Four years pass.
King Waenush's city has grown into a great kingdom, its towers stretching high into the skies as his rule expands outward into the neighboring villages. The once-chaotic streets now hum with order and prosperity.
Meanwhile, Voytek and Laenu, now adults, eighteen and twenty, as they have officially began the Star Academy after a long prep time and enough funds. They then open a grand Star Library, a place of knowledge dedicated to preparing candidates for the upcoming 102nd Star Games. Thousands rush inside daily, flooding the aisles to study philosophy, combat history, and basic knowledge.
Voytek and Laenu sit among them, flipping through thick tomes together. Their eyes meet between pages, and a small, knowing smile passes between them before they share a quick, shy kiss.
Later, under the hot sun of the training yard, the couple leads their recruits through grueling combat lessons — sparring, shooting drills, and endurance tests that push each trainee to their limit. Even Fable joins them, older now and carrying a tempered pride as he demonstrates precise sword swings and sharpshooting techniques.
Weeks pass in relentless training and unity.
Voytek and Laenu are soon wed in a church filled with hundreds of people — nobles, villagers, and soldiers alike. Bells ring across the city as they exchange vows beneath glass lights.
Then, more months pass, only a single month remains before the start of the 102nd Star Games.
Inside a vast marble hall, a thousand candidates stand before Voytek as he steps up to address them.
"Most of us aren't ready yet," he begins, his voice calm but firm. "Only a few have been selected to join this year's Star Games. You all have the right to refuse — and continue your training to become even better. We still have time. There's no need to rush."
The selected candidates rise from their seats. One by one, they bow their heads and refuse the invitation. The hall fills with murmurs of surprise.
One young man from the selected team steps forward and says, "Young Lord Voytek is right. This is the best course of action. We must become better than the generations before us and not repeat the same mistakes as our previous Kings who rushed into their deaths."
Voytek smiles proudly at their wisdom.
Another candidate raises her hand. "Then, no one will go this year?"
Voytek pauses, then answers,
"There is one."
Everyone looks up.
"And that will be me."
Gasps ripple through the crowd as a storm of questions erupts. Voytek raises his hand.
"At ease!" he says, steady and confident. "I'm the only one here with experience. I've seen the Star Games firsthand. I'm a quick learner, my combat and education levels are all are prepared enough to survive at least the first game stage. If I have a chance to return, I'll bring back everything I learn. Every detail about the games so we can even be more prepared in the future."
The hall falls silent for a moment and then erupts into applause.
Every student, every teacher, and every soldier stands inspired, watching Voytek as the man who is willing to step back into the games not for glory, but for the sake of more game knowledge to help the future generations to have a better chance at future Star Games.
Later that night, Voytek returns home as Laenu stands by the window, her hand resting gently on her rounded belly. When she turns to him, her eyes shimmer with both love and worry.
"I'm glad you've found purpose in returning to the Games," she says quietly. "But… do you really have to go?"
Voytek exhales, his hand brushing along the doorway as if holding onto courage.
"I must," he says. "So this planet will have more hope — so one day, someone from here can reach godhood."
He smiles faintly and walks past her, though his steps tremble. Beneath his steady tone, fear crawls up his spine. He hides it — for her sake, for their unborn child, for the dream he's chosen to chase.
Days pass.
The 102nd Star Games are about to begin. The city square roars with the sound of thousands as Voytek, age 19, stands before the colossal Star Gate. The gate hums with divine power, runes swirling like galaxies as light spills across the marble streets.
High above on the balcony, King Waenush raises his hand in salute. Beside him, Laenu waves through tears, her voice drowned by the chants of the crowd.
Voytek looks back one last time.
He smiles — a trembling, hopeful smile — and raises his hand in farewell.
The people erupt in thunderous cheers.
The Star Gate blossoms open, its magic portal spiraling with light. Voytek steps through, his figure swallowed by divine radiance.
Moments later —
In the vast God's Arena, God's Avatar appears, with a casual wave of his hand, the six billion Stars are teleported away.
Voytek appears inside a massive chamber alongside nine other Stars. The air feels heavy, thick with divine pressure.
Suddenly, glowing magic letters carve themselves into the air:
"There are ten rooms. Each has a time limit of 30 minutes. Escape by becoming the lone survivor — or solve the puzzles. All wounds will be healed in the in-between halls after clearing a room also further rooms ahead will have special conditions... Begin!"
A deep hum vibrates through the chamber walls.
Voytek swallows hard, feeling the fear he once buried begin to stir again — the haunting memory of blood, death, and survival returning to greet him.
Suddenly, one of the Stars spots a wooden box near the corner of the room.
She quickly smashes it against the ground — the box splinters apart, revealing a machete. She snatches it up, eyes wide with panic.
Another Star raises his hands, trying to calm her.
"Calm down! We don't have to kill each other yet—"
Before he can finish, a blade bursts through his chest from behind.
He gasps, eyes blanking as blood pours from the wound. Behind him stands another Star
"But I want to kill," he growls.
Then chaos erupts.
Screams fill the air. Flesh tears. Steel clashes. Blood splatters across the marble floor.
Voytek sprints away, diving behind a massive pillar. His heart pounds so loud he can barely hear his own breath. He covers his ears, trying to drown out the dying screams echoing through the chamber.
Fifteen minutes crawls by.
Then — silence.
Voytek slowly peeks out from behind the pillar. The room is drenched in red — bodies everywhere.
Then, a voice.
"Why isn't the door opening?!"
The crazy Star stands at the door that is still closed, trembling. Many cuts cover his body — some deep, others shallow.
"Didn't I kill them all?!"
He looks around wildly, counting each corpse.
"One… two… three…" His voice shakes. "Eight?! And I'm nine…"
His bloodshot eyes dart around.
"Where the fuck are you hiding, huh?!"
He starts stumbling between the bodies, leaving a trail of blood from his own wounds. Voytek presses his back against the pillar, barely breathing.
The madman staggers to the far end of the chamber, where a wall-sized puzzle glows faintly — a stone maze carved into the wall with a movable tile in the center.
The Star slams his fist against it, cursing. "Come out! The puzzle's right here! You know when time runs out, we both die!"
Voytek hesitates… then steps out. His body trembling.
The crazed Star turns, laughing hoarsely.
"Fucking coward," he mutters. "Come here. I'm done fighting. Even if I could, I'd bleed out. So hurry — solve it."
He tears strips of clothing from the dead to wrap his wounds, sitting weakly by the wall.
Voytek sees that the Star is unarmed as he then swallows hard and approaches, placing his hand on the center tile of the maze. It moves smoothly beneath his fingers as he tries to guide it through the paths.
"Can… can you check the other side?" he asks quietly with slight fear. "See if there's… another way out?"
The Star nods slowly, limping to the opposite wall. He peers at it for a moment before saying,
"Hmmm… no, nothing here."
He walks back toward Voytek, voice soft.
"Yeah, I'll take a look at your side too."
Voytek pauses.
"You… you sure?"
"There," the Star says suddenly, pointing at the wall beside them. "There's a way out!"
Voytek turns his head, squinting to see but before he can react, a sharp pain explodes through his back.
The hidden knife is stabbed into Voytek's back.
The Star leans close, whispering in his ear through gritted teeth,
"You're the way out."
The world blurs. Pain surges through Voytek's body like lightning but along with it come flashes of memory:
The first stage of the 101st Star Games,
All the moments in the city,
Laenu's smile,
her hand over her belly.
A spark ignites in him.
With a roar, Voytek slams his elbow backward, smashing the Star's nose flat, breaking it. Blood sprays, as the attacker stumbles back.
Voytek's fear turns to fury. Adrenaline takes over as he charges forward, tackling the Star head-first into a stone pillar. The back of the Star's skull cracks against it — he collapses, unconscious.
Voytek stands over him, panting. Then rage, he stomps on the Star's head, again and again, until the body stops moving.
The room hums.
A door slowly creaks open.
Voytek freezes, chest heaving.
He looks up at the timer — five minutes remain.
He walks back to the maze, wiping the blood from his shaking hands. His fingers move quickly now, guided by instinct. The tile clicks into place as the tile has escaped the maze.
With only one minute left remaining.
Voytek exhales, a small, exhausted dark laugh breaking through his lips. He steps through the open door into the hall.
Magic then appears that causes the knife from his back to fade away, sealing the wound shut with magic lights.
Voytek exits the hall and enters another room. Five other Stars stand there, looking just as tense as he is. The heavy doors behind them slam shut as a glowing timer appears above the wall — 30 minutes.
Voytek ignores the others and walks over to a glowing puzzle table. On it are fifty picture cards face up, each one having a matching pair.
Magic energy then swirls around the table, shuffling the cards into a 5x5 grid before flipping them all facedown.
Magical text appears above the table:
"Pair all the cards."
Voytek quickly begins flipping them one by one. Until he gets it wrong, and each time the cards shuffle again.
As he reaches for another card, a Star across from him says, "We'll help you out."
Time passes fast. Together, they manage to finish the last pair. The cards glow and vanish — the door ahead opens. Voytek glances at the team, beginning to trust them as they move through the halls toward the next room.
They enter another chamber. Only one other Star stands there this time, the timer then starts the countdown as that Star quickly starts searching the corners of the room for weapons.
A Star from Voytek's group suddenly shouts, "Get him!"
The team rushes forward. Voytek catches up first, kicks the lone Star to the ground, and the others piles on strangling him to death as Voytek watches. The room falls silent as he starts shaking.
One of his teammates looks up and says calmly, "We didn't need him anyways. Let's solve the next puzzle."
They work fast, solving the puzzle and advancing again.
The next room opens — this time with four other open doors, each one revealing another Star.
New magic words appear across the air:
"Special condition – Rule change for current room: Only one group may advance."
The other four Stars immediately form an alliance and charge.
Chaos breaks loose as blood sprays across the glowing walls. Minutes feel like seconds until the fighting ends.
When the light fades, only Voytek and one teammate are left standing among the bodies. The timer shows eight minutes remaining.
Voytek turns to his companion — blood gushes from a deep cut across the man's stomach. The injured Star gasps, "Come on… let's solve the puzzle… quick."
Voytek carries him to the puzzle table. This time it's a glowing game of solitaire. They start placing cards, but the teammate keeps slipping, misplacing every other move.
Time ticks away. Two minutes left.
Voytek suddenly stops. He steps back, staring at the table — the puzzle is a mess and is now unsolvable.
His chest tightens.
Tears fall down his face.
Then, with a quiet click, the door opens.
Voytek looks to sees his teammate dead on the chair from bleeding out.
The realization hits him hard.
He wipes his tears and steps through the door alone.
Room after room, Voytek comes out alone.
Each time, the puzzles grow harder. Each time, he had to kill the others with his trembling hands. The weight builds in his chest until it's all he can do to keep moving forward.
Finally, he reaches the tenth and final room.
Before him stand twenty other Stars, all excited.
One of them points at him and shouts, "He's alone! That means he's a cold-blooded killer too! Kill him!"
Ten of them charge at once.
Voytek braces himself, swinging and blocking with everything he has. His fists crack against jaws as blood splatters across the glowing floor. But there are too many of them.
They knock him down.
Boots slam into his ribs. Fists rain down. Voytek curls up, clutching his head as the pain explodes through him.
The other ten Stars then sees new glowing words appear near them:
"Special condition – Rule change for current room: You can only escape by solving your own puzzle."
They all freeze and then quickly scatter in all directions, each rushing toward their own puzzle. The other ten stop beating Voytek and quickly follow suit after reading the magic words, desperate not to waste another second.
The room fills with frantic movement—magic lights, papers being written, gears turning, the sound of clocks ticking down.
In the middle of it all, Voytek lies on his back. His leg is twisted, broken. He can barely breathe.
He stares up at the shining ceiling as tears stream down his blood-covered face. Around him, the others are shouting, solving, cursing, praying.
The timer ticks down, glowing brighter with every passing second.
But suddenly Voytek's wipes his tears as his eyes are wide open as he see something!