2026-05-11 07:37:01Light swallowed everything,not blinding at least, not in the way Zayn expected,it was softer,warmer,and even almost… comforting.
That alone made it dangerous.
When the light faded, he wasn’t in the containment level anymore, instead he stood on grass.
Real grass.
Soft beneath his feet, swaying gently in a breeze that actually felt alive,the sky stretched endlessly above him,blue, clear, untouched by the decay and distortion of the world he’d been trapped in.
For a moment,zayn didn’t move.
“…This is fake,” he said quietly.
“Correct.”
The voice came from behind him.
Zayn turned.
A figure stood a few meters away.
Human,completely human,no distortion,no flicker,no glowing eyes.
Just a man,dressed simply, hands clasped behind his back, watching him with calm, unreadable eyes.
“…You’re not an enemy,” Zayn said.
“Not in the conventional sense.”
Zayn exhaled slowly. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”
He glanced around again.
No Lira.
“…Where is she?”
“Removed,” the man replied.
Zayn’s expression hardened instantly. “…Bring her back.”
“That is not within your authority.”
“…Then give me the authority.”
The man studied him for a moment.
Then….
“You are being evaluated.”
Zayn let out a dry laugh. “Yeah, I got that part.”
He took a step forward.
“…What exactly are you?”
The man tilted his head slightly.
“An interface.”
“…For the system?”
“Yes.”
Zayn’s jaw tightened. “Good. Then you can answer my questions.”
“Incorrect.”
“…Figures.”
A brief silence followed,then the man gestured outward,and the world shifted.
The field dissolved,replaced by a city.
Familiar,one too familiar.
Zayn’s breath caught slightly.
“…That’s my city.”
“Yes.”
“…Before this.”
“Yes.”
People moved through the streets.
Cars passed,life was normal.
Zayn stared.
“…This is a memory.”
“Simulation,” the interface corrected.
“…Same difference.”
A pause,then…
“Your trial is simple.”
Zayn narrowed his eyes. “Nothing here has been simple.”
The interface ignored that.
“You will make a choice.”
Of course he would.
“What kind of choice?”
The man raised a hand,and the scene shifted again,the street emptied,and darkness crept in.
And then,screams rang out
Zayn’s chest tightened,figures appeared,running,panicking.
Being chased by things he recognized all too well.
The Infected.
“…No,” he said quietly.
“This is a controlled scenario,” the interface said calmly.
Zayn’s fists clenched.
“…This is messed up.”
“Yes.”
“…And you’re just okay with that?”
“I do not possess preference.”
Zayn glared at him. “Yeah, I don’t like you.”
Another shift.
The scene zoomed in,focused.
On one person,a young girl, terrified and cornered in an alley as an infected closed in
Zayn’s stomach dropped.
“…What is this?”
“Your decision point.”
“…What?”
The interface turned to him.
“You may intervene.”
Zayn blinked. “…That’s it?”
“There are conditions.”
Of course there were.
“What conditions?”
“If you choose to intervene, you will be placed into the scenario.”
“…And?”
“You will not be able to exit until the objective is complete.”
“…Which is?”
“Survive.”
Zayn let out a breath. “That’s always the objective.”
“Yes.”
“…And if I don’t intervene?”
The interface didn’t hesitate.
“You proceed.”
Zayn looked back at the girl.
She was crying,begging.
The creature stepped closer.
“…And she dies,” he said quietly.
“Yes.”
Silence fell,heavy.
Zayn’s mind raced.
This wasn’t just about survival.
It was testing something else,something worse,testing his humanity.
“…This is about choice,” he said slowly.
“Yes.”
“…You want to see what kind of person I am.”
The interface tilted its head slightly.
“Incorrect.”
Zayn frowned. “…Then what?”
“What kind of player you will become.”
That hit harder.
Zayn looked back at the scene.
At the girl,at the creature closing in.
His jaw tightened.
“…And if I help her, I risk dying.”
“Yes.”
“…If I don’t, I move forward.”
“Yes.”
“…No penalty?”
“No.”
Zayn let out a quiet laugh.
“…That’s the trick, isn’t it?”
The interface said nothing,because it didn’t need to.
Zayn ran a hand through his hair.
“…You’re testing efficiency.”
“Yes.”
“…Helping her is inefficient.”
“Yes.”
“…But that’s the point.”
“Yes.”
Zayn exhaled slowly.
Then…
“…What happens if I die in there?”
“You fail the trial.”
“…And?”
“You will not proceed.”
Zayn’s eyes narrowed. “…That sounds permanent.”
“It is.”
Silence again,the girl screamed,and the creature lunged
Zayn moved before he could think.
“Yeah,” he said, stepping forward. “I’m not walking away.”
The interface watched him.
“Decision confirmed.”
Zayn glanced back once.
“…If this is fake….”
“It is not,” the interface said.
“…Of course it isn’t.”
The world shifted again.
And Zayn dropped into the alley, hitting the ground hard.
The ground slammed into him as the sound of the creature filled his ears.
Closer now,real.
The girl was there,exactly as before,frozen in terror.
The creature turned
Its glowing eyes locking onto Zayn.
“…Yeah,” Zayn muttered, pushing himself up. “Round whatever this is.”
There was no Lira,no backup,this was just him,and a choice he’d already made.
The creature lunged,zayn activated Echo Trace instantly
Paths split,options flashed,no hesitation this time,he moved,fast and precise.
He grabbed a broken pipe from the ground
Stepped into the attack and swung
CRACK.
The hit landed,solid.
The creature staggered back a few steps but it didn’t fall.
Zayn stepped back, positioning himself between it and the girl.
“…Stay behind me,” he said.
She didn’t respond,she was obviously too scared.
The creature tilted its head then attacked again,this time moving faster,and stronger.
Zayn saw the path, and adjusted himself in a way to counter the monster
But something was wrong.
“…It’s stronger than the others,” he realized.
Of course it was,this wasn’t a normal fight,this was a test.
The creature lunged again but zayn blocked it's attack,barely…
Pain shot through his arm as he was pushed back.
“…Okay,” he muttered. “No easy wins.”
Behind him, the girl whimpered.
Zayn’s grip tightened.
“…Guess I’m doing this the hard way.”
He stepped forward again,this time,not just reacting,but planning,and predicting.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 10
Light swallowed everything,not blinding at least, not in the way Zayn expected,it was softer,warmer,and even almost… comforting.That alone made it dangerous.When the light faded, he wasn’t in the containment level anymore, instead he stood on grass.Real grass.Soft beneath his feet, swaying gently in a breeze that actually felt alive,the sky stretched endlessly above him,blue, clear, untouched by the decay and distortion of the world he’d been trapped in.For a moment,zayn didn’t move.“…This is fake,” he said quietly.“Correct.”The voice came from behind him.Zayn turned.A figure stood a few meters away.Human,completely human,no distortion,no flicker,no glowing eyes.Just a man,dressed simply, hands clasped behind his back, watching him with calm, unreadable eyes.“…You’re not an enemy,” Zayn said.“Not in the conventional sense.”Zayn exhaled slowly. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”He glanced around again.No Lira.“…Where is she?”“Removed,” the man replied.Zayn’s expressio
Chapter 9
The door opened and the silence broke,cold air rushed in first, carrying that same heavy, metallic scent. Zayn stepped through beside Lira, every muscle tense, his mind already reaching for the edges of his upgraded skill.The hallway beyond had changed,the red emergency lights were gone,now it flickered in a dull, pale white,but unstable,and glitching“…It wasn’t like this before,” Zayn murmured.“No,” Lira said quietly. “It wasn’t.”The corridor stretched ahead longer than it should be.Too long.Zayn frowned. “…Did it get bigger?”Lira didn’t answer.Because she was already moving.Zayn followed, slower this time, eyes scanning every shadow, every flicker of light,his mind felt… sharpe,not clearer,but faster,like something beneath the surface was constantly calculating,and predicting what was to come.A faint flicker,he saw it.A movement that hadn’t happened yet,a distortion at the far end of the hallway.“…Stop,” Zayn said suddenly.Lira froze instantly.“What?”Zayn’s eyes narro
Chapter 8
Darkness pressed in from all sides.Zayn leaned against the cold wall, forcing his breathing to steady as the lingering effect of the system’s penalty drained through him. It wasn’t just fatigue,it felt like something essential had been taken.He didn't feel much pain,not exactly but he felt an absence within him“…I feel lighter,” he muttered.Lira glanced at him. “That’s not a good thing.”“Yeah,” Zayn said weakly. “Figured.”The room they’d stumbled into was small,and enclosed,no windows,no visible exits beyond the door they had just sealed behind them.And worst of all,no sound,no movement,no enemies,as good as that sounded it wasn't really comforting Zayn slowly pushed himself upright, gripping the wall for balance. His legs still felt unsteady, like they didn’t fully belong to him anymore.“…Where are we?” he asked.Lira moved cautiously toward the center of the room. “I don’t know.”That alone was unsettling,she always seemed to know something.A faint hum began to fill the ai
Chapter 7
The fall felt longer than it should have,wind tore past zayn’s ears as the rooftop vanished above them, replaced by open darkness and the rushing blur of broken walls. His grip tightened around Lira’s arm instinctively, his other hand reaching for anything that could slow them down.“zayn!” Lira’s voice cut through the air, sharp with alarm.“I see it!”A narrow ledge,two floors below,barely standing on its own,barely wide enough to stand on.Not ideal.Not safe.But it was something.Zayn twisted midair, pulling Lira with him as gravity dragged them down faster.“Brace!”They hit hard.The impact exploded up his legs, forcing a strangled gasp from his throat as his knees buckled. Lira slammed beside him, her shoulder crashing into the wall with a dull thud.For a split second,everything went black.Zayn sucked in a ragged breath as sensation rushed back all at once.Pain shooting through his body “…Still alive,” he groaned.“Barely,” Lira muttered beside him.He pushed himself up sl
Chapter 6
Zayn tried to rest for a bit but he just couldn't,he tossed around his head from side to side but whenever he closed his eyes all he could see was what seemed to be a dream but it felt all to real,one of the monsters lunging at him and he narrowly escaping its claws “…Echo Trace,” he murmured.Below, the creatures were still trying to climb up the building Five of them now,their limbs scraping against the wall, their glowing eyes locked onto him with terrifying intent.“zayn!” Lira snapped. “Focus!”“I am,” he said, though his voice had shifted,quieter, steadier,different.The moment one of the creatures moved,he saw it,not just the motion,but a faint after image.A trail of where it had been… and where it was about to be.“…Whoa.”The creature lunged upward,but Zayn moved before it even reached him,he sidestepped instinctively, the claws slicing through empty air where he had just been.His eyes widened.“I saw that…”“What?” Lira demanded.“I saw it before it happened!”No time to
Chapter 5
They didn’t stop running,they couldn't risk stoppingThe alley behind the store twisted into a maze of narrow paths, broken fences, and crumbling walls.zayn followed closely behind the girl, his breath ragged, legs already screaming in protest.“Slow down ” he gasped.“If you slow down, you die,” she shot back without looking at him.Fair point.Zayn pushed himself harder.Behind them, the sounds had changed.It wasn’t just one creature anymore,it sounded like more has joined the chase.Scraping,dragging, roaring and hot on their tail “They’re tracking us,” Zayn said.“Yes.”“How?”“They remember.”Zayn grimaced. “I hate that answer.”She turned sharply, ducking under a half-collapsed metal beam,zayn barely managed to follow, the rusted edge scraping across his jacket.They emerged into a wider space,and zayn skidded to a halt.“…That’s not good.”The alley opened into what looked like a courtyard,wide,empty,and exposed,and worst of all,blocked on the other side by a collapsed buildi
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