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LOCATION: IDYLLIC ISLE OF LIGHT
CITY: SEYCHELLES
DATE: SEPTEMBER 14, 2026 | TIME: 12:00 PM
During the eleven days since everyone had returned to the same version of the Isle of Light, a lot had happened.
Gideon Blackwell spent the first evening with everyone at dinner mostly quiet. It was a strange sight. He was usually the life of the party, even with 196 people in attendance.
After dinner, he took Rourke Maddox to the security hut. Gideon asked the others to give them the room, and they left to take a break.
Alone in the space, Rourke was ready for anything. He, of course, knew of his boss's actions, but he could also see something new in the man's eyes.
"Rourke," Gideon started, "I owe you the second biggest apology. I already spoke to Moira, and told her everything. But you…"
Gideon put his hand on the burly former commando's shoulder.
"I have wronged you grievously. And we need to be ready for what's coming. I know you never supported my efforts to stop the global distribution of Rejuvenex. You tried to tell me, and I shut you down. I am sorry."
Gideon looked down at the floor and sighed. Maddox didn't say anything.
"I hired three Spetsnaz teams to attack production facilities where the serums are being manufactured. Their first job is to destroy the facilities. The Massara Group was to hit thirty distribution warehouses to distract the world from this move."
Gideon raised his eyes to meet Rourke's.
"But after that, the Russians are coming for you and your men. I'm sorry, Rourke. They have a grudge against you, and they demanded your head as payment."
He paused, waiting for Rourke to say something. Anything.
But he only listened.
"I'm sure you're furious with me right now, but I want to help you defend yourselves. I and the others who were gone… We've been through a lot, and we can fight now. We can—"
"They're not coming, Gideon," Rourke said. "They've been dealt with."
Gideon's lips quivered.
"You… you knew about it? How did you—"
"It was Samir. He found out about it all, and sent us to this prison of luxury while he handled everything. The day before we entered this place, all three teams were eliminated. Anatoly is facing his own nightmare scenario right now."
Rourke chuckled.
"Although his wife is probably wondering why he's been sleeping for weeks without waking up. The medical staff is going to have a field day with that one. Vital signs perfect, but he just sleeps for weeks on end."
"Is that what we're doing now? Sleeping? All of this is just, what, a construct of our minds?" Gideon asked.
Rourke leaned back in his chair.
"Ah, fuck it. May as well tell you what I know," he said. "Think of it like a video game…"
And he explained their situation to Gideon at length.
"And for what it's worth, Samir is the one who convinced me not to kill you for what you did to me. I've had a lot of time to think about how I would handle this conversation, but from the look in your eyes, I can see you've been through a lot."
A few tears escaped Gideon's eyes, but he held back what he could.
"I will do whatever I can to regain your trust, Rourke. But I'll tell you this: I have died, according to this System, 1,006 times. I've died in hundreds of different ways. Each time, the pain persisted for days afterward. If it's pain you want me to feel for my betrayal, I promise you, I've experienced it a hundred times over."
He stood from his own chair and glanced out the window at the sunny beach.
"I don't know if money means anything in this System, but I promise you that what resources I do have at my disposal are yours in recompense for the wrongs I have committed."
Gideon didn't bother trying to shake Rourke's hand. He knew it would be an empty gesture. He needed to show him, and everyone else on the island, through his actions.
On September 14th, it was finally ready. Gideon, Rourke, and Moira had pooled their accumulated experience points and requested a boon from the System.
Gideon was convinced it was granted because it was an almost completely selfless request. Almost selfless because, in the end, it was an attempt at restitution for those he had wronged.
But selfless because it was they and their families who would benefit from it, not Gideon, Moira, or Rourke.
At exactly noon, all 196 of the men, women, and children on the island received the same System notification.
---
System Message
Gideon Blackwell, Moira Blackwell, and Rourke Maddox have combined their experience points and requested a boon from the System.
It has been granted.
In six hours, your time in [Scenario: Idyllic Isle of Light] will come to a close.
The System hopes you have enjoyed yourselves and learned much in your time here.
All memories of your time in [Scenario: Idyllic Isle of Light] will be erased. When you wake from this slumber, you will leave the island and return to your daily lives.
You will find your bodies rested and your minds clear.
Congratulations on all of your accomplishments during your stay.
---
After the message cleared, Gideon raised his arms.
"Let's get some music going, and enjoy our last hours in this wonderful place! Bring out the feast!"
In response to his words, a buffet of foods from all over the world appeared on long tables as if by magic.
The children cheered and lined up for the water slide again.
The adults grabbed drinks and toasted to the three who gave up their experience points for this.
"To Gideon," Spencer Brannock said, raising his glass. "Thank you for taking ownership and making this right."
"Hear! Hear!"
"The funds you have all contributed to my horrible idea will be returned to you in two days," Gideon said. "I am sorry for dragging you all into this."
They all talked into the early evening.
At precisely 6:00 PM, the world shifted for everyone, and they suddenly woke in their beds on the Isle of Light. The real Isle of Light, not the scenario.
Only Gideon, Moira, and Rourke remembered what they'd all been through. Gideon, most of all. The memories of a thousand horrific deaths would haunt him for years after that.
Even as he entered the System and found further karmic redemption, the sting of his experiences would cling to him for years like scar tissue on his soul. A constant reminder that he'd best not stray from his path.
The others slowly left the island and returned to their normal lives, having completely forgotten about everything that had occurred over the previous 23 days.
23 days on the calendar, that is. For Gideon himself, it was much, much longer. Time inside the nightmare scenario had stretched to the point that he'd been there for almost six months.
Six months of constant combat, death, and pain. He was determined to live a better life from then onward.