Gone.Yeah… most of it was gone.
The screen that once trapped us inside our own illusions had disappeared. No glowing outlines. No fake boundaries. No system voice controlling our moves. They had finally revealed the ugly truth — there had never been real protection. Only limits we believed in.
I watched boys and girls like us forming groups again, as if survival depended on numbers. Maybe it did. Maybe it always had. But something inside me no longer rushed toward them. I didn't want noise. I didn't want comfort. I wanted truth.
They replaced the outline screens with walls. Real walls this time. Cold. Solid. Unavoidable. It felt symbolic. Before, our prison was invisible. Now, it was clear. And somehow that honesty felt better.
I ignored everyone.
And Sarah… she was being ignored too.
Because of me.
I had told her to leave me. To join a team. To choose safety over loyalty. Every time, she refused.
"You saved me in the last game," she said. "Even when they made you the Wizard. I can only trust you here."
Those words didn't leave me. They stayed.
In a place built on deception.
This place had taught me more than fear. More than strategy. It forced me to see what I had ignored in real life. I used to think strength meant surviving alone. I thought shutting people out made me untouchable. I called it being independent. Maybe I was just afraid.
Now I was beginning to understand something else.
Life isn't about hiding behind walls — invisible or real. It's about choosing who you stand with when everything falls apart. It's about decisions. And consequences. Even if I make the wrong choice, it will cost me — not someone else. That's what responsibility means.
For the first time, I wasn't running from people.And I wasn't running from myself either.
I'm not selfish anymore. Not just an introvert hiding in silence. I'm learning to decide my own fate.
I looked around.
All the buildings were gone. The stalls. The distractions. The colors. Everything that once made this place look like a twisted playground had vanished.
Now it was just a vast field. Open. Honest. Exposed. A few tall trees stood in the distance, unmoving, patient.
Everyone was busy talking about their own situations. Sarah was nowhere to be seen. I wasted enough time thinking on my own. It's time to do something physical.
I stood up and began searching for her. There were more than a hundred people there, yet my eyes found her beauty without any effort.
She looked back immediately. Catching eye contact, she began walking towards me. I also started walking towards her.
But something else was also destined which was unknown to everyone.
All of a sudden, the ground started shaking. It felt like something was about to tear apart the ground and rise.
But it was exactly opposite. Over the ground and the walls, there was the sun.
The sky started getting dark and darker. The game was about to start. A sound came from above,
"Game: Skyfall Survival.
Move Or Die."
Within seconds, the peaceful silence turns into chaos. Objects — sharp, burning, crushing — begin raining down from above. There's no pattern. No warning.
I watched everyone. They run in every direction, dodging shadows before they become impact. The ground was still shaking.
I started running towards Sarah. She was looking above and moving here to there.
I was still running when she finally noticed me running. Things were falling here and there, killing many teens. I dodged many by inches before finally reaching Sarah.
We started running together. I was looking around to make sure no one bumps at us. She was looking above to avoid the falls.
Looking around, I saw a shadow from a far. It wasn't moving. Because he didn't need to.
It was the hunter looking right at us. Holding a gun and waiting to pull the trigger at the right time. He was just standing as the falling things was avoiding him like us avoiding the falls. Sarah was guiding me all the time.
I looked at my wrist, 18:34:12 glowing back at me.
I looked back at him.
If we run like this. Surely, we will get tired soon. But there was a way to avoid it.
I lifted Sarah into my arms and started running toward the hunter. The only safe place is where he was standing. It took me only some seconds to reach him.
I was so tired that I fell to the ground as soon as I reached him. Sarah took out a bottle of water and gave it to me. I started drinking, but it made no difference.
While drinking I glanced at the hunter. He was still looking at the direction we came from. He didn't speak nor he looked at us.
"We're safe here," I said. "Nothing will fall from the sky."
"Are you sure?" Sarah asked.
I was about to answer when the hunter spoke.
"He's right."
His voice was flat… robotic. Maybe it was the mask.
"Who are you, really?" Sarah demanded, louder this time.
"He knows me well," the hunter replied. "You'll know soon. Just let it end."
Then, as if the world itself was listening, it did end. The sky cleared, smoother than it had ever been.
The hunter began walking forward. We stayed behind, Waiting. He said I knew him well… but I didn't even know who he was.
Step by step, he approached. Then, he removed his mask, letting it fall to the ground with a soft thud.
We held our breath, waiting for him to turn, waiting for the reveal.
The moment came.
And it was far more unexpected than anything I could have imagined.
He wasn't just one of us. He had been the reason I survived every danger before meeting Sarah.
It was none other than Omar.