> "The game begins when you bleed… and ends when your soul breaks."
---
System Alert – You've Been Chosen
As Lian and the others stirred beneath the grotesque, flute-whistling tree, they felt something burn into their skin.
On their forearms, necks, backs—even eyelids—red stitching began to appear. Threaded into their very flesh.
> [You have been marked by The First Puppet.]
Welcome to the Grand Game of Strings.
Refusal Penalty: Soul degradation – 1% per hour.
Objective: Win. No other conditions. No rules explained. Good luck.
Boom's grin vanished. "The hell kinda Saw-level bullshit is this?"
Melia whispered, "It's stitched into my ribs… I can feel it pulling when I breathe."
Jayce, always the joker, tried to lighten the mood. "I always wanted a tattoo. Didn't want it cursed, though."
But Lian remained quiet. His mark wasn't stitched—it was branded. A golden needle wrapped in endless threads stabbed through a blood-red coin.
He felt the system pulse inside him. Changing. Watching.
> [Coin Multiplier Synergy Detected – Binding Coin Path Initialization… Incomplete.]
Path Progress: 14%
---
The Invitation: Strings on the Wind
As the wind blew across the ruined plaza, hundreds of thin white strings began to descend from the clouds—as if heaven itself were unraveling.
From each string, a marionette doll dangled.
They were human-like, carved in disturbing detail, and every single one bore a familiar face.
Melia gasped. "These… these are copies of us."
Lian approached his puppet. Its wooden eyes glowed red.
Suddenly, it spoke in his voice:
> "If you want to lead, Lian, prove it. Let your friends die to win."
The puppet then burst into black thread—and shot into his chest.
> [Round 1 Initiated – Game: Burden of Choice]
Rules: Each member of the group will be separated. Each will face a choice. Only one may be spared per round. Choose wisely.
Hint: Truth hides behind pain.
---
Lian's Trial – The Golden Mirror
Lian found himself in a white room with a coin-operated mirror machine before him. A sign read:
> Insert 100 coins to see the true price of survival.
He hesitated. Then paid.
The mirror activated—and showed him a version of the future:
Jayce dead. Boom dying. Melia captured. Astra gone.
Only Lian remained—rich beyond reason. Crowned in gold. Alone.
Then the voice whispered:
> Take the Crown. Or throw the mirror and try again.
Lian shattered the mirror.
And the system burned.
> [Penalty Taken: -5 Max Health permanently]
[Decision Registered: Refused Path of Selfish Wealth]
[Coin King Path – Diverged]
---
Melia's Trial – The Blooded Child
She stood in a ruined hospital ward. A child wept in a cage.
A voice said: "Kill the child to save ten people. Spare the child, and they die screaming."
She screamed and refused to decide.
The child still died. The ten burned.
Then a knife carved into her palm:
> Mercy is cowardice in disguise.
> [Penalty Taken: -2 Luck, +1 Willpower]
[Evolution Shift – Awaiting trigger…]
---
Boom's Trial – The Silent Stage
He stood before an audience of mannequins with mouths sewn shut.
A voice said: "Tell the truth of your past or lose your tongue."
Boom smiled grimly. "Fine."
He admitted it all: His criminal roots. His betrayals. His selfishness. His accidental role in his brother's death.
Then the mannequins applauded.
> [Reward: +3 Charisma, Passive Unlocked: Raw Honesty – Your words now cut deeper, even into enemies.]
[Boom's Fate is shifting…]
---
Jayce's Trial – The Golden Dice
He rolled the dice.
And laughed.
Over and over, as traps fired and poisoned darts missed. Spikes triggered—but missed by inches.
He danced through it all with sheer absurd luck.
> [Unique Evolution Option Triggered: Fool's Domain]
You are not meant to survive. But you do.
Next Tier: Chaos Gambler
Jayce winked at the system. "Never bet against the funny guy."
---
Aftermath – Reunion in Red Threads
The group reunited in the city's theater district.
Wounds fresh. Souls tested. The city… applauding.
Literally.
All around them, puppets clapped. Their strings danced.
Then one puppet dropped—its strings snapping.
It stood.
No strings.
No face.
But its body—perfectly resembled Lian.
> [You have summoned: The First Puppet – Reflection Class Entity]
[Soul Rank: ???]
[Threat Level: Fatal]
It stepped forward.
> "You chose to defy the crown, Lian. Good. Now wear your consequences."
---
End of Chapter 70: The First Puppet's Game