The Death's Game

50. Game of Confessions

"What do you mean, this isn't your first game? Have you played it before?" Percy asked, shocked by Ryder's revelation. "Did you win? And you ended up here again?"

Ryder clenched his lips, recalling all his previous games. "It's just not my first game," he repeated. To Percy, it was clear that he had simply played before, but in reality, it was something entirely different.

"Is that why you're so skeptical?" Percy furrowed her brow, wondering how much cruelty Ryder had experienced in his past games.

"I've seen what people do to save themselves. Everything else ceases to matter. There's no humanity left in it," Ryder explained. That's why the games had stopped. They were meant to be a second chance but had turned into a deadly battle for the top spot. Some even found pleasure in it.

"Not every game has to be the same," Percy disagreed, but Ryder had already seen what happened in her game. Friends she trusted weren't as perfect as she thought, especially Blake.

"Each one is different," Ryder admitted.

Percy had many questions but didn't want to overwhelm Ryder or force him to remember something she believed was a nightmare for him. "Does the game always look the same?"

"No, of course not."

"What did your game look like?" Percy finally dared to ask.

"Every game has something unique. Something that wasn't there before. Some gifts repeat. Levels usually don't," Ryder replied.

Percy cleared her throat. "It sounds like you've participated in the game quite a few times."

"You could say I just know everything about this game," Ryder replied.

Percy was curious about the backstory of this revelation. On the other hand, she was sure that if she won the game and came back to life, she would also want to learn everything possible about the game, about death, about everything.

However, according to her memories, she should have already known all of it.

"What else do you know? About the supernatural world?" Percy dared to ask, wondering if she could find an ally in Ryder.

"Everything," he replied, confirming her suspicions.

"About Death? About its reapers? About demons? About all the other paranormal entities?"

He wasn't surprised by her words, nor did he look at her as if she were unserious. That meant he knew. He knew everything she once knew before she lost her memories.

"What do you know about all of this?" he inquired.

"I don't know," her gaze shifted to the key lying on her backpack, which she wanted to reach. "In the previous level, together with Millie, we found ourselves in a very strange room. As you know, I don't remember parts of my life. In that room, I remembered some things. For example, I know quite a bit about the supernatural world. Still not enough, though. I can't remember everything, unfortunately."

That's what Ryder had expected. That's why Percy was supposed to get that key. She was supposed to remember. Still, she couldn't recall anything related to him. It meant her mind was focused on entirely different topics than what concerned their past.

"For example?" he probed.

She looked at him seriously. Maybe everyone should know, after all. "I know Mint. And she's not human. She's one of Death's reapers. And she really wants to kill me, although I still don't fully understand why."

She knew that the story she had seen in that room had its continuation and ending. She also knew that she didn't end up in this game for no reason. Everything was happening for a purpose she didn't know.