
Nothing.
Gorya looked around
"…that's it?"
Ace shook his head
"No."
FINAL TWIST
The screen changed again.
Glitching harder than before.
Then—
A message appeared.
"SYSTEM ERROR."
"PATTERN FAILURE."
Drake stepped forward slowly.
"…we weren't supposed to all choose that."
Jay crossed her arms.
"So what? We broke your game?"
The system responded—
but this time…
its voice wasn't stable.
"Correction required…"
A chill ran through everyone.
FINAL LINE (Cliffhanger)
The lights went completely black.
Then—
a new voice.
Not robotic.
Not the system.
Human.
"…interesting."
Everyone froze.
"…they're different this time."
Alys whispered—
"…who was that?"
Drake's eyes darkened.
Because he knew—
this just got worse