Hours passed and the six hours time limit of the simulation has already passed.
Ryker and his team were still in the simulation wounding what was going on.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The night inside the simulation never truly felt like night. The sky above the broken city bled red and purple with corrupted code, a false twilight that pulsed unnaturally. The ruined hospital had become a base but safety was a fleeting illusion.
Ryker stood by the flickering glass of a cracked window. His arms were crossed and his eyes were narrowed. The blood red card still burned in his pocket, though he hadn't told anyone about it.
Not yet. Not until His mind cleared. Not just over the message, but the implications. Someone else was inside the simulation. Someone who knew him. Who could manipulate things from the inside.
"Ryker,"
Sasha's voice came from behind him. "You good?"
"Fine," Ryker replied in a simple tone.
[....]
[.....]
Ryker could feel Sasha wanted to ask something but she didn't push it forward. Her eyes lingered.
Sasha had seen him falter after the Chimera. But there were more pressing matters. The city wasn't done with them yet.
*******
Arthur, Lucas and Dean were out clearing and checking nearby blocks for resources.
While Ryker, Sasha and Lia remained in the hospital to stabilize the base. Lia was attempting to create a fire based ward with her magic and combining it with Ryker's Luminous Barrier. She wanted to make a defense against the corrupted monsters.
"Blazing Vortex,"
Lia whispered as she channelled a swirling ring of flames around the hospital perimeter. The heat distorted the air and it was forming a visible dome of deterrence.
"Luminous Barrier"
Ryker added a layer of protection using the Luminous Barrier, the golden shimmer dancing along the flames like sacred armor.
Suddenly, Lucas's voice crackled through the comms channel on Ryker's wrist.
"We've got movement. Not monsters. Something… else. It is Human shaped, but not completely human."
"Fall back," Arthur's voice followed through the comms,
"They are corrupted avatars former students, maybe."
Ryker's eyes sharpened. Things were getting out of hand fast and he needed to find a solution for it even faster.
*******
Soon Arthur, Dean and Lucas returned from looking for resources.
After checking and distributing the resources they started to plan what they should do next.
They were already stuck with no idea of going out and they didn't know what was going on and why they weren't out even though the six hour time limit had passed.
Were this also part of simulation or it was something else completely, they were completely lost.
The team started to create their next steps about what they should do.
Graaaar!!!!!
But before they could strategize, a scream echoed from the hospital's emergency wing.
"What was that!!!!" Lia asked as she was surprised by the scream.
The group rushed with their weapons drawn. They were ready to fight.
When they arrived at the emergency wing. What they saw wasn't a monster, but a twisted and twitching version of a student. Its eyes blackened, movements were jerky and its face stuck in a frozen scream.
"Engage with caution," Arthur ordered.
Dean took point, he used his Earth Bastion skill as it manifested a stone armor and a heavy shield.
Clang!!!!
He blocked the corrupted student's strike, holding the line. The impact forced Dean back a few feet.
Lucas zipped around with his Thunder Steps, his spear was crackling with electric fury.
Swik!!!
Lucas thrusted forward and pierced the corrupted figure's side. Instead of bleeding the figure screeched like data being torn apart.
Lia positioned herself at an angle and shouted,
"Inferno Surge"
A massive wave of flame erupted from her fingertips, engulfing the enemy in searing heat. The corrupted student stumbled and burned but was still moving.
"Scorching Embers" Lia followed up and fireballs were thrown at the figure leaving trails of lingering flames beneath its feet. The creature faltered.
Swoosh!!!
Sasha blinked behind it, her daggers flashing in the simulation's eerie light. Her strikes were always precise as they targeted weak points.
But even as her blade drove into its neck, the figure writhed unnaturally, arms flailing in glitching patterns.
"Not enough," Sasha hissed.
"Cover Me!!!"
Arthur's voice rang out.
He dashed forward as his blade ignited with Voidfire, the swirling mix of darkness and flame.
Slash!!!
One clean and controlled slash that all it took. It severed the corrupted avatar in half.
It crumbled into digital ash.
"Simulation error?" Lucas asked.
"No" Ryker said.
"It's a sabotage"
********
After killing the creature. Ryker found what looked like a distorted data crystal embedded in the creature's skull.
He bend over to check it,
"We can extract it"
"It might tell us where these things are coming from," Ryker said.
Arthur looked hesitant. "It could be a trap."
"But if we don't understand what's happening, we'll keep fighting blind," Ryker argued.
Lucas stepped forward. "We scan it. I'll do it."
"No," Ryker stopped him. "Let me. I'm already marked."
Ryker didn't explain what that meant. He didn't need to. He was playing a deeper game now.
*******
Ryker used the simulation console that they found in the hospital's main control room. As the crystal interfaced, the lights dimmed and glitches worsened.
Inside the corrupted data, Ryker saw fragments.
Glimpses of a figure in red watching the team through dozens of camera angles, distorted files labeled with their names and a digital echo laughing.
The message that followed chilled him more than the last one,
"You should've stayed an observer"
Boom!!!!
The console exploded, sending Ryker flying into the wall.
Ryker's skill 'Sanctuary Veil' triggered on instinct and it shields him from the injury.
Sparks and embers floated in the air. The room was dim and tense.
Lia rushed towards Ryker.
"You are reckless," she muttered.
"And alive," Ryker replied, sitting up slowly.
*******
Lucas helped Ryker up, his eyes narrowed.
"You're hiding something."
Ryker didn't answer right away.
Sigh!!
"You are right"
"Something's watching us. Manipulating everything. This simulation…..from my understanding, we are not in control anymore."
Arthur's jaw tightened. "Then we take it back."
The camera glitches above them flickered and for a single second, the red eyed silhouette appeared in the static.
Arthur's hand went to his sword.
Slash!!!
Lia's eyes widened,
"That wasn't part of any file I have read about the simulation"
"We're being tested," Sasha added.
"But not by the Academy."
Ryker stepped forward, eyes hard.
"No"
"This is not a test"
"We are probably being hunted."
Silence followed,
Then Lucas's voice cut in, soft but determined.
"Alright then"
"Let's give them hell."
The gameboard has changed. And now, Ryker wasn't the only one aware of the rules being rewritten.