INFINIX

CHAPTER 2: IN A FARAWAY KINGDOM

CHAPTER 2: IN A FARAWAY KINGDOM

"Stop it! Mark! You’re an i***t!" Mark’s girlfriend shouted, pounding on his back with her fists to make him stop hitting Rick Mijak.

Mark swung backward and landed a punch squarely on her face, sending her crashing to the floor with her lip split wide open, blood pouring out like a cascade.

Finally, Rick Mijak’s bodyguards—Mark’s own colleagues—rushed into the room to break up the fight and pin him to the floor.

He was out of control, thrashing like a wild animal, and it took four men to restrain him. Only when Rick Mijak stood up, his mouth filled with blood, did the brawl halt.

"I want him dead," Mijak ordered, while Mark’s girlfriend rushed to embrace him, more concerned about the mobster’s split lip than her own.

They dragged Mark away, shoving him into the trunk of a car, and drove to the nearest lake.

The men who had once been his best friends, his comrades, his brothers-in-arms, were now his executioners—the same fists that had once fought beside him were now delivering the beating of his life.

Mark tried to call out one of their names, but the relentless blows to his face and ribs made speech impossible. Still, he staggered back to his feet, his body trembling from the pain, clenching his fists. The stubborn bastard didn’t know when to quit—probably didn’t even know how.

"Stay down, Mark," one of the guards warned.

Mark ignored him, so they kept beating him until he finally collapsed.

When the strikes ended, the pain was so great he didn’t even want to speak. He was sure several bones were broken and that he’d lost a couple of teeth. He lay there on the cold concrete until he heard the clinking of chains and the dragging of heavy iron weights.

He knew exactly what that meant. They’d done it before—many times. He knew he was about to sink to the bottom of the lake and drown, his body likely never to be found. He sighed deeply, resigning himself to his grim fate.

They bound him tightly and tossed him without hesitation into the frigid, black water. He sank straight to the bottom, the icy water flooding his lungs and crushing his throat. He fought with everything he had, until at last everything before his eyes turned to a blinding white.

The next thing he knew, he was swimming quickly toward the surface. He was free—no chains, no weights—and he could see sunlight filtering through the water above him. Kicking hard, he shot upward, but when his head finally broke the surface, what he saw looked nothing like the city he had known all his life.

Somehow, he had emerged in a village of wooden houses, where farmers herded their livestock through dusty streets.

"Where the hell am I?" he muttered, still floating in the water.

The strange bracelet on his wrist began to vibrate, its green light flaring brighter until a voice emerged from the tiny screen.

[ UPDATING HOST! ]

"Who said that?" Mark asked in shock, looking around for the source of the voice.

It took him a moment to realize—it was coming from the bracelet. The voice was deep, male, and commanding.

[ USER: XILOS… WELCOME BACK TO THE KINGDOM OF INFINIX! ]

"Xilos? No, no, no! You’ve got it wrong! I’m not Xilos!" Mark protested.

[ IMPOSSIBLE! I NEVER MAKE MISTAKES. THE HOST IS WHOEVER POSSESSES THE BRACELET. THE GODS’ SYSTEM RECOGNIZES YOU AS KNIGHT XILOS. ]

"I’m telling you, I’m not Xilos! He gave me this bracelet—look!"

Mark wrestled with the bracelet, trying to rip it off his wrist, but it was useless. The thing felt fused to his skin.

[ KNIGHT XILOS: IF YOU REMOVE THE BRACELET, YOU WILL DIE.

RULE NUMBER 1 OF THE GODS’ SYSTEM. ]

"This is stupid," Mark muttered.

He figured it had to be some kind of modern watch linked to someone’s phone—probably an elaborate prank. He just needed to find a way out of this strange village where he’d ended up.

"Can you at least tell me where I am?" he asked, irritated.

[ YOU ARE IN THE KINGDOM OF INFINIX. TO BE PRECISE: YOU ARE IN THE KINGDOM OF OXLANDER—ONE OF THE THREE KINGDOMS THAT FORM THIS WORLD. ]

"That’s not helpful at all," Mark said, already tired of the joker on the other end. "Can you give me information I can actually use?"

[ OF COURSE! ]

[ WARNING ]

[ GET OUT OF THE WATER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BE EATEN BY A MEGALODON. ]

Mark immediately looked down and saw a massive shadow moving beneath him in the lake’s depths. He didn’t understand what was going on, but he knew he had to get out fast. He swam for the shore, hauling himself onto the wet earth and gasping for breath.

"I don’t know how the hell you did that, but it’s not funny anymore. I don’t trust you," Mark said.

[ I CAN CHANGE MY VOICE TO BE MORE COMPATIBLE WITH THE HOST. ]

[ HOW ABOUT THIS? ]

The Gods’ System’s voice shifted—from the deep timbre of an adult man to the soft, delicate voice of a gentle woman.

"Perfect! That solves all my problems!" Mark said with a sarcastic smirk.

[ HEY! ]

[ I SAW THAT SMIRK! ]

[ THE GODS’ SYSTEM CAN SEE EVERYTHING. ]

"Yeah, sure, whatever you say," Mark replied.

He figured some prankster was watching him from a distance with binoculars.

"I need to pee," Mark said.

He walked over to a plant and started urinating.

[ YOU SHOULD URINATE ON THE GROUND. ]

[ YOUR URINE CAN HARM THE PLANTS. ]

Mark quickly stepped back and scanned his surroundings. He was not comfortable with the idea of some creep spying on him while he relieved himself.

"Are you watching me pee?" he demanded.

[ THE GODS’ SYSTEM CAN SEE EVERYTHING. ]

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Mark exclaimed, already fed up with the so-called Gods’ System.

[ KNIGHT XILOS ]

[ POWER: 18,000 ]

[ STARS: 3 ]

[ WEAPON: GOLDEN SWORD ]

A golden sword suddenly fell in front of him—a razor-sharp blade that looked as if it were made of pure gold, appearing out of nowhere.

Mark froze, stunned. This was impossible. That voice… maybe it had been telling the truth all along.

It was then that he finally looked up—and for the first time, he saw them. Enormous mountains floating in the sky, suspended like clouds.

He ran to the water’s edge and looked at his reflection.

Impossible. The face staring back at him wasn’t his own. It was identical to the madman who had jumped off the bridge just a few hours ago.