Jack awoke to a tight ache in his chest.
He gasped, hands flying to his ribs, expecting pain—and found only pressure. No bruising. No blood. Just the ghost of where the robot had smashed into him the day before.
They had healed him.
But not out of kindness.
> They need me alive.
The door opened without warning.
Same voice. Same routine.
"You can cooperate… or be forced."
Jack didn't answer. He just stood, already knowing the cuffs were coming. The heavy metal rings locked around his wrists with a dull hum, and once again, the strange electric pressure sank into his skin, muting whatever power stirred beneath it.
They marched him silently through the halls until the door to the training room opened again.
But this time, it wasn't a blank metal box.
Jack stepped into something different.
The training chamber had changed. Steel plates folded and shifted across the ground, rising into crooked towers, shattered windows, and hollow wreckage.
A fake city—broken, abandoned, full of shadows.
> What the hell is this?
Before he could ask, something fell from above.
WHIIIIISTLE—
BOOOOM!
The floor shook as it landed hard, cracking the concrete beneath its feet. Jack stumbled back, coughing on the smoke and dust.
Then he saw it.
A robot, but not like before.
This one was bulkier—7.5 feet tall, arms like tanks, each one ending in massive rotating machine guns. Its body was covered in thick, layered armor. No soft spots. Its head looked like a helmet fused with a ram's skull. Its legs were wide, plated, made to withstand blasts.
This wasn't built to test.
It was built to kill.
The speakers clicked on.
> "DEADLY MODE: ACTIVATED."
The robot's guns spun.
BRRRRRRRT!!
Jack sprinted to the nearest broken rock slab as a hailstorm of bullets tore through the air. The stone cracked, shaking with every impact. He covered his head, chest heaving.
> What do I do? What do I do?!
The bullets didn't stop. They chewed into the cover.
One grazed his leg. Another struck his shoulder. Jack screamed, rolling out and running toward a twisted metal building. The bullets followed, shredding concrete as he barely slipped behind a wall.
> I'm gonna die. I'm really gonna die.
The robot kept advancing.
Every step pounded like a war drum.
Then—
> "Let me free, and I will protect you."
Jack froze.
It wasn't Scythe.
The voice was... calm. Deep. Human-like.
Comforting, almost.
His hands started to tremble — not from fear, but power.
His eyes turned red, veins glowing softly, but... no pain this time.
> Just clarity.
Smoke began pouring from his palms — thick, black, coiling like steam from lava. It danced with red lightning.
Then—
Something stepped out of it.
Massive. Armored. Slow. Powerful.
The monster was bigger than Scythe. It had the bulk of a tortoise, its body protected by dense rock-like plating. Its head was low and shielded, shaped like a horned dinosaur. Its tail ended in a massive stone club, jagged and heavy.
It didn't scream. It didn't roar.
It just charged.
The robot unloaded its guns—bullets clanging uselessly off the monster's armor.
Jack stared in awe.
> It's not even slowing down.
The beast reached the robot and swung its tail with a crack like thunder.
The club slammed into the robot's chest—armor buckling, splitting, then snapping in half as the robot crumbled to the ground in a heap of twisted metal.
Silence.
The monster stood tall. It turned its head slowly.
Toward Jack.
Jack stepped back, heart pounding. For a moment, he thought it might attack.
But then—
It lowered its head.
Bowed.
Jack blinked, stunned. His breath caught in his throat as he slowly approached it.
He studied the monster: armor like hardened stone, powerful limbs, and a tail that had just destroyed a killing machine in one blow.
> You're not like Scythe, Jack thought. You're... calmer.
The metal doors opened again.
Guards entered, handcuffs ready.
The monster tensed, growling low.
Jack stepped back, unsure what to do. He didn't know how to send it away.
Then—
> "Look at me… and say: return."
The voice again — same one as before. Calm. Firm.
Jack locked eyes with the creature. "Return."
The monster's body began to disintegrate into smoke, red lightning sparking in the air. It flowed back into Jack's skin like mist, vanishing without a trace.
The guards didn't say a word. They just snapped the cuffs back on and dragged him from the room.
---
Back in his padded cell, Jack sat against the wall, soaked in sweat and blood.
He whispered to himself:
> "That wasn't Scythe."
> "How many of them are in me…?"