Bloodshed

The frozen battlefield had been cleared, but its horrors remained imprinted in the minds of the survivors. Takeshi, Yusuke, and Anri sat in the waiting chambers, their bodies tense, their eyes hollow. The scent of blood still lingered in the air, and the silence was heavy with grief.

Police Headquarters – Tokyo

The sky was raining bodies.

Detective Ryoji Nakamura stood in the middle of the city, staring in disbelief as corpses plummeted from the heavens, crashing into rooftops, streets, and vehicles. The screams of pedestrians filled the air as panic spread like wildfire.

"What the hell is going on?" a junior officer gasped as another body landed on top of a taxi, the windshield cracking under the impact. Blood seeped down the glass like a grotesque waterfall.

Ryoji clenched his jaw. He had seen brutal crime scenes before, but nothing like this. Bodies continued to rain down, some missing limbs, others with gaping bullet wounds. The air reeked of death.

"Get forensics out here! We need identification on every single one of them!" he barked.

His partner, Detective Ayaka Fujimoto, pulled out her phone and dialed emergency response teams. The city’s entire police force was being mobilized. This wasn’t just a crime scene—it was a message.

Among the bodies, Ryoji noticed something odd. Some of the deceased had numbers branded onto their wrists, and their clothing was eerily similar, like they had been part of an organized event.

What the hell kind of game was this?

Yusuke’s Family Home

Back in Tokyo, Yusuke’s mother, Kyoko, sat on the living room couch, her hands trembling around a cup of tea. It had been days since she had heard from her son. The last message he had sent was short: “I’ll be back soon, Mom.”

That was before he disappeared without a trace.

The television broadcast was a blur of panicked news anchors talking about the bodies falling from the sky. Her heart pounded in her chest, a mother’s intuition screaming that something was terribly wrong.

“Please… don’t let Yusuke be one of them…” she whispered to herself, tears welling up in her eyes.

Her husband, Kenji, paced back and forth. “We should go to the police. Now.”

Kyoko nodded, gripping the remote tightly. If Yusuke was caught up in this nightmare, she had to find him before it was too late.

Survivors’ Quarters – Underground Facility

Takeshi wiped the sweat from his forehead, his muscles aching from the previous match. He wasn’t just physically exhausted—he was emotionally drained. So many had died.

Anri sat next to him, staring blankly at the floor. Yusuke had barely spoken since the last match. The silence between them was deafening.

“They were just kids,” Anri murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. “We played against them, we ran beside them, and now… they’re gone. Just like that.”

Takeshi exhaled sharply. “We don’t have time to grieve. If we lose focus, we’ll be next.”

Yusuke clenched his fists. “What if my family’s watching this? What if they see me playing this… this nightmare of a game?”

Takeshi had no answer for that. What kind of world let this happen?

A loudspeaker crackled above them. “All remaining players, prepare for the next stage. Rest time is over.”

Yusuke gritted his teeth. He wasn’t going to die here. He was going to survive—for his family.