DIVINE.EXE: Ascension Protocol

CHAPTER 4: Fight Or Be Erased

The beast lunged the moment the restraints disengaged.

Ryker didn’t move. Not because he chose not to. Because his body suddenly forgot how.

Muscle locked in place. Breath stalled halfway in. His feet felt nailed to the floor, as if the ground itself had decided he was finished. One heartbeat passed. 

That was all it took. A massive blow hit his face.

It wasn’t a strike so much as an ending. Something vast and heavy collided with him, and the world snapped sideways. His body lifted, light and unreal, carried by force rather than will. For a fraction of a second, he was airborne, suspended in nothing.

Then he crashed into the concrete floor with great force. Air tore from his lungs in a violent rush. His back slammed down hard enough to rattle his teeth. Pain arrived late, thick and spreading, rolling through his skull. His vision fractured into color and noise.

He lay there, stunned, staring at the ceiling he couldn’t focus on.

Move, he told himself.

His arms trembled as he tried to push up.

Then—another hit landed.

Harder.

The impact cracked against his face and snapped his head back. Light burst behind his eyes, sharp and blinding. His jaw screamed. Something warm filled his mouth. He tasted blood before he understood what it was.

Laughter echoed faintly in his head. Or maybe that was the ringing.

The chimera stepped back.

Its massive frame shifted slowly, deliberately. Claws scraped against the reinforced floor with a sound that made Ryker’s skin crawl. It wasn’t rushing him anymore. It was watching. Measuring. Enjoying the distance it had created.

Ryker dragged in a breath that burned all the way down. His lungs felt bruised. His hands shook as he forced himself upright. The room tilted. His vision swam, edges darkening, but he stayed on his feet.

Barely.

He raised his arms. The stance was wrong. Too slow. Too loose. But it was all he had. Attack position, even if his body didn’t believe in it.

The chimera lunged again.

Faster this time.

Ryker lifted his guard.

The impact shattered it.

The force crashed through his arms like a wrecking ball. Bones in his hands exploded under the strike, sharp white pain erasing everything else. His wrists twisted at angles they were never meant to. His arms collapsed uselessly against his chest.

He went down.

The sound that tore out of him didn’t feel human. His breath left him in a broken gasp as his body hit the floor again, harder than before.

He lay there.

Broken.

Hands numb. Arms useless. Pain so loud it drowned out thought. The chimera loomed above him, its breath hot and wet, spilling over his face. It didn’t attack right away.

It waited. Patiently.

A blue glow cut through the haze. A screen burned itself into his vision.

RECOVERY POTION AVAILABLE.

USE?

The words were clear. Clean. Detached.

Ryker didn’t hesitate.

“Yes.”

The answer barely formed before the pain vanished.

It didn’t fade. It didn’t dull.

It disappeared.

Bones slid back into place with a sickening smoothness. Flesh rewove itself, knitting together as if nothing had ever broken. Strength flooded back into his limbs. Breath returned, clean and full, like it had never been stolen from him.

He was whole.

Behind reinforced glass high above the arena floor, Dr. Victor Clark leaned forward in his chair. His fingers tightened against the railing as he watched him suddenly recover.

“I guess he can do everything,” he murmured, voice low, impressed despite himself.

The screen in Ryker’s vision shifted.

30 COINS AVAILABLE.

PURCHASE ITEM.

DAGGER — SHIELD

Ryker didn’t think.

“Shield.”

The system ignored him.

A dagger formed in his hand instead.

Cold, simple, and balanced. Light enough that it felt unreal, like it might vanish if he loosened his grip. Ryker stared at it for half a second, confused, fingers tightening around the hilt.

What was he supposed to do with—

The chimera attacked.

This time, there was no pause. No testing. No curiosity.

Only murder intent.

It came at him with everything it had. The weight of it distorted the air. Heat rolled off its body in waves. Its eyes burned with intent so sharp it felt like pressure against Ryker’s skin.

The system reacted instantly.

MURDER INTENT DETECTED.

ELIMINATE TARGET FOR COMBAT POINTS.

Another window opened, hovering over the chaos.

Two choices.

INCREASE POWER.

INCREASE SPEED.

Ryker chose speed.

The screen vanished.

The chimera was already at his face.

And then—

It wasn’t.

The world slowed.

Not stopped. Just dragged, like it had been submerged in thick liquid. The chimera’s claws cut through the air toward him, but Ryker saw every inch of their path. Every ripple in the muscle. Every fraction of intent.

He moved—fast and efficient.

He slipped aside by a hair’s breadth, the claws passing where his skull had been a moment earlier. Heat grazed his skin, blistering, then healing just as fast.

His body felt lighter. Sharper. Each step landed exactly where it needed to. Each breath cut clean through his chest. It felt borrowed. Temporary. Dangerous.

He dodged. Barely.

The air screamed where he had been.

Ryker tightened his grip on the dagger and moved forward. He felt like he was riding the air itself, carried by momentum rather than muscle. His feet barely touched the floor as he closed the distance.

He struck.

The blade sank into the chimera’s head.

Not deep enough.

The creature roared, sound shaking the walls, and slammed into him with all its weight. Ryker hit the wall hard enough to crack reinforced concrete. Once. Twice. Again. Each impact drove the breath from him, rattling his spine, smearing red across his vision.

Blood spilled into his eyes, thick and blinding.

His legs buckled.

The world dimmed.

His knees gave out.

Then everything went quiet.

Ryker didn’t fall. He drifted.

It felt like sinking into deep water. Sound muffled. Pain distant. His thoughts loosened, unraveling into something older, something deeper. His body moved without command, without fear.

He straightened, stepping forward. And drove the dagger through the chimera's skin.

Once.

Twice.

Again.

The movements were precise. Merciless. No hesitation. Limbs separated cleanly. Flesh split without resistance. The chimera never touched him again. It didn’t even have time to understand what was happening.

When it was done, the pieces hit the floor one by one.

Ryker collapsed.

Red covered him. His own. The beast’s. It didn’t matter anymore.

Dr. Clark ordered a check on him.

Boots thundered closer from every direction. Orders shouted over one another. Hands grabbed him, rough and urgent, lifting him, dragging him away from the ruined arena.

Scientists flooded the room, voices overlapping, frantic, excited, terrified of what they had just seen.

One of them looked up at Dr. Clark, eyes shining with something close to awe.

“I think this one will go beyond our expectations.”

Dr. Clark watched Ryker’s unconscious form being carried away. His smile was thin. Calculated.

“We’ll see.”