10 LEVELS (On Hold)

11. Eat! Enjoy! Rest!

"Siya, you literally saved our lives!", I exclaimed happily. I don't think I've ever felt happier than right now....but also never more exhausted. I wanted nothing more than a sound sleep.

"Well done!", a voice said - a voice that would definitely not mean anything good. I turned around a full circle to find the guy with blue hairs and eye tattoo - sitting on a black throne, embedded with jewels on the borders of the back. The jewels were all sapphire I guess, they were just so blue. I loved them. And they were such a stark contrast to the black leather that they bordered.

He was leaning against the right arm of the throne, in the most casual way possible. But still, he looked powerful, as though he ruled the world. Which was actually true in this world.

There was something at his feet, it took me sometime to realise that it was tge monster-woman -- or whatever was left of her anyways.

Just as I was looking at her, she began to morph into something. She became smaller and smaller until she was no longer the monster-woman.

The guy snapped his fingers and whatever she had morphed into slowly started to rise up. It was small - around the size of my palm (my hands are really small, by the way). It came near us and stopped, hovering in air. Skyla snatched it and we all crowded around her to see what's the thing.

It was a heart, well actually half of a heart. It had a silver lining around it and a red jewel was embedded inside. It had a jagged edge - as though it had been broken.

"It's something you'll need for the next level," the blue haired dude said.

"Who are you?", I asked.

"I think I've answered that question before."

"No! Like what's your name? Where are you from?"

"Why don't you ask the actual question that you wanna ask?"

Well, if that's what he wants. "Why are you doing all this? Why do we have to play your stupid game?", I asked, my voice had an edge of desperation in it. I wanted to know why.

"I can't answer that," he said - that's it. No explanation, no reason, no NOTHING! Just a simple answer in an awfully simple tone.

"But still, what's your name?", Yoyo asked.

"You can call me Jake," he said. "In this world," he added.

"Any other questions?", he asked in a bored tone.

"Yes actually!" It was Skyla this time. "You said we were live  around the world. What did you mean by that?" He looked straight at us now, some interest finally showed in his eyes. He quit leaning and sat up straight. His arms rested on the arms of the throne and he really looked like a king.

"Hmmm.....Well, right now you aren't. You see, whenever you're in a level, playing," he started saying when I and Siya snorted at the word 'playing'.

He stopped for a moment, his hovering over us as he decided whether to react to it or not. He decided on no and continued, "As I was saying, you've been live since the moment you entered level 1. Right now, though, you aren't. It's gonna be this way, everytime."