*"To know the map is to know yourself. But to draw it… is to risk being changed by the journey."*
---
The Nexus was quiet, but not empty.
After the trials of the Dream, Mercy, Chaos, Judgment, and Memory doors, the group needed rest—but the Playhouse allowed no true pause. The Game Board had changed. Three sectors pulsed now: Dreamspire, Mercy's Rest, and Memory's Edge—each drawing contestants like moths to divine fire.
> "Before we jump into more trials," Merris said, "we need information. Real layout. Real patterns."
> "A map?" Kayaks asked.
> "No," Iris corrected. "A Cartographer."
---
They descended into the underlayers of the Nexus—twisting bridges and whispering tunnels, where echoes walked before the living.
There, they found him.
A young man with silver ink for blood, veins glowing like circuits beneath parchment skin. He hunched over scrolls of **animated maps** that pulsed like heartbeats. Eyes blank. Hands scribbling.
He didn't look up when they arrived.
> "You seek the layout," he said flatly. "Then trade me a memory."
> "What?" Kayaks stepped forward. "Whose?"
> "Yours. One precious memory… or you remain blind."
The group paused. But Kayaks didn't.
He held out his hand.
> "Take my birthday. The only one I ever had."
The Cartographer touched his palm. A soft glow flickered—then was gone.
> "Accepted."
---
The Cartographer unrolled a parchment that shimmered in midair. The map of the Nexus was alive—constantly reshaping, pulsing, expanding. He pointed out key regions now unlocked:
1. Dreamspire (Aspect: Dream)**
* A floating vertical maze of fragmented realities.
* Home to "Starborn" echoes—contestants who vanished in previous games but return as NPC-like guides… or threats.
* Goal: Reconstruct one's ideal future before it collapses.
2. Mercy's Rest (Aspect: Mercy)**
* A submerged sanctuary city where sins manifest as water spirits.
* Contestants undergo personal purifications through interactions with ghostlike echoes of their victims, families, or even their enemies.
* Goal: Heal a being more broken than yourself.
3.Memory's Edge (Aspect: Memory)
An infinite library where pages are written with blood.
Contestants must enter "Memory Mazes"—rooms where forgetting means death.
Goal: Retrieve a name erased from time.
> "These three zones," the Cartographer said, "form a sacred trinity. Mind. Heart. Dream. Conquer them, and a hidden door opens."
> "To where?" Lena asked.
> "To the next game tier: *The Domain of Dissonance.*"
---
From the shadows, The Forgotten One stepped beside them, silently watching the map.
> "These were never just games," he murmured. "They're designed to unmake us."
> "Then why do you still play?" Iris asked.
> "Because I remember what comes after the end."
He turned to Kayaks.
> "Your next step is Mercy's Rest. The Dream gave you vision, but you need to cleanse your burden."
Kayaks nodded. Inside, the memory he gave up still ached.
But he felt lighter, too.
---
Back on the central totem of the Nexus, a Leaderboard pillar stood glowing. Names of contestants shifted with glowing runes beside each.
1. Ka'Zhal the Hollow Star – 3 Games Cleared – Divine Aspect: Chaos
2. Remilia Vex – 3 Games Cleared – Divine Aspect: Deception
3. Kayaks -1 Game Cleared – Divine Aspect: Dream
4. Lena– 1 Game Cleared – Divine Aspect: Mercy
5. Iris– 1 Game Cleared – Divine Aspect: Chaos
6. Merris – 1 Game Cleared – Divine Aspect: Judgment
7. Eli- 1 Game Cleared – Divine Aspect: Memory
More names, mostly unknown, scrolled down—some flickering red, marked **Nullified.** Those were the ones who failed. Or died.
> "We're rising," Merris muttered. "But so are the others."
> "How many of us are still left?" Lena asked.
> "Seventy-two," Iris said, pointing to the count hovering above. "From a hundred."
> "And it's only been one phase."
---
Before they left the Cartographer's sanctum, he offered them something unexpected.
> "Take this," he said, giving Kayaks a blank divine sigil."It will record your path. If you lose who you are, it will remind you."
Kayaks held it.
And the sigil burned with a **constellation**—twelve stars forming a shape he couldn't name.
A future self, perhaps.
Or a god, not yet born.
---
*End of Chapter 10*