“What do they mean by new world?” Mary asked, her shoulders dropping as the images disappeared from view.

Elk shrugged, popping another dumpling into his mouth and staring off at the green wall ahead.

“You all right?” I asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. The touch made Elk jolt slightly, but before I could pull back, he settled, returning to his original position. He gave me a sidelong glance and a sad smile.

“Yeah, mate. Maybe we can talk about it later—after you tell me what’s going on inside your thought cage.” If it had been anyone else, I’d think he was being ironic or sarcastic, but Elk was genuinely offering a trade to open up.

“We’ll do that.” I patted his shoulder, and this time he didn’t flinch. Turning back to Mary, I returned to the previous topic. “They probably won’t throw us into the towers all the time. You know how, in reality competition shows, they put everyone in the same house?”

“To push our buttons and see how we’ll react,” Mary said, her voice distant, as if the gravity of our situation was only now sinking in. “Damn… And to think I thought it was all a joke.”

“Half the people I knew thought it was a joke too,” I said, trying to reassure her.

“Is it normal for humans to have voices in their heads telling them to join the ‘partial integration’?” Tress asked earnestly, and I chuckled at the thought. I hadn’t considered how her people were informed about this apocalypse, but her version made sense since they didn’t have the same technology.

“It wasn’t like that for us. It was more like receiving a letter on one of our electronic devices, like the one you saw in the safe room,” I explained. Tress seemed thoughtful. “Way less scary than voices in your head, I guess.”

“For me, it wasn’t that scary, but most people thought it was the gods speaking to us again. That’s why so many of us accepted it.” She seemed to believe that, but after seeing the images of her people waging war, I wasn’t so sure a good number of them had fully understood what was at stake.

“And you, Elk? How did it appear to you?” Mary asked, leaning closer to the Arahaktar, as if trying to pull him back into the conversation and away from his thoughts.

“It was like Tress’. I heard it inside my mind.” He sighed, the same sad smile creeping onto his face. “I thought I was finally going mad, and there was no one beside me to confirm it. Honestly, I was relieved when I got sucked into this.”

It seemed like he had more to say, but the words died on his lips, a lump seeemly forming in his throat. When the screen lit up again with the show’s images, I’ll admit I was partially relieved.

The host was as upbeat as ever, proudly declaring the success of this first step in the integration. Thousands of proving grounds were active, and most had reached the benchmark of 200 survivors, which, according to the host, signified a strong year.

The Arahaktar made up the majority of survivors, followed by humans, then Myriads—contradicting the initial poll. It seemed humans were the underdogs in this year’s games, a position I was quite comfortable with.

Next, they showcased the Goblin Abomination. The host was particularly enthusiastic about this creature, explaining it was the first time they’d bred one, and the results had been excellent.

We watched several parties face off against the Goblin Abomination. Most ended up dead, but a few managed to triumph. Only a handful of the survivors were part of full parties, and not a single solo competitor survived the boss fight.

There was no sign of my party, Max, or Mila. After showing a trio—two Myriads and one human—valiantly slaying the Goblin Abomination, they finally revealed a familiar face.

The segment was titled God’s Calling, and the first to appear was Max.

The blond was accompanied by two other men, one wielding a staff and the other a bow. They looked as confused as anyone else as they stood surrounded by the whiteness of the room. But when the boss appeared, they reacted quickly.

The archer was tall and athletic, with dark hair and a sharp, eagle-like face. Before the Goblin Abomination could get close, he’d already planted three arrows in the monster’s chest plate. The attack slowed the creature significantly, but Max stepped forward to halt its advance.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

They traded blows for several minutes, accelerated by the show’s edits, but for each blow Max took, the man with the staff seemed to heal him. Their party was efficient, covering their weaknesses well.

With the bowman and Max’s swordsmanship, they managed to end two of the goblin’s faces before the creature’s frenzy became too much to handle. The creature hurled Max aside, just as it had done with me, and rushed toward the archer. In an instant, their perfect synergy amounted to nothing.

The abomination tore into the archer’s neck with its fangs, leaving him dead on the ground. The healer’s staff glowed brightly, but the archer remained lifeless. The healer tried to rush toward Max, but he was out of shape compared to the other two. The goblin stood in the way, relishing the moment with a twisted sense of pleasure.

Max seized the opportunity to close the distance, thrusting his sword into the unsuspecting goblin. The blade sank into the creature’s back, near its neck but not deep enough to kill the final head. The monster turned in a frantic motion, trying to repel the attackers again, but they dodged quickly.

The healer swung his staff, but the goblin blocked it with one arm. Max saw this as the perfect opportunity and lunged, but the creature anticipated it. In a swift move, it gripped Max’s neck with its hand.

Max struggled against the monster’s grip, his face turning purple, but before he could pass out, he raised his foot and kicked the goblin’s other hand. The impact knocked the healer to the ground. He coughed once, then grabbed his staff and smashed it against the monster’s arm, freeing Max. The goblin stumbled back.

What happened next unfolded in a heartbeat and sent a chill down my spine. The healer stepped toward Max, intending to help him up before the monster could strike again. However, Max spotted the creature lunging, its fangs bared and ready to attack.

He could’ve pulled the healer aside, helped him dodge, or even stepped between him and the abomination. Instead, he shoved the healer straight into the creature’s grasp.

Like the archer before, the healer was bitten savagely, the monster tearing a large chunk from his neck. Before the goblin could turn on Max, the blond drove his sword straight between the creature’s eyes.

The monster fell, still clutching the healer in a tight embrace. The healer died with his eyes wide open, surprise etched across his face.

Max collapsed to the ground, his arms resting on his knees. His breathing was labored, each breath making his whole body move. Then, he looked up. The message of his patronage appeared. He smiled.

He was genuinely happy. A shiver ran down my spine as the host casually shifted to a new contestant who had received patronage after saving their entire party.

I watched it all but couldn’t focus. The image of Max throwing the man to his death was seared into my mind. I only snapped back to reality when our fight appeared on the screen.

It wasn’t a pleasant experience seeing myself like that. I must’ve punched the monster’s remaining face thirty times before I finally stopped.

“Zach?” Elk shouted.

“Zach? Can we get close?” Tress asked.

I could see Mary standing with her back against the wall, frozen as I watched myself staring at my hands. The wildest grin was spread across my face. Even worse was how no sound came as I laughed. On the replay I had laughed so hard and long that my lungs were empty, yet I couldn't seem able to stop.

I fainted and fell to the side, the smile never leaving my face.

I was the last one shown, and the host made sure to emphasize that my patron had never done anything like this in history. The audience would find out more in the next show, she said.

I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding when she finally changed the subject.

“Now, the fate of the weak,” she said solemnly as the images began to form.

When the last person defeated the boss in each of the proving grounds, the floors began to shift. All the monsters grew in size and aggression. Goblins suddenly stood seven feet tall, their nails like daggers, their eyes sharp and predatory. Every creature hunted the last survivors—the ones who couldn’t complete the tutorial.

There is no place for the weak. I repeated the words in my mind, my violent outburst not seeming so terrible anymore.

They didn’t show the deaths of the losers in the proving grounds, but I caught glimpses of some of their faces here and there. None of them was Mila. Anything could’ve happened to her, and it was practically impossible for the system to show everyone’s outcome in the proving grounds. I could only hope she’d had a very boring victory against the abomination.

“Now, prepare yourselves to watch one of your favorite moments! Our competitors will arrive at their new world. How will they handle their new abilities? How will they spend their creditss? Will their alliances hold, and how will they react when they discover interracial alliances can be just as lucrative as single-racial ones?”

The voiceover continued as they showed several of us inside the waiting rooms. Some were identical to ours, while others mimicked human restaurants or an Arahaktar environment that felt completely alien to me, resembling a small tavern—but without seatings—and a… fighting ring?

“As promised, we’ll give you a sneak peek as they’re transferred to their new lives!” she announced, and I never saw the next set of images on the screen.

Light engulfed me as I was once again pulled into a vortex.