The red void had been a trick. Or maybe it was a doorway that slammed shut. Evan did not know. All he knew was that the heat was back. The stinging smell of the green acid was back. The sound of his own heart, hammering like a drum against his ribs, was the only thing he could hear.Thump-thump. Thump-thump.Evan stood on Row Thirty-Five of the Grid. The tiles beneath his boots were slick with sweat and toxic mist. He looked at his wrist. The steel watch he had seen in the "Reset" was gone. The black infinity sign was back, pulsing with a dark, angry light.[SYSTEM REBOOT COMPLETE][GAME STATUS: HIGH-SPEED MATH - PHASE 2][CURRENT STABILITY: 64%]The world was not a park in London. It was a factory of death. Evan looked back at the survivors. There were four of them now. The young father, the old woman, and two men who looked like they were already dead inside. Marco stood at the end of the line, his hand gripping the railing of a tile that was starting to smoke."Sunshine! The pace!

The transition from the world of the Archive back to the physical stone of the arena was like being slammed into a wall of cold water. Evan’s mind was still screaming from the image of the baby with violet eyes—Malakai Vox, the monster who had reset the clock. He could still feel the heat of the white light and the coldness of the black liquid. But his boots were on stone. Hard, cold, real stone.Evan collapsed. He landed on his knees. His chest was heaving. Every breath felt like he was inhaling tiny pieces of broken glass. The smell of the green acid was thick here, a sharp, sour sting that burned his nostrils.On his back, Leo was a heavy, stiff weight. The paralyzed man’s arms were still tied around Evan’s neck. Evan reached up with fingers that felt like they were made of wood. He untied the knots. Leo slid off his back and hit the floor with a dull thud.Evan stayed on his knees for a moment, staring at the ground. He looked at his hands. They were shaking. The purple light un

The crowd’s applause grew into a roar. It was a different kind of sound than before. It was a hungry sound. They wanted to see what this "Glitch" would do next.Evan slumped against a stone pillar. He was sweating. He was bleeding. He felt like he had been hollowed out."Nice work, Sunshine," Marco said. He sat down next to Evan. "I think you just became the most popular man in the graveyard. Which is bad news, because now Viper is going to make the next round ten times harder.""I'm ready," Evan rasped.He looked at Leo. The man walked over and sat on the other side of Evan."Thank you," Leo said. "I didn't think... I didn't think anyone cared.""I don't care," Evan lied. He looked at his wrist. The infinity sign was still there. "I just hate losing."The floor of the platform began to sink. It was another elevator. It took Evan, Marco, Leo, and the other three survivors down into a new part of the Spire.They arrived in a room that looked like a high-end lounge. There were soft whit

"They bet on 'Acid Submergence'. They bet on 'Rapid Ageing'. They bet on 'Heart Failure due to Fear'. There is even a high-payout bet for 'Suicide'. They watch our heart rates. They watch our sweat levels. They use our terror to make more credits."Evan gripped the edge of the stone bench. The purple fire in his chest flared. "They bet on the way we die?""Yes," Jax said. "And right now, you are the biggest prize in the history of the Market. A boy with an infinity balance? A boy who can glitch the math? They are betting millions on you, Evan. But they aren't betting on your victory.""They're betting on how I break," Evan realized."Exactly," Jax said. "They want to see the 'Endless' hit zero. Some are betting that the Heart-Plug will explode. Some are betting that the Architect will delete you personally. Viper... he's the one running the book. He's making a fortune on every second you stay alive, and he'll make an even bigger one when you finally fall."Evan looked at the Spy-Eyes.

The walls of the holding pen were made of cold, black iron. They did not just stand still; they seemed to breathe. Every few seconds, the metal would hum with a low, deep vibration that Evan could feel in the soles of his feet. It was the sound of the High Spire drinking. It was the sound of the city’s life-force being pulled through the pipes, filtered, and sent up to the palaces of the rich.Evan sat in the corner of the small cage. He looked at his hands. They were pale, almost blue in the flickering light of the cell. The purple fire of the Spark was still there, but it was quiet. It felt like a small, tired animal hiding in his chest. Every time he tried to call it, the "Null-Field" in the bars of the cage would zap him. It was a sharp, stinging pain that tasted like copper and burnt hair.[STATUS: RESTRAINED][POWER LEVEL: 2%][LIFESPAN: ∞ (UNSTABLE)]Next to him, Marco was trying to fix his blue jacket. The cloth was ruined. It was stained with the green acid from the grid