The cell did not change.
Cold.
Silent.
Vinh lay still.
Eyes open.
Thinking.
Teiha's words repeated in his mind.
A battle… already assigned.
His fingers moved slightly.
Slow.
Careful.
He opened the system.
It flickered.
Unstable.
Incomplete.
But it responded.
Before he could focus—
The door opened.
Two Dejteo stepped in.
No words.
No signals.
They grabbed him.
Light.
Blinding.
Endless.
Vinh's vision adjusted slowly.
Stars.
Countless.
Stretching infinitely.
He was standing.
In space.
But not floating.
A suit covered his body.
Dark.
Tight.
A faint field surrounded him.
He moved—
and felt it.
Weight.
Artificial gravity.
A voice echoed.
Flat.
Cold.
"Environment initialized."
Vinh looked around.
Thousands.
No—
More.
Creatures.
Different shapes.
Different forms.
All standing.
All silent.
A heavy presence stepped forward.
Larger than the rest.
A Dejtek.
"You are prisoners."
A pause.
"But you will be granted the privilege… to serve."
A murmur spread.
Uneasy.
Unstable.
Then—
"I refuse."
A voice.
Sharp.
Clear.
All eyes turned.
A creature stepped forward.
Different.
Defiant.
Silence.
Then—
movement.
Too fast to follow.
A flash.
A sound.
And—
the creature collapsed.
Dead.
Instantly.
No struggle.
No chance.
The murmurs died.
No one spoke again.
The Dejtek didn't look at the body.
Didn't react.
It continued.
"You will enter the field."
A pause.
"Rules are simple."
Silence tightened.
"You may kill."
"You gain one point per life."
"You may take points."
"You do not leave."
No explanation.
No hesitation.
Just law.
Vinh's breathing slowed.
"…So this is it…"
The space around them shifted.
Stars moved.
Distorted.
Then—
everything expanded.
Worlds.
Fragments of planets.
Asteroids.
A battlefield.
Endless.
Vinh stepped back slightly.
"…This isn't a simulation…"
It felt real.
Too real.
A pulse ran through the space.
Then—
everything moved.
Chaos.
Creatures scattered.
Some ran.
Some attacked immediately.
A human.
Vinh saw one.
Close.
Running toward him.
Relief—
For a second.
Then—
it happened.
A blur.
A strike.
The human's body split apart instantly.
Blood—
frozen in space.
Gone.
Vinh froze.
"…No…"
A presence.
Behind him.
Heavy.
Breathing.
He didn't turn.
Didn't need to.
Instinct screamed.
Run.
Vinh moved.
Fast.
He dropped behind a broken asteroid.
Silent.
Still.
His breathing tightened.
Slow.
Controlled.
A shadow passed above.
Large.
Searching.
Its movement was rough.
But deliberate.
Vinh clenched his teeth.
"…Not here…"
His fingers trembled slightly.
Then—
a faint vibration.
Inside him.
The remaining Dejteo.
Responding.
Weak.
Unstable.
But there.
Vinh closed his eyes briefly.
"…I don't have a choice…"
A sound escaped.
Low.
Barely audible.
Then—
shifted.
Distorted.
The frequency changed.
The space around him trembled slightly.
The creature above—
paused.
Turned.
Moved away.
Vinh didn't wait.
He ran.
Across fragments of space.
Across broken terrain.
Toward something—
Anything—
That wasn't death.
The battle had begun.
And survival was no longer a choice.