The room felt smaller with only thirty-two people in it now. The candidates had thinned out. In the eyes of the remaining there was a glint of sharpness and new wariness. The walls, pale silver and curved like a half-cylinder, echoed Elea Mourad's voice.
"You are now split into two divisions," she said, stepping forward from her perch with her hands behind her back. "Sixteen and sixteen."
A murmur rippled through the group, soft, respectful, but tinged with curiosity.
"The rules are simple," Elea continued, her voice devoid of flourish. "You'll participate in a Capture the Flag format. Four against four. Each team will be assigned a flag and a base. Your objective is to retrieve the opposing team's flag and return it to your own base."
Ruben blinked. Straightforward. Just like the standard game of it.
Elea turned, tapping a finger against the podium as another screen expanded beside her, a map, forested terrain with hills and embedded flags.
"There will be no lethal force. You'll be monitored, not just by me, but by the rest of your fellow candidates as well as the other Gold Rank testers. This is being broadcast in real-time within the facility. Make no mistake, performance matters." She stepped away from the podium and stood before the candidates. "Take it seriously."
With that, a long metal cylinder hissed up from the floor, a podium now split open at the top, revealing a nest of names tags clipped to numbered badges.
Ruben hadn't even noticed any other testers, his enhanced senses couldn't pick them out either, so he just assumed that they were far away from the testing rooms.
Elea continued. "Pick one," she said, "Your name is already assigned. The badge is your identity. Keep it. If you lose it, and your flag is taken, you fail. If your team captures a flag but all members don't have their badges, your win is void. Reclaiming the badge becomes your top priority."
Ruben scratched the back of his neck, watching the swirling names above. Without thinking, his hand slid behind his back and fingers crossed lazily, not out of desperation. He wasn't big on superstition, but he also didn't fancy being pitted against Corbin. He knew as it was he couldn't beat him. Corbin was stronger, he didn't know the difference but he didn't want to find out by going against him.
The names slowed. The screen blinked.
Ruben's name landed, top left. He glanced down the column.
Bottom left of the list was Corbin's name. [Corbin Monet]
A smirk curled on his lips. When he looked across the room, he caught Corbin already stretching, arms overhead, his own mouth pulled into that sideways smug line that meant he saw it too.
Their team was completed by two more names he didn't recognize. Rosette St. Jon and Vincent Coulby.
Rosette, he realized, was a girl that several people had been eyeing earlier with a mixture of awe and polite terror. Crimson hair coiled down her back in a long braid that looked like a banner of fire, her eyes were a piercing garnet red. She stood unnervingly still, expression unreadable, her jaw locked in a permanent state of regal indifference.
Her beauty was striking in the same way a cathedral was, beautiful, yes, but cold and aloof seeming, and immaculately constructed.
Vincent was her opposite. Messy light brown hair, a constant smirk already playing at the corners of his mouth, hands tucked into his pockets like he didn't even register the tension around him. If Rosette was a marble statue, Vincent was a lounge chair dumped in the corner of someone's loft home.
Across from them, the names of the opposing team lit up. Ruben quickly noticed that Elijah and Darius were on the opposing team.
He already had a strong enough feeling that he would win, Corbin wouldn't accept it any other way, people getting in the way of his path to becoming a Warlord.
The other two names were Laszio Kovács and Vera Sokolov.
Ruben's shoulders tensed. The nervousness felt natural, he was just being kept on his toes.
He looked at Elijah first, the same unreadable posture, the same detached gaze. It was weird, he was nothing like he was usually described as in school, as the timid and awkward kid who stared too long. He wasn't even part of the crowd sneaking glances to Rosette.
Darius found his way beside him, arms crossed, he seemed like his fuse was half-lit. From what Ruben learned he was told that personality is sometimes more linked with Egos. Dario told him that none of it is factual but some things are, like Strongmen usually being more simple-minded and easy to anger. That was what Darius seemed like.
Elea called them forward.
One by one, they dipped their hands into the name tag box. Ruben's fingers curled around a cold, slick badge labeled "#17" He clipped it onto his jumper.
Within minutes, their teams were moving through separate doors. A moment later, Ruben found himself standing at the mouth of a massive wilderness, he thought it was simulated, but he couldn't confirm. Towering trees, uneven hills, thick grass, and birdsong that was too perfectly timed to be natural. It smelled like cedarwood and damp stone. The kind of scent someone rich would pay to bottle.
Up the nearest hill, the red-and-gold checkered flag fluttered on a polished pole. That was their flag.
The four of them stood in silence, the doors behind them wisped away in a purple glow. The silence felt thick enough to chew.
Ruben shifted his weight. No one was saying anything. Fine.
He scratched the back of his neck. "Ruben Rayo," he said finally, voice relaxed but not in a lazy way. "I'm from Branneth and this is my first time taking these trials."
He thought it would be a good idea to mention that. Although, there was only one that looked to be older and had taken it more than once.
He jerked his chin toward Corbin.
"That's Corbin."
Corbin didn't make it easier, he just grunted in acknowledgement.
Rosette gave the faintest nod of approval. Her voice, when she spoke, was sharp and clear, each syllable honed to precision. "Rosette St. Jon," she said. "It's good to see more competition taking these exams seriously."
There was no smile, just the statement, cold and courteous. But Ruben felt that she was aiming some indirect shot toward the last participant.
Vincent chuckled. "Well, if we're all doing icebreakers…"
He swept into a slight bow, not mocking, but definitely a little theatrical. "Vincent Coulby. You can call me Vince. Former resident of… nowhere worth mentioning. And this is my third time taking the trials."
Ruben was a little surprised at that, and he assumed that Rosette's slightly sour attitude was toward him because of that and that she didn't think he was good enough simply because of the fact that he had failed before, not just once, twice.
"Third times the charm right." He gave a thumbs up and a wide smile.
He opened his mouth to add something else, likely some other type of joke, when a small pop crackled behind his ear, a thin black circle materializing on his skin like a drop of ink catching fire.
Ruben's stomach tensed instantly. His instincts clawed at his chest.
"What's that?" He asked, the words slipping out faster than he intended.
Vince waved them off like he was swatting a fly. "Happens sometimes," he muttered. Then, his face flattened, no smirk, no charm, just a deadpan focus that didn't belong on someone that was playing the role of the jester only a moment ago.
"Yeah?" he said into the circle. "You're nearby already?"
A pause.
"Understood boss."
Then he reached up, forming a strange one-handed seal, fingers weaving into an unfamiliar gesture. The air around them pulsed.
"[Game:," he said.
Ruben's blood chilled. That word. It was his activation of his Ego.
Corbin's eyes snapped toward him, eyes narrowing. They both remembered where they first heard it as well as the sensation of being pulled somewhere they never asked to be.
Not just Corbin and Ruben had noticed it, Rosette seemed to notice the strangeness of the situation and out of her hand a spear of crimson appeared, Ruben could smell that it was blood.
She had vanished from her spot to tackle the situation just as he and Corbin had.
Vince's next words slid out like the hiss of a locked room sealing shut.
"Eternal Stay.]"
The world around them bent. The trees wavered like a heat mirage. The sky blinked, once, twice, and then shattered.
In its place stood a grand marble lobby, with chandeliers the size of minivans and velvet carpets so thick they muffled every footstep. The air smelled of citrus and dust.
A hotel.
"... This is a hotel," Rosette said, her voice lower. Her spear of blood was gone.
Ruben's throat tightened.
Whatever they had just entered, it wasn't the trial anymore.
And if the unease in his spine was right, and it usually was, they would not be checking out anytime soon.
***
The hotel stretched out before them in impossible proportions.
Ruben, Corbin, and Rosette stood shoulder to shoulder in the middle of what resembled an open-air luxury resort foyer. The air here was unnaturally still. White marble gleamed beneath their shoes, veined with golden threads that shimmered slightly when the light hit at certain angles.
To their left, a crystalline pool sat, its surface like polished glass, bordered with ivory loungers and flickering torches that emitted no smoke and no heat. Everything was pristine, too pristine, like the kind of expensive illusion only the disgustingly wealthy could afford.
There were many different types of people around them. Many within the pool, adults and children.
Then the staff arrived.
A young woman with a clipped black bob, dressed in an immaculate white blazer and navy pencil skirt, approached them with a smile so wide it bordered on madness. Her heels clicked sharply against the floor as she walked.
"Welcome to Eternal Stay." she chimed. "May I escort you to your rooms?"
Rosette's voice sliced the air before the woman finished her sentence. "Where are we exactly?"
The woman's smile didn't falter. "You are within the grounds of the Eternal Stay."
Did she not know an answer like that was coming?
Ruben had experienced only one game before. But after Felix, he had learned some more about it and the other classes of Ego users. People with Game Ego users are rare and the games can vary just as much as a normal Ego.
From what he understood, some came with strict conditions and others were able to put conditions on them too. Something that he still needed to learn about.
Corbin snorted faintly. "Eternal Stay," he repeated. "Yeah, I don't like that. From name alone, this isn't a place people walk out of. Right?"
Her smile widened, as if proud. "Correct. Departure is only granted through two means: One, you must locate the proper exit door within the hotel's grounds. Or two…" Her tone deepened just slightly, and for the first time her smile looked like it hurt to maintain. "Receive permission from the owner. Mister Vincent Coulby."
Ruben's heart gave a hard thump. He couldn't stop himself from looking back at the grand expanse of the lobby, and now that he knew what to search for, the illusion wavered. It was a set.
Rosette's arms folded tightly. "So we have to find the traitor and beg for release?" Her voice dropped several degrees. "Fine. Then I'll find him and beat the permission out of him."
That got a sharp look from Ruben. "You really think he's just doing this for shit's and gigs?"
His ability basically hid him from the outside world, that included everybody he drags into it. His agenda is still not known to them but her way of thinking was too simple. Unless she were strong enough to go at it alone.
Corbin folded his arms, posture tense. "Did you hear what he said through that black circle? Back when it appeared on his ear?"
Ruben shook his head. "No. Whatever it was, it didn't carry. I couldn't hear the other voice, if there was one. Nothing came from it."
"Well he's obviously not alone. Maybe other people have snuck in with him." Corbin said.
Ruben thought about it for a moment. "I did hear him say 'boss' and then something about people being close by. So maybe whoever he is working with was already here or on the other team."
Rosette cut across their conversation. "It doesn't matter. He's not with us. He's not part of our exam. He's an enemy. And this," she gestured around them, "is a weapon. He's planning something against us."
As if on cue, the staff woman took a prim little step forward. "I must insist we proceed with your check-in. Your rooms are ready."
Ruben's eyes narrowed. Since this ability was as unique as it was, he assumed that the people around him were not real, he assumed that they were just fakes. There was no smell coming from the woman speaking, no body odour, no smell to her breath, and no scent in her hair. It was almost as if she were not even there.
Rosette didn't flinch. Her hand extended in a flash, and blood rippled upward from her palm, forming a crimson spear so vivid it gleamed like wet glass. She aimed it straight at the woman's throat.
"If I kill you right now," she said coldly, "will Vincent come out to face us?"
Ruben's breath caught. "Wait… Rosette…"
But her gaze never left the woman. "What happens if I bury this in your chest?" she asked again, tone low and even. "Will he come running? Or will another shell of flesh replace you?"
Oh. Ruben was surprised. She knew it too. Looking at Corbin he looked surprised, he took the second to wonder what her Ego was.
From the scent he knew she was controlling her own blood. That's what created the spear. Cool.
The staffer's face twitched. Her smile stretched wider, trembling at the edges like someone suppressing a scream.
"I must… insist," she said, voice cracking, "that you proceed to your rooms immediately."
She was shaking. She seemed urgent. Like someone who had been holding in a need for the toilet for too long and now it was occupied.
Then something flashed. A whisper of movement in the air.
A thin, gleaming strip, almost invisible, carved across the woman's neck like a blade through silk. Her smile stayed intact even as her head slid sideways. And that was it, her head fell off. There was no blood, no bone even, nothing, it was just shallow insides.
They staggered back.
The staffer crumpled, not like a body falling, instead like a leaf falling in a cool breeze. Her head hit the marble with a light smack and rolled. But the horror wasn't in that, it was in the new face of the object that was thrown.
Yes, the object that was used to cut off the head of the staff member looked like a piece of paper. But as it hit the ground it unfolded into the original 3-d shape it was. It was a head.
And the face on that head belonged to Darius.
Ruben froze, mouth dry.
It was his face. Cut cleanly at the neck, lips parted. His eyes were wide, no longer alive. The blood pooled outward, too fast, too red, unreal in its shine.
His gut turned, his knees buckled, but nothing came out.
Corbin clamped a hand onto his shoulder and yanked him backwards, steadying him without a word. But Ruben didn't even feel grief. Maybe it was because he only knew the guy for a few hours.
Then from the far wall, a new staff member walked out.
Identical white suit. Identical face.
Identica voice.
"Welcome to Eternal Stay," she said cheerfully. "If you'll please follow me, we'll assign your rooms and allow you to explore the hotel's facilities."
She stepped over the bloodied corpse, the head, the pooled crimson, without a blink.
Rosette's grip on her weapon tightened. Ruben's fists clenched. The room twisted.
Corbin muttered low. "We go. We play along for now."
Ruben nodded. The room swayed.
As they were escorted down a velvet-lined corridor, each given a shining gold key, the scale of the hotel began to unfold. Endless hallways. Soft jazz leaking from somewhere unseen. Chandelier light that never cast real shadows.
All they had to do at the reception desk was sign their names and then head off to their rooms.
Their rooms were spaced side by side, Rosette two doors down from Ruben and Corbin further along the curve. Ruben turned his key and stepped in.
His room was massive. A sunken lounge sat beneath a chandelier. A grand bed dressed in dark navy silks, a minibar of glistening bottles, floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out onto… nothing. Just black fog.
He dropped the key on the marble counter. The silence wrapped around him. He was barely a minute before they were all meant to reconvene. A synchronized exit to watch each other's backs. Sixty seconds from now.
His mind turned over everything… Vincent, the black circle, whoever his boss may be. Darius, dead. Not just eliminated, executed. Why him? Why like that?
His mind drifted to the other team. The rest of them. Laszio. Vera. Elijah.
He turned the door as the final seconds ticked down, hand hovering over the handle. A thought drifted through him, a kind gesture.
Keep Elijah Safe.
Even though he didn't really know him, it wasn't enough for him to want him dead.
He opened the door…..
…. And Elijah was standing there.
Smiling.
Not the weird half-smirk that he was showing earlier before the phase started. Not tight curled lips he wore in passing. No… this was a full smile. Fixed. Glazed. Like something painted on.
Ruben's heart slammed in his chest. "Elijah…?"
Then he saw it.
A perfect black circle beneath his feat, five meters in radius. It pulsed once. Then twice.
Elijah tilted his head, voice syrupy and cold.
"Let's entertain ourselves."
And the floor dropped out.
Ruben's scream caught in his throat as the black swallowed them both, two figures vanishing into a hole of pure absence.