The Checkmate: Rise of the Black Insignia
Every winter, the Harvest comes—reaping the brightest, strongest, and poorest from the ashes of a broken world.
Cael never planned to be chosen. He only wanted to protect his sister, survive Ashspire, and stay forgotten. But when he wakes inside the arena, branded with the glowing black insignia of a Pawn, survival becomes a game he never agreed to play.
The rules are cruel. The arena is alive. And the only way out... is through.
Thirty-two players. Sixteen per side. Kings to protect. Queens to fear.
Each quadrant is a biome of genetically engineered monsters and elemental chaos. The audience watches from the shadows—silent, rich, and betting on blood.
Above the Pawns stand the Major Pieces—Kings, Queens, Bishops, Rooks, and Knights—each injected with experimental serums, each awakening terrifying new powers.
But Cael isn’t like the others. His instincts are too sharp. His movements, too precise. And when the team’s Queen falls, he'll face the impossible choice:
Stay a piece on their board—
Or break the whole damn game.