All the participants had gathered on Ryujima Island. It sounded almost like "all the condemned have arrived for their execution." Though, to be honest, with this weather, an execution would probably feel warmer.
The game was supposed to begin as soon as the mistress of the manor appeared before the players. But, as is often the case with "supposed to," things didn't go according to plan.
Two people arrived on the island.
Two. Instead of one. Was that normal? Or was this perfectly in the spirit of such a game, to have the rules broken from the very start? Or perhaps this was the rule, and we simply didn't know? Or... or... or.
And while the four participants stood in an awkward square of bewilderment, Tiamut was, of course, the first to come to life.
Without warning, without a pause, without any internal dialogue.
She simply ran.
She bolted straight toward the stranger standing next to a guy who looked like your typical anime high schooler: soaked to the bone and wearing an expression like he'd just been given a failing grade at life.
"It is you..." Tiamut exhaled, and an avalanche of words poured from her lips. "I could not even imagine! I mean, I could. But not here! I am so happy... Why are you here? Are... are you participating as well?"
She said it all in a single breath. She clung to him, refusing to let go with either her hands or her words. It was a hug of the "too many feelings not to be touching" variety.
"Shhh," he whispered. "Now is not the time. Or the place. And anyway, keep it down. We'll talk later, or everyone will stare and... they might get the wrong idea."
"Ah! Right!" She recoiled as if she'd suddenly remembered gravity. "I completely forgot about them when I saw you!"
"And one more thing. Drop the formalities. There is no need for 'Sir' or 'You' with me here."
There was no need for anything here except an attempt to survive, but that would come later.
The two of them sat on the vacant sofa. The second sofa. The one facing the others, as if they were preparing for an interrogation. Or a trial.
"Right, I suggest we start by stating our names," one of those already seated began. There was something weary yet resolute in his voice. "It's awkward, you know, staring at someone you've never met. I'll start. Yahweh."
"Hov," the second one replied briefly.
"Aragi," the third said, adding in an almost apologetic tone, "Nice to meet you. Though I'm a bit in shock. So many famous faces. I didn't expect this."
"Enua," the fourth snapped gloomily. "I suspect some of you have no use for my name. Just as I have none for yours."
Enua's eyes lingered on the new participant. It was a long, heavy gaze, as if he recognized someone in him. Or as if he didn't, and that was worse.
"Kamiki," the man replied, as if reading his thoughts.
"Tia..."
The living room door swung open. And then... a fanfare of silence. Cheryl and Morgana entered, and behind them, a woman with golden hair wearing a medieval-era dress.
"Attention, all participants!" Cheryl thundered. "The Mistress has arrived!"
And as if on cue, as if someone had pressed a collective "STAND" button, everyone rose. Instinctively. Without resistance. Even those who had no intention of standing.
Because she was standing before them.
With a cane in her hand and an expression that said, "I am not just the hostess. I am a witch."
"Greetings," she said with a faint smile that promised nothing easy. "As you may have guessed, I am the mistress of this island, Mariana. All six participants are finally gathered. Now, please, introduce yourselves and tell me why you have come."
And they began to speak.
One by one.
"My name is Yahweh. I came here to fulfill a wish. One I didn't have time to realize during my lifetime."
"Enua. A wish. Death. The past."
He said it as if he had already lost. Even though the game hadn't even started.
"Hov. I'm here for the same reason, except my wish isn't just a dream."
"My name is Tiamut!" The voice, by contrast, sounded almost joyful, nearly too joyful. "And I... I don't know why I'm here."
Then, unexpectedly, she added:
"But after he appeared, I realized my presence wasn't a mistake. It's fate."
She straightened up as if she were about to deliver a speech from a podium.
"And I will fight for him. So that he wins."
At that point, even the air in the room seemed to tilt from the tension.
"Ooh," Mariana hummed with a slight, very slight smirk. "How very interesting. To fight not for yourself, but for another? In my game?"
She laughed softly.
"Hyuh-huh-huh... unusual. Impractical."
She clearly liked it.
"Kamiki," the next one answered. "I am here to fulfill a cherished dream. And..."
He trailed off. Not because he didn't want to speak, but because his eyes met hers.
Mariana's. The Mistress. The Witch.
He didn't look away, and neither did she.
"I suppose it's my turn," the last participant sighed. "Aragi. You already know why I'm here. I imagine explaining it to you is like explaining the start of a movie to the director who filmed it."
He shrugged.
"I don't think details are necessary."
"Wonderful," the witch said.
She spoke as if she were announcing the end of the world. Calmly, smoothly, even a bit ceremoniously.
"Then... let us begin."
A pause. Not a dramatic one. Just... a pause.
"I declare our Great Game open."
She clapped her hands. No lights, no fireworks, no fanfares. Only her voice.
"Ryujima Island exists but once an eternity. And each time it is for a single purpose. If at the end of six days even one participant remains alive, the game is considered complete. And the one who survives... will receive an answer. One."
"And the fulfillment of one wish. Any wish. From me."
Here, her voice turned soft. Almost tender.
"Naturally, your task is to stay alive until the end. Or... kill me. Yes, yes, it's quite simple. Kill the witch and win." She tilted her head as if telling a fairy tale to children. "In other words... this is a game to the death."
Silence. Again.
But this time it wasn't awkward, it was terrifying.
It had finally sunk in.
Six participants. One winner, the rest extras. Or corpses. This wasn't a game of survival. It was a game of everyone else's defeat.
"And now..." She bowed deeply, as if she had just finished a concert. "Allow me to take my leave. The rules are simple: kill each other... or die together. In any case, you will not defeat me, the great, all-powerful, divinely cruel witch of Ryujima!haha-ha-haha-gh-kh!!"
She disappeared. Or rather, she walked out like a normal person. But the effect was that of a disappearance.
"Damn it!" Yahweh was the first to snap. He clutched his head as if it were about to fly off. "I knew there would be something strange here... but this?"
"Playing" for death sounded like a very crude metaphor for life. Or a very accurate one.
"Making us kill each other," Hov muttered. "It's madness. I don't intend to spill the blood of my comrade. Especially someone I've stood shoulder to shoulder with..."
He cut himself off because at that moment, as if on cue, someone joined the dialogue.
"And what about me?" a voice said calmly, almost elegantly. "I am the one you fought with then, and against. The one you called your worst enemy. The one because of whom your allies died."
Enua. The words in his mouth sounded not like a confession, but like a fact entered into an archive.
"Now is not the time to talk about the past," Yahweh answered coldly. "Yes, you were our enemy. Perhaps you still are."
"But the witch wants us to remember that. She wants it to divide us. A convenient tactic, isn't it?"
"So the witch really is going to fight against us," Kamiki said.
He didn't look surprised. He looked... like a man who had already read the script.
"There were supposed to be five of us," Hov noted. "Where did you come from?"
He looked at Kamiki like an extra line in a will.
"Yes," Kamiki replied calmly. "I am the sixth. Apparently, the rules have changed, or perhaps they weren't clear from the start. Who knows?"
He shrugged. There was no defiance in his voice, nor fear. Only indifference mixed with politeness.
"That's not what matters now," he continued. "What matters now is thinking about how to survive the night."
And then, the thing no one expected but everyone accepted: the split into groups.
"Of course, maybe it's not the best idea..." Hov began. "But there's no other choice."
"Enua is our enemy. We don't know the others at all," Yahweh added.
Our plan with Yahweh is simple. We've split into groups. In the first, it's him and me, we trust each other. That's already something. The second is Tiamut and Kamiki. She rushed to him as if to her salvation. That means she trusts him. And the third... Enua and Aragi. The strangest one. They are strangers to each other and to us. That's where the most interesting things will begin, if they begin at all.
And they certainly would begin. That was the whole point of the witch's game.
"What about the servants?" Hov asked, as if recalling a forgotten file. "Remember, Gerudo said he's worked here the longest? Even longer than Cheryl and Morgana."
"We can't trust them," Yahweh replied. "They could be her spies, or part of the game."
And there it was again: doubt. Not just between the players, but between them and... everything else.
The servants. The house. The witch. Everything was suspicious, even the air.
Five participants, they had said, but it turned out there were six. Who's to say a seventh player isn't someone wearing an apron?
The clock struck ten.
The living room was still full. No one was leaving. Not because they didn't want to, but because they were afraid to be the first to go. Cheryl and Morgana were still at their posts. Yahweh and Hov were discussing something, the others were silent or pretending to be.
And finally, a voice.
"Aragi... right?" Enua addressed him. "You and I are in the same group. I think we should get to know each other. Where are you from?"
"If I told you, you wouldn't recognize it," Aragi shrugged. "Because I'm not from this time."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"I'm from the future," he said simply. "From the one where humanity lost, where everything was erased. Where only the X-creatures remain."
"X-creatures?"
"They don't have a name. I made it up. They destroyed everything: people, cities, memories. I was born after the end."
Enua fell silent.
"But how do you know us?" he finally asked. "You appeared after we vanished."
"A certain acquaintance..." Aragi smiled. "She knows almost everything. It's convenient. Especially when you're one of the few who survived. I didn't come here for myself, but for my world."
"Why alone?"
"Because it's better this way. Because... I don't want to watch anyone die."
"Hm. That's heavy."
"Perhaps, but I'm ready. Even if I die."
Enua, for the first time all evening, looked impressed.
"You're... a rather interesting person, Aragi."
"I'm just doing what I must."
He is being honest. But... honesty isn't an ally here. It's a weakness. Or bait.