The Rebellion
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It began with defiance.
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A young man stepped forward from the confused, scattered crowd. He wore a half-torn jacket, boots still muddy from another world — or maybe just another mistake. His eyes burned not with fear, but rage.
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"Screw this," he growled, loud enough for everyone to hear. "I ain't playing the hag's game!"
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No one moved.
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He spat, then kicked one of the ritual markers etched into the cracked ground. A soft clang echoed — louder than it should have been.
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Gasps followed. Some backed away from him as if the air around him had suddenly turned toxic.
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Then…
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A voice answered.
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Soft. Patient. Amused.
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"Ahh," the old woman whispered through the realm, her voice dripping in ancient cruelty, "every mutiny needs its first corpse…"
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Before he could blink, black thorns burst from the earth.
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They impaled him — through chest, throat, skull. His screams were cut short.
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"The sea don't mourn the drowned," she murmured.
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His body didn't fall. It burned. Charring mid-air, turning to ash, glowing softly like a paper lantern drifting into the night.
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"Pain," she said, "is the oldest truth."
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Ash fell like cursed snow.
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No one spoke.
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No one moved.
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Bjorn watched the ash fall with narrowed eyes.
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She doesn't punish, he thought. She performs.
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Lucien stood a few feet away, arms crossed, eyes sharp like a dagger. He didn't flinch at the death.
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Now they're afraid, he thought. Good.
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Fear was useful.
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---
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Lucien & Aira
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Lucien walked forward, casual yet commanding, his shadow stretching across the ground. He was not alone — a small cluster of people followed him, uncertain but drawn to the gravity he carried.
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"Fear," he said with a smirk, "is such a dull leash."
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He made his way toward a girl seated near a faded monolith.
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Eira.
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Tear tracks stained her cheeks, but her posture had hardened. Her eyes were no longer afraid — only alert.
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Lucien crouched slightly, giving her a gentle smile that never reached his eyes.
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"You're special," he said. "Be mine."
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She stared at him — as if he were a spider weaving silk.
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"Even rot wrapped in roses," she replied quietly, "still stinks."
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Silence followed.
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Lucien's smirk twitched. His followers shifted awkwardly.
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Bjorn watched from a distance.
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He spat into the dirt.
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That guy... he thought, stinks worse than fear.
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Setting the Game
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Far beyond the crowd's reach, hidden in the fog, shadows stirred.
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Figures moved in the haze — unrevealed players. Some were watching. Others… waiting.
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The seven monoliths suddenly pulsed, glowing brighter. The ground rumbled softly.
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ゴゴゴゴゴ…
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The old woman's voice returned, as if echoing from deep water.
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"Greed… Wrath… Pride…"
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"Every sin finds its shepherd."
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High above the chaos, the orb's sky cracked open like a mirror. From a bird's-eye view, factions began to form.
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Pride: Led by Lucien, gathering the arrogant and charming.
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Wrath: Led by Torvald, a hulking man whose knuckles bled from too many fights.
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Lust: Led by Nina, her voice a siren's call, her smile carved in poison.
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Sloth: Led by Marlo, a thin boy lying beneath a tree, half-asleep, eyes closed but always listening.
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Greed: Led by silas, who already had a ring on every finger and a dagger behind every back.
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Envy: Led by Dahlia, who smiled at everyone as if she were waiting for them to die.
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Gluttony: Led by bran, who devoured an entire ration bag before picking his team.
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Each sin had found its host. Its army.
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This wasn't survival.
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It was offering.
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---
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One-Man Army
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Bjorn walked alone.
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His boots cracked the moss-covered stones of a crumbling path. The air shimmered strangely here. Voices whispered around him, though none were his own.
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All of them… scheming, grouping, begging.
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To his left, a gathering was forming — strangers with hopeful eyes and open hands.
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"Hey!" one called. "You alone? Join us—!"
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Bjorn didn't even slow down.
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"No."
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He tightened the strap on his backpack, eyes locked on the mist ahead.
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I wasn't built for tribes.
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His silhouette stretched behind him, long and sharp. Around him, the light seemed to bend unnaturally. It didn't welcome him. It warned others.
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He passed into the fog.
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They'll slow me down.
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His face — bruised, pale, determined — came into view for just a moment as the mist closed in again.
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If I have to become a monster to survive…
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Then I'll become the last one standing.
[End of Chapter 2]
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━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
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**Reader Poll: Which Faction Would YOU Join?**
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The Orb World isn't fair… but it is honest.
If you were dropped into this cursed world... where would you find your place?
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**WRATH** – Strength through pain. Fight first, bleed later.
**LUST** – Desire is power. Manipulate or be devoured.
**SLOTH** – Hide, watch, survive. Movement means death.
**PRIDE** – Lead or rule. You were born better than the rest.
**ENVY** – Take what others have. You deserve it more.
**GREED** – Everything has a price. Own it all.
**GLUTTONY** – Consume to feel alive. Hunger is god.
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**NONE?** – Would you stand alone, like Bjorn?
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🗣️ Drop your faction in the comments! 👇
Let's see who survives longest…89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXcVjCp75Fr
and then Add to home screen.