Chapter Eight: Snapped

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Jace was surrounded by a dizzying array of students and passersby, each one more unique than the last. Elves with shimmering hair that seemed to catch the light in a thousand different hues, dwarves with intricately braided beards and robust frames, and humans from every imaginable background. There were beings with dragon-like scales peeking out from their collars, others with the hooves and horns of satyrs, and even a few with the stoic, towering presence of Vikings.

"First time here, huh?" a voice said behind him. Jace turned to see a tall young man with pointed ears, tanned skin, and a confident smirk beside four others, their immaculate, tailored clothes stark against the casual attire of the crowd. One of them, a thin boy with pale skin, glanced around nervously, his demeanor a sharp contrast with the others’ bravado.

"I keep getting asked that," Jace replied, striving to sound casual despite the knot of tension forming in his stomach. A fiery sensation surged within him as his fight-or-flight instinct kicked in, reacting to an unknown threat.

"Name’s Marcus." He extended a hand and shook Jace’s, his gaze sharp and assessing. "Welcome to Olympus." His attire was a flamboyant display of wealth and status, befitting a man accustomed to luxury. He wore a doublet of rich velvet in deep burgundy, embroidered with a golden thread that traced intricate patterns of vines and leaves. He wore a single ruddy bronze ring on his left hand with plain design, the only thing slightly less lavish about him. Around his neck hung a chain of polished emeralds and diamonds, glinting in the soft glow of the room.

"Thanks. I'm Jace."

"Well, Jace," Marcus said, leaning in just enough to invade his space, his smirk widening. "Word of advice: watch who you hang out with. Some people here are more trouble than they're worth." His gaze flicked to Dex, who was laughing loudly with a group nearby.

"I'll keep that in mind," Jace replied, keeping his tone even. Blending in was essential, and getting tangled in school politics was the quickest way to fail at it.

Marcus's smile twisted into something more sinister. "Don’t get caught on the wrong side of the dock. This place has its own way of sorting the riff from the raff."

"I don’t think that means what you think…" Jace started, but before he could finish, Ell and Dex strolled up beside him, cutting off the exchange.

"Hey, Jace!" Dex called, his grin broadening as he spotted Marcus. "Making new friends already?"

Marcus’s eyes narrowed at Dex. "Wouldn’t want our new guy to get in over his head. I’m just giving him some friendly advice."

Ell stepped forward, her gaze icy. "Oh Marcus, I wouldn’t take anything from you without a shot of penicillin and some anti-itch cream."

Marcus’s smirk returned, but his eyes gleamed with a dangerous light. "Real cute. We’ll see how long that lasts." He turned to walk away.

"Thinks he’s real tough ever since Mythos High," Dex said, just loud enough for Marcus to hear. Marcus looked back, a shadow of malice in his eyes. "But the scared little boy isn’t even man enough to fight his own battles," Dex continued.

"Why don't you shut your mouth, Dex," Marcus spat, stepping back toward them. His friends, sensing the tension, flanked him, ready for a confrontation. All but the pale boy who stayed back.

Dex didn’t back down. "Or what, Marcus? Gonna run crying to mommy and daddy?"

Something snapped in Marcus, and without warning, he lunged at Dex with a blur of ferocity, shoving him with brutal force. Dex, quick on his feet, narrowly avoided being sent over the edge of the dock platform, his arms windmilling to regain balance. Jace stepped forward, hands raised in a gesture of peace. "Hey, let's just talk this out. Two stupids don't make a smart." But before he could say more, Marcus's friends closed ranks around their leader, forming a wall of muscle and menace that cut off any chance of diplomacy.

Marcus advanced on Dex, a predatory glint in his eyes, his intentions unmistakably lethal.

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“Keep him back, Gregor,” Marcus called to the hulking brute that blocked Jace's path. "Stay out of it, newbie. This doesn’t concern you.” He turned back to his prey. “You're gonna pay, Dex. You’re going to pay for everything.” Venom dripped from his words.

Dex swung at Marcus, but Marcus deflected the blow with a swift, practiced ease. He moved with an unnatural speed, his fist connecting with Dex’s jaw in a sickening crunch. Dex crumpled to the ground. Marcus was relentless, kicking him viciously in the ribs as Dex gasped for breath.

Not my fight, not my problem. Just stay under the radar, stay out of trouble, Jace reminded himself, but the thought was already slipping through his fingers like sand.

Marcus leaned in, his breath hot and heavy with aggression, and yanked Dex closer to the edge of the platform, forcing his head over the brink. Dex flailed in panic, his movements wild and desperate, but Marcus's grip was unyielding. With a last-ditch effort, Dex spat in Marcus’s eyes, startling him just enough to wrench himself free and stumble away from the brink.

But his escape was short-lived. One of Marcus’s goons was already there, a hulking shadow looming, and with ruthless efficiency, he seized Dex, locking him in place like a steel vice. Marcus’s grin widened—a predator savoring the helplessness of his prey—as he sent his fist into Dex’s gut with brutal force.

"Just log out," Marcus sneered. "Pain too much? Hmm? Just log out and it'll all be over. Log out and don't come back." He punctuated the words with a knee, each blow delivered with surgical precision, designed to hurt, to break. He pushed him back, forcing him closer to the edge of the dock.

"Knock it off, Marcus," Ell snapped, stepping forward, but her path was quickly blocked by another of Marcus’s friends—a wiry figure with a sharp, angular face, his eyes cold and gleaming with a cruel delight.

"Out of my way," she snarled, her voice low and dangerous.

"No can do, girly," he sneered, shoving a thick hand against her shoulder.

With a quick, sharp movement, she drove her knee into his groin. The man grunted, his face contorting in pain, but he didn't go down.

Instead, he grabbed her, pulling her back with a practiced strength that betrayed years of experience. These weren’t just bullies—they were trained.

Jace caught a flicker of something in Marcus’s eyes—a cold, twisted gleam that sent a chill through him. He’d seen it before, back in the real world. The longer he stared into those eyes, the more it felt like reality itself was slipping, making his tiny room above the bar seem like the dream and this moment—the brutality, the raw, merciless intent—the truth.

Guilt stabbed at him, sharp and unrelenting. Those eyes were built to inflict pain, to take a sick pleasure in it. They were the eyes of someone who relished in suffering, like that neighbor who used to tear the legs off spiders just to watch them squirm. The same kind of eyes that had taken everything from him.

Ell struggled to reach Dex but wouldn't make it before he was sent off the edge.

Something snapped inside him in that moment, like a taut wire finally breaking under pressure. He wasn’t that powerless kid anymore. He could do something about it now.

And he would.

Jace’s vision narrowed, the world reducing to a tunnel with Marcus and Dex at its end. He ducked under Gregor's arm, shoving his way through the wall of flesh.

As Jace broke through, he hurled himself at Marcus, slamming into him and knocking him to the ground near the edge of the dock. They grappled, Jace landing a few punches, but Marcus's ring flared with heat, searing Jace's skin.

With a savage grin, Marcus grabbed Jace by the collar and slammed him hard onto the edge of the platform. "You think you can stop me, runt? You’re nothing."

Marcus raised his fist and pounded into Jace’s stomach, the ring now glowing with a blinding, lethal red. His smile was gone, replaced by a terrible scowl. His eyes, lifeless orbs. Panic surged through Jace. This wasn’t just a schoolboy fight. Marcus meant to kill him.

The sound of waves crashing against the cliffs below was deafening, a chilling reminder of the deadly drop just inches away. Jace's vision blurred as he struggled. Marcus, gripping him tightly, pushed his head over the edge, the abyss below seeming to pull him in.

Jace's mind raced, searching for an escape, any way to stop the impending disaster. He heard Dex's ragged breaths, felt the crushing weight of Marcus's grip tightening around him, and then, just as the world teetered on the edge—

A prompt appeared.

Word of Power Available

Description: A̸̡̢̧͖͉̘̱̙̲̺̣͔̻̫̲̒̈́̓͘n̵̝̰̫̣͕͆͌͂̏͆̄̿̈́͆͘͠o̴̮̼͙̮̮̩͓̜̪̬̫͇̺̪̔̆̈́̅̔͒̎̅̆͘͝͠m̴̝̦̘͍̗̈̈́͜ͅỏ̸̧̗̼͕͙̬̙̞̺̹̙̞̅̾̒͊̓̈́̕̕l̴̨̗̍̇̈́̅̎̄̊͆̑̽͝y̵̨̦̟͎͇̺̥͖͚͎͙͛̈̽̇̉͆̅̃̊͒͐̚͜

Would you like to activate Word of Power?

Accept | Reject

The prompt showed a glitched message with indecipherable text where the ability description should have been.

Jace mentally selected [Accept] without hesitating.