The three figures had no faction tags.

'Those aren't players… or NPCs.'

The guard noticed his gaze. "Sir? What is it—"

One of the black-clad figures jumped from the catwalk and landed directly in their path.

The Evil squad aimed their rifles instantly, screaming:

"INTRUDER!"

"WHAT IS THAT—"

"WHO ARE—"

The intruder flickered.

Literally flickered.

Its body split into a dozen holographic projections as the bullets passed through empty air. The projections moved around Xavier, circling him in a ghostly dance, then collapsed into a single point directly behind him—

And vanished.

The squad froze.

Xavier exhaled as he read the text that appeared on his HUD. "Hologram decoys. Red herrings."

"WHAT DOES THAT EVEN—"

Another explosion shook the hallway — the Juggernauts had breached the inner ring.

"THEY'RE IN— HEROIC IS IN THE COURTYARD—"

"FALL BACK! FALL BACK NOW—"

The fanboy grabbed Xavier's wrist again. "We need to get you to Core Room— now!"

They pushed forward just as Heroic players broke through the corridor behind them. Energy bolts streaked past Xavier's shoulder. A Heroic assassin leapt through the smoke, only to get tackled by three Evil defenders.

The entire hallway erupted in hand-to-hand combat.

The fanboy shoved Xavier through a blast door.

"GO— I'LL HOLD THEM OFF—"

But before Xavier could respond, another Elite Heroic squad came crashing down through the overhead glass, rolling onto the walkway with practiced precision.

Leading them was a player in sleek silver armor, twin daggers spinning in her hands — AstraNova, the Phase 1 MVP runner-up.

She locked eyes with Xavier immediately.

"VIP spotted."

The Evil squad screamed at once.

"STOP HER—"

"SHE'S THE ONE FROM PHASE 1—"

"SHE'S TOO FAST—"

AstraNova dashed forward.

Her daggers sliced through three defenders in the span of a breath, her movements fluid and deadly. She grabbed Xavier by the forearm, spun him behind her, and raised a shield generator with her off-hand just in time to block a barrage of plasma bolts.

"Move," she said, voice sharp. "We're getting you out."

Xavier allowed himself to be pulled along, partly amused, partly curious how well she'd do.

Heroic reinforcements poured in from the broken ceiling.

Evil defenders rallied in a countercharge from the opposite end.

The corridor became a tunnel of fire.

AstraNova dragged Xavier into the tight shield wall formed by Heroic players.

"Protect the VIP!" she shouted.

"Watch the flanks!"

"Jugg Squad is pushing through the courtyard — sync with them!"

They moved as a solid unit, shields forward, pushing through the fortress as explosions rumbled around them. Xavier walked within their protective formation, glancing at the minimap.

The extraction point was close. They were almost there.

Almost.

Then the earth beneath them shook with a vibration he remembered.

A terrifying, familiar thrum.

From the opposite end of the hall emerged another Elite player — cloaked in sleek black armor with a massive railgun slung over his shoulder.

Zer0Blade.

The #1 Phase 1 MVP.

He raised the cannon and shouted, "DROP. THE. VIP."

AstraNova snarled, "Come take him."

Heroic players clashed with Evil elites in the cramped corridor. Zer0Blade vaulted off the wall, unloading a barrage that scattered Heroic defenders and shattered their shield wall.

AstraNova pivoted, pulling Xavier tightly behind her.

"Just a bit more— almost there— we can still—"

A stray missile exploded above the corridor, collapsing the ceiling.

The blast knocked everyone off their feet.

Xavier hit the ground, sliding across broken tiles, the world spinning around him as smoke filled the hall.

Through the haze, a hand grabbed his wrist again.

A masked figure pulled him out of the collapsing corridor and into a side passage.

They sprinted together past burning control rooms and fallen turrets, the faint roars of Juggernauts shaking the halls behind them.

The masked player finally dragged him into a sealed maintenance room and slammed the door shut behind them. The metal walls vibrated with distant explosions.

Slowly, the figure turned toward him.

And lifted the mask.

Xavier stared.

It was the same guy.

The same fanboy guard from Phase 1. He was the first person to run into Xavier when the event began.

He was breathing hard, armor cracked, eyes shining with adrenaline.

"I told you…" he panted, voice trembling with pride.

"…I'm not letting anyone take you, even if I die."

A final chime echoed:

PHASE 2 COMPLETE.

HEROIC EXTRACTION SUCCESSFUL.

EVIL FACTION LOST.

Outside, the fortress roared with cheers.

Evil faction players screamed in frustration, but now they had more freedom in the next phase. They no longer had to hold back.

The world around them began dissolving into gridlines again as the system prepped for Phase 3.

The guard sank to the floor, exhausted but grinning like a lunatic.

"We're taking you all the way to the end, Xavier. I swear it."

The walls around them flickered, preparing to reshape.

Phase 3 was coming.

And this time, the rules would be different.

This time… they were allowed to kill him.

[PHASE 2 — RESULTS]

TOTAL ACTIVE PLAYERS: 623,017

PHASE OUTCOME:

HEROIC FACTION — VICTORY (EXTRACTION SUCCESSFUL).

EVIL VIP DEFENSE FAILED.

CASUALTIES THIS PHASE:

• Heroic Losses: 112,984

• Evil Losses: 146,307

PLAYERS ADVANCING TO PHASE 3:

363,726 total → Heroic: 163,727 || Evil: 199,999

TOP CONTRIBUTIONS:

• AstraNova — Led the final extraction push; 1,209 confirmed eliminations.

• Juggernaut Squad Theta — Breached inner ring using synchronized cannon bursts.

• Shadowline (Heroic) — Disabled Black Spire's gate shields for 38 seconds, enabling the rescue corridor.

• Zer0Blade (Evil) — Held off Heroic flanks long enough to cause a near-fail.

• Titan Unit (System AI) — Unexpectedly reactivated for 12 seconds during the chaos.

NOTABLE MOMENTS:

• Heroic forces stormed the citadel in a four-lane blitz.

• Juggernaut charge broke the second wall.

• Red herrings. "intruder illusions" misdirected both sides.

• AstraNova's squad secured the VIP during the final corridor collapse.

• Extraction succeeded with 02:17 left on the timer.

FUNNIEST & DUMBEST DEATHS:

Heroic player "SpartanDad81" forgot fall damage existed; jumped off the citadel yelling "FOR XAVIER" and died mid-scream. Evil player "RogueBunny" tried to melee a Juggernaut and was punted across the map. "AquaDiver" hacked the wrong panel and locked himself inside a supply closet until a grenade clipped through the wall and killed him. A squad of six Heroic players crashed their jetpacks into each other during a dramatic entrance.

BEST CHAOS MOMENTS:

The Juggernaut stampede that bulldozed two entire hallways. AstraNova diving through falling debris to grab Xavier. The citadel gate exploding early because someone mis-threw a grenade. A random NPC mech punching a Heroic platoon off a bridge before despawning again. The three mysterious black "intruder illusions" causing both factions to panic.

DEV COMMENTARY:

• "We absolutely did NOT help either faction."

• "The Titan Unit reactivation was a glitch. Probably."

• "Those black assassins were not ours. No idea who coded them."

• "The citadel wall exploding early was NOT intentional. Just some bug."

• "Everything is functioning as intended. Please stop emailing and tagging us on social medias."

Players knew damn well the dev team was having the time of their lives.

And Xavier was also enjoying every single second. It was a nice and entertaining break from whatever had happened with him in the last few days, as well as the chaos that was waiting for him outside.