Chapter 2: Into the Game
Victor took a step forward.
The stone cracked beneath his foot.
He wasn't in a dream.
This place was real—too real.
His heartbeat echoed in his ears.
Twelve glowing doors circled the arena.
Each marked with a zodiac sign.
He walked toward the one marked Scorpio.
But the voice returned:
"Not yet. First, remember who you are."
Victor clutched his head.
Flashes of memory surged through him.
The book. The light. His friends screaming.
Alex. Max. Lila.
"Where are they?" he shouted.
He tried calling their names—no answer.
Then came a rumble.
The arena shifted.
A screen of fire appeared before him.
Images played like a game cutscene.
Victor watched himself transform.
Armor forming. The Eye igniting.
His friends stood around him—
But they were changing too.
Alex grew wings of shadow.
Max burned with fire.
Lila glowed with green winds.
Then their eyes turned silver.
And they knelt before someone in a cloak.
A name echoed: Hattori Gojo.
Victor's heart dropped.
They had been taken.
Turned into something else.
Into… enemies.
He clenched his fists.
"No. I'll bring them back."
The arena cracked again.
A sword floated toward him—black, sleek, pulsing.
"Evil Eye Weapon: Shadowbrand."
He reached out and grabbed it.
Power surged into his veins.
The sword felt alive in his hand.
One of the zodiac doors creaked open.
A voice whispered:
"Face the Protectors. Reclaim the Eye. Save your friends."
Victor stepped toward the light.
"I'll save them," he said.
"Even if I have to fight them."
The door swallowed him whole.
The first trial had begun
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