Chapter Three: The Living Dead

During the celebration, Shen claimed he had lost a blade and returned to the empty arena with Lin. Zhou was gone. Beneath his seat lay an antique key and a scorched map of three underground floors beneath North Bay. A note on its edge read: LIN CHE IS ALIVE. The arena lights went out tier by tier. Han's voice came over the speakers. “Shen Yan, the future is not yours to change.” The silver ring beneath the ice snapped closed. Thousands of blue lines rose through seats, walls, and their bodies, converging on a home final twelve days away. At the end of every line, Shen saw himself remove his mask and collapse before the net. The scoreboard said Aurora were champions.