The Rebellion
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiUgwQrknQe
It began with defiance.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlQ9Nl9Awd0
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.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe5JU5pzao3
"Screw this," he growled, loud enough for everyone to hear. "I ain't playing the hag's game!"
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxVGvw6auOC
No one moved.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1VDmJaUxeU
He spat, then kicked one of the ritual markers etched into the cracked ground. A soft clang echoed — louder than it should have been.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt6SFBg4B6h
Gasps followed. Some backed away from him as if the air around him had suddenly turned toxic.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdK0FkmIyyN
Then…
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDNncgMt18U
A voice answered.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Nq7kgo73a
Soft. Patient. Amused.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb19D9ywtxa
"Ahh," the old woman whispered through the realm, her voice dripping in ancient cruelty, "every mutiny needs its first corpse…"
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMIOYEck6b0
Before he could blink, black thorns burst from the earth.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFvM87lk9Ko
They impaled him — through chest, throat, skull. His screams were cut short.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsZ80CYeF1n
"The sea don't mourn the drowned," she murmured.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ6MbBXBoav
His body didn't fall. It burned. Charring mid-air, turning to ash, glowing softly like a paper lantern drifting into the night.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNud5Z0NJGE
"Pain," she said, "is the oldest truth."
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr6BJdutr7Z
Ash fell like cursed snow.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwaTjmpf8Lj
No one spoke.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGqKRS7B8E8
No one moved.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLJwLi2WMlS
Bjorn watched the ash fall with narrowed eyes.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCyBbTKZ24c
She doesn't punish, he thought. She performs.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQCOOkWumQs
Lucien stood a few feet away, arms crossed, eyes sharp like a dagger. He didn't flinch at the death.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡemUX3ZbxrO
Now they're afraid, he thought. Good.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkgPV1UxYeC
Fear was useful.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEWCODu1rv8
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTkQP9vosjE
---
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNfWw571r8r
Lucien & Aira
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoyI9qXXUgi
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.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJBaVZ5MwHQ
"Fear," he said with a smirk, "is such a dull leash."
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Mutf7biRS
He made his way toward a girl seated near a faded monolith.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNAqqzplS49
Eira.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6IIbYCaRUy
Tear tracks stained her cheeks, but her posture had hardened. Her eyes were no longer afraid — only alert.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiaxCEHmZK1
Lucien crouched slightly, giving her a gentle smile that never reached his eyes.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnnAu3XcYg2
"You're special," he said. "Be mine."
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2xbZmKIewf
She stared at him — as if he were a spider weaving silk.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwXiJZFbl1M
"Even rot wrapped in roses," she replied quietly, "still stinks."
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNpk9fQ61v7
Silence followed.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6eM0FbnZuY
Lucien's smirk twitched. His followers shifted awkwardly.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJuZoBA9aNU
Bjorn watched from a distance.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLN42zRgKoM
He spat into the dirt.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhCbdih9pRY
That guy... he thought, stinks worse than fear.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdcfVf7xRoT
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVMWttFXyC0
Setting the Game
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYuAR3vCOOG
Far beyond the crowd's reach, hidden in the fog, shadows stirred.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNEVjbqlSp7
Figures moved in the haze — unrevealed players. Some were watching. Others… waiting.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ00YPvNe8zh
The seven monoliths suddenly pulsed, glowing brighter. The ground rumbled softly.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwQTZ11r5NM
ゴゴゴゴゴ…
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpG15ouD5fr
The old woman's voice returned, as if echoing from deep water.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGgUqA1wcwF
"Greed… Wrath… Pride…"
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmphmWNDIX7
"Every sin finds its shepherd."
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZwDoYw1Td1
High above the chaos, the orb's sky cracked open like a mirror. From a bird's-eye view, factions began to form.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm4fTge2vH7
Pride: Led by Lucien, gathering the arrogant and charming.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO8mTmHSPJZ
Wrath: Led by Torvald, a hulking man whose knuckles bled from too many fights.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVRwWc4PoFP
Lust: Led by Nina, her voice a siren's call, her smile carved in poison.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1uq5Dr8LQ8
Sloth: Led by Marlo, a thin boy lying beneath a tree, half-asleep, eyes closed but always listening.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ9oZQndEi7
Greed: Led by silas, who already had a ring on every finger and a dagger behind every back.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeA8Qi0dlDJ
Envy: Led by Dahlia, who smiled at everyone as if she were waiting for them to die.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqjsvRpc6PD
Gluttony: Led by bran, who devoured an entire ration bag before picking his team.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUa8rUCYkRo
Each sin had found its host. Its army.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMVtLaBayMT
This wasn't survival.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlwGUhFMaqU
It was offering.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5sGEQ9aJf4
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzbzxjBAQtO
---
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHCsFykk02O
One-Man Army
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYDee5CTIha
Bjorn walked alone.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPQhiPJDpmL
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.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtv1LJZPU6H
All of them… scheming, grouping, begging.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqzBlSAaiZG
To his left, a gathering was forming — strangers with hopeful eyes and open hands.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfldrM6Hck3
"Hey!" one called. "You alone? Join us—!"
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNUYZgsxuH6
Bjorn didn't even slow down.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTyIvKqbB1A
"No."
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9iw6WwuFKg
He tightened the strap on his backpack, eyes locked on the mist ahead.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfFL4ut5xb0
I wasn't built for tribes.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1VZysX44iJ
His silhouette stretched behind him, long and sharp. Around him, the light seemed to bend unnaturally. It didn't welcome him. It warned others.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfG0Y7PyUMx
He passed into the fog.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ilqg1QH5i
They'll slow me down.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVBagwKj4tw
His face — bruised, pale, determined — came into view for just a moment as the mist closed in again.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2JgHRJ3LK8
If I have to become a monster to survive…
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl0gFKRVKQC
Then I'll become the last one standing.
[End of Chapter 2]
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmpLvNteTNC
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOHkdS1P3Yo
**Reader Poll: Which Faction Would YOU Join?**
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4oXOom73td
The Orb World isn't fair… but it is honest.
If you were dropped into this cursed world... where would you find your place?
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFIaFZtXiH2
**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.
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7aIQWp0v9C
**NONE?** – Would you stand alone, like Bjorn?
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu9kc6dSGGB
🗣️ Drop your faction in the comments! 👇
Let's see who survives longest…73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvoMubvHTXD
and then Add to home screen.