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Life after death. Peace after suffering. Rainbow after the thunder. Is there really such a thing?

Perhaps those who have died would know. I wouldn't. I haven't died yet.

But in the wild course of this rather eccentric night, the Grim Reaper seemed a little too fixated on turning that statement to the contrary. The number of close brushes into his cold clutches seemed a little too high for an average person.

Perhaps I am fated to die and Ol' Skelly Boi is just getting sloppy. Because even the most fatal of mistakes like falling unconscious in a labyrinth of death did not bring me to his embrace.

Instead, I awoke with a start, disorientated, and confused.

A discrepancy of location. No narrow corridors, no long stretches of darkness impairing sight. What greeted my eyes in its place, was an almost ethereal blue light surfacing from the chiseled stone walls and ceiling of an expansive room.

A whirring hum was a constant melody in the ambiance, like a computer on startup.

A thin figure stood before me, back turned, silently gazing to the nearest wall in proximity. Disheveled inky black hair, dressed in the default starting attire of a new player.

Familiarity began flooding my senses, and I sat upwards, grunting feebly.

I stared at his unmoving figure, and spoke gruffly, "Sukuinote… How long was I out?"

No hint of acknowledgment, aside from the burrowing of his hands into his coat pockets, "You're on day 11 now. Congratulations."

"Aw shit," The gravity of his words pounded my head like a sledgehammer, "Tell me you're kidding."

The muffled shuffling of feet as he finally turned to face me revealed an expression genuinely apologetic, "It's your own fault, Sora. Warned once, warned twice… wanna keep bringing that sword out, you gotta deal with the consequences."

"Your consequences," I corrected.

The amused chuckle from his curved lips did not dare deny the claim.

"Yes," He said, still smiling. "My consequences."

He offered a hand to which I promptly returned the gesture by rising to my feet unaided.

"This isn't where you brought me before," I said, stretching my legs in an aimless wander, gazing all around. "Prefered a change of scenery? All that greenery from before too suffocating?"

"It's a little place in the dungeon tower I sculpted out for myself. It's where I keep an eye on you all, be it at any place or anytime. Sorta like a big brother. Was watching your misadventures from here, was at the edge of my seat from that little stunt you pulled with the sword. Can't wait to see what happens next," he replied, retracting his hand back to his side.

I snorted. "All I got from that is that we can't even enjoy the simple privilege of privacy."

"But of course," He said as if stating the obvious. "If I don't keep watch, how else would I know if you've all been naughty? And let me tell you, you've all been very naughty as of late, tinkering around with my NPCs. "

"Hey, I had nothing to do with that!"

He nodded his head, "True, you didn't. And yet, here you are… again. Funny how that works sometimes."

"Say what you will," I waved a hand. "I'm just trying to not die in your stupid death game."

Another laughter of amusement. "You're doing a really terrible job at it then. I'm not always going to be there to save you, Sora. Extra chances don't come cheap. I might just let you die if you ever decide to play the hero again. I only saved you this time because it'd be terribly boring if you died so early into the game."

"I wouldn't be dying if you'd just be a little more lenient on the punishments," I pointed a finger at him, "Resetting my level wasn't enough, you just had to add the risk of frying my damn brain along with it?"

"My game, my rules, and it's fair," He simply said, and added. "If you knew the risks, why'd you use the sword to try and save him then? Running was also a viable option."

My eyes turned downcast, failing to find an answer. "Whatever happened to him? Tell me I didn't do all that for nothing."

"Background Character B? Oh, he's fine," He replied, noting the abrupt change of subject with a knowing smile, "Found his way back to your party a couple of hours after waking up. Been with them ever since."

"Did they make it out?" I asked, secretly hoping Arishia somehow didn't.

"No… none of them did," He said, yawning and stretching his arms. "In fact, none of them can."

My eyes immediately snapped towards him, "What?"

"Cheat the system, you cheat me, and that I can't let slide. So I locked the doors. No one gets in, no one gets out."

"You're mental," I shook my head. "You're insane."

"No, it's fair," He said sharply, a finger raised. "I'm being fair."

"A fucked up notion of fair play then - keeping God-knows how many players inside a tower of death infested with NPCs that can't be killed."

"They brought it on themselves, Sora."

"Because they were scared!" I retaliated, voice echoing in the whirring quiet, "You show me one brave man and I'll show you a thousand cowardly ones in return. If you're gonna fault us for basic human emotions then just kill us now. Because we'll be showing you a lot more of it as the game goes on."

Sukuinote tightened his lips, eyes hinting more than just indecision. "Even still, duping the system is not part of the game"

"What is part of the game then? Hostile NPCs? Yeah, I'm sure that was a major selling point back then. They should have mentioned the countless bugs and exploits instead. Because if anything is part of the game - it's that."

"You can't just simply recruit non-recruitable NPCs, you shouldn't be able to do that and that's the lesson I'm trying to teach here, alright Sora?."

"Face it, Sukuinote," I said wearily. "Is it our fault that the system can be duped or is it yours? You're the one on top. Why are we suffering for it? How many of us have died already because we merely used what was available to us?"

He turned away from me, facing again to a blank slate of glowing stone. "826 when it first started. Took 4 days to get to 312. By my predictions, it'll take 3 more days before that count is reduced to none."

I offered a suggestion. "Let the rest leave, and get rid of the NPCs"

"No."

"Seriously? Did you even hear what I-"

"I heard you, I understood you, and you're right... I wasn't as fair as I thought I was. But I'll be fair, I always am. That's how a game persists and thrives - fairness. I'll sort it out."

Sort it out he says, as he stands there motionless, staring at a wall.

"Sort it out, right, how are you… oh," I trailed away, realizing it at once.

Knowing Sukuinote, he's probably got a holographic projection of multiple screens displaying every intricacy of the game, visible only to him painting the walls of the room.

A theory proven true by the motions of his hands, swaying blindly in the open air, before hovering in place, typing atop an imaginary keyboard, fingers dancing in a silent mechanical rhythm.

As for me, my thoughts drifted lazily into a sea of meaningless speculations before anchoring on the growing concern of the state of things inside the dungeon.

I've been out of commission for 4 days. What's been happening in there? He mentioned only 312 remained inside… but who's alive and who isn't?

Two people come to mind. Tayuma and Ayako. Arishia can go die in a fire.

Those Two stood out prominently among the faceless hundreds, they were people I'd be quite upset to see perish so abruptly. I wonder just how are they faring?

Tayuma might be alright. Clueless as he is about most things, he still has a good head on his shoulders. He should be good, as good as a person who glitches swords into the ground would be.

But Ayako, in particular, was left with Arishia… I can't think of two more polar opposites than those two. One teeming with benevolence and concern for others - while the other being the literal reincarnation of sin.

I don't doubt something might have occurred within those 4 days with those two together.

As if my thoughts were an open book, Sukuinote gave a sideways glance, meeting my contemplative look. "Would you like to see?"

I raised an eyebrow, "See what?"

"A little sneak peek into my world." He nodded towards the blank wall facing him, "A bird's eye view of every single person in the dungeon. Anybody in particular you wanna see?"

"And you're offering this to me, because?"

He rolled his eyes, "To thank you, of course. You gave valuable insight, and it's only fair I offer something in return."

Was he lying? I didn't think so. Besides, my burning curiously is no longer satiated by mere speculations, craving something more tangible.

At once, I gave a reply, "Alright, hit me with it."