I chose Luck and was given Infinite Luck

The Prison Beyond the Door

1. The Door Opens (Tom's POV)

The door slid open with a hiss, revealing a corridor bathed in stark white light.

Tom blinked against the sudden brightness, his body tense, ready for the inevitable onslaught of guards or automated defenses.

But nothing came.

The hallway beyond the door was silent. Empty. Waiting.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Stacy's voice was low but sharp, cutting through the suffocating quiet.

Tom shook his head slowly. "No. This is worse."

It was too clean. Too perfect.

A trap designed to look like freedom.

Or a test.

"We need to move," Orion said, his voice steady and cold. He was already scanning the hallway with sharp eyes. "They'll be watching every step we take."

Diane, still pale from the effort of fully waking up, nodded grimly. "Then let's give them something to watch."

Tom led the way, every muscle coiled tight with anticipation.

They weren't free yet.

Not even close.

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2. The Hallway of Echoes (Stacy's POV)

The corridor seemed to stretch forever, each step echoing too loudly against the polished metal floor.

The walls were lined with faint, glowing lines of text—symbols she didn't recognize, but they pulsed gently with a rhythm that felt almost… alive.

She reached out to brush her fingers against the nearest panel.

"Don't," Orion's voice snapped from behind her.

Stacy froze mid-motion.

"Why not?" she demanded.

"Because if they wanted us to touch something, it would've been obvious," Orion replied, his gaze fixed on the glowing text. "If we touch it first, we're giving them data they don't already have."

Stacy pulled her hand back, heart pounding.

This wasn't a prison.

It was an experiment.

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3. The Monitors Speak (Diane's POV)

Diane's sharp eyes caught something the others had missed—a thin seam running along the ceiling, barely visible against the sterile white panels.

"Look up," she whispered.

Tom followed her gaze. Hidden cameras.

"They're not just watching us," Diane said quietly. "They're recording how we react to the environment."

"Observation chambers," Orion muttered. His voice was calm, but Diane caught the tension in his shoulders. "We're lab rats in a maze."

Tom's jaw tightened. "Then let's break the maze."

But before they could take another step forward, a soft chime echoed through the hall.

A voice followed.

Smooth. Cold. Inhuman.

"Subject stabilization confirmed. Phase Two: Commencing."

The floor beneath them shifted.

---

4. The Ground Splits (Group POV)

Without warning, the pristine hallway fractured, metal panels splitting apart to reveal a chasm of blinding blue light.

"Move!" Tom shouted, grabbing Stacy's arm as the ground beneath her gave way.

They leapt toward the nearest platform as a narrow bridge extended across the glowing abyss.

Diane and Orion landed beside them just as the hallway reformed into a new, twisted configuration.

The walls rippled like liquid metal, rearranging themselves with terrifying speed.

"A shifting maze," Orion observed grimly.

"We're being herded," Diane added, eyes scanning the rapidly morphing walls.

Tom's fists clenched. "No. We choose where this ends."

---

5. The Observer Appears (Tom's POV)

A figure emerged from the far side of the platform, materializing from the shifting walls like a shadow given form.

It wore a sleek, featureless mask of silver, its body thin and unnervingly tall—more like an idea of a person than a person itself.

The figure's voice was smooth, devoid of emotion.

"You were never meant to wake up."

Tom stepped forward, his voice low and dangerous. "And yet, here we are."

The figure tilted its head. "Unfortunate. This phase was not scheduled for interruption."

Orion's eyes narrowed. "We're not here for your experiments."

The figure raised a hand—not in threat, but in invitation.

"You misunderstand. This is not an experiment. This is assessment."

---

6. The Test Begins (Stacy's POV)

The ground beneath them shifted again, and the walls around them melted into a new shape—a familiar shape.

Stacy's stomach twisted as she recognized the arena from her dreams, the seats filled with shadowy figures whispering silent judgments.

"No," she hissed. "Not this again."

"Your performance was incomplete," the figure said. "The simulation was meant to prepare you."

"For what?" Tom demanded.

"Ascension."

The word echoed in Stacy's mind like a hammer striking glass.

"Enough," she snarled, summoning the Void energy that had served her in the illusion. "You're not using me anymore."

The shadows in the arena lunged toward her—manifestations of doubt and failure.

But Stacy was done doubting herself.

---

7. Diane's Choice (Diane's POV)

Diane found herself back in her kitchen—but it wasn't right.

The room was too quiet, the colors too faded.

And Jerry was standing by the window.

Again.

This time, he didn't speak.

He just waited.

Diane's fists trembled. "You're not real."

The image didn't fade.

Instead, it watched her, silently demanding that she choose the comfort of the illusion again.

But she couldn't.

She wouldn't.

"I let you go once," Diane whispered. "And I won't let this nightmare hold me now."

The kitchen fractured, dissolving into shards of light.

And Diane stepped through the ruins, free of the dream's chains.

---

8. Orion's Revelation (Orion's POV)

Orion faced his own battlefield—a cold, sterile laboratory filled with versions of himself, each lost to obsession.

The figure's voice echoed around him. "You could have perfected it, you know. Time. Control. Power."

"I didn't need perfection," Orion murmured. "I needed time with my family."

One of the shadows lunged.

Orion didn't flinch.

The illusion shattered on impact, leaving him standing alone.

"Your tests mean nothing," he said quietly. "I've already won. I woke up."

---

9. A Fractured Reality (Group POV – Final Scene)

The maze collapsed around them, the shifting walls giving way to a vast, empty void.

The masked figure flickered, struggling to maintain its form.

"You were not supposed to break free."

Tom stepped forward, his voice steady. "That's your mistake. We don't follow scripts."

The void trembled, cracks forming in the empty space around them.

"If you escape… they will come for you."

Tom's eyes narrowed. "Let them."

The world shattered, and the group fell forward—

Back into reality.

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