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LOCATION: ISLE OF LIGHT – NIGHTMARE SCENARIO
CITY: SEYCHELLES
DATE: AUGUST 22, 2026 | TIME: 12:15 AM
As the countdown ticked toward zero, Gideon and the other 21 men were all armed and stood on the beach.
Some sort of map feature had appeared in their interface and led them all to this spot.
At exactly 12:15 AM, those bone-chilling screams echoed forth from every direction, setting everyone on edge.
Dark clouds covered the full moon above, and even with the backdrop of pristine white sand, the beach grew dark.
Then all at once, creatures began emerging from the water. They were marching straight from the depths to the land, and heading straight for Gideon and the others.
One of the men was trying to coordinate a unified response, lining the others up shoulder to shoulder.
Gideon only laughed.
"I don't need any of your help!" he shouted as he thrust his iron poker into a creature that looked like a barracuda with legs and arms and wielding a metal spear.
When Gideon plunged his makeshift weapon into the monster, its massive jaws clamped onto his forearm.
He screamed in agony as the rows of jagged teeth pierced his skin, and he almost lost consciousness from the pain alone.
Gideon clenched his jaw and jabbed his weapon again and again into the torso of the monster, until he was covered in blood both blue and red, and the fish-man or whatever the fuck it was called fell at his feet.
---
System Message
You have slain Barracuda Spearman, Level 4.
0 experience points have been awarded.
Note: Due to your actions, experience points have been blocked during this scenario. You must survive and seek answers.
---
"What the fuck—" Gideon muttered.
He turned just in time to look another Barracuda Spearman in the eyes. As its spear pierced Gideon's heart.
His world went black.
Suddenly, an ear-piercing shriek and the sound of glass breaking all around yanked him from his dream.
He looked around. The floor-to-ceiling glass surrounding his bedroom on three sides had shattered, and high winds buffeted the palm trees just outside.
Gideon looked down, and the spot on the bed where his wife had been sleeping was marked with blood and gore, but she was nowhere to be seen.
He panicked. Reached into the drawer of his nightstand where he kept a loaded gold-plated Desert Eagle pistol ready for self-defense.
Lightning flashed outside, and the room lit up for a split second. His hand rummaged around, but the drawer was empty.
"Wait," he said, "this is happening again?"
He leapt out of bed and grabbed the iron poker. This time before heading outside, he stopped in the kitchen and took two of the larger knives from the wooden block on the counter.
He found the leather sheaths they came with and stowed them inside his tunic.
He would be more careful this time. No fucking way Gideon Blackwell is going to be taken unawares twice.
Just before crossing the threshold of his mansion, another message appeared.
---
System Message
You have died.
This is likely the first time of many.
Continue on your path, and may you find redemption through your actions.
---
"Hah!" Gideon scoffed. "Redemption? For what? I've done nothing wrong! You hear me?" He shouted into the storm, but he could hardly hear his own voice over the banshee wailing and the wind howling.
He ran toward the beach, but this time found himself alone.
"Where is everybody?" he muttered.
As if in response, another System message came into view.
---
System Message
Gideon Blackwell
Since you seem to have no interest in working together with others, you will now face [Nightmare of the Deep] alone.
Difficulty level has been adjusted accordingly.
Countdown: 00:00:59
---
Gideon started laughing.
"I've only ever been able to rely on myself anyway. Who gives a fuck about those weaklings?"
When the countdown hit zero, the screams came again.
This time Gideon didn't wait for the monsters to emerge. He yelled out a battle cry and ran into the water, slashing his poker left and right.
But nothing came.
After a few minutes, he calmed and spun around, looking for a threat but finding none.
Just as he was about to give up and head back to shore, the most beautiful music he'd ever heard reached his ears.
He turned toward the ocean, and in the moonlight he could see a woman. She was topless and began swimming toward him while humming the haunting tune.
Gideon Blackwell, billionaire arms manufacturer, stood transfixed. He tried to swim toward her, but his legs refused to move.
She continued humming, and even hundreds of feet away, it was as if she were singing right into his ear.
When she got close enough for him to see her, however, his expression turned dark.
"Moira? What the hell are you doing? Cover yourself! For fuck's sake—"
He turned to make sure nobody had seen his wife's bare chest, and when he confirmed the beach was empty, he swung his head back around.
In the two seconds he had scanned the beach behind him, she'd closed the distance between them. She looked him in the eyes, and he couldn't move a muscle.
The haunting tune continued working its way through his mind and body. She took his face in her hands and drew in closer.
Why are her hands webbed like that?
It was the last thought he had before she kissed him. For a split second, the entire universe was perfect.
Then she wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him with her.
She swam faster than should have been possible.
He didn't even have a chance to take a breath before she pulled him under and dragged him down further and further.
He gasped for breath. Turned his head upward. They were already so deep that he couldn't even see the moonlight anymore.
His world turned black.
…
Suddenly, an ear-piercing shriek and the sound of glass breaking all around yanked him from his dream.
He looked around. The floor-to-ceiling glass surrounding his bedroom on three sides had shattered, and high winds buffeted the palm trees just outside.
Gideon looked down, and the spot on the bed where his wife had been—
"Goddammit," he grumbled. He swiped away the fucking System message boasting that he died again.
"So we're going to keep repeating this, then?" he said aloud to nobody in particular.
He grabbed the poker and the kitchen knives and headed back out into the storm.
His chest still burned from inhaling seawater. Come to think of it, his chest still hurt from the first spear he took to the heart.
"So the pain lingers, but everything else resets? Kind of cruel, don't you think?"
Once again, his only answers were the winds and the banshee.
Gideon set his jaw as he stepped out of the mansion and headed toward the beach.
This time, he was determined to do things differently.