The sun was out. It peered over the horizon, an orange ball of blaze and magma. With it came a sweltering heat unheard of. The air rippled and the flora wilted and drooped. The sky hung over the flora and fauna like a guillotine. The fauna in question was a single boy. He had long black hair, golden eyes and dark skin. Adorning him was a selection of golden jewellery and bangles that made him resemble a Pharaoh.
His eyes were fierce and determined. His bare arms and chest were toned and developed. Even his hair, which was usually messy, seemed to be perfectly coiffed. But his shoulders sagged with an indiscernible weight.
That weight was soon discovered to be the numbing, gnawing feeling of thirst gnawing away at him. The boy had been walking for hours, trying to find any source of water. Yet, the world denied him water. Even in this grassy meadow, where water should lie in plenty, there was not even a drop of dew resting atop the blades of grass. The earthy soil itself had cracked and crusted, leaving behind thousands of seams that bore into the earth itself. Here, water was an unknown.
Sooo thirsty… The boy thought. He had been wandering in the same general direction for some time. He had already begun to ration the last echoes of water left in his system.
He did this by taking short breaks whenever he could, not uttering a single word and avoiding any inclines or declines. He didn't know what had compelled him to walk in this direction. Yet, he believed there would be water there.
As a result, he wouldn't despair.
He had made this choice on his own to walk this path. So whatever the consequences of his choice were, he'd bear them. For he was Anyasu Shantarra– a big brother and a prodigy. He wouldn't lose in whatever trial lay before him.
With that newfound resolve, Anyasu pressed onwards in search of water.
Then finally, he noticed a discernible change in the landscape. The grass began to decolour. The sun had now projected itself over the horizon like a sinking, shimmering ship. As it receded behind the horizon line, it seemed to magnify in appearance, donning a volcanic hue.
The ground had finally eroded into small pellets that made up the infinite grains of sand in the land known as a desert. Anyasu had always wondered what made up the desert, but now he could reasonably conclude it. It was the wind, wasn't it? Sand was carried by the wind and then settled in deserts. He puffed his chest out a little. He could go further into the process, but he had to focus on his method of water rationing. So he scanned his environs once again.
"Finally…!" he huffed. He had discovered water. He was drawn into the crystal hue and the dead calmness of the water. If he didn't know any better, he would have booked it towards the water source.
But fortunately, life had taught him that taking a step back and thinking rationally was the most beneficial method to ensuring survival in conditions such as these.
When he arrived at the source, he noticed that the water seemed too calm and the colour too light. Usually, large water sources were saturated, but this source seemed to be over-saturated; its colour was aqua. It could be a pool of liquid nickel, or copper. Or, even sulphur! Either way, he had to avoid it.
"Well, that sucks… I guess I won't be able to drink anything then," He said, "But I'm so thirsty I could die!"
"Don't fret, boy. This water is completely safe," a confident voice said.
"But its colour-"
"This water is a reflection of your tastes and desires. It is this colour because you wish for it to be," said a voice; it sounded timeless and charismatic.
Anyasu finally registered that the voice was foreign and peered up. Only to be met with what one would call a divine being. The creature emanated a fiery, golden aura and adorning itself was an innumerable number of jewels, heirlooms and bangles.
Every single one of them seemed to be made out of rare and expensive metals. Anyasu could guess that some of them were made out of Gold, silver, and Platinum. The creature had two massive discs in its ears and golden hoop earrings; it also seemed to have a taste for the luxurious because flowing majestically behind it was a purple cape.
The creature itself was charred, black. Its body resembled that of a mummy. were hollowed out yet emanated a dull golden glow. It wore a shaman's hat, and its shoes were crooked and orange.
Overall, the rather arcane look served to amplify the feeling of impending doom that Anyasu had. With its scruffy yet kingly visage and a golden sceptre in its right hand, Anyasu couldn't help but want to kneel. Yet, he knew better.
In its presence, one could say that all living beings should submit. With the overflowing pressure emanating from this creature, it'd be hard not to.
"Trust me, for I am the one who bestowed the feeling of extreme thirst upon you," It said. "Thus, that feeling of thirst and the need for survival guided you to where you were needed most."
"So, in other words… You forced me to walk here against my will?!" Anyasu shouted. A being beyond his understanding had manipulated him into following a set path. That was something that irked Anyasu the most. But most importantly, that meant that his dreadful, clawing thirst was no more than a nagging sensation. He was never at risk of death.
"My condolences, but I needed you here; if you didn't, then we wouldn't be able to play that game." It spoke.
"What game?"
"It is called 'The gateway to the divine'. This game has been played by kings, gods and mythical creatures alike." The ethereal being replied.
"So, you want me to play a game with you? Just so you know, I've never lost a game before," Anyasu declared, puffing his chest slightly.
"Yes, I do. All you must do now is follow me to the place where we shall engage in the ritual." It said, pointing over to something that was not there before. A large, 4-sided triangle with a square base. It was a pyramid. It was old and worn, of a husky greyish colour. It looked as if it could have crumbled apart like a stack of building blocks any second. Yet, planted smack-dab in the middle of the structure was an unfamiliar symbol.
It was bluish and had several appendages. Anyasu focused his eyes to gain further insight into it. It was like a claw mark, with three blue gashes torn into the Pyramid. Light blue orbs seemed to flow out of the pyramid like its own feverish sort of blood. Anyasu could only stare in wonder and exhilaration at the sight.
He turned towards the chaotic figure. His irises trembled in jubilation as he balled his fists. Then, ecstatically, he hopped up and down as he asked the creature to relay everything it knew about such a wonder.
"That's so cool! How was it built? Do you know?! I must know! I've never seen such a unique pyramid before! And what's with the blue?!" He yelled. His voice resounded throughout the desolate area. He was still alone. The creature stared at him for a second. Anyasu couldn't tell because of its deep, hollowed-out eyes, but he believed it was scrutinising him– that much he was certain of.
"If it would make you follow me to the pyramid, I will." It said.
"Of course! Don't worry, I had no intention of not going inside. After all, there's still much to learn about the inner workings of the pyramid." He reassured the spirit.
Then, they both began journeying towards the pyramid. As this occurred, Anyasu still felt the gnawing, encroaching feeling of thirst, but now knowing it was just an illusion – he could simply ignore it. However, that brought up an interesting question– why did the spirit never revoke his feeling of thirst?
"I am the creator of this pyramid."
"So, it's you!"
"It was intended to be the judgement grounds of spirits. To decide what path they'd follow in life or death."
"So, like mummies and Anubis?"
"No. It was supposed to be a judgement ground to assess whether or not a spirit possessed Divine qualities or Chaotic qualities." It said, hovering above him. It seemed to quite enjoy talking about this topic, considering the wealth of valuable information that Anyasu was receiving.
"Divine and Chaotic…" There was something familiar with the way those terms were grouped, but the boy couldn't quite piece it together.
"Must I explain everything? Surely one such as yourself should have figured it out now."
"No, I don't understand. For some reason, when I try to… my head really hurts," Anyasu said, struggling. He really was telling the truth. The moment he felt like he was at the crux of something, his head was overcome with extreme pain as if his skull was being forcefully cracked open like an egg.
"Interesting. We're almost there, challenger." It said, looking back. The golden glow in its hollowed-out eyes looked different. More intense, more ferocious, more saturated.
"Challenger, huh? This game better be good; you're taking up my dream time here." Anyasu responded with a smirk. This dream really was one of the more eccentric ones. He definitely wouldn't remember it as an ephemeral experience.
Then, the being murmured something that went unheard to Anyasu.
"This place is a 'Dream'? What a fool you are."
"Anyhow, you never told me your name. What sort of creature are you even supposed to be?"
Anyasu asked. He found it imperative that he found out the name of his challenger. After all, hardly anyone could beat him when it came to puzzles, logic and gaming, so it meant that they were rather talented themselves if they could pose a challenge or even beat him.
"My name is Ayana."
"Wow! Your name sounds rather similar to my own! Does that mean it has the same sort of meaning? My names Anyasu! Do you think you could tell me the meaning of our names?"
"No." It said blankly.
"Hey! Why not!"
"I would if I could," It said. At this, Anyasu came to a sort of revelation. Maybe it couldn't because it was accessing its knowledge from a source that didn't know the meaning. In other words, it was using him.
If he made that assumption, then it'd mean that this creature knew everything about his vast wealth of knowledge and experiences. It also meant that it had additional knowledge through its knowledge of the rules of this world, which Anyasu wasn't given.
He shut his eyes forcefully for a moment, as if in deep thought. When he opened his eyes, nothing had changed– his level of knowledge about this world and the landscape remained the same. Not a lucid dream then…
A bead of sweat trickled down Anyasu's face. With the gap in knowledge, he'd be at a disadvantage. They hadn't even arrived at the arena, and yet he already had a significant wall to climb– how exhilarating! He smirked.
The entrance to the pyramid was now front and centre. They were facing the side where the gashes were. Spheres of blue of varying opacity emerged out of the pyramid; all of them were floating upwards like a gas.
"I never realised from afar, but it looks so… arcane."
The entrance of the pyramid itself was rather interesting. It didn't have a proper entrance. Instead, it was more like a hole had been punched through it in a rush. With fragmented rock piled on the floor and the entrance resembling anything but a regular shape.
"What are you waiting for, challenger? We have a game to play," The being older than time said.
"That's true; we do have a game to play, but what are the rules of the game anyway?" Anyasu asked, bewildered. Going into a game with no idea how to play spelt trouble– it was an easy weakness for more experienced players to pick apart and exploit like vultures.
"First we must get to the game room, then we will deliberate about the proceedings in due time," It replied. It was beginning to sound increasingly similar to a politician. The way it seemed to dodge questions.
As they continued walking into the pyramid, the cold, dead, grey walls of the pyramid seemed to close in on them like an iron maiden– the light slowly drained from all sides of the incredibly long walkway. At some point, all Anyasu could see was the golden hue of the glow emitted by Ayana's eyes. There was something powerful, mystical and ancient about Ayana. But Anyasu didn't care for that.
Finally, Anyasu was overcome with light. His eyes struggled to adjust to the change in intensity. He noticed a rather large table. With it, there were two stone seats. The table itself was made of some sort of expensive gold, but in the centre was something of unknown origin.
It was a hole. A square-shaped hole and, coming out of it, were bright blue spheres– the same as the sort that were floating out of the pyramid. This gave Anyasu a clue.
"This won't be the regular sort of game, will it?"
"I did say that this game was played by kings, gods and mythical creatures, didn't I? Why would they play such a game for recreational purposes?"
"Well, can you tell me the rules then? Or are you having fun hoarding all the advantages to yourself and making this less of a wall and more of a mountain to climb?"
"You're spirited." It spoke.
"Duh. Now get on with it."
"This game is a representation of the path to divinity. Therefore, the goal of the game is to achieve one of two things. You either 'rank-up' or 'become free'."
"I'm guessing 'rank-up' is achieving divinity. But then what is 'becoming free'?"
"'Becoming free' is being free of the godly cycle. There, your fate is unbounded."
There it was. That choice. That choice that Anyasu had been searching for. He was being offered that choice on a silver platter. Of course, he'd reject destiny.