Above us, a massive blue hologram of Slix Vigma appeared, his voice booming through the arena."Greetings to all viewers present here—and to those watching this event live across the universe! Today, at this very moment, I present to you the participants."
As holographic images of every contestant flickered into existence, the crowd erupted in deafening cheers, their roars echoing through the metallic walls of the arena. Slix's voice thundered again:
"So place your bets, as tonight's event will be unlike anything you've ever seen before."
A red flash enveloped us, and suddenly, we were standing in the center of the arena as massive walls began erupting from the ground. They rose in different shapes and sizes, shifting and rearranging until the entire arena resembled a moving maze—which, in a way, it was.
"Now, now, that's not all," Slix continued. "As you can see on the hologram, this looks like a plain maze, so you might ask—what's new about it? Well, just focus on the hologram."
Everyone looked up. The display showed all the exits tightly sealed—until they slowly opened and multiple Vulpimancers lunged out, only to be restrained by glowing energy chains.
"As many of you may have guessed, this is a simple game of prey and predator. To win, you must not only navigate the maze, but also survive the attacks of the Vulpimancers and reach the exit, or in some rare cases, even attacks on each other for the right to get the dead player's invested point."
Slix continued explaining the rules, but I wasn't listening anymore. My mind had shut down the moment I saw the Vulpimancers being held back. My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would burst from my chest as I could feel the eyes of others staring at me a little bit longer, before moving like judging prey. The air felt heavy, almost suffocating. My thoughts were in complete disarray as I could feel their eyes on me.
Just navigating the maze would be difficult for someone like me—someone with no real combat experience. And on top of that, I hadn't even considered my own lack of combat experience when selecting my Pokémon, now it was just like I had the tool for the job without knowing what the even was.
I had no idea who to choose, which one I would find easy to use while still hiding their full capabilities, and I knew that some I didn't even know how to use properly, while others required timing and skill I didn't possess.
As I shifted through Pokémon options on my watch, a reckless thought flashed through my mind.
You want entertainment? Then I'll give you some.
The moment Slix finished explaining the rules, a flash of orange illuminated the stage. making everyone shift their focus toward the arena stage
I had transformed into a Charizard, unleashing a burst of flames that collided instantly with an invisible barrier, making it flash in a crimson light where the flames collided.
Even I was shocked for a moment—the entire area around me had turned into a cage-like structure, removing the aerial advantage I had desperately been counting on. Now, there was only one thought in my head:
Just how shitty is my luck?
Because of my transformation, everyone's attention had shifted from Slix's explanation to me. But Slix, unfazed, continued speaking, narrowing his eyes slightly.
"It seems the participants are more eager to show what they have. In that case, let's not waste their effort. The event officially begins now."
With a swipe of his arm, the energy chains holding the Vulpimancers shattered into glowing particles. The creatures roared violently as they were released and immediately charged forward.
I transformed back into my human form and sprinted in a random direction. Transforming back might have been a terrible choice, but without the ability to fly, Charizard's massive size would have slowed me down. And there was no way I could team up with anyone —not after probably pissing off everyone around me, and everyone's survival on the line, they would be at each other's throats for a chance to get even a single point. To them, this whole event could be considered my fault, and my earlier transformation didn't help my case.
But thinking about what could have happened was useless now. I needed to focus on surviving.
I dashed between the narrow corridors of the maze, pushing myself to run faster as the walls ahead began closing. Turning sharply left, I barely squeezed through the shifting walls. My breath came out in ragged gasps—just a few seconds of running had almost drained all my stamina, but with the wall closing the path behind me, I didn't worry about the other for some time, at the very least, but think of the whole structure, and the event it was not just a maze surival game it was a battle royal in itself.
Suddenly, the ground behind me rumbled. The floor began collapsing in a domino-like chain reaction.
statled I began to run again. Desperate, I tried to sprint faster, but my legs were at their limit. Nearly tripping, I slammed my hand against my watch and selected something at random.
A black flash engulfed me, covering my body with black and red fur—I had transformed into a Zoroark.
Letting out a howl, I dropped to all fours and sprinted with pure instinct taking over. At this point, survival was the only thing on my mind.
A thunderous clang echoed through the corridor. A massive wall shot upward ahead of me, blocking the path. I skidded to a halt and turned back instantly, sprinting as the forward route began to close as well.
Focusing hard, I used Agility, my speed increasing as I dove forward, sliding under a narrowing gap just as the wall slammed shut behind me with a heavy thud. The grinding of stone reverberated through the maze.
Gasping for breath, I pressed my back against the nearest wall. I couldn't stay still for long—not with the maze constantly shifting and time relentlessly ticking.
Pushing myself forward, I forced my legs to start running again. Turning a corner, I skidded to a stop—there was a crushed alien corpse ahead, twisted and mangled beyond recognition.
My horror was interrupted by another rumble as massive slabs of wall rose on both sides like jaws closing in.
I sprinted forward again before it could crush me in between, then reached a wide intersection leading to four different paths.
Not wanting to waste a second choosing, I went straight. But just as I entered the central pathway, a massive shadow darted from the left corridor—several times larger than me—charging with a predatory hunger.
The creature was animalistic: dog-like jaws, clawed limbs, quill-covered back, and no visible eyes. Instead, it had gill-like nostrils along its neck. Its skin was a dark red hue with pink stripes running down its back.
Reaching another turning corridor, I turned sharply. The Vulpimancer smashed into the corner walls behind me with a sickening crunch. Worse yet, the path ahead was blocked by another rising wall.
A dead end.
I skidded to a halt and turned around. The Vulpimancer rose from the smashed rubble of the wall. Then, at a steady pace, it advanced slowly, savoring the moment like a predator closing in on cornered prey. My body froze as the creature drooled in anticipation.
I backed up until my shoulders hit the cold stone wall. I had to do something.
I focused, feeling a warmth rising in my throat. I didn't resist it—letting a jet of flames burst forward from my open mouth. The Vulpimancer leapt aside, dodging it entirely, then lunged at me with terrifying speed.
Just before it reached me, I howled—using Hyper Voice, the soundwave disoriented the beast. It thrashed wildly, senses scrambled. I took the chance and unleashed another burst of fire. Flames consumed its body as it crashed into the wall, rolling desperately to extinguish the blaze. Its howls gradually died out until it finally lay still.
I exhaled shakily.
That was way too close…
My heart hammered violently, my thoughts still scattered, but I had to keep moving. Staying in this maze meant death.
Another dim light enveloped me as I used Agility again and raced back the way I'd come. Instead of choosing a random direction, I followed the path the Vulpimancer had emerged from—hoping it might lead toward the exit.
I just needed to reach it before the maze shifted again… or before something worse happened.
Reaching the intersection once more, I took the left corridor this time. My footsteps pounded against the stone—
Then I heard shouts from behind.
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remaining time: 23 min
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I know I haven't uploaded in more than a week, and even this chapter may still need more work, well, I was just sick and feeling lazy
I hope you guys comment and tell me my mistake, or what could have been done better
And I need inspiration when writing this chapter. I used a little inspiration from Maze Runner for the moving maze, and I am having a bit of a block here, so give me some reference from another show that could be helpful
. Once again, i hope you do comment as it moviate me to write