The Mastermind Games: Season 01 Episode 03

The corridor bathed in red light was silent—eerily silent—as Clara and Julien walked side by side, tension thick between them. Clara's eyes darted to the corners, scanning for surveillance. Julien, still reeling from the revelation that Clara might have been "recruited" into the game long before it began, couldn’t hide his suspicion.

Behind them, the others slowly regrouped, funneled back into the main chamber after the shifting walls resettled. But two players were missing—Alain, a criminal defense lawyer, and Delphine, a tech heiress. Their signals had vanished from the system map. Gone.

At the center of the chamber stood a massive, vertical glass chamber. Inside it: a large screen pulsing with a countdown — 01:00:00.

Isha looked pale. “Whatever’s coming... it starts in one hour.”

Suddenly, the voice returned. Calm. Precise.

“The Sacrifice Protocol is now active. To proceed, a choice must be made. One among you must be voted out. The sacrifice will be permanent.”

The chamber locked shut behind them.

A table rose from the floor, and twelve black cubes surfaced — nine of them still active.

Clara looked around. “If we vote, someone dies. That’s what happened to Marcel in the first round.”

“No,” Isha said. “Marcel wasn’t killed by the game. He was removed by someone inside it.”

The players hesitated. Trust had long eroded. Now it was war.

The vote began.

One by one, names appeared on the glass screen. Accusations flew. Secrets were revealed.

Julien accused Clara of being the plant.

Clara revealed Julien had altered documents to sabotage a political candidate.

Leo, the illusionist, was caught manipulating votes on his cube.

Isha called out Théo, a silent tech engineer, for accessing hidden doors in the previous round.

When the final vote was cast, the name Théo lit up on the screen.

He smiled. “Of course. The quiet ones are always the first to go.”

Without resistance, he stepped into the center as a metallic ring rose from beneath the floor and surrounded him. Gas hissed. His body convulsed. A few seconds later—gone.

A message appeared:

“Sacrifice Accepted. Integrity Restored.”

But then something unexpected happened.

The screen glitched. Rapid code scrolled.

A second message followed:

“Override Detected – External Command Active.”

The glass screen suddenly shattered, and from behind it, a hidden compartment opened. Inside: a control room, dimly lit, wires tangled, and surveillance monitors displaying every chamber they’d ever entered.

And on the wall, a timeline:

1994 – PROJECT MIND SEED

2008 – PHASE I: Conditioning

2024 – PHASE II: Simulation Integration

2025 – PHASE III: Live Trial – Paris Facility

Clara’s eyes locked onto one photo on the wall. A younger version of herself, in a training facility, electrodes attached to her head.

She whispered, “They erased our memories…”

Julien stepped forward, holding a file labeled SUBJECT 01 – Architect Protocol.

“One of you,” the voice said again from overhead speakers, “is the final piece. One of you was designed to replace the original mastermind. The system needs a leader.”

“You are the game now.”

A silent alarm triggered. The room shook violently. A deep rumble echoed from below. The walls began folding in.

“LEVEL ONE COMPLETE. INITIATING TRANSFER TO LEVEL TWO – NICE, FRANCE.”

Steel doors burst open. An armored elevator appeared. A screen above it blinked:

"SURVIVORS: 7. PROCEED TO STAGE TWO."

They had no time to mourn, question, or argue. The walls were closing in.

The surviving players—Clara, Julien, Isha, Leo, and the others—rushed in.

The elevator shot upward, then sideways, then down again, like a rollercoaster through steel veins.

After minutes of darkness, the doors opened to reveal a modern, sterile facility — glowing blue walls, humming floors.

And outside the window… a dome. Over a city.

Julien stared out in shock. “Is that... Nice?”

The voice returned, colder than before:

“Welcome to the Broken Code. Round Two begins… now.”

TO BE CONTINUED IN SEASON 2, EPISODE 1: “Echoes in the Glass City”