Silence stretched between them. It did not feel empty. It felt like something sharp being drawn slowly across skin.
Brian held Maxwell's gaze without blinking. Theo stood half a step behind him, pulse pounding in his ears.
"Survival has been personal since we arrived," Brian said finally. His voice was steady. Too steady. "If they need to get hurt so I could survive, then I will gladly do it."
Theo felt the words settle into the room like smoke.
Maxwell did not react immediately. He studied Brian's face for cracks. For doubt. For flickers of guilt.
He found none. At least none that showed. Maxwell nodded once. "Go," he said. "When the time is right, you will prove your worth."
He stepped back toward his bed, reclaiming the space like a throne. "For now, remain with your friends and pretend you are still on their side."
The instruction was simple. It carried weight.
Brian lowered his head slightly. Theo followed..They turned and walked out of the room without another word.
The corridor felt colder now. Theo exhaled only when they were out of sight.."You meant that?" he asked under his breath.
Brian did not look at him. "I meant surviving."
That day, a system notification summoned them to class. They filed into a large room with smooth metal walls and no windows. Rows of seats faced a glowing blue screen that pulsed faintly, waiting.
They sat. No one spoke loudly anymore. The door slid open..A robot entered. In its metal grip was a human skeleton.
Real.
Yellowed bone held together by wire and thin rods. The skull tilted slightly to one side as it was placed upright before them.
The room went still.
"Today," the robot announced, its voice flat and precise, "we would be knowing the parts of the human body. The strength of each part and the weaknesses."
The skeleton stood facing them..Empty eye sockets staring.
The robot lifted a metal pointer..It tapped the ribcage lightly..The hollow sound echoed..It pointed to the center of the chest.
"Here," it said, "is where the heart is located. A single blade strike to this area will eliminate the target completely."
A few students inhaled sharply.
Newton's fingers tightened around the edge of his seat.
The robot moved upward. It tapped the side of the neck. "A precise strike to the carotid artery results in rapid blood loss."
It shifted behind the skeleton. The pointer traced the spine. "If you punch so hard here," it said, pressing against the lower cervical region, "it will break and your target becomes incapacitated."
The word target did not feel like a metaphor. It continued. Shoulder joints. Knees. Temples. Solar plexus.
Each explanation was clear. Clinical. Detached.
"This area," it said, tapping the lower ribs, "is vulnerable to blunt force. A strike will impair breathing."
The students did not laugh. They did not whisper. They watched. Newton leaned forward slightly, eyes fixed.
"This is like biology," he murmured to himself. His mind reached back to classrooms with chalkboards. To diagrams drawn carefully by teachers who spoke about systems, not destruction.
"I have always loved biology." Now it was being taught differently.
Not for healing. For efficiency. For damage.
The skeleton's jaw rattled faintly when the robot adjusted it. Bone against metal.
After an hour, the robot lifted the skeleton again and carried it out.
The blue screen dimmed. The class ended. Chairs scraped softly as they stood.
They moved toward the restaurant in slow clusters.
Newton and the others who had come with him gathered around a long table as usual. No one had to suggest it. They simply did.
Trays were set down. Food was eaten in silence.
Then the doors opened. The change in atmosphere was immediate.
Maxwell entered. He was flanked on both sides by boys and girls dressed in black. Their posture was rigid. Their eyes forward.
The entire restaurant stood as one..Chairs slid back..Heads bowed. "Your majesty, long may you reign."
The words rolled through the room in unison. Newton's legs trembled under the table. Every muscle in him screamed to stand.
To bow.
To avoid what was coming..But he remained seated..His hands were flat on the table. Stella sat across from him.
Her eyes were fixed on Maxwell. Unmoving. Samuel stared at his tray. Theo and Brian sat beside Maxwell's followers.
They rose with the others. Their heads bowed.
Newton noticed. Just barely.
Maxwell's gaze swept the room. It paused, and rested on Newton's table.
On the few who remained seated. A slow smile curved his lips.."A day," he said calmly. "A day is what you all have left to either bow or die off."
His tone was almost conversational..His eyes shifted slightly. To where Brian and Theo stood..For a brief second, Brian lifted his chin just enough.
Theo followed. A nod: small, and controlled. Subtle enough for most to miss. But not Maxwell.
Maxwell's smile widened fractionally..He turned away.."Get me something to eat," he growled.
One of the boys rushed forward instantly, wrist extended. Five Ninja coins flickered away. Food was placed before Maxwell.
He sat at the center table..He did not carry his own tray..He did not reach for utensils immediately.
Someone stood behind him and began massaging his neck..A girl knelt and pressed gently into his calves.
Maxwell picked up a piece of meat and ate slowly.
The room remained standing until he gestured lazily.
They sat. Stella's eyes never left him. Not once..Newton leaned closer to her. "How are we going to do this?" he whispered. "The man doesn't look like he is bluffing."
His voice was tight. Maxwell laughed at something one of his followers said. The sound carried.
Stella turned to Newton. She placed her hands lightly on his shoulders. Her grip was firm.
"Relax," she said quietly. Her eyes were steady. "I got it under control."
After eating, they returned to their various rooms in near silence. No one lingered in the corridor.
No one joked.
The air felt tight. Like something was coiling, waiting for morning.
Newton sat on the edge of his bed, unlacing and relaxing the same knot without realizing it. Samuel lay flat on his back staring at nothing. Brandom paced once, twice, then stopped.
Then the blue light cut through the room.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION.
The words hovered above them, cold and steady.
NEW TASK ALERT: ALL LIGHTS WOULD BE OFF.
WALK AROUND THE DARKNESS FOR AN HOUR.
REWARD: THREE NINJA POINT.
FAILURE: NO REWARD.