The rough stone ripped his clothes, threatening to tear fabric and skin alike. "Who designs a prison with these kinds of secret tunnels anyway?" he yelled aloud, trying to distract himself from the grip of the walls pressing in on him.
"Probably the same twisted mind that locks up rebels like me," he continued, half-chuckling, half-grunting as he navigated a particularly tight bend.
The ground beneath him was unforgiving, every small pebble and uneven surface imprinting itself onto his palms and knees. It was a reminder—this world felt real, but it was a game, a trial designed for him to overcome.
"Or fail spectacularly," Kitsune mumbled.
"Wouldn't be the first time, eh?" He could almost hear his friends ribbing him back in the real world. How many times had they watched him throw himself headlong into impossible odds, betting on nothing more than a hunch?
"Except this time," Kitsune thought, "the stakes are a bit higher." His heart hammered against his ribcage, not just from exertion but from the exhilaration of the unknown.
"Come on, let there be light at the end of this..." His voice trailed off as a distant rumble echoed through the passage. He froze, eyes straining in the dark.
"An earthquake? No, this is digital—" Before he could finish the thought, a violent tremor shook the tunnel, dust, and small rocks pouring down upon him.
"Shit!" He shielded his head with his arms, coughing as the air filled with grit. "What in the—" Another explosion rocked the passage, louder, closer, and Kitsune realized with a jolt of adrenaline what was happening.
"Fuck! Chavo's blowing up the damn prison!"
"Got to move, got to move now!" Instinct took over, and he scrambled forward with renewed urgency. The passage seemed to shudder with each concussive blast, and Kitsune's mind raced with possibilities. "Escape route blocked? Or someone carving their own way out?"
"Doesn't matter. Adapt. Survive."
"Surviving would be much easier if I didn't have to guess where it's safe to go," he said, reaching a wider section of the tunnel where he could finally stand. Dusting himself off, he ran ahead, hoping for a clue, a direction, anything.
"To the left," Kitsune whispered into the darkness, "you're either my savior or my doom." He adjusted his collar, set his jaw, and prepared to face whatever lay beyond the next bend. "Let's find out which one."
The passage finally gave way to the fringes of a chaotic courtyard where virtual debris was still settling from recent explosions. Kitsune's eyes widened as he took in the spectacle before him. The sky hung low over the scattered bodies of digital guards, their code flickering and fragmenting upon defeat.
As the tremors from the blast subsided, he ducked behind a fragmented wall, catching his breath and watching Chavo through narrowed eyes. The air stank of charred code and fear—a smell that Kitsune, despite himself, found invigorating.
A new timer was set on his collar as he failed to remove it before escaping the yard of the prison.
3...
...2
...1
**Boom**
"Mission Failed"