All Chapters of DEADLY GAME SYSTEM : Chapter 31
- Chapter 40
46 chapters
Chapter Thirty one: Fire before Dawn
The survivors’ quarters were quiet, heavy with the kind of tension that never truly left the walls. Even after the confrontation with Marcus, a thin veil of unease lingered, like dust in the air, catching the harsh light from the overhead panels. Ethan stood in the center of the room, key glowing faintly at his side, watching his group move through the motions of the tasks he had set for them.Naomi adjusted the straps on her makeshift armor, her fingers trembling slightly. Claire checked her weapons silently, her calmness a stark contrast to Sky, who was bouncing on his heels like a caged animal. Daniel flexed his hands, trying to work out the ache in his muscles, while Leah, Jun, and Rafi formed a loose circle around Ethan. Axel and Theo were slightly apart, leaning against the walls, their usual bravado tempered by the shadow of what tomorrow might bring.Ethan cleared his throat, the sound sharp enough to cut through the murmurs.“All right,” he said, voice steady, controlled. “We
Chapter Thirty Two: Fractured codes
The field stretched wide and silent, the air shimmering faintly with the system’s anticipation. Shadows moved across the grid, distorted and alive, as if the world itself were holding its breath. Marcus and his followers stood opposite them, poised and ready. The other duels had already begun in tense bursts—steel clashing, bodies moving in controlled chaos—but Ethan’s attention was fixed on Naomi, who mirrored him across the field.Her hand brushed against his, small, warm, and defiant. Her eyes, wide and unflinching, searched his. “Ethan… I need to tell you something before this starts.”Ethan’s jaw tightened. “Naomi… the duel—”“I don’t care about the duel,” she interrupted, voice shaking just enough to betray the weight behind her calm facade. “I care about you… about all of us. If I… if I don’t make it… I want you to know I… I trust you. I believe in you. And I—”Her words cracked, and her hand pressed against his chest, over his heart. Ethan felt the sharp pull of emotion, a tug
Chapter Thirty three: Breaking glass, Burning loyalties
The shards of glass rained down around him, glittering like jagged stars. Ethan’s fists had struck with all the fury and grief he carried, and the barrier between the field and the Overseer’s hidden chamber splintered, splintering the system’s control in ways no one had anticipated.The Overseer’s voice, usually all-powerful, mechanical, omnipresent, quivered slightly—an imperceptible falter that sent a chill through the battlefield.> “Impossible… how—”Ethan didn’t pause. He stepped forward through the fractured remnants, eyes blazing as the room beyond revealed itself: a lattice of circuits, monitors, and control panels pulsating with code. And, on the far wall, a door. It was unassuming, metallic, unmarked—but it felt alive, like a heartbeat waiting for release.He dropped to his knees beside the key, examining its fractured glow. It was unstable after Naomi’s sacrifice, pulsing erratically, each beat threatening to die out. He pressed his fingers to it, trying to align the fragme
Chapter Thirty four: The last stand
Sky's pov …The world had narrowed to a corridor of steel and shadow. Every sound was amplified—the clank of Marcus’s boots, the scrape of metal against metal, the distant, fractured cries of the others. My heart hammered like a war drum in my chest, every nerve on fire, every muscle coiled and ready.“Move!” I shouted, voice cracking as I shoved Leah behind a twisted panel. She stumbled but regained her footing, eyes wide with fear. Jun and Rafi were beside her, arms trembling, weapons raised. I didn’t stop to watch them, didn’t give them time to falter. Marcus was moving too fast. Too precise. Too lethal.I swung first, faking low and then cutting high, trying to anticipate his strikes. My gut twisted as he blocked with a flick of his wrist, sending my momentum careening past him. He laughed—low, sharp, cruel—and advanced like a predator.“Sky,” Claire called from the rear, voice tense. “Don’t overextend!”I ignored her warning. I had to buy time. Every second I could hold Marcus ba
Chapter Thirty five: collapse and awakening
Ethan's pov….Every fiber of my being screamed as I pressed against the door. The key burned in my hands, pulsing with the echo of Naomi’s sacrifice, with the fractured energy of every fragment I had aligned in the field, with the stolen pulse of the system itself. Sparks flared across the metallic surface, the edges of the door glowing red under the strain, and I could feel the energy of the Overseer thrumming through the panels, fighting me, resisting me, trying to erase me as it had tried to erase everything else.But I didn’t care.I slammed my shoulder into the door again, the key flaring brighter than it had ever done. The lattice of energy screamed, whined, twisted, and for a heartbeat, it felt like the system itself was alive, writhing beneath my hands. My arms trembled, muscles burning, veins throbbing, sweat stinging my eyes. But I couldn’t stop. Not now. Not ever.“Come on,” I growled, teeth gritted, forcing myself to push harder. “Come on… just open…”The door buckled slig
Chapter Thirty six: Start over
Ethan's pov....The next few days blurred together. Recovery was slow. My body was battered from battles I could barely remember in detail, my muscles stiff from fighting in ways the real world wouldn’t prepare a person for. Every movement reminded me of the system—the corridors, the fighting, the screams.Claire stayed by my side constantly, bandaging wounds, checking vitals, keeping me fed and hydrated. Sky moved like a shadow, pacing the room, sometimes talking, sometimes silent, always calculating, always scanning. Both of them were alive, and yet the haunted look in their eyes mirrored my own. We had survived the system, but the system hadn’t left us unchanged.One evening, the sun dipping low, painting the sterile room in gold and shadow, Sky finally spoke. “You’re thinking about Marcus, aren’t you?”I exhaled, shoulders slumping. “Every day. He survived. He’ll come back. And when he does… he’ll be stronger, smarter, more dangerous.”Sky nodded slowly. “Yeah. And we have to be r
Chapter Thirty seven: Shadows of control
Ethan's pov........The city was quiet, too quiet. Not the kind of quiet that invites peace, but the kind that unsettles, like the air itself was holding its breath. Broken streets, abandoned vehicles, digital billboards flickering with glitches—evidence that something in the world had shifted while we were trapped in the system.I walked beside Sky and Claire, muscles still sore, mind still haunted by memories of the grid. Every step outside the hospital felt unreal. A week had passed since we woke, but it was clear the world had moved on without us, or maybe it had fractured in ways we didn’t understand.“Look at this,” Claire said, pointing toward a high-rise partially covered with scaffolding. She pulled out a tablet, scanning the flickering signs and holographic advertisements. “The digital systems are… off. Patterns aren’t random. Someone’s deliberately tampering with the infrastructure, but not like a regular hacker. This is… systemic. Coordinated. And pervasive.”I frowned, gr
Chapter Thirty Eight: Into the new system
Ethan's pov....The basement hummed with energy, the walls vibrating as if the building itself were alive. Panels flickered with streams of code that twisted and snapped like lightning. Claire crouched by a console, fingers flying across the keyboard, scanning for threats, for patterns, for answers.“I’ve traced the main signal,” she said, eyes wide behind her glasses. “Whatever built the Overseer—it’s here. And it’s active.”I nodded, fists clenched. “Then we go. We shut it down. End this before it starts again.”Sky’s gaze swept the room. “Feels… familiar. Too familiar.”He was right. The hum, the code, the electric charge in the air—it all reminded me of the system we had escaped. And deep down, I knew something unavoidable was about to happen.---Claire’s fingers danced over the holographic console, tracing the signal back to a central panel. Sparks flickered as the system acknowledged our intrusion, as if it had been waiting for us. Then, without warning, the floor beneath us sh
Chapter Thirty nine: Assessing
Ethan's pov...The arena stretched endlessly before us, impossible geometry folding and shifting like it had a mind of its own. Floating platforms hovered above reflective surfaces, connected by paths that could appear—or vanish—at any moment. The violet sky pulsed like a heartbeat, neon streaks darting across the horizon as if marking some unseen rhythm.I swallowed hard, the memory of the old system pressing against my skull. The stakes were higher now, the danger more immediate. Marcus sat atop a golden platform in the distance, calm and confident, as if observing the world for his amusement.“First step,” I muttered, glancing at Claire and Sky. “We assess, we move, we survive. One misstep and it’s over.”Sky flexed his fingers, a grin spreading across his face. “Good thing I’ve always been great at missteps.”Claire rolled her eyes, scanning a holographic display. “Keep the humor to a minimum, Sky. If we’re going to survive, we need focus. Strategy. Coordination.”I nodded, feelin
Chapter forty : The grouping
The arena stilled.For a brief moment, Sky, Claire, and Ethan stood alone on their platform, surrounded by endless violet sky and pulsing neon structures. The air thickened as if holding its breath. Then—A chime echoed through the void.> “INITIALIZING NEW PLAYER INTEGRATION.”Light erupted from the far end of the arena— pillars of white flame descending like meteors, slamming into five floating platforms that rose from nothingness.When the light cleared, the new players stood there, blinking, gasping, confused, and very much alive.Ethan stepped forward, jaw tight. Sky let out a low whistle. Claire’s eyes widened behind her glasses.“so many people,” Sky muttered. “That’s… a lot of competition.”“Or allies,” Claire whispered.“Or problems,” Ethan finished.Across the shifting floor, Marcus materialized on a golden platform above the new arrivals, perched like a monarch surveying a new kingdom. His Master Level aura shimmered gold.> “Welcome,” he announced, voice amplified across