Batman: Squid Games
Chapter Eight: Marbles

The arena was a sea of faces, all of them taut with the pressure of the game. Each player sat across from their partner, clutching a bag of marbles—ten each. The weight of the bags was nothing compared to the weight of the decision they'd soon have to make: win or lose, someone would die. The rules were deceptively simple: you had to win all the marbles your opponent had. The catch, however, was not just the brutal game itself, but the emotional toll. Whoever lost would be eliminated, but the true horror lay in the betrayal. For the first time, they would be responsible for the death of someone they cared about, someone they had chosen to pair up with.

Gi-hun swallowed hard as he sat across from Lady Shiva, her presence formidable even without her physical prowess. Her eyes never left him, assessing, calculating. Every shift of her body seemed deliberate, measured. There was a chilling calm about her, and it made Gi-hun's blood run cold.

"Are you ready?" she asked, her voice almost too soft to hear.

Gi-hun didn't answer immediately. He couldn't. His throat was tight with the weight of what he was about to do. Lady Shiva wasn't just an opponent. She was a force of nature. A master of martial arts, she had the ability to read a situation like few others. If there was anyone who could outplay him, it was her. And yet, as the rules of the game dictated, only one of them would survive this round. Gi-hun had no choice but to win, no matter the cost.

Elsewhere in the arena, Min-ho and Ji-eun were facing each other across a table, the bag of marbles sitting heavily between them. Both had survived the brutal challenges so far, but this game would test them in a new way—a way that required more than just strength or skill. This was a test of trust, of humanity, and of betrayal.

"I'm sorry," Min-ho said, his voice cracking as he looked at Ji-eun. "I really am. But this is how it has to be."

Ji-eun's eyes met his, and for a moment, it felt like time had stopped. She had trusted Min-ho. They had supported each other through the hardest rounds, and now, one of them would have to end the other's life to continue. No amount of past friendship could change that.

"I know," Ji-eun said quietly. "We don't have a choice."

Her hands shook slightly as she pulled out the bag of marbles. The weight of her decision settled over her like a stone.

"What method do you want to use?" Min-ho asked, his voice soft, almost resigned. "I'll go first. I'll guess how many marbles you have."

Ji-eun nodded. The game had to be played, and the rules were simple. Guessing how many marbles the other person held in their hand was the only way to win. But that didn't make it any easier.

Min-ho made his first guess. "Five."

Ji-eun's heart sank as she pulled out four marbles. She couldn't afford to lose here. Not now. Not when everything she had fought for was on the line.

"No," she said softly. "You're wrong."

Min-ho looked crestfallen but didn't back down. He reached for his bag, pulling out more marbles. He was visibly trembling now, his hands shaking as the realization of what he had to do began to sink in.

"Three," he guessed this time.

Ji-eun hesitated for a fraction of a second before she nodded, pulling three marbles from her own bag and setting them on the table.

There was a brief pause as the two of them sat in silence, each one processing the reality of what had been set in motion. The air was thick with the unspoken weight of the situation. Ji-eun's eyes flicked toward Min-ho's face, and she saw the flicker of desperation there. His hands were trembling, his face a mask of guilt and sorrow.

"I can't do this," Min-ho whispered. "Please… let's just call it a draw."

But Ji-eun didn't respond. There was no room for pity. No room for mercy. She had to make it through this. She had to survive.

The final guess came with a heavy, almost suffocating sense of inevitability. Both of them were down to one marble. The tension between them was palpable.

Min-ho stared at her, his eyes wide, pleading. His voice cracked as he made his final guess: "One."

Ji-eun didn't speak. She simply placed her marble on the table. It was over.

Min-ho's face drained of color. He reached into his bag, his hands shaking violently as he withdrew his last marble.

"Please… Ji-eun…" His voice trailed off as he looked at her, his expression one of disbelief.

But Ji-eun couldn't answer. There were no words left to say. She had won, and with it came the unbearable weight of betrayal.

The announcer's voice echoed through the arena, cold and mechanical. "Min-ho has lost. He will be removed from the game."

Ji-eun's hands trembled as she moved away from the table. She couldn't bring herself to look at him as he stood up, his face stricken with disbelief. The guards moved in to take him away, and Ji-eun turned her head, the guilt and sorrow threatening to overwhelm her. But she didn't allow herself to collapse. Not yet. There was no time for weakness.

Back in the center of the arena, Matches stood tall, his posture unwavering. He faced the one opponent he had feared from the start: Killer Croc. The mutated giant stood across from him, his massive bulk casting a shadow over the smaller man. Croc's voice was low, guttural, full of menace as he stared at Matches.

"You sure you wanna play this game, little man?" Croc growled, his eyes narrowing. "I don't think you're gonna make it."

Matches didn't flinch. His mind was already working, calculating, analyzing. He had learned long ago how to stay calm under pressure, how to control the flow of any situation. And this game? This was just another obstacle to overcome.

The tension was unbearable as the two of them squared off. Croc made his first guess, his voice booming in the silence. "Five."

Matches reached into his bag and pulled out four marbles, setting them down on the table. "Wrong," he said coolly, not even looking up.

Croc snarled, his teeth bared in a twisted grin. "You think you can beat me? You think your little games will save you?"

Matches didn't respond. He simply waited, letting Croc stew in his frustration. The hulking man made another guess, his voice laced with irritation. "Three."

Matches held up three marbles, his eyes never leaving Croc's face. "You're wrong again."

The rage building inside Croc was palpable now. His fists clenched, his entire body vibrating with the force of his anger. Matches could see it, could feel it in the air. Croc's pride was about to snap.

The final guess came with the weight of inevitability. Croc's hand trembled as he reached into his bag, pulling out his last handful of marbles. "One," he muttered under his breath.

But when he saw Matches' last marble, the fury that had been simmering inside Croc erupted in an explosive burst of anger. With a deafening roar, Croc slammed his fist into the table, smashing it to pieces. Marbles flew in all directions as he stood, his massive form shaking with rage.

"You lose," Matches said flatly, his voice emotionless.

The loudspeaker crackled to life. "Killer Croc has lost. He will be removed from the game."

Croc howled in frustration, but the guards quickly moved in, forcing him to the ground. His rage was unstoppable, but it couldn't stop the inevitable. Croc was dragged away, his voice a low, guttural growl as he was removed from the arena.

Soo-jin sat across from Hae-jin, her face unreadable. She had watched him struggle in previous rounds, and she had taken him under her wing. She had given him hope, advice, and support. But now, it was her or him. There was no escaping that fact. No amount of kindness could change the rules of the game.

"You don't have to do this," Hae-jin said, his voice shaking with fear. "We can figure something out. We don't have to betray each other."

But Soo-jin knew better. She had lived long enough to understand the harsh reality of the game. She could either win or lose. And if she hesitated, if she let him survive, she would die.

They played. The guessing game was as cruel as ever. Each time Hae-jin made a guess, his desperation was evident. But Soo-jin knew the end was near. When the final guess came, she saw the resignation in his eyes.

"You win," he whispered, his voice breaking.

Soo-jin didn't say anything. She simply took the marbles, her chest hollow with guilt. As Hae-jin was escorted away, she felt the weight of what she had just done. He was gone. And she was alive.

Gi-hun glanced around the arena as the last of the marbles games concluded. The weight of his own battle with Lady Shiva still hung heavily over him. The betrayals. The choices. It was all too much to process in one sitting.

He turned his attention back to Matches, who was standing quietly in the corner, his eyes cold and calculating as always. Gi-hun couldn't help but wonder: What did Matches want from this game? What was he truly after?

The game was far from over, and each round brought with it more suffering, more death. The stakes had never been higher. And as the players were herded toward the next round, Gi-hun's heart thundered in his chest. The game wasn't over yet. And now, with each passing moment, it seemed more dangerous than ever.

As the echoes of the final betrayal reverberated through the arena, a heavy silence descended. The tension was palpable, thicker than the humid air that hung in the space. Gi-hun's heart still raced as he stared at Lady Shiva's empty seat across from him. She was gone—eliminated, like so many others before her. The victory had come at an immense cost, but there was no time to mourn. The brutal, unforgiving rules of the game ensured that every success was fleeting, every joy short-lived.

One by one, the other marble games concluded in their own brutal fashion. Min-ho, his face a mixture of disbelief and resignation, was hauled away by the guards. His last words to Ji-eun—a soft plea for mercy—had been drowned by the roar of the audience, or perhaps the echo of his own despair. Ji-eun's heart still felt heavy, but she couldn't allow herself to succumb to the guilt. She had survived, but for how long? Each step toward the next round was a step away from her humanity. But there was no choice in this arena. No room for hesitation.

Across the arena, Soo-jin watched as Hae-jin's frail body was dragged away. Her hands still trembled from the betrayal. She had done what was necessary, but the weight of the game—the weight of every life lost—crushed her in ways the others could never understand. As the last of the marbles had rolled off the table, she had been the victor. But the cost was insurmountable. No amount of victory could undo the sorrow that gnawed at her from the inside.

But nothing in this game was ever as it seemed, and so as the arena settled into its eerie quiet, the announcer's voice cut through the stillness with a finality that struck terror into every player remaining.

"All marble games are concluded. The winners will move on to the next round."

The words, while expected, still carried a chilling weight. Every player who had survived the game—each one who still stood—now shared something deeper than just the knowledge of how to manipulate the rules. They were bound by something far darker: they had each taken a life. Betrayed someone they had trusted. Or worse, had been betrayed. They could never forget it.

Gi-hun took a deep breath and turned away from Lady Shiva's empty seat, steeling himself for whatever came next. The arena was quiet for a brief moment longer as the teams and individuals gathered their things, their bodies and minds worn thin from the games. But the survivors moved forward, towards the next stage, unsure of what horrors awaited them. Each of them had won their marbles through violence and deceit. But victory, as they would learn, wasn't always a relief—it was merely the precursor to more pain.

Killer Croc had been dragged off after his outburst, roaring and thrashing like the animal he was. His defeat at the hands of Matches had been brutal and humiliating. But it wasn't just Croc's loss that had impacted the players. It was the way that Matches had remained stoic, calm, collected. He was not shaken by Croc's fury, nor by the anger that now simmered in the hearts of the remaining players. He had his eyes set on the prize: survival. His eyes remained cold, calculating, and to Gi-hun's dismay, entirely unreadable.

The survivors of the marble games began to shuffle forward, each step bringing them closer to the unknown horrors of the next round. For a fleeting moment, Gi-hun caught the eyes of Soo-jin. She looked as hollow as he felt, as though the very air around them had grown too thin to breathe. A sense of hollow victory filled him as he realized that, despite what they had done, they were no different from the other players. They had all taken the same dark path to get here. There was no redemption, no nobility in their survival. Only the reality that the next round would demand more of them than they had already given.

The arena lights flickered, signaling the end of the marble round. The floor shifted beneath their feet, and the announcer's voice rose again, a mechanical drone that sent shivers down their spines.

"All players are to report to the next stage. The competition continues."

The players shuffled toward the door, the sounds of their footsteps echoing like ghosts in the dark. Gi-hun's thoughts were scattered, but one thing was clear: the true game was just beginning. He could feel the weight of Matches' gaze on him, as if the man could see right through him. The cold, calculated look in his eyes sent a shiver down Gi-hun's spine.

To be continued…