Chapter 4

Kieranpov

After the round ended, alarms stopped ringing and the walls slid back into that same cold silver steel. My lungs still hurts from running hard. Every nerve in my body buzzed like I was still being chased.

Nova grinned like it He enjoys every beat of this hell. “You did good, rookie. Didn’t die on the first run. That’s a win in Erevos.”

I shot him a look. “That was your definition of good? I almost pissed myself back there.”

He laughed. “You’ll get used to it.”

I glared. “Yeah, sure. If I live long enough.”

A metallic click echoed, and the floor beneath us split open, revealing a lift platform. Nova stepped on it like it was no big deal. “Come on, Kieran. Time to meet the big dogs.”

“The who?”

He smirked. “The leaders. The ones who run each zone. You’ll need to know who’s in charge if you plan to stay alive.”

I hesitated, then stepped on beside him. The platform hummed, rising smoothly. The air got colder, the walls shifting from steel to glass. I could see faint holograms of maps flickering around us glowing numbers labeled from 1 to 10.

“What are those?” I asked.

“The zones,” Nova said. “Erevos has ten of them. Zone 1’s the beginners the ones who just got dumped here like you. Zone 10’s the top. The elites. They’ve survived every phase.”

“Are there… others? Like, females?”

He nodded. “Yeah. But they’re not in our zone. Each level separates genders. Keeps things ‘balanced,’ the system says.”

I snorted. “Balanced my ass.”

Nova grinned. “You’ll see. Each zone’s got its own trials, its own rules, and its own leaders. They call them the Supremes.”

The lift stopped with a soft beep. The doors slid open.

We stepped into what looked like a control hub straight out of a sci-fi movie. Transparent screens hovered midair. Holographic maps rotated above glowing tables. A few picture of people in black suits shown in the screens, their faces cold and unreadable.

Nova guided me forward. “Stay cool. They can smell fear.”

I whispered, “You’re serious?”

He didn’t answer which told me He was dead serious.

A woman approached us first. He looked around thirty, tall, with silver hair tied back tight and eyes that could probably kill a man with a glance.

“New recruit?” she asked flatly.

Nova nodded. “K-1087. Kieran Wilson. Survived Round One.”

The woman looked me up and down. “It obvious but not bad. Most die within the first ten minutes.”

“Great pep talk,” I muttered.

Her lips twitched. “You’ll need sarcasm where you’re going.” She reached behind her and grabbed something from a glowing locker a sleek, transparent phone that shimmered like glass. She handed it to me.

“This is your link to the System,” she said. “Tracks your vitals, updates your missions, and connects you with your assigned squad. Don’t lose it. It can’t be replaced.”

I turned it over in my hand. “It’s see-through.” i muttered in amazement.

“It’s also bulletproof, heatproof, and connected to your soul,” she replied. “If you die, it goes dark.”

I slipped it into my pocket, swallowing hard.

Nova leaned close, whispering, “It also shows you everyone’s status who’s alive, who’s gone, who’s close to losing it. Creepy as hell, right?”

I nodded slowly.

Then the woman handed me something else a sleek, metallic band that looked like a bracelet. “Your neural gear. It syncs with your brain’s reflexes. Enhances strength, reaction time, and sensory input as you attain new level it also levels up.”

“Basically turns you into a badass,” Nova added.

“Temporarily,” the woman corrected. “Overuse it, and your brain fries. Understood?”

I swallowed. “Crystal clear.”

The woman gave a curt nod, then gestured to the far wall where giant digital portraits lined the surface ten faces, one for each zone.

“Those are the Supremes,” He said. “They manage their respective zones and report directly to the Core.”

I stepped closer, my chest tightening as I scanned the faces. Each one looked… inhumanly perfect. Cold eyes. Sharp expressions.

Zone 1’s Supreme was a girl with short pink hair and a scar down her cheek. Zone 2’s was a tall man with electric-blue eyes. Zone 3’s an older woman, probably fifty, but her stare could melt steel.

I went down the line, and then

My breath hitched.

Zone 10’s portrait.

A man. Late twenties, maybe early thirties. Sharp jawline. Dark hair. That smug, cold smirk.

My stomach dropped. I took a step closer, my hand trembling slightly.

It couldn’t be.

Nova noticed. “You okay?”

I didn’t answer.

I felt my chest tighten, anger bubbling up.

“That guy,” I said slowly. “Who is he?”

Nova followed my gaze. “Zone 10’s Supreme. They call him Kael. He’s the top of the chain the first to survive every trial. The System calls him the Grim Reaper.”

“The Grim Reaper,” I repeated, the word leaving a bad taste in my mouth.

“Yeah,” Nova said. “Some people here’s seen him once. Before they got pulled in. Some say he’s not even human that he’s the grim reaper that lurks around right before your death.”

I stared at Kael’s face on the screen. That same smirk. That same dead look in his eyes.

“He’s real,” I whispered. “I saw him. Before I died.”

Nova’s brows furrowed. “Where?”

“At a bar,” I said. “He was the boss. Told those assholes to beat me. I looked him in the eye. I swear, I saw that same face.”

Nova’s expression darkened. “Then you’re one of the unlucky ones.”

“Unlucky how?” I asked, my pulse pounding.

He looked me dead in the eyes. “Because anyone who’s met Kael before coming here… usually doesn’t make it out alive.”

A chill ran down my spine.

I looked back at his photo, that perfect, cruel smile frozen on the screen. My hands balled into fists.

“I’m not dying in this damn game,” I muttered.

Nova smirked, crossing her arms. “That’s the spirit. You’ll need it. Kael doesn’t just run Zone 10 he decides who moves up and who stays trapped forever.”

“Then I’ll beat his system,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Good luck with that,” Nova said, smirking. “People have tried. Nobody’s ever gotten past him.”

I looked back at the glowing phone in my hand. My ID pulsed faintly: K-1087 – Zone 1.

Somewhere deep in this place, that Kael must be watching.

And I could almost feel his gaze with that stupid smirk on his face as i stared at his portrait.

Not anymore, I thought.

He might’ve controlled the game.

But this time, I wasn’t some scared girl in a bar.

I was inside his system.

And I was coming for him.

Nova clapped my shoulder, snapping me out of it. “Come on. Let’s get you settled in the dorms. You’ll need rest before the next trial. I heard, Zone 2’s merging with ours tomorrow.”

“Merging?” I asked.

He grinned. “Yeah. Cross-zone competition. Some of the hot guys’ll be coming over.”

“Guys?” I blinked.

“Yup. Don’t get too excited,” He said with a chuckle. “They’re just as messed up as we are.”

We walked down a corridor glowing blue this time. Every few steps, doors slid open automatically, revealing training rooms, sleeping quarters, weapon vaults.

Nova pointed out each one. “That’s the shooting range. That’s the med station. Don’t go near the quarantine rooms unless you like the smell of death.”

“Got it,” I muttered.

When we reached the dorms, Nova pushed open a door with her boot. Inside, the room was much brighter than before, cleaner, and there were glowing panels showing the girls’ vitals above each bed as we walked in.

He handed me a folded uniform. “Put that on tomorrow. You’re officially part of Zone 1 now.”

I sat on the bed, still gripping my new transparent phone. The screen flickered to life on its own.

Welcome, Kieran Wilson. Zone 1 – Status: Active.

Next Trial: 15 hours.

Monitor link established. Overseer watching.

I stared at the words.

Overseer watching.

I could feel it. That same sensation like eyes crawling over my skin, unseen but there.

I glanced at Nova, who was already climbing to her top bunk. “You ever wonder who’s behind all this?” I asked quietly.

He shrugged. “Maybe it’s the system. Maybe it’s the supreme but it surely a person. Maybe both. Either way, doesn’t matter.”

“Why not?”

“Because in Erevos,” He said, lying down, “the only thing that matters is making it to the next day.”

I leaned back on my pillow, staring up at the metallic ceiling. My phone blinked again one tiny notification.

I opened it.