THE HELLISH SYSTEM

Chapter two

Rock Bottom

Pain.

It was the first thing I felt when I woke up. A deep, bone-deep ache that made it hard to move, hard to breathe. My body ached as I shifted, the taste of blood thick in my mouth.

I cracked my swollen eyes open, vision swimming as I tried to piece together what happened. The dim, flickering light of my dorm room cast long shadows against the walls. My sheets were stained with crimson, and the sharp sting along my ribs told me something was definitely broken.

The memory came rushing back—his smirk, his fists, the feeling of my body hitting the ground again and again.

He didn’t just beat me. He made sure I stayed down.

I forced myself up, every movement was painful. My phone lay on the floor, cracked and useless.

How long had I been out?

The clock on my desk read 3:14 AM.

No one had come looking for me.

Not that I expected them to.

I pressed a hand against my bruised ribs, hissing in pain. My body felt like it had been through a shredder. My face was swollen, my lip split, my eye likely blackened.

I should have gone to the hospital.

I should have reported Frank.

But I wouldn’t.

Not because I was scared—but because it wouldn’t change anything.

Frank ruled Frontale. His family had more money than I could ever dream of, and the university administration? They bowed to power like obedient dogs.

No one cared about a scholarship student who didn’t belong.

I staggered to my feet, gripping the edge of my desk for support. Every part of me wanted to collapse, to close my eyes and let the darkness take me again.

But I couldn’t.

I wouldn’t give them that satisfaction.

I needed to survive.

The next morning, I forced myself to class.

Every step was agony. My uniform barely hide the bruises littering my body. The whispers started the moment I stepped into the lecture hall.

"Did you see the video?"

"Frank really did a number on him this time."

"Why doesn’t he just drop out already?"

I kept my head down, gripping my books like a lifeline as I made my way to the back.

The professor hadn’t even arrived yet, but that didn’t stop the vultures from circling.

"Jesus, Ethan, you look like roadkill."

I didn’t have to look up to know who it was.

Paul.

He dropped into the seat next to mine, grinning like this was all some big joke.

“I mean, seriously,” he continued, propping his feet up on the chair in front of him. “How many times do you need to get your ass kicked before you take the hint?”

I ignored him, opening my textbook.

He clicked his tongue. "Oh, playing the silent game now? Smart. Maybe if you keep your mouth shut, Frank will go easy on you next time."

Laughter rippled through the room.

My jaw tightened. My grip on my pen nearly snapped it in half.

Paul leaned closer. "You know, there’s a way out of this. Drop out. Leave Frontale and never come back. You don’t belong here, anyway."

That struck a nerve.

I turned to him, my voice dangerously low. "I’m not going anywhere."

Paul’s smirk faltered for a split second before he rolled his eyes. "Suit yourself. Just don’t cry when it happens again."

With that, he stood up, sauntering back to his group of friends.

The humiliation burned under my skin, but I kept my expression blank.

By the time classes were over, exhaustion weighed heavy on my bones.

I spent the rest of the day working at a nearby café, taking orders and scrubbing tables while students who didn’t have to lift a finger for money sat around laughing.

Even here, I wasn’t safe.

A group of Frontale students strolled in, their laughter sharp and cruel the moment they spotted me.

"Hey, isn’t that Ethan?"

"Oh shit, it is! What’s he doing working here?"

"Guess he finally knows his place."

I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to keep wiping the table.

A chair screeched against the floor as someone sat down in front of me.

Selena.

She looked at me like I was beneath her, like I wasn’t even worth the dirt on her designer shoes.

“Still pretending like you belong?” she asked, her voice sickly sweet.

I didn’t answer.

She smirked. “You should take Paul’s advice, Ethan. Leave. You’ll never be anything more than a joke here.”

I kept scrubbing.

A cruel glint flashed in her eyes.

“Since you’re here, get me a coffee.” She flicked her fingers dismissively. “Black. No sugar.”

The rage that had been simmering in my chest for months was close to boiling over.

But I didn’t let it.

I turned on my heel and walked toward the counter.

I made her coffee.

I brought it to her table.

I placed it down carefully.

Then, without a single word, I turned and walked away.

Selena was laughing as I left.

I didn’t go back to my dorm that night.

I wandered the streets of Gold City, my mind a whirlwind of emotions.

Humiliation.

Anger.

Hopelessness.

The city lights blurred as I walked, my body aching with every step. I didn’t know where I was going—I just needed to move, to escape the suffocating weight pressing down on my chest.

By the time I stopped, I was standing at the edge of a bridge.

The water below was dark and endless, the city skyline reflecting against its surface like a distorted mirror.

For the first time in my life, I felt it.

The pull.

The whisper of surrender.

What’s the point, Ethan?

You have nothing left.

No family. No future. No way out.

The world had taken everything from me.

My parents.

My dignity.

My dreams.

Maybe it was time to stop fighting.

Maybe it was time to let go.

I closed my eyes, the wind biting against my bruised skin.

And then—

A voice.

Cold. Unfamiliar. Echoing inside my mind.

[ SYSTEM VOICE; WILL YOU DIE A NOBODY OR AVENGE YOURSELF? ]

My eyes snapped open.

The air around me seemed to crackle. A faint red glow pulsed in the darkness, swirling before my eyes. My breath hitched as a holographic screen flickered into existence, its blood-red text burning into my vision.

[ACTIVATION REQUIREMENT MET.]

[HELL SYSTEM INITIALIZING…]

A shiver ran down my spine.

I took a step back from the edge, my heart pounding.

This wasn’t real.

This couldn’t be real.