Previously on Captivity...
The truth about their confinement had finally been laid bare, leaving the players reeling in shock and despair.
As night fell, the dorms became a prison of memories and grief. Tears fell silently in the dark, and the weight of their captivity threatened to crush them.
Meanwhile, in Tokyo, Japan, Kaori discovered a shocking truth: her brother Eichi, a player in the game, had been replaced by a duplicate, leaving her to navigate a dangerous web of secrets.
In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Awinita searched desperately for her missing half-sister Awandea, whose disappearance seemed to go unnoticed by the authorities.
Within the game, Adrena, an NPC, reported a catastrophic failure of the system: a player's clone had not replaced them in the real world, threatening the very fabric of the game.
And as the players struggled to survive, the god of games decreed that this failure would not be tolerated, setting in motion a chain of events that would change the course of the game forever.
The fourth level of round one is about to begin. The players must face their deepest fears and confront the darkness that binds them.
ESCAPE THE HALL LV.4
ASCENDANCY
Lumin splashed cold water on his face in his dorm room, the chill shocking him fully awake. He towelled off, glancing at his reflection with steely determination. The notification that had sounded moments ago echoed in his mind—it was time to begin Level Four of the first preliminary round. As he stepped outside, he found Awandea waiting in the hallway. She had emerged from her room at the same time, her face reflecting both calm and a trace of underlying intensity. They exchanged a brief nod, an unspoken agreement passing between them.
One by one, players emerged from their dorms, clustering in the corridor and then moving down toward the Adrena Hall together. A sense of unease settled over them, like mist clinging to the edge of a storm. At the front, Adrena was already standing on stage, waiting with her staff levitating slightly off the ground in front of her. She watched the players gather with a practiced, enigmatic smile, her fingers interlaced in front of her.
"Welcome back, players." Her voice carried through the hall with a subtle authority that commanded attention. "I assume you all had a good rest?" She looked at them with expectant eyes, as though genuinely awaiting a response, but only a few players nodded or murmured affirmations. Most kept their heads down, expressions tense.
"How wonderful," she continued, her tone warm but with an edge. She took a few steps forward, stopping right at the edge of the stage, her hands folding behind her back as her eyes gleamed with a cold glint. "It’s time for Level Four of the first preliminary round. I hope you all are prepared."
With that, her demeanor shifted, a dangerous look sharpening her gaze. She raised one hand, fingers poised to snap, while the other remained hidden behind her back. A single, resounding snap echoed through the hall, and in an instant, every player’s screen materialized before them, casting a ghostly light on their faces. The information displayed sent a ripple of nervous energy through the group.
Preliminary Rounds
Round One
Level Four
Target: Solve the puzzle
Time Remaining: 60 minutes
Obstacle: The puzzle
Reward: One-time-use revive potion
Penalty: None
As they read through the instructions, tension pooled in the air. A revive potion as the reward? The stakes, they realized, were higher than the lack of penalty might suggest. Players exchanged uneasy glances, but inevitably, many pairs of eyes drifted toward Lumin and Awandea. Everyone knew these two had secured an advantage in many of the preliminary rounds ahead, courtesy of the books they had acquired. The silent question hanging in the air was almost palpable—had Lumin and Awandea gained any hints about this level?
Awandea sighed as she dismissed her screen with a quick command. She looked around at the others and raised her voice. “Don’t look at us,” she said, her tone blunt. “We don’t have the book for this round. Maybe it’s with one of the other teams that actually completed the last level.”
Her words directed the players’ attention toward Team AA. Florida stood among them, a mischievous grin tugging at her lips. The sight of her expression was confirmation enough—she was the one who held the book that covered all five levels of the first round. A few players sighed in frustration, realizing the significance of the books now more than ever. Each contained vital information, tricks, weapon guides, and survival advice, which could make or break a team’s progress. But since so many had ignored the previous level due to the lack of penalty, only a handful had the advantage of the knowledge the books provided.
Celine, standing beside her team, clenched her jaw in irritation. Her team had missed out on any advantage, unlike Lumin and Awandea, who now had access to nearly twenty-four rounds—amounting to a total of one hundred and twenty levels of advantage. She muttered under her breath, feeling the weight of their mistake.
At another snap of Adrena’s fingers, their surroundings shifted. The hall vanished, replaced by a wide-open area where each team was stationed at a considerable distance from one another. A massive, jumbled image filled a square space before each team. At the edge of the square, a smaller depiction of the original, unshuffled picture was etched in the grass, giving them a goal to work toward. The sunlight caught on an hourglass hovering in the sky, the sands inside trickling down with ominous purpose.
Adrena’s voice floated down from above as she appeared mid-air, bowing with an almost theatrical flourish. “Good luck, players,” she said with a sly smile, vanishing in a flash.
The players immediately huddled around their puzzles, examining the pieces. It was clear they couldn’t remove the individual pieces; they’d have to slide them around and reposition them until they formed the correct picture. But this was more challenging than it seemed. There were hundreds of pieces, and every incorrect move could set them back precious time.
Awandea took in the sight of her team’s puzzle with a frown. “A revive potion?” she muttered. “So, if we die here, we can come back once more?”
Lumin nodded thoughtfully. His gaze remained fixed on his player’s screen. “Seems like it.”
Awandea let out a low whistle, crossing her arms as she continued to assess the pieces. “They wouldn’t just give out something like that for no reason, would they?” She glanced up at Lumin, her eyes narrowing in consideration.
“Probably not,” he agreed. “It sounds like only one team is meant to win this round. The reward’s too significant for everyone to receive it easily.”
Awandea tilted her head, considering their options. She commanded her screen to close with a slight gesture. “What do we do then? Should we let this one go and try our luck with something similar to what we did with the rose crown level? Or should we try to solve this?”
Lumin thought for a moment, scanning the area around them. The other teams were already deep in concentration, working on their puzzles with frantic energy. The hourglass loomed overhead, its sands slipping away at a maddening pace. He exhaled slowly, a hint of determination flickering in his eyes.
“No, we’re not letting this one go,” he replied, his tone resolute. “We’ll solve this puzzle, and we’ll win that potion.”
YOU ARE READING
Captivity
Science-Fiction[WARNING: GHORE SCENES, DISTURBING PICTURES (SOME AND/OR MAYBE), BLOOD, VIOLENCE, DEATH] Croslette Awandea, a quiet young freshman, has always found solace in the world of video games. But when she unexpectedly becomes a real player inside one, she...
