The chamber door shuts behind me.
No sound. Just absence.
A kind of silence that presses in from every side, like being buried alive without dirt.
It's dark. Not black, dim enough to be considered dark. That sickening darkness that'll have you squinting and wondering if you're looking at a person in an alleyway or not.
Then light slams down, briight, and violent. It floods my retinas, then vanishes just as fast.
I barely process it before the wind hits.
Dry first. Then humid. Then cold.
It scrapes across my skin like the chamber's trying to peel me open before the trial even begins.
Then stone grinds. Walls shift, dragging against metal and themselves. The whole space is morphing around me.
I flinch.
A voice crackles through the collar on my neck.
"This simulation will cycle environments. Do not die."
No countdown. No prep. Just those words.
This guy.
The lights flash red. No delay.
The floor disappears.
And I fall.
Hard. Dirt smacks the side of my face. My ribs slam into something, then I roll and keep rolling. Gravel. Branches. Dry soil.
I stop flat on my back. Coughing. Dust invades my mouth. My lungs. I try to sit up and gag. Everything stings. My shoulder throbs like I landed on it wrong. My elbow's scraped raw.
The sky is grey. Not the nice kind. Flat. Dead. A matte wash of lifeless cloud.
I shift my arms. My legs. Nothing broken.
The Bonecord is still wrapped. That's something.
"...Tree," I mutter. "Tree with leaves... real trees."
The forest doesn't care. It's wide and still, except for the wind curling through the branches like something breathing slow and deep.
Above me, a screen flickers. White noise. Then the wind kicks up.
Too fast.
Too sharp.
It howls past my ears like something chasing me.
Then the branches snap. Something's there. Not close, but not far either.
I run.
I shouldn't. I don't even know the layout yet. But standing still feels worse.
I don't know how long I've been moving. The collar buzzes now and then, as if to remind me it's watching. Like it's checking if I'm still alive. No timer. No voice.
Just pressure.
I find a tree and climb. Almost fall. Bark slick with moisture I didn't see. My grip slips once. My chest spikes with that vertical panic, like the air itself might let go of me.
At the top, I wait.
Breathing hard. My arms shake. My head feels floaty. Empty stomach. Too much adrenaline. Not enough air.
Nothing moves.
Then a sharp snap from the left.
Birds scream and scatter.
I drop. Barely land right. My ankle twists, not bad, but enough to flinch.
I keep running.
I've done this before. This exact feeling.
Eyes wide. Muscles coiled. Running like you're not trying to get somewhere, you're trying not to die somewhere else.
I'm good at this. It's all I'm good at.
The world glitches again.
No sound. No transition. One step I'm in the woods, the next I'm falling.
The trees vanish into the ground. The dirt becomes cold concrete. Then it cracks apart.
And I drop into water.
Freezing. No warning.
I don't scream. What's the point?
I thrash, boots dragging me down. Hoodie soaked instantly. It coils around me like a second skin, wet and suffocating. I can't see. I can't breathe. My chest spasms.
Which way is up?
Where the hell is the surface?
The Bonecord pulses once. But that's it, I still don't know what this thing is for. Or what it can do
It just exists.
Just like Silas. Just like this fucking chamber.
I'm nothing. A test subject. A part of a shitty system made by sadists.
My lungs burn.
Vision darkens.
A faint light filters through the gloom. Not safety. Just more simulation.
Something moves across it.
It massive, but fast.
Long. Thin. Faster than anything should be. I kick hard, chest in full panic mode now.
I break the surface and choke hard. Air floods in like it's too much. Like it's wrong.
I gasp again. Then crawl onto something solid.
A platform. Floating. I don't care what it is. It holds me. That's enough.
I spit. I cough so hard I taste blood. My hands shake uncontrollably.
I lay there. Drenched. Sore. Teeth clattering in my skull.
The screen above flickers.
[Assessment: Low Water Survival. Physical Agility: High. Instinctual Response: Unpredictable.]
"I know," I mutter. "Go drown yourself."
Then I puke.
Violent. Out of nowhere. Saltwater. Bile. I heave until I taste acid.
It burns all the way up.
Tears streak down my face. Not from crying—just a body in overload. Everything hurts. Everything's too much.
Silas claps.
Slow. Mocking.
He's standing outside the chamber, peering down a me from a large window high up. Arms crossed. Amused.
"Incredible," he says. "Considering your background, I expected less."
I sit up, eyes red and raw. My hair sticks to my face.
"You drop someone into water and act surprised they don't grow fins," I rasp.
He just keeps walking. Calm. Cold.
"I expected failure. You almost didn't disappoint."
I'd hit him if I was up there.
Instead I just stare.
He smiles.
"Next test is heat."
My eyes narrow. "Can I get a towel first?"
He tilts his head. "No."
The ground below starts to shift again.
I look down. Hear it.
Sand.
It's rising. Not pouring, surging. Like the desert itself is coming to smother everything that came before it.
Cacti bloom. Thorned. Wide. Ugly.
The air burns.
My skin prickles.
And then the heat hits.
Not just heat. Assault.
It digs into my bones. Crawls behind my eyes. Makes every breath feel like a mistake.
I stumble. Sweat pours down my face instantly. I wipe my forehead and come away feeling more fragile than dry.
"...That was fast," I mutter.
The sky ripples. Everything swims. My stomach growls so loud I flinch at the sound.
"Silas," I say through cracked lips.
The collar picks it up.
"What is it?"
"I'm starving..."
"Then finish faster."
Of course.
I stagger through the sand. Eyes half-closed. I barely feel my legs anymore.
Then it all goes dark again.
The desert collapses.
And I'm back in the forest.
But now it's raining.
Hard.
Sheets of cold water hammer everything. Thunder screams so close it feels like the sky's breaking open.
Lightning hits a tree not ten feet from me.
It explodes into flame.
I flinch so hard I almost fall.
This isn't testing anymore.
This is punishment.
And the worst part?
It keeps going.
I'm dragged through storms, through oceans, through swamps, chased by beasts with claws too long and mouths that open the wrong way.
Every moment something breaks. My balance. My focus. My breath.
My body is covered in cuts. Bruises. My fingers bleed through torn gloves. My lips are cracked. My ears ring from too many impacts. My feet are blistered inside my boots.
The last time I'm dropped into the ocean, something massive follows me to the surface.
An Ethlanaqua.
Tentacles like limbs. A beak made of armor. No eyes. It doesn't need them.
I swim harder than I ever have.
I don't think. I don't plan.
I just move.
I claw my way onto a tiny platform and collapse again.
This time, I throw up so hard it feels like my ribs might break.
My hands won't stop shaking.
Tears run down my face, but I don't feel anything.
The screen flashes.
[Assessment: Agility sustained. Instinct adaptable. Emotional stability: negative.]
No shit.
The next shift begins.
And I just lie there.
Eyes closed.
Listening.
The forest again.
More footsteps.
I pull myself to my feet, legs barely holding.
"Gimme a break..." I probably should've stay quiet.
The sound dies.
Then—
BOOM.
It hits me like a wall of pressure. I drop instantly. Coughing. Gasping.
BOOM.
Another one. My ears scream. My teeth rattle. I clutch my head.
The Bonecord.
It's moving.
Underneath the wrapping, it writhes like it's trying to tear through me.
I don't scream.
I just bite down on my lip and breathe through the pain.
This is war. To much is going on.
The Bonecord pulses again.
Once.
Then again.
Then it starts thrashing.
My arm jerks forward on its own. I fall to my knees, hard. Can't even stop it. My teeth clack together so hard I taste blood.
"Shit-" I hiss.
It doesn't stop.
The cord under my sleeve starts moving. Like it's crawling. Like it's alive. The whole thing bulges against the fabric. My skin feels like it's being peeled off from the inside.
I try to grab it. Press it down. Bad move.
Pain shoots from my shoulder to my fingertips. It's like someone's stabbing hot nails into every joint. My fingers twist. My wrist cracks. I scream without meaning to. It just rips out of me.
Something under the skin snaps.
Then more.
Blood leaks through the cloth.
Thin. Warm. Too fast.
"Stop—stop—stop—" My voice is cracking now. I don't even know what I'm begging. I don't know what it wants. It's not helping. It's just breaking me.
My whole body's locked up.
I can't move right. I can't even breathe right. I'm shaking so bad I bite down on my lip and it splits open. I don't even feel it.
I'm gonna pass out.
The Bonecord keeps pulling. Like it's trying to climb out of my arm. Like it wants to go somewhere.
My shoulder pops. My arm burns. From the inside. Like I'm being cooked alive in one limb.
I fall flat onto my side, twitching. I can't stop it. My back arches, muscles spasming all at once like I got hit with electricity.
I throw up again. All over the ground. Bile. Blood. My stomach flips and keeps flipping even though there's nothing left.
My eyes roll.
My vision goes white.
Then black.
The Bonecord pulses once more.
Then stops.
Everything goes numb.
I can't move.
Can't talk.
I'm not even sure I'm breathing.
Blood leaks out of my nose. My ears. Everything sounds far away, like I'm underwater again.
The sky flickers.
The forest glitches.
Then...
nothing.
Just blank.
I don't black out.
I just shut off.