The Rebellion
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvjuNXO6vaS
It began with defiance.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIFBp9VcmUk
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.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpreTypOCqk
"Screw this," he growled, loud enough for everyone to hear. "I ain't playing the hag's game!"
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPyDVimKYbi
No one moved.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeEkeRtFpMu
He spat, then kicked one of the ritual markers etched into the cracked ground. A soft clang echoed — louder than it should have been.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb1PkPvwoPC
Gasps followed. Some backed away from him as if the air around him had suddenly turned toxic.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO9yUv0BYul
Then…
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6Aby1Vxn3
A voice answered.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt8XGaTqQki
Soft. Patient. Amused.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfAjrUooebS
"Ahh," the old woman whispered through the realm, her voice dripping in ancient cruelty, "every mutiny needs its first corpse…"
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhfiSX973Cs
Before he could blink, black thorns burst from the earth.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjDjl4akV4Z
They impaled him — through chest, throat, skull. His screams were cut short.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLI2CBfnJ6p
"The sea don't mourn the drowned," she murmured.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsNr6GMr3Dl
His body didn't fall. It burned. Charring mid-air, turning to ash, glowing softly like a paper lantern drifting into the night.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ03JGZP8mg
"Pain," she said, "is the oldest truth."
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUMdHjG6bIv
Ash fell like cursed snow.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXYbj5QynGd
No one spoke.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeEn37uw54m
No one moved.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrrpIRlWth2
Bjorn watched the ash fall with narrowed eyes.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx3paB78qFA
She doesn't punish, he thought. She performs.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeSa3Q9PS5T
Lucien stood a few feet away, arms crossed, eyes sharp like a dagger. He didn't flinch at the death.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvIpnN6CDBt
Now they're afraid, he thought. Good.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjq4CKjSpNA
Fear was useful.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjpa2JvOAYN
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ2KCqfOJTt
---
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGRn4IV8uxe
Lucien & Aira
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXCe8qI8qRN
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.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3h7urhAc0M
"Fear," he said with a smirk, "is such a dull leash."
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnOl9wzcwov
He made his way toward a girl seated near a faded monolith.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu4K2GRKOPK
Eira.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrUvIbyW72F
Tear tracks stained her cheeks, but her posture had hardened. Her eyes were no longer afraid — only alert.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbwvdMdmZeY
Lucien crouched slightly, giving her a gentle smile that never reached his eyes.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUxMxizz5ki
"You're special," he said. "Be mine."
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2igGseOmSx
She stared at him — as if he were a spider weaving silk.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡovkVZv7AYS
"Even rot wrapped in roses," she replied quietly, "still stinks."
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqOa5GXZWOj
Silence followed.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDN5HWIEvkQ
Lucien's smirk twitched. His followers shifted awkwardly.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr9SUpfBbIi
Bjorn watched from a distance.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIF3FWZ0aFh
He spat into the dirt.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiOIkjL7UDr
That guy... he thought, stinks worse than fear.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuQFRy5n20A
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSs3cx1tg9h
Setting the Game
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ8RW27eGyN
Far beyond the crowd's reach, hidden in the fog, shadows stirred.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhNrs4eGgeP
Figures moved in the haze — unrevealed players. Some were watching. Others… waiting.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyfYUInY9jn
The seven monoliths suddenly pulsed, glowing brighter. The ground rumbled softly.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc8btKDQUmh
ゴゴゴゴゴ…
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHs9KlzBpcD
The old woman's voice returned, as if echoing from deep water.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡea4KZzekcl
"Greed… Wrath… Pride…"
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGA3MlgsO3q
"Every sin finds its shepherd."
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMWL4SPVOGT
High above the chaos, the orb's sky cracked open like a mirror. From a bird's-eye view, factions began to form.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaDPOXL5IN2
Pride: Led by Lucien, gathering the arrogant and charming.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4xOzuFquzI
Wrath: Led by Torvald, a hulking man whose knuckles bled from too many fights.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡshAlO3Gw8m
Lust: Led by Nina, her voice a siren's call, her smile carved in poison.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXvFKprYdTL
Sloth: Led by Marlo, a thin boy lying beneath a tree, half-asleep, eyes closed but always listening.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPNwncubWUv
Greed: Led by silas, who already had a ring on every finger and a dagger behind every back.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3DcspKZsHU
Envy: Led by Dahlia, who smiled at everyone as if she were waiting for them to die.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡybFD6kIk4o
Gluttony: Led by bran, who devoured an entire ration bag before picking his team.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9jgLsQFjRx
Each sin had found its host. Its army.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3BLrmtAWxN
This wasn't survival.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRSYlmjfTXq
It was offering.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeyNIFGIHI0
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjFAEnrbxM9
---
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw8MclJ5nxU
One-Man Army
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHBB8YBuLrJ
Bjorn walked alone.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGKqxSQgbyH
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.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9es5T399RV
All of them… scheming, grouping, begging.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ61AaaeZO9G
To his left, a gathering was forming — strangers with hopeful eyes and open hands.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDc1ZYoGTJG
"Hey!" one called. "You alone? Join us—!"
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV5pqaazD9v
Bjorn didn't even slow down.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡniCy6L9vpb
"No."
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEbLORsGgYv
He tightened the strap on his backpack, eyes locked on the mist ahead.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsN6N1hHgAf
I wasn't built for tribes.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLj58UoX0gP
His silhouette stretched behind him, long and sharp. Around him, the light seemed to bend unnaturally. It didn't welcome him. It warned others.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkljVtM9FmO
He passed into the fog.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJA2bm7h7gk
They'll slow me down.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcWjFmO4nIt
His face — bruised, pale, determined — came into view for just a moment as the mist closed in again.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNqeGr05MQ0
If I have to become a monster to survive…
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXCQdJCRWTN
Then I'll become the last one standing.
[End of Chapter 2]
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6cU5ueuc1y
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiq4nUuyLnR
**Reader Poll: Which Faction Would YOU Join?**
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrneCPLCS6o
The Orb World isn't fair… but it is honest.
If you were dropped into this cursed world... where would you find your place?
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3f866Mc2r9
**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.
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOyqdON2UuV
**NONE?** – Would you stand alone, like Bjorn?
77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8aFNmzP0mJ
🗣️ Drop your faction in the comments! 👇
Let's see who survives longest…77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfZi6x3N7gx
and then Add to home screen.