Racing to the Void
Episode 2 – Locked in the Fast Lane
Chapter 1 – The Level Lock
KiiiD sat on the hood of his newly upgraded coupe, the soft hum of its idle almost like a heartbeat.
The changes from Level 1 to Level 2 were obvious — tighter steering, quicker acceleration, exhausts that purred instead of coughed. The AI, a calm female voice, was now awake and running diagnostics like it had been born in that last race.
But the Void League recruiter's words kept echoing in his head:
"Level jumps mid-race. Haven't seen that in years."
KiiiD swiped his HUD open. His stats glowed in bright holo-blue:
LEVEL: 2 – XP: 47%
Upgrade Path: LOCKED – Max +5 Levels per Race
The words locked burned in his vision. Most racers could gain dozens, even hundreds of levels from a single victory if the competition was tough enough. He'd seen videos of rookies leaping from Level 50 to Level 900 in one championship.
Not him. Not now.
KiiiD: "Locked…? Why?"
No answer from the AI. Just the soft ticking of the engine cooling in the night air.
Chapter 2 – The Grind Begins
The Void League wasn't going to throw him straight into their legendary circuits. He'd have to climb through qualifier rings — brutal, crowded races meant to weed out anyone who couldn't handle the pressure.
His first qualifier was on Haven Circuit, a track coiled around the inside of a massive space station orbiting Saturn.
The walls shimmered with holographic ads for weapons, mods, and racing clans recruiting fresh blood. KiiiD ignored them. His eyes stayed locked on the start line ahead.
Seven other racers waited — each a mix of alien and human, some driving vehicles that looked alive.
The announcer's voice boomed:
ANNOUNCER: "Heat Five! Top three advance. Rest… don't come back."
The starting lights flared.
3… 2… 1…
They launched.
The First Five Levels
The first corner was a wide arc along the station's glass wall. Outside, Saturn's rings glimmered like frozen lightning. Inside, KiiiD's HUD lit up:
LEVEL UP – 2 → 3
LEVEL UP – 3 → 4
LEVEL UP – 4 → 5
LEVEL UP – 5 → 6
LEVEL UP – 6 → 7
Then it stopped. Just like that.
KiiiD felt the sudden stillness — no more bursts of acceleration, no more instant frame morphs. The AI's voice confirmed it:
AI: "Level gain cap reached. Additional XP stored."
KiiiD: "Stored? Unlock it then!"
AI: "Error. Permission denied."
Grinding his teeth, he swerved past two racers and blasted into the next straight. His car was faster, sure, but nothing like the insane leaps other racers got.
He finished second. Enough to move on. But the lock gnawed at him.
Chapter 3 – Climbing in Chains
The next two weeks were a blur of races.
• Qualifiers on Titan's Ice Roads – razor-thin tracks over frozen methane seas, blinding snowstorms mid-race. +5 levels.
• Solar Loop in Mercury's Orbit – pure heat and G-force, tires melting if you didn't drift perfectly. +5 levels.
• Subterranean Drill Run on Europa – a twisting underground tunnel where one wrong move meant becoming part of the rock. +5 levels.
Each time, it was the same: he'd shoot up exactly five levels, then the upgrades would stop cold. Stored XP kept stacking, but the "unlock" remained grayed out in his HUD.
Chapter 4 – The Rival Appears
It was on the Crimson Spire Circuit above Mars that KiiiD met Vexis.
Tall, lean, eyes glowing neon purple — she was already Level 10,000, her ride a jet-black speeder with wings that folded into razor fins mid-turn.
Before the race, she strolled up to KiiiD's car, smirking.
Vexis: "Level… 22? Cute. You'll look good in my rearview."
KiiiD didn't rise to the bait.
KiiiD: "We'll see whose rearview you're looking at."
When the race started, Vexis exploded off the line like her car was skipping dimensions. KiiiD held his own — his handling sharper than ever thanks to recent upgrades — but the gap between them was real.
By the final lap, he was in second. Then his HUD froze at:
LEVEL: 27 – XP: Stored
No more boosts. No extra speed. Vexis shot past the finish line first, blowing him a mocking kiss in the rear cam.
Chapter 5 – After the Race
KiiiD parked in the shadow of a cargo tower, helmet still on, breathing hard. His AI broke the silence:
AI: "You are performing above average for your level bracket."
KiiiD: "Above average won't cut it. I can't break into the top without more levels."
A faint static crackled in the AI's voice.
AI: "The lock on your upgrade path was installed… thirteen years ago."
KiiiD froze.
KiiiD: "Thirteen years? That's when my parents—"
AI: "—died in the Solar Drift Championship."
Chapter 6 – The Hidden File
The AI projected a small, encrypted file into his HUD. It pulsed red.
AI: "This was hidden in your car's base code. Unlocking it may remove your level cap… or destroy the vehicle entirely."
KiiiD stared at the file, pulse racing. Every instinct screamed to open it. But if the car fried mid-race, he was done.
KiiiD: "Not yet. I'll win like this… until I can't."
The AI didn't respond.
Chapter 7 – The Last Race of the Day
The final qualifier was a zero-gravity sprint across an asteroid belt.
With his +5 level boost now pushing him to Level 32, his car was agile enough to weave between floating boulders without scraping the hull. He gunned past alien racers with three steering appendages and ships covered in rotating saw-blades.
When the finish line beam hit him, his HUD blinked:
LEVEL UP – 32 → 37
LEVEL GAIN CAP REACHED
Stored XP climbed even higher. The lock mocked him.
Still… he was winning. Slowly.
Final Scene – Resolve
Later that night, back in his studio, KiiiD replayed old footage of his parents' final race. For the first time, he noticed it — the moment their cars glowed the same blue veins that now ran across his hood.
He paused the video, staring at the frozen frame.
KiiiD (whispering): "You left me something… didn't you?"
The AI's voice came quietly.
AI: "Stored power, locked away for the right moment. Perhaps… for the right race."
KiiiD smirked, leaning back.
KiiiD: "Then I guess I'll keep racing… until that moment comes."