Chapter III: 02 November 2023

Tony Stark once said: "I never trust a man without a dark side." That is a wise life choice… because everyone has a dark side of which they mask from society. Yes, I'm quoting Iron Man. He was a legend and remains a legend. Moving on…

Everybody has three faces. A public face, a private face, and a secret face. The dark side lies deep within the secret face. Where every wrongdoing and every evil thought or action slumbers.

A person without that is an oddity and therefore dangerous.

This is our societal concept construct. A notion made to fool us into believing that we are free. Nonetheless, this notion provides order and peace in a world filled with chaos and war. For that reason, we live with it. Hiding what lies within from the world. A face that would make life a multitude of levels worse for you if others could take a peep at it.

And that face is what had almost slipped today because of that wretched woman. Oh, how I loathe you, Nyx.

And just to rub salt in the wound, the CEO decided the perfect game to be played next is Truth or Lie. Of course. It's the perfect game to create a solid tear in the players. To make this sick thing even more 'entertaining' for them.

So, this is how the game's going to play out.

 OPTIONS

1. Players Selected for the Dungeon Games.

2. Possible Rewards

3.First Three Games and the Rewards and Punishments

 thereof.

4. Day Two Gameplay

Game 02: Truth or Lie will proceed as follows:

{Teams are required in this game. The teams will consist of two players each to form a duo. This duo will proceed to challenge the other teams to a game of Truth or Lie. That will be fifteen teams of two.

Killing is allowed during this game; however the killing must have a valid and detailed reason, otherwise it is counted as a forfeit. "Having the sudden urge to" is not a valid, detailed reason.

There can only be one team who wins. Rest of the details will be explained thirty minutes before the game begins.

Mona will decide who pairs up as a team.

The game lasts for 19 hours. 

Good luck.}

5. Terms & Conditions

I chuckled lightly.

I can never take that Terms & Conditions seriously. That aside, off the information that I got, I understand why nobody was supposed to die in the first game.

The fact that killing is allowed in any form is still a terrifying factor. Not to mention that others may find out who I used to be.

This is troubling.

The players were gathered together in the same auditorium as before. Most were yawning because they were awakened. Amongst them stood the seven-foot-tall phenomenon, Evander Anakin, with a malicious grin of his face. Clearly excited for this game.

They lined us up at 23:30, thirty minutes before midnight and five hours and thirty minutes after the end of the first "Game". I don't know if they plan to inspire fear or dominate over us players and neither do I care.

All I am here to do is KILL.

I came here to crush heads and leave that boring prison. Crushing the heads of criminals seems like some help to society. And my killing helps nobody but me.

To see the blood pop and gush from their brains like a damn watermelon. THAT… That is my reason for being here. And this superpower I got will be an awesome way to make their brains go pop.

And my first victim will be… Player 01. That Lillith bitch! I don't know who she thinks she is, but once I get my hands on her, she'll beg for help, kiss my shoes to let her go.

Which I won't do, of course… but I'll give her the illusion of hope, just to CRUSH it all in my hands.

It will be exceptionally delicious. 

I'm coming for you, Player 01.

Shira was shivering from the news. Killing being allowed and all. I raised my brow at Anakin's hideous face and sighed.

Lillith's eyes were dead set on me, and Anakin's eyes were on her. She was completely unfazed.

"Welcome to our second game. Game 02: Truth or Lie. The rules are as follows:

The players will be divided into teams of two. That will be fifteen teams.

The winner of the game will be decided by how many players they can eliminate from the game. 

Killing is allowed.

The game will work like this. A player from one team will as another player from another team "Truth or Lie". That player will then choose between the two and the player who asked will ask a question. The one who was asked will then either tell a truth or a lie.

A player may only ask another player three questions. In other words, three questions per player/per ask.

Each player only gets two lies per player and per ask. In other words, you can only choose to lie twice from the same player.

If a player lies when they have chosen truth, they are eliminated.

The game will begin at 00:00 and end at 19:00.

Mona will decide who will be in which team.

Good Luck."

The same hologram popped up and explained the rules to us. For a group of homicidal maniacs, it is actually a very calculated gameplay.

"THE TEAMS WILL NOW BE FORMED.

TEAM 01: PLAYER 09 – IRINA, EKATERINA & PLAYER 15 – FLETCHER, FELIX

TEAM 02: PLAYER 01 – NYX, LILLITH & PLAYER 02 – MONTANA, HALLAM

TEAM 03: PLAYER 20 – KRUGER, DOMINIC & PLAYER 11 – YAEL, HANNAH

TEAM 04: PLAYER 06 – LYCIDAS, PHOENIX & PLAYER 03: BEAU, JANUS

TEAM 05: PLAYER 08 – ANAKIN, EVANDER & PLAYER 05 – SILVERTON, SHIRA

TEAM 06: PLAYER 12 – LEVI, OLIVER & PLAYER 04 – KRUGER, DRACO

TEAM 07: PLAYER 14 – ADONIS, THESEUS & PLAYER 07 – HIROSHI, JUN

TEAM 08: PLAYER 13 – JERICHO, ASHLEY & PLAYER 24 – GATE, JEFFREY

TEAM 09: PLAYER 30 – MAKINO, KAI & PLAYER 28 – IRINA, YELENA

TEAM 10: PLAYER 31 - Lǎoshǔ, NEZUMI & PLAYER 22 – TORAHIKO, GENKI

TEAM 11: PLAYER 19 – KHAN, KIAAN & PLAYER 10 - WOLFGANG, HANS

TEAM 12: PLAYER 27 – ADDISON, ASH & PLAYER 16 – FORREST, MICHAEL

TEAM 13: PLAYER 17 – GONZALES, GABRIELA & PLAYER 29 – HAYASHI, NATASHA

TEAM 14: PLAYER 18 – FENG, LING & PLAYER 21 – FREEMAN, LUAN

TEAM 15: PLAYER 23 – PETERSE, JUANIC & PLAYER 26 – HENDRIX, KEENAN

THESE ARE THE TEAMS THAT WILL PARTICIPATE IN GAME 02: TRUTH OR LIE. FAILURE TO PARTICIPATE RESULTS IN IMMEDIATE DISQUALIFICATION.

GOOD LUCK."

Final words from the A.I. This is very tiresome. And of course, I just had to be teamed up with her. Which automatically makes me a target to that monstrosity standing over there.

With those eyes… he will stop at literally nothing to kill her. Even if that means killing a multitude of players to get to her.

Especially after the discussion from a few hours ago with the rest of the players. Not to mention Shira is on his team. 

I should talk to Genki and Hannah later about "The Plan". 

For now, I should just hang back and wait for the game to start.

I made my way to the wall nearest to me, sitting down and leaning my back against it. I watched them 'socialize' amongst each other. Guess that's all they have to keep them sane.

I pulled out a book from my jacket pocket and began reading where I stopped a few nights ago, before the games. 'The 48 Laws of Power' is quite an interesting read. For those intrigued by manipulation and ruthless power, I guess.

"Well, well, well…" A voice spoke next to me. It was Lillith. I sat and continued reading, unbothered. Although, I did not hear her approach me at all.

"The great Raiko reading '48 Laws of Power'. How befitting." She continued with a grin on her face, one foot leaning against the wall as she stood with her arms crossed.

"Don't call me that." I responded in a monotonous tone, void of emotion.

"Why? That is who you are." She looked down at me, raising a brow in curiosity.

"That is who I WAS. I am no longer Raiko. I am a seventeen-year-old high school student from America. My name is Hallam Derby Drake Montana. Most people call me Derby." My voice did not waver in tone, tempo nor volume.

"You sound like a Raiko to me, and that is who you will remain until I remove your skull from your body, keeping your spine intact, of course. May I ask, why did you change? You were the greatest criminal sensation the world ever knew at such an early age. Anonymous, no identity. You ruled the underground markets and dark forces for six years. Then… poof! You just vanish. Why?" I could feel her gaze, her desire to know.

"No. You may not ask." I answered.

"You are incredibly lucky we are on the same team. Because I definitely would have asked you that very question." She chuckled lightly.

I sighed, getting up before walking away.

"You're right. I am incredibly lucky." I spoke, walking toward the rest of the crowd.

Lillith laughed behind me.

I wonder why she said that during the discussion…

Time: 20:15, One Hour and Forty-Five Minutes after Game 01.

The terrain was manipulated once more after the winners of the previous games were announced. A massive hotel along with a small neighborhood had materialized before us.

It was home to many necessary shopping stores. Hygiene, food, entertainment, and of course, accommodation. Every single one of them were operated by A.I. generated people. They looked very real, but all of them were nothing but shells of an A.I. system, likely MONA. Each player had their own room, each room unique to the player. In other words, our persona dictated the aspects of the rooms.

Mine was medium-sized, as I liked it. It had my sleeping area, which had a bed, a lampstand, a bookshelf with some of my favorite works, a laptop, and a hard drive. As well as the bathroom quarters, which had a bath, a shower, a cloth to cleanse myself with, a soap bar, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, moisturizer, shaver, mirror, toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, a toilet, and toilet paper. All meticulously organized how I usually would organize them.

The rooms were tailored for our convenience and comfortability. Which made me more concerned and afraid of what these people do and what they know.

Shira, within the span of an hour, managed to familiarize herself with most of the players and called for a small meeting in her room.

Every single player came. Quite resourceful, she is.

Her room was insanely large. She had a kitchen, an entertainment and sport center, two bedrooms, a walk-in closet, a room for her stuffed animals, and a bathroom that was as large as my entire room. No, it put my room to shame.

Guess I should be envying her imagination.

We all gathered in the entertainment center's basketball court. All of us got comfortable as best as we could.

I stood against the wall with my book, a good distance away from them, but just far enough to hear what would be said.

We then began introducing ourselves to everyone, describing five key elements of ourselves, honestly. The first was our age, the second was something we do when we're bored, the third was our dream goal in life, the fourth was our passion, and the fifth was the supernatural ability that we were granted when we first arrived.

We started with Player 01, which was Lillith, and moved up until the last player.

Most of the players turned their attention to Lillith. She was sitting on one of the hoops, swinging her legs as if she were a child in a playground.

"I am Player 01, Lillith Nyx. I am twenty-one years old. Forever twenty-one, am I right, ladies? I like to go hunting when I'm bored. The way an animal just looks you in the eye as death crawls into their souls is just… satisfying, wouldn't you agree? My dream goal… is to hunt down every criminal in this world and cut them down as I look into their eyes whilst they suffer in despair of their prior life choices and actions. My passion is hunting people. It is just more exhilarating. I can see why police officers and detectives do what they do, you know? The ability I gained is called "Predator". I see ten times further than normal, hear ten times further than normal, my instincts are ten times more accurate, I am ten times faster, my bloodlust is ten times more refined, and my presence is felt ten times more by my prey. I become the apex predator to vermin like you when I activate this ability. Which is why all of you were paralyzed with fear when I found you in the first game." She spoke with such a cocky expression; it was nauseating to look at. However, she speaks the truth. I just gave up hope when I felt her presence on that cave.

Somebody in the crowd grunted from hearing what she said. Somebody who either hated that truth, or who thinks it won't work on them.

"A lot of you here are criminals who I will eventually kill, but… I am here for a certain someone. Someone who was once called "The Greatest Criminal Mastermind". He ruled the world of crime underground for years and has never been caught. Not a glimpse, not a whisper, not a single trace of evidence of his crimes or anything remotely related to him. He was so good; some didn't even believe he existed. They called him Raiko, the Poltergeist. He disappeared some time last year I heard. Believed to have quit the crime business. I have been tracking him for ages, and now finally… I found him. He is here among you." She laughed like a psychopathic, obsessive worm before someone pointed out that time was flying and that we needed rest.

Lillith stepped down from her high horse and permitted me my turn to speak. I sighed and stood up. Their eyes were on me now. They were clearly wondering how the hell I survived in the last game.

"My name is Hallam Derby Drake Montana. Most people just called me Derby. I am 17 years old and a high school student. I like reading when I am bored. Books can send one into worlds far more intriguing than our reality. My dream? I am not certain what I really desire in this world. Not saying that I have no ambition. I just don't believe my life purpose just has to be one specific thing; you know? My passion is learning new things. Expanding my skill set, in a way. And the ability I gained when we entered this death trap is..."

I wonder if it were a wise decision to give them that information. It is fair game now.

I have a homicidal witch after me and monstrosity of a being after her. And of course, I had to be teamed up with her.

No…

She intentionally provoked him during the discussion. His introduction confirmed that. Because he willingly got caught in the first game. She didn't make him fear her.

She said what she said because now he'll be after me as well. Not to mention, there's probably a penalty if I allow him to kill her. So… she's forcing me to act.

I left that life behind! Why?! Why are you forcing me to do this, Lillith?!

I sighed.

This is painfully exhausting.

A loud voice spoke to all of us when the clock struck midnight. The voice echoed in all our minds. This surprised every player… everyone except Shira.

Interesting.

"Game 02: Truth or Lie begins now!"

And so, every team went off. I, however, remained by Lillith's side.

"What's the matter, Raiko? Not going to ask anybody anything?" She chuckled, unzipping her jacket, revealing a multitude of knives and other sharp objects.

"I can't have Anakin kill you. You know that. So, I have no choice but to stay with you." I stared at her, unfazed. She scoffed.

"I don't need your protection." She spoke, anger vibrating in her larynx.

I remained silent.

"Team 12 has been eliminated. Player 16 forfeited."

The same voice spoke once more. 

It had only been a meager thirty seconds and a team had already been eliminated. Which, surprisingly, is an incredibly good tactic.

The rules stated that failure to participate resulted in immediate disqualification. Which I believe is just the technical term for death.

However, since this team did in fact participate and only after forfeited, their lives are spared.

I thought of the same plan, however, I just had to be teamed up with this sociopath. If Shira were on my team, I would be going back to my room right now.

"Tch. Another group of weaklings and wussies saved from me. Nothing to celebrate." Player 08, Evander Anakin, marched toward us, his presence alone sent a shiver down my spine. Shira followed behind him, like a scared little puppet.

He had dark skin, a buzzcut, wore a ski-mask over his face, wore no shirt, had on a pair of orange trousers with the numbers 64890 printed on the left leg. Probably his prisoner number. He had a few scars on his left arm, as well as multiple tattoos across his upper body. The size of his body was insane but expected for a seven-foot-tall Viking descendant. He wore boots with metal soles on his feet.

He stopped a few feet away from where Lillith was. I stood in between them, sweat pouring down my face.

He stared down at me. Before him, I was nothing but an ant.

Before I could even get a word to escape my lips, Lillith had pulled me away from where I stood, mere milliseconds before my entire body was crushed.

"Derby!" Shira screamed, fearing for my safety.

He had swung both his arms down at my head, a dark gray aura emanating from his arms, his veins popping out as if they just wanted to leave his body entirely.

The ground beneath where I stood had two massive holes in it. One hole for each hand.

"Get out of my way, little man." I saw his eyes through the ski-mask. My life, my existence was nothing more than a nuisance to him in this moment.

I had no time to react, so I asked him…

"Truth or Lie, Player 08?"

He tilted his head in confusion at me as the voice spoke again.

"Team 02 has challenged Team 05 to a Truth or Lie. Player 02, Hallam Montana asked Player 08, Evander Anakin."

Anakin laughed.

"You're stalling for time. Smart little man." He cracked his neck. I kept my focus on him.

"Truth." He responded.

"Player 08 has chosen Truth. This means that no matter what Player 02 asks him, he has to answer truthfully."

So be it, Lillith. I'll play along.

 Shira's Perspective

Evander swung at Hallam like a madman, no regard for anybody. It is sickening to look at. I shouted Derby's name, afraid… wondering if he were hurt.

He then asked Evander a Truth or Lie. You could see the sweat running down his face, the artificial light glowing off his skin.

Evander chose truth with confidence.

That's when I saw it. A grin on Derby's face. 

He never smiled, never even changed his facial expression. Only when Lillith caught us in the first game. Only then did I see his expression change. But even then, it wasn't a positive change.

This… this change is malicious.

"Who is Ivan Anakin?" The grin on his face grew larger as he asked that question.

Evander grunted in confusion. You could hear a shiver in his throat before he asked a question of his own.

"H- How… the hell do you know that name?" Evander clenched his fists, furious.

"Answer my question, Player 08." Derby responded, a shadow over his eyes, revealing a green glow in his eyes as he stared into Evander's soul.

He went from afraid to dominant in the blink of an eye. I have never seen anything like it, much less from him.

Evander stood still, unable to get a simple word out.

Lillith had a smirk on her face, looking at Derby.

Yet still…

I can't understand why you're like this, Derby. Your eyes glance at me, not a solid look, just a glance. But in that glance, I see emptiness. You never let me in, and you don't open up about your life and all I want a piece, Derby, just a little piece of the true you.

Because I love you.

Do you know what I had to do to get you here? Do you know the physical abuse I had to suffer, the emotional abuse, the unending disappointment from my father, just so I can get you here, with me, in the games? You don't know. You could never know because you'd hate me.

And now, here you stand before a giant twice your size, fearless… but deadly. This isn't you, Derby. What are you doing? You stretch out your shoulder and your eyes glow green again and you're looking at me now, like I'm your enemy. I'm not and you know that, but you don't trust anyone.

And that is okay. I'll teach you to trust. Just don't look at me like that.

And as though you could hear my thoughts, you turn your gaze back to Evander and he remains shaken.

"Ivan is my father." He answered your question, Derby, but you did something. Because his voice was shaking when he answered you. He was reluctant to answer a simple question.

"Player 08: Evander Anakin has answered Player 02: Hallam Montana's question… truthfully. Player 02 may only ask Player 08 one more Truth related question."

Anakin sighed in relief. You made him fear you, Derby. What are you? Why did you do that?

I ask myself all these questions and you smirk (again) and now I am worried, because Evander saw your smirk. So naturally, he attacks you again.

But… you dodge yourself, still smirking. You look him in the eye, the wind he created with his attempt at crushing your head makes your blazer wave with it and suddenly everything is silent.

Lillith is now next to me (I have no idea how I didn't notice her do so. Maybe I was too focused on you) and she's watching you with a sadistic smile. Do I have competition, Derby? Is she falling for you?

I don't pay her any heed and turn back to you as you ask Evander (again): "Truth or Lie, Player 08."

You could feel his heart sink to his balls when you asked him that. And, as if he couldn't choose the other option, he responded: "T- Truth."

And your smirk grows. You show your teeth and suddenly, you seem crazy, psychopathic and I am now afraid. Did I fall for a split personality, mentally challenged boy? Did I fall for a psychopath? Were you always a psychopath? Were you just immensely good at hiding it?

I breathe in… and breath out and remind myself that I brought you here so I could get to know you better. And I remind myself that you are the love of my life. And I remind myself that now matter what you show me, we'll be able to get past is, because I. LOVE. YOU.

Evander takes a breath as though he remembered that he is larger and stronger that you are.

You grunt: "Huh, Anakin? Anyway, why did your father scar your face so badly that you had to wear a ski-mask?" 

You're snickering in your arm sleeve. Hiding it, but advertising that you indeed are snickering at child abuse. My eyes widen because I am taken aback. Evander told me this because I am an expert communicator, but he never told me why. How could YOU have possibly known that?

Lillith suddenly whispers in my ear, her chin resting on my shoulder (when we got here, she looked at me with murderous intent. Now she's resting her chin on my shoulder like we're friends).

"Watch the master do his work, little girl." She whispered. Master?

Master, Derby?!

And suddenly, I am interested in what she means. So, look at you and you're now sitting down.

Evander's jaw is shivering, and he can't even look down at you. He is afraid of you, even though you are much smaller than him. You made a giant quake in his boots, literally.

And now, I don't know whether to admire what you or to be scared of you. But then, I remember, I. LOVE. YOU. And my mind goes silent.

Shh.

Evander is unable to answer because of, presumably, trauma and you ask him something else.

"Is it because you were a mistake?" You smile uncontrollably and Evander clenches his fist. You're about to get punched, but you remain seated.

"Is it because your father, Ivan, viewed you more like a failed experiment than a son?" You stare into Evander's soul with your now bright, glowing green eyes (again) and he falls to his knees.

You keep your eyes on him.

"Is it because of all Ivan's children, you were the weakest? A worthless piece of wasted semen?" You continue and you're going at him as if you want him to cry.

And he does.

He doesn't answer your initial question and he's going to make us lose.

"That's what he called you, right? Evander, voploshcheniye potrachennoy vpustuyu spermy, he said." And you know how to speak Russian. That is sexy.

"You know what, Evander? He was right. Because look at you now. Unable to answer a simple question. On your knees, like a bitch. And right now…" You stand up and now… you are the one looking down at him and he IS crying. YOU made HIM cry.

"You are going to lose this game. Because you are worthless and deep down, you know this. So you kill weak people. Because you are weak, but you want to feel strong. You want to be useful to your DEAD father by killing the weak. But you will never live up to his expectations. Because you. are. weak. And you always will be. So, why not do him a favor…" You continue before leaning down to his ear as he whined.

"…and kill yourself?" Evander is choking on his own saliva; Lillith is chuckling to herself, and I cannot believe you said that. But I could see it in your eyes. You meant it. You mean what you say. Always have and always will. That much I do know about you.

"If you truly what to do your father a favor, end yourself. Crush your head right here, right now. Then maybe, just maybe… your father will look at you the same way he did to your siblings. Maybe, just maybe… he will love you." He spoke in his ear, but all of us could hear. Evander went still, completely still.

And you say your final words: "Or are you still too weak to even do that?" 

And it was done. Evander held his head in his hands as he was on his knees. He used his ability and crushed his own head right in front of us all. His body then fell to the ground.

Blood gushed from his mashed head. The sound it made and now your face is full of blood. The blood continued to flow on the ground, and I couldn't take it.

You stood up and looked down at your work, your face now completely neutral, and I hunch over and puke. You look at me and there is still blood on your face.

I vomit again.

Lillith laughs at me and that glow in your eyes has vanished.

I wipe my mouth.

"Team 05 has been eliminated. Player 08: Evander Anakin ended his own life before answering the second question asked by Player 01: Hallam Montana of Team 01. Team 01 wins."

They announce, and you walk off. Lillith puts her hand on your shoulder (the nerve of this woman), but you push her away.

Everyone saw what you did, so naturally, they won't challenge you and you know that. I am eliminated, but still alive. And you did that. I watch you walk off and I smile.

You saved me (again).

 Derby's Perspective

The game continued on and completed its 19-hour run… even after I made Anakin kill himself. That wretched witch!

I grit my teeth and I am laying in my bed in my room.

The winning team was announced and of course, it was Team 02. Our team. Apparently, killing gives you more points. But I didn't kill him. He killed himself! And I didn't want to. She forced my hand. She made me do it. Lillith made me do it!

And I crush the glass in my hand. I am bleeding, but for some reason, I don't feel the pain.

I clean up the mess I made and patch up my hand. Removed the shards of glass in my hand, disinfected it and bandaged it. I lay back down in my bed and stare at the ceiling.

It wasn't easy getting that information on him. I had to dig deep into the web. Dangerous sites, I had to visit. You were a nuisance, Anakin, and we remove nuisances. You would probably relate to my thought pattern. Also, you tried to kill me first.

Lingering on what happened won't make a difference. I sigh. These games are bringing out a side of me that I buried, and I do not like it.

But doing the research on your lineage, Anakin… That! That was fun. You are the third person I killed in my life and each time I do it, I feel horrible. Like a murderer should, of course.

But after reading what you did… what your father did… this kill goes down easier. I can sleep and I will sleep.

I close my eyes and yawn.

I wonder what the next game will be.

-Game 02: Truth or Lie END-

-Chapter III: 02 November 2023 END-