CHAPTER 49: THE FLUTE OF MADNESS

[Ethan’s POV]

...

Pike’s hand began to fall.

And in that moment, the world slowed.

Not just slowed, it shattered.

My vision fractured into layers, like the city had been folded into a thousand glass panes and I stood at the center of them all. I felt like I was a graphic designer, and every image pixels became zoomed to the maximum.

Every enemy muzzle flash became a frozen ember. Every heartbeat thudded like a drum stretched across eternity.

The Wheel didn’t spin this time. It watched, and I saw.

Eleven of Pike’s men, they were all that were left of his cohort. I counted them like pieces on a chessboard.

Three on the rooftops, rifles steady, forming overlapping kill lanes. Four across the cracked asphalt, advancing with the slow discipline of wolves. Four more tucked into side alleys, waiting to flank.

Their eyes gleamed with abilities; one with the shimmer of body reinforcement, one with a crackle of fire dancing at his palms, another humming with resonance shock.

And Pike himself, standing at the center of it all.

Major Harlan Pike wasn’t just a soldier, he was doctrine given flesh. His aura pressed on the battlefield like gravity. Even in frozen time, I could feel it... his instinct to dissect, to read, and to predict.

’Predator’s Instinct’. That was his special ability.

He saw the line of death, the invisible threads that separated victory from failure. He didn’t need the Wheel. He was the Wheel, only sharpened by war.

I flicked my gaze back to us.

Reid; pale, weakened, but his ability to slow perception could still snap a window open for the perfect shot.

Kara... I stared at her spear twirling even in slowed time, her bone-dense body taut with raw agility.

Holt was calm, his eyes tracking every glint of metal and dust. He was our sniper, our compass.

And Jonas... he was battered but upright, stubborn strength burning behind his bruises. Mira, though still unranked and her wind trembling, she was still vital for cover and disruption.

Travis? He was exhausted, drained, but alive. He was our lifeline if anyone dropped after his Awakening.

And me...

My tools were at my side; the grapple launcher, the Exo-Spike Gauntlet itching to be bloodied, the Shadowstep humming like a second heartbeat, and the new Phantom Mirage glowing faintly with promise.

I ran the math.

Chances of survival in a straight fight. ’Low, too low’. My eyes squinted as the gears in my brain ran faster than a supercomputer.

The Wheel pulsed once, as if asking. ’So what’s the play, Ethan?’

Then, time snapped forward again and everything exploded into chaos.

BOOM!

In that chaos though, I reigned.

"Reid! Left rooftop, two shots only!" I barked. "Mira, wind cover in five seconds, not before".

"Kara, anchor Jonas and break their left flank".

"Holt, suppress their crossfire. Don’t kill, just break rhythm. Travis, hold energy, save it for whoever drops first!"

They didn’t hesitate.

As soon as they heard the confidence in my voice, they moved instinctively.

Bam... bam...

Reid’s rifle barked twice, each shot timed with his slowed perception. One enemy collapsed, while another’s scope shattered in a spray of sparks.

Holt’s rounds cracked pavement, forcing Pike’s wolves to scatter, their formation breaking in a heartbeat.

Mira flung her arms wide, her wind surging to scatter grenades before they landed. As for Kara, she charged into the open, Jonas stumbling behind her, her spear spinning like a sawtooth wheel.

Me? I hit Shadowstep, and the world blurred.

My steps became silent thunder.

BZZZ!

One moment I was with them, the next I was inside Pike’s kill lane.

Gauntlet flared, pulsing with raw power as my fist shattered the jaw of the nearest soldier before he even knew I’d arrived. Phantom Mirage split from me, an illusory double sprinting ahead, drawing fire into empty air.

For one perfect moment, the tide turned as confusion reigned.

But then, Pike moved.

He didn’t shout. He didn’t flinch, he simply stepped into the chaos like it belonged to him.

BAM!

A bullet cracked toward his head, and he tilted, just enough for it to miss.

"Ha!" With a grunt, Kara’s spear lunged for his chest.

He caught it with two fingers, twisted, and threw her off balance.

My Mirage doubled back, sprinting for his flank but he didn’t even glance at it. His Predator’s Instinct cut through illusion, reading the false threads.

"Boy, you think you can orchestrate against me?" he murmured, his voice reaching me even across the distance.

He wasn’t to be outdone; he snapped orders like whiplash. "Delta two, left sweep! Echo, pin their healer! Bravo, cut the spear!"

His soldiers realigned instantly, discipline snapping them back together.

Jonas grunted as two reinforced fighters slammed into him at once. Mira staggered as a resonance burst cracked against her ribs. Travis hit the ground, arms shielding his head as bullets sparked around him.

And Reid... Reid was forced down, Pike himself closing in on him like a hawk on prey, even if that prey was a snake.

At that moment I realized, even this wasn’t enough. ’Nothing will be enough’. I realized.

I saw it then, the line of death as Pike’s ability radiated like a web. Every choice I made, he unraveled. Every strike I threw, he was already dodging.

We would lose.

It hit with cold certainty. Not now, not in this heartbeat, but inevitably. The Wheel pulsed again, mocking.

Unless...

Reid’s words burned through me. ’Us or them’.

Fine. If I can’t win fair, I’ll cheat.

Who cares about rules? I’ll simply flip the game board over if that meant saving my life and that of my companions.

I slammed my palm against the Wheel. My thought was insane, reckless, borderline suicidal, but the Wheel didn’t hesitate... it loved madness.

Then...

DING!

~----~

[Improvised Gear: Riftbone Flute – D Rank]

A flute that is carved from calcified Riftbone. It emits a resonance tone that compels Rift monsters within a one-mile radius. Stronger beasts respond first.

[WARNING: Irreversible once sounded.]

~----~

’D-D Rank?’

I had not even drawn an E-Rank gear before now, I guess madness unlocks the true potential of my ability afterall because the idea that I conceived to influence the draw was truly mad.

The flute solidified in my hand, jagged and pale, humming with a vibration that set my teeth on edge.

I raised it to my lips.

Pike’s eyes narrowed as his instincts screamed. "Stop him!"

Too late.

I blew.

FUUUU!

It wasn’t a note. It was a ripple, a vibration that turned the world liquid.

BZZZ!

The asphalt shuddered.

Glass quivered in windows that hadn’t fallen yet even as my bones thrummed like tuning forks.

And then, the city answered.

ROARRRRRRRR!!!

A roar rolled across the skyline, so deep it seemed to drag the ground upward. Dust rained from every shattered beam, distant towers groaned, and the air itself thickened with a presence that wasn’t just alive, but ancient.

The Rift itself stirred.

From somewhere deep in the city’s belly, a D-Rank monster woke!

Both sides froze.

Pike’s men shifted nervously, discipline cracking under the weight of that roar. My allies stared at me like I’d gone insane, and maybe I had.

Pike’s gaze locked on me, his gray eyes burning with fury. "You...!"

Then, the ground split open with a sound like mountains grinding as a titanic shadow rose across the skyline, vast and terrible.

I lowered the flute, my hands trembling but my grin sharp.

If we can’t win on this board... I’ll flip the damn table.

The D-Rank roared again, and the city trembled in its wake.