I shut my eyes. I felt something absorbing me and I felt a gush of sharp wind slash against my skin and then, again, I felt the calm steady air again, I tore my eyes open. The night sky stretched over me like a black curtain decorated with dots of lights. The wind whistled and played with strands of my hair.
The sky was crystal clear without any sign of clouds instead of the bright full moon proudly stood over the large crowd of participants. The silver-grey moon blazed brightly like a burning fire and it blinded me like fire. It illuminated the whole open court. The tall gray marble walls reached up to the sky and it surrounded us, trapping us into this place. There was no escape except for the large entrance at the back
. There was a carpet of green grasses that looked like swords and daggers. Amongst the dark green there were specks of red roses which soon crawled up to the wall staining the wall with red paint like blood. The strong smell of roses and wet grass stabbed my nose blurring all my senses like a dangerous toxic. Between the roses there were its ominous thorns which stood proudly showing their sharp teeth, ready to bite anyone who came near.
Then across the court there firmly stood an iron throne. It stood tall and proud glistening in the dark, reflecting the moon’s light. It looked as if it was made out of the finest iron and steel.
Even from this distance, I could see the golden carvings on the throne shimmering in the light. There were some writings with angry jagged edges and some with soft, calm curves. Despite good knowledge of languages, I did not know what it meant and I was extremely glad.
Something about this writing was not right and was dark like a shadow lurking in the corners. But whatever the writing meant the throne was a reminder and a sign for everyone. Reminding them of the purpose of the game.
Only one could be the winner. Only one could claim the prize. Only one.
And most of all I hated that reminder. Amongst the sea of hope that sign, that reminder was like a storm which could destroy every speck of hope.
That reminder always told me that the wish was not something for free. That reminder told me that I had to be the first among all the participants to change my life. Was I truly ready for it? Was I ready to step on every participant to get to the top?
I held my breath. Sweat trickled down my forehead and my heart raced faster and faster. The tension did not let go of me, there were too many participants. Could I be the lucky one? I wondered. I would be very lucky if I even survived the first round. I just had to wish that everyone would fail.
My mouth was dry and I felt dizzy. The people in front of me blurred with the sky and my legs fiercely shook.
I was in desperate need of water.
I quickly pushed through the crowds and swam through them dodging to side to side trying not to bump and knockdown. Finally, I could see the walls again as I ducked the last barrier between me and the wall. I felt as If I had swum out of the water, I could breathe again, I inhaled the fresh night air again. I blinked my eyes to comprehend what was in front of me.
To my chagrin, there were cups filled with water. It was probably for thirsty participants. At least there was something good in this hellish place. With sudden joy and excitement, I urgently grabbed the cup and lifted it to my face and was about to drop it into my mouth until a warning voice halted me.
"You might not want to drink that." Two figures appeared behind me. I crinkled my eyes and one had a figure of a man while right next to him was a woman.
They both had similar features. They had the most stunning dark green eyes like a bright emerald. Their hair was nothing I had seen before. It was neat, shiny brownish-red not quite red but not so brown. They both wore pure white like the feather of a dove, which fitted their body like magic showing his strong muscles and her perfect curves.
The sword around his waist was very prominent which reflected the moon. It was sharp and enormous. I wondered how he managed to hold it when he used it.
"It's a better idea to put that back." He repeated pointing at the cup I was holding.
I blinked and raised my eyebrows.
"Well if you want to die from the start, sure, you may drink that." edge of his mouth rose.
" Its a poison made out of roses. We call them roses blood. Certainly not safe to drink them. It is better to die with a sword than this because this can kill you really painfully and I'm pretty sure of it. Just......" his words were swallowed by a sudden deafening scream. I quickly turned around, my eyes searched for the origin of the sound.
Then I found a man on the ground, who was still screaming with agony, not so far from where I was standing. He held the cup in his hand and there was liquid spilled next to him which was smoldering. I could hear a hissing sound as the poison slowly melting down the marble floor. It was like a venomous snake engulfing its prey.
This was probably happening in his guts. He screamed again in pain. He rolled on the ground as if to put off a fire inside him. I couldn't see his face properly but his face was turning into grayish color and his eyes turned white and transparent.
He swung his fists into the air and he gripped his chest tightly. He vomited black blood onto the grass, the blood started to melt the grass as if it was just a piece of ice. The smell of blood and vomit filled the air, and he shrieked again "It's better to die quickly than to die slowly" I heard the girl murmur into her brother’s ear.
"Move everyone!" He shouted. And he shot out some kind of blinding light out of his hands and the man on the floor disappeared leaving only pure black, hellish dust on the ground.
My jaw dropped. What had he done? This place was even more mysterious than she had thought. Rose poisons which make u insane, people wearing massive swords, weird ominous, pale, white light shooting out of boy's hands. Was this normal here? I bet it was because most of the people seemed to look at the dust as if it was something normal. People were dying in front of their own eyes whilst they managed to remain placid and solemn.
This place was somewhat more than I had imagined to be, as I learned this world more, the more I didn’t understand this world.
He poured mud over the cruel remains and He came a step closer to me. " That happens to people who drink that thing." He pointed at the cup I was still holding. He seemed to dislike it very much but the tone he said "that thing."
I just stood still. Astonished and shocked for I had never seen anyone die like this. My feet were locked to the ground and my eyes were paralyzed. I looked at the liquid in the cup again swirling the cup in my hands. They looked weirdly normal, it just looked like water, I didn’t know how could something so small possibly pose a threat to people. I carefully placed the cup back to were it belonged.
He smirked when he read my expression.
" Your welcome." He whispered in my ears. His green eyes gleaming with mysterious amusement " My name is Michael in case you want to thank me again once you understand how close you came to dying."
I was still in the same spot frozen. I hadn’t expected anything like this.
Soon the tension and murmurs died into silence and everyone turned their attention to something above their heads.
" Ladies and Gentlemen.....!" Someone announced loudly. I darted my eye across the crowd and then I glanced up in the sky. There stood the man who had led me to this game. The man with the black mask.
" and of course our esteemed dear staffs, the Black Cards" He pointed with his black stick to the people who were standing, no wait, floating in the air next to him. There were stunning men and women. They all wore black clothes with silver daggers by their side. They were the organizers and staff of the game.
"I warmly welcome you all to the End Game! We are starting the next round. Interesting thing is, there are few changes to the rules this time. "
He smiled and took out an old black scroll from his back. The uncurled it. He looked into it and his eyes widened.
" Well, there are a few unexpected changes. Hmm, Interesting. New participants get to have a minor staff assisting them until they finally adjust to the game like other participants. And there will be more staff on guard during the game to prevent unfairness and exploiting."
He then looked up from the scroll." This is it and as you know remaining rules are the same. This game will take place in roses castle. The theme of the game is the royal ball. As you all know the time is limited to one month. You have to win this round to get to the final round. New participants can hear the rules from the assistants.”
Then he clutched his hands and were about to go but then he suddenly turned. " Forgot to mention the most important thing.” He paused for a second.” Your mission is to find Teressa young. She will tell you the way to end this game. “
My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open. Teressa young was my mother’s name. My name was Riana young daughter of Teressa young. My heart thudded with fear and confusion. What was she doing in End game? Was it a good thing that I had more clues or was it bad that I had to face pain and sorrow again? I was entirely clueless.
“Good luck everyone, may the odds be in your favor!"
"For a Wish, a New beginning and a Dead end" everyone responded together.
The host disappeared into the thin air.
The Game had finally started
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Hello, guys thanks for reading till here. It was a lot of effort. Phew
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