Author: Hello! Looks like I have some time, so I decided I would try to write a chapter! I'm actually thinking up another story as well with a friend, but I don't know if I'll write it....It's a sci fi, psychological, dementia, mystery, and an action(strategy)...I thought I'd tell you guys if my friend and I ever get to write it out. Nothing's on paper...we've only talked.

Thanks for reading, and please rate/comment/follow/favorite!!!

I didn't edit this...so there might be some mistakes. Let me know if you see some!

:faill:

Chapter 11 - Games

------------------------------------------------

Roran's POV

-------------------

The shadow of a child glistened under the faintly lit lanterns that were placed around the room. The child in front of me voiced his words yet again, seeing as I hadn't mouthed a word, or changed my uncaring expression.

"Hmm....maybe I didn't say it right.......welll....ok. LET's PLAaAYY A GAMe!"

His words screeched, and echoed around the room, which made the lanterns lit around the spherical room flicker for a brief moment. I flinched, and took a step back, which then caused me to bump into the muscular "Barron" man who was leading me to the "All Things Illegal" store. From the place I was at, I couldn't even tell if it was a store.

Seeing as the kid was crazy, I looked up at "Barron" for an answer, only to receive silence. Due to the room being poorly lighted, I couldn't catch the face of the child.

What is this...."game?".......

It felt like I was standing there forever, under a dim light, and my thoughts resounding throughout my head. But....everything ended with a push of a button.

A small click resounded throughout the room, and I felt the ground under me crumble. I looked down, to see myself falling into a dark abyss, and looked up to confirm the identity of the young child.

Just in time before I fell, I saw it. Yes, it. The face of the child.....wasn't a child-like face. No...It was one of a lurker of darkness, which would feed upon other's misfortune. How I knew this, even I couldn't tell. The one word to describe his face...and seemingly, his body, was rotting. It was not a skeleton yet, but rather, one that was being eaten by black gouges around his face.

Horror covered my face, and for a second, I forgot about my fall into nothingness. I felt pain the moment I hit the floor. I fell on my back, and I immediately took notice towards the pain coming from my abdominal region. My stomach was pierced through by a sharp, icicle-shaped rock. I was stuck in mid-air, with this stone stuck through me. My yell resounded throughout the dimly lit, empty room.

I then noticed it wasn't empty, and looked around to see other horrors. There were similar rocks that protruded from the round, and the one that was located to the right, about 10 meters away from me, had a girl impaled, exactly in the same fashion as me. Seeing her, I felt a smile creep up my face, but it was immediately stopped by the stinging pain from my situation.

She probably was dropped recently....like me.

I turned right to see the girl speaking inarticulate words. She turned to see me, and I saw her face creep into the smile that I would have shown. To my surprise, she started laughing. The light allowed me to only see the shadow of crimson blood flowing down the conical rock that pierced her. Her arms and legs hung, as if without any energy, but she smiled with an alluring look under the shadows of the light.

Suddenly, I heard other groans of pain around me. They were sounds of slow death, and one of inexplicable pain. These sounds fueled my will to kill.

With that thought in mind, I called 'status.'

Cursed. (Type: Life's End --- High Value):

--- Cannot recover. EVER. This curse will haunt you for eternity. You have signed a contract with the devil himself with your impaling.

--- This curse will prevent you from ever viewing your stats.

--- You are under an illusion that you are injured more than you really are, making you an existence close to Death, himself.

--- This curse will remove the following skills: ENRAGED, Sacrifice, Soul Eater.

--- Also Removed: Blessings of Nex. Your journey to your death is now no longer sponsored by the God himself.

--- This curse will grant you THREE skills in exchange for your contract:

------ Soul Collector (LVL 1 - MAX)(Passive): You can collect the souls of the dead. Your betrayal of the Death God Nex has pained you so, and the burden of the souls of those you kill are passed to you, instead of the God himself. The souls you kill are sacrificed to you, and you are hailed as The Reaper of All, Sinners or Not. [Betrayer of Death]

--- Akia Nex (1st Preacher of The Betrayer of Death/ Soul 1) (STOLEN SKILL REMOVED)

------ Give Life (LVL 1 - MAX) (Active): You may give life to a soul you have obtained. In exchange for one of your organs, another soul, and all your mana, that is. HAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA [The Soul will receive their own body]

------ Bestow (LVL 1 - MAX)(Active): You may bestow your believers with power. Grant 1000 Str. to one person. That person gets the blessing for 1 minute. Uses 300 Mana.

--- To Convert people into your new religion, the believer must say these words: "Your holiness has been acknowledged. I will follow you to the ends of the world."

Name: Roran NexClass: The Reaper of Souls (LVL 20 MAX)Guild Rank: BAge: 16 Years

Titles:

--- The Hated

--- Betrayer of Death

Level: 10HP: ---HR: (Health Recovery) ---.Special:

[---]MP: ---MR: (Mana Recovery) ---.Strength: ---Endurance: ---Vitality: ---Intelligence: ---Willpower: ---Agility: ---Luck: ---[LOCKED][LOCKED]Sub-Classes:[NONE][NONE]

Afinities:

--- Soul Magic (LVL 10)

[LVL 0 = No Skills/No Training]

Skills:

--- Active Perception (LVL 15 MAX)

-- Can inspect items/living things to extract known information from the largest library

database in the world - (the Kingdom of Katylda). User must be looking at the object.

--- Reap (LVL 20) (Passive)

-- [Obtained by LVL 10 as a Reaper of Death]

-- Can grant excruciating pain to a person (using souls), but does not kill the person.

In exchange for 10 HP, you can feed the souls already obtained with the pain

of a living being.

[YOU CAN CHOOSE THE WAY OF TORTURE] [Uses 20 MP per use]

--- Black Phoenix [Legendary](LVL 30 MAX - Default)(Active)

-- {You have risen once from the dead, now...*don't* rise again..} Granted by the D--th

G--'s favoritism. In exchange for using this skill, the user will be sacrificed at the

time of death, and the user will not be able to use any other types of magic.

The user is granted the divine power of a black phoenix.

[The Divine Power is the ability to fly, and steal 1* skill of the same attribute of

the darkness.]

Only one of such a phoenix lives, and to see one is considered too "holy for the eyes"

by some of the SOON TO BE DEAD followers of D--th.

Obtain the Blessing of the Black Phoenix to maximize the potential for this skill.

To activate this skill, you must be almost dead, or someone you know needs to be dead.

--- Stolen Skill: Hydra's Flames (LVL 1 - Static)

-- You can use the flames of the Hydra. Deals 200 Damage, and if used long

enough, you can melt things. [Uses 20 MP per Min]

{This skill will be replaced when you steal another skill.}

I've been cursed. Moreover, I've apparently betrayed Death. A moment of surprise turned into a moment of happiness, as my cry resounded throughout the dark room, "HAHAHHAAHHAHHAHHAHAHAAAAAHAHHAHAAAAAAAA!!!!"

The girl next to me wasn't surprised. Rather, she looked at me understandingly. Fresh blood poured from my body, down the stone. Knowing that I wouldn't be conscious for any longer, my grim laugh was followed by a rather unnatural plea to the girl, "Won't you help me..."

The world went dark around me as I closed my eyes, succumbing to the pain. I let my mind swim around in nothingness, but I was soon awoken with a cold bucket of water to my face, probably minutes later after my impalement.

I awoke to find the girl I laughed with, well, almost. Her age was close to mine, at least that was what I thought. She was short, about only to my shoulder, and she had beautiful, long golden hair that reached her feet, and bright red, cat-like eyes. The darkness that surrounded us accentuated her eyes, and a shiver ran through my back. She was wearing a scarlet one-piece dress, with frills at the end of her short sleeves, but, I couldn't trust my eyes, given the location I was in.

The silence was broken with her haughty, yet elegant voice, "Hmph, why is one like you impaled in such a position, as I was?"

She spoke in a slightly condescending voice, and one that implied seniority. As I was confused, I asked, "W...who are you?"

My question was answered with a grim smile. I soon wondered where she had procured her water, and I then soon realized that the ground itself was a shallow pond. My body was surprisingly well, and all signs of my injury disappeared. For the girl as well, she was devoid of any injury, rather, she looked very healthy.

I felt a slight tickle at my neck, and when I touched it, I noticed that a little blood was flowing down my neck. I looked at the girl for answers, but she quickly turned around, as if avoiding something.

"Wake up, human. I don't know why I helped such an unimportant creature, but I guess it was on impulse. Don't overestimate your worth," her words resounded.

I thanked her, and without a response, she just walked away.

I heard some more groans, except this time, the noises were getting closer and closer to me. I didn't really care for the girl that helped me, because I know for a fact that people always help others with other intentions in mind, or an ulterior motive.

I readied my fists, because it seems that my armor was useless, while my weapons might have dropped somewhere. The dim lights didn't help that situation. I kept my eyes in the direction of the groans, and I noticed a group of decaying kids, men, and women all dragging their bodies towards me.

The "people's" entrails dropped as they walked, and their bodies seemed to be laying for years on end, since a very familiar stench entered through my nose. The smell of death. Soon, even my crazed laugh from before couldn't be compared to the noise that the groans created in the dark abyss. The echoes further emphasized the sheer amount of pain and people.

Ugh. I've been hit too hard, I don't even remember how much mana I have....So. I don't even know how many times I can use the Hydra's Flames...

I casted while keeping active. This way, I can feed Akia, too. I hope she levels up when I feed her though, otherwise my time and effort are useless.

The flames engulfed the people, and the smell of burnt blood and flesh eased my mind. The "humans" - or whatever is following me - aren't conscious. They lack vital organs, but they still move, I surmise necromancy is being used.

A man in front of me turns to black, as his skin degrades. His heart is missing, and he seems to have been a victim of the falling trap, like me. Of course, I don't really care, but that is vital information to know that someone has been here before me. Even the fact that I would turn into that, is quite important.

I suspect that that "child" is a necromancer....the one with the unnaturally tall hat, and degrading body. Just his image makes me want to throw up. His face was covered in black belches, and his skin was tearing off, revealing some of his muscle, and his bone.

My fifth call of echoed again, and the flames continued to burn the heaps of people that follow me. Luckily, they seem to only come from one direction, but that makes me quite suspicious of the situation. The flames sometimes didn't kill them, and the bodies continued to crawl towards me, with only the upper half of their bodies, while dragging their guts along. The rest of the monsters didn't care, and they nonchalantly walked over the group of waist-less people.

Suddenly, a voice other than mine and that girl's resounded throughout the room. It was the "child."

"Well, looks like you all survived round 1!! I wanted to make sure that Barron~ didn't get me trash toys... Luckily, he didn't! Good JOBbb Baaarronn~~. Let me explain the rules, and the prizes!! Ok, so here goes: If you die, you get rewarded with death!! yaaay! And, you get to turn undead, and live under there forever!! So fuuunnn~~. But, if you live, I will turn you undead myself, and personally kill you~~ Great Right! I'm sooo~~ kind~~. Of course, there is the third option: somehow, you escape, and you meet me. Once you meet me, you can bring me a body of someone else that is participating. Of course, they have to be alive. I don't care, woman or man. I need a new body! The one I have is decaying, unfortunately~~.... Well, Staaart~~!"

The trail of zombie-like creatures stopped, and they instantly vanished, into thin air. The burnt blood stayed, however, and it bubbled, and fizzed, while evaporating into the air.

I stood alert. I now knew that there were other "participants" other than me, and that girl. Knowing this, I started walking towards my fall location, to find my weapons.

There- I met it. It's shadow was the only thing I could see. It was moving slowly, towards me, possibly carrying a dead body as a weapon, if my eyes weren't lying. The sounds of scraping, and dragging were heard, and for a moment, I couldn't move. Grunts started sounding as well, and the breathing of the thing reached my ears.

But, I now had a worse problem than it. The girl that saved me, yes, the one with the beautiful features. She was approaching me. As stealthy as a fox, and as quiet as a panther killing its prey. Her eyes told me one thing - she wasn't going to die.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks, and please give me your input on what you think of this storyline that is being uncovered.

Please follow/favorite/rate/comment!

Next Chapter: TBD - Chapter 11