Racing to the Void
Episode 7 – The Death Circuit
Chapter 1 – Whispers in the Pits
The buzz started three days after KiiiD had sent the Ashbolt Crew packing.
It spread through mechanic shops, VR simulators, and underground betting dens in a dozen different worlds:
"There's a rookie tearing through the mid-tier ladders like nothing I've seen."
"Drives like a machine, upgrades like a god."
"Kid's gonna burn out or break the galaxy's leaderboard."
KiiiD ignored most of it. Let them talk. Words didn't win races — skill did.
But then he heard something else.
From a half-drunk tuner on Mercury Station:
"A god-tier part's up for grabs. The Death Circuit. No respawns. Winner takes it. No rules but crossing the line first."
God-tier parts weren't just rare — they were almost mythical. The kind of upgrades that didn't just make your car faster… they changed the way it thought, reacted, and even bent physics itself. Some racers claimed they were AI so advanced they bordered on alive. Others swore they were fragments of alien tech, outlawed in most systems.
Either way, they were the holy grail. And KiiiD had just decided he was going to take his first one.
Chapter 2 – The Circuit That Hates You
The Death Circuit was not on any official registry. It floated in the Keplar Fringe, tethered between the debris rings of two shattered moons. The track had no fixed layout — each lap, massive automated drones reshaped its routes, swapping in collapsing bridges, shifting tunnels, and grav-flip zones that could send your car screaming backward if you missed your timing.
When KiiiD arrived, the pit area was already swarming with competitors.
Some wore clan colors — bold stripes, neon insignias, armor-plated pit crews. Others were lone wolves, like him, looking for the shot of a lifetime.
A tall, lean racer in black and crimson leaned on his car, eyeing KiiiD with a grin.
"Level ninety-eight? You're about to be vapor on lap one, rookie."
KiiiD didn't answer. He just checked his AI readouts. Everything from the last grind week was locked and tuned:
• Reactive Impact Shielding – stable.
• KERS Boost – fully charged.
• Zero-G Traction Clamps – ready.
• Dynamic Threat Detection – actively mapping the other racers' patterns.
Then the AI's voice dropped in his ear:
"Alert: Two clan-linked racers detected. Black Serpent insignia. Both above Level 1,500. Objective may include eliminating you from contention."
So this wasn't just a race. Somebody wanted him out.
Chapter 3 – Lap One: The Blood Start
The start signal came as a single deafening blast. No countdown. No mercy.
KiiiD punched the throttle, the Vortex Turbine Exhaust screaming, hurling him down the opening straight.
The first hazard hit at the 300-meter mark — a gravity-shear zone. Half the field got yanked upward into the moon's pull, flipping helplessly. KiiiD's Zero-G Clamps gripped the track like talons, letting him slingshot past wreckage and fire trails.
LEVEL UP – 98 → 99
New Upgrade: Vector Alignment Boosters
Directional acceleration increased by 15% in curves.
Behind him, the two Black Serpent clan racers closed in, drafting hard. One clipped his rear bumper deliberately.
The AI chimed:
"Threat priority elevated. Engage countermeasures?"
"Not yet," KiiiD muttered, drifting into the next turn.
Chapter 4 – Lap Two: The Kill Box
The drones shifted the track mid-race, folding huge armored panels into a narrow canyon with spinning plasma saws embedded in the walls. It was a death trap designed to shred anyone who oversteered.
The Black Serpents pounced here. One tried to pin KiiiD against the saw wall while the other cut in front to box him.
The AI fed data in rapid-fire bursts.
"Gap opening in 1.6 seconds. Accelerate vector +12 degrees. Boost now."
KiiiD obeyed without hesitation, slamming the KERS system. The coupe shot through the shrinking opening, leaving the two clan cars locked in their own trap. One scraped the plasma wall, sending sparks into the void.
LEVEL UP – 99 → 100
New Upgrade: Phase-Shift Braking
Allows instantaneous deceleration without tire loss or heat damage.
The crowd watching from orbital feeds roared as KiiiD emerged unscathed.
Chapter 5 – Lap Three: The Drop
The track fell away into a freefall section, with only scattered anti-grav platforms to land on. Miss one, and you'd drift into open space until the rescue drones fished you out.
KiiiD stayed low, using Vector Boosters to swing between platforms like a predator leaping branch to branch. A lone racer tried to tail him, but misjudged a platform jump and vanished into the void.
Halfway through, the AI pinged a strange signal ahead.
"Source detected: Potential god-tier energy signature."
KiiiD's pulse spiked. The finish line wasn't the only thing he was chasing now.
Chapter 6 – The Final Lap: The Heart of the Machine
The last lap collapsed into chaos. The drones reshaped the route into a twisted vertical climb straight through a meteor shower.
At the top of the climb, hovering over the finish line, was a black case locked in a magnetic field. The AI confirmed it instantly:
"God-tier component identified: Eidolon Core. Unknown functions."
The Black Serpents, somehow still alive, roared up behind him. Their intent was clear — knock him off the climb, take the Core.
KiiiD went full aggression. The coupe's Aero Kit flattened, the Turbine Exhaust flared white-hot, and the Phase-Shift Brakes let him stop mid-climb for a split second, forcing the Serpent leader to overshoot. KiiiD swung back into line and punched through the meteor gap, the Core snapping into his trunk's lock port with a heavy magnetic thunk.
He crossed the line first.
Chapter 7 – Aftermath
In the pit, KiiiD's hands were still on the wheel. His AI spoke in an almost reverent tone:
"Core integration commencing… Warning: anomalous neural sync detected."
Then he felt it. Not through the car, but inside his own head. A whisper, mechanical yet alive:
"You are fast. But I will make you faster."
KiiiD exhaled slowly. Whatever this was, it wasn't just an upgrade. It was the start of something dangerous.
And he was ready.