Helena kept the arrow drawn, the fletching brushing her cheek as she aimed straight at the center of Keres’ chest.

Her fingers locked around the grip, knuckles pale from pressure.

"I’m not stupid, Fateless," she threw over her shoulder, eyes still on Keres. "And I’ll bet thirty stakes that the man you chose isn’t the prophesied player. You are."

A sharp ding cut through the chamber. The Runic board system panel flashed into existence right in front of her, bathing her face in cold blue light.

[Do you want to bet 30 stakes on this ’claim’?]

She lifted her gaze to the panel and nodded. "Yes."

The panel vanished.

Helena lowered her bow, the string relaxing with a soft creak, and let out a heavy breath that fogged briefly in the stale air.

She turned toward the rest of the scattered players still pressed against the walls of the chamber, her voice ringing out sharp and clear. "Don’t fall for their tricks. The man they presented as their group’s chosen one was a decoy. Just like us, they also hid theirs."

Tilting his head, white-haired Keres placed a hand pressed dramatically over his chest. "How sure are you he’s a decoy, hmm?"

His voice dripped with exaggerated sorrow, brows fused together as he puffed his cheeks. "Oh, poor me! Held at arrowpoint for trying to protect my king piece. How sad."

The dramatic slump of his shoulders lasted only a second before his expression flattened into something colder. "Tsk. As far as I know, only Ivan himself could confirm whether he’s the real deal or not."

He seized Ivan by the shoulder and shoved him forward into the open.

"Ahh!" Ivan stumbled, legs stiff, eyes wide and darting.

Keres’ soft breath brushed through the older man’s ear. "Tell us. You are the chosen prophesied player, yes?"

Ivan gritted his teeth, the sound audible in the sudden quiet. "GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Then he jerked violently, ripping himself free from Keres’ grip, slipping on the uneven stone as he bolted, arms flailing. Snot streaked from his nose as he screamed.

"Aarghhh! He’s fucking insane!" The words tore out of him.

Behind him, the massive vibrating rock shuddered.

A deep creak cut the air as its surface split open, the jagged fissure widening far beyond its previous size.

Dark particles of dried blood sprayed outward.

The rock-like creature lunged forward with unnatural speed, its newly formed mouth lined with uneven, tooth-like protrusions.

As if caught in a deadlight, the screaming man froze, staring right back at the monstrous abomination before him.

Tears trickled down to his chin. "M-my daughter—I promised—"

The jagged edges clamped shut around his torso and head in one brutal motion, swallowing the man whole.

Not a single drop of blood leaked out.

The rock sealed seamlessly, leaving only the faint outline of a human shape pressed inside its bulk before it smoothed over.

[71 stakes have been forfeited!]

Ding!

[Congratulations, Neon! Your bet was right on the clock!]

[He was not a prophesied player.]

[You have gained 10 more stakes!]

Silence crashed down over the chamber.

Players stood frozen in place, chests locked mid-breath. One woman near the back pressed both hands over her mouth, shoulders trembling. A tall man in the corner took an involuntary step backward, his boot scraping loudly against the stone.

No one spoke.

The only sound was the faint, wet settling of the rock as it adjusted its new mass and grew bigger.

Fei Ming watched the whole thing without a flicker of interest crossing his face.

If a player was going to die, he had expected something more visceral, something that would let him savor the fear twisting across Ivan’s features.

Instead the rock had covered the man’s face too quickly. No blood, no drawn-out struggle worth remembering.

"What a shame," he sighed, already bored.

Stepping out from his group’s loose formation, he crouched and picked up a single small piece of rubble from the floor.

When his plan failed, the least he could do was improve on his skill.

The pebble felt light in his palm. He stared at it with flat, cold eyes.

If this worked, it would confirm the growth in his control.

[You are currently using the skill: Weight Manipulation.]

[Weighing the pebble...]

[...multiplying ×200 internal mass.]

The pebble’s weight surged. His muscles tightened, veins standing out as the stone suddenly weighed heavier, far more strength than its size suggested.

He shifted his stance, driving his back leg into the ground for leverage, then hurled the pebble forward with a grunt of effort.

BANG!

The heavy projectile tore straight through the massive rock, splitting it cleanly in two.

Half the creature sheared away and slammed into the far wall, stone shards spraying outward. Even Fei Ming paused for half a second, surprised by the raw force he had generated.

He really had grown stronger.

It was impressive.

But his victory didn’t last. The severed portion of the rock immediately began to knit back together.

Its remaining bulk swelled, doubling in size, taking half the room as it rolled forward with heavy, grinding momentum, now angled directly toward Helena’s group.

"Quickly! Everyone, avoid it. I’ll attack from the side to slow it down." Helena moved instantly, drawing her bow again.

She shot three arrows in rapid succession. Each shaft sank into the rolling mass, only to disappear beneath the surface. The rock absorbed them and grew larger still, its surface rippling as it gained mass.

The enlarged rock stopped on its own.

Then rolling away from Helena, it suddenly lunged toward Misfortune.

The woman with cloudy blue eyes twisted aside at the last moment, her body lifting off the ground as she levitated upward.

Reaching out, she touched the rock’s surface mid-air.

Instead of crumbling to ash like everything else she touched, the stone drank in the contact and slammed her backward.

Crash! Her shoulders hit the chamber wall, the impact forcing the air out from her lungs.

’That doesn’t look good...’ Fateless gaze tracked the creature the way it continued to expand.

The more they attacked it, the more it grew. If they kept throwing force at it, the thing would eventually fill the entire chamber and crush them all against the walls.

A low voice spoke from just behind his left shoulder.

"Yeah, you noticed it too?" Keres murmured.

"It’s growing bigger each time they attack it. If we don’t stop it soon, we’ll all just become a pot of mashed potatoes," he paused. Then said, "you’d make a really cool mashed potato, Fateless."

Fei Ming stared at him. ’What did he just say to me?’

Keres stood there, white hair slightly disheveled, watching the rolling mass with calm interest. The rock had indeed kept swelling, its bulk now pressing closer to the center of the chamber.

Keres hadn’t tried anything yet. He reached into the hem of his coat and pulled out a single thin pin, rolling it between his fingers. "If it’s a living beast and not just some controlled rock—which it’s not, then I can use my pins to try and control it. Hopefully it works."

The chamber floor cracked under a sudden burst of speed. Keres shot forward, launched himself upward, and jammed the pin deep into the rock’s surface. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

A sharp thrust sent fractures spiderwebbing across the stone.

His voice, edged with wild delight, rang out across the chamber. "Play dead."

The rock froze instantly. Its rolling momentum died mid-motion, leaving it perfectly still in the center of the chamber like any ordinary boulder.

Keres dropped back to the ground and let out a short huff of breath. "Heh. What do you know? It worked." He jerked toward the immobilized creature. "Hey, Fateless! Do your thing! Break it!"

Fei Ming approached the now-stationary rock.

He placed his palm flat against its rough surface.

The coarse texture scraped his skin, and traces of dark, oily matter clung to his fingers.

His telekinesis had never been strong, but as he practiced more, internally it could twist bone, snap wood, and rupture soft tissue from the inside.

When he had struck the rock earlier, the interior had felt hollow. That gave him an opening.

He focused, pushing his power inward.

The massive stone began to vibrate. Fine cracks splintered across its surface with sharp popping sounds.

But as expected, it started regenerating itself, the fissures trying to seal.

"I can help." Helena joined in, however, keeping distance between herself and Fei Ming.

In her hand she held a mass of shiny blue slime that shimmered wetly. She flung it forward in a controlled arc. The substance splattered across the cracking sections, filling every gap and hardening almost instantly to block the regeneration process.

"I’m only helping because I don’t want more people to die," she said, her voice flat and stern. "Don’t think too much about it."

Fei Ming offered no reply. He kept the pressure on. The trapped cracks widened under the dual assault.

The rock shuddered violently repeatedly, then bursting apart in a violent explosion.

SPLAT!

Black blood splattered outward in thick sheets, flooding the stone floor and splattering across nearby players.

Helena wiped a streak of the dark fluid from her cheek with the back of her hand, chest still heaving from the effort.

Ding!

[There seem to be two winners of this round...]

[Congratulations, Fateless! You have won 20 more stakes!]

[Congratulations, Neon! You have won 20 more stakes to spend!]

[Don’t you make such a cute couple?] It mocked them.

Goosebumps rose to Helena’s neck just as she heard that.

[Round 1 - end!]

[Prophesied players remaining: 3]

[Players may begin to vote out who they believe is the true prophesied to earn rewards!]

Helena faced Fateless, her bow still gripped tightly in one hand. The black blood dripped slowly from her fingers onto the floor. "Given how you acted... it’s fucking obvious. You’re a prophesied player, and since your plan with Ivan failed, many people will vote you out."

Lowering his gaze at her, Fateless replied, "Wouldn’t that be a loss for you if I get voted out? After all, I won this round..." his eyes darted to a timid looking girl in a corner.

"...and you failed to fully hide your group’s prophesied player. Sloppy work, Helena. I noticed."