Only one thought filled my head.
My sisters.
Lili. Lala. Alone..
I could imagine them asking when I'd be back. Asking if I brought food. Asking why the house was so quiet.
If I was dead… what would happen to them?
They couldn't survive out there. Not on their own. The world doesn't care that they're still kids. It doesn't pause just because you're small and scared and lost. It doesn't give you room to cry. It only crushes.
I clenched my fists, even though I wasn't sure if I still had hands. It was strange. I couldn't feel anything solid. No wind. No weight. No breath. Just… the sensation of clenching, floating somewhere between panic and instinct.
I never cared much about myself. Not really. Not since the day my parents were taken away.
But my sisters?
They were everything.
The only reason I kept going. The only thing that pulled me through when the hunger clawed at my gut or the job rejections stacked like a tower of shame. They were the only warmth in a world that felt like winter. The only light I had left.
Not because I couldn't be selfish. I could, if I wanted to. I could leave them, give up, disappear.
But I never wanted to.
They were the only thing that made me... Me.
Just when I was thinking of this, I felt a change.
Something under me..
I blinked.
I wasn't floating anymore.
My body, heavy again, pressed against something that felt like ground… but not quite. It didn't make a sound. No texture. No sensation of cold or warmth. Just a subtle resistance beneath my body, like I was lying on something invisible.
Slowly, I pushed myself upright.
My palms met the surface, but I still couldn't see it. Only darkness around me. A complete, crushing dark that swallowed my outline, my breath, even my shadow.
I stood up, carefully, as if the floor might vanish if I moved too fast.
The silence was loud. Too loud.
I turned my head slowly, scanning my surroundings, but there was nothing. No wall. No ceiling. No horizon.
Just a world that wasn't a world.
A place… that didn't feel like a place.
"Where the hell am I…" I muttered under my breath, my voice muted, almost as if the darkness had fingers wrapped around it, squeezing every word down to a whisper.
In that moment I heard a DING! sound
The sound didn't come from outside.
It came through me.
Sharp. Clear. Like a notification slammed into the center of my skull.
A screen appeared before.
[SYSTEM]
LOADING…
I furrowed my brows.
What… is this?
[SYSTEM]
WELCOME TO THE JESTER'S GAME.
"Jester's Game…"
The words slipped from my lips like a breath I didn't mean to release.
What the hell is this?
I tried to piece the moments together. The ticket. The old man. That strange message. Then this… place. This non-place. And now a system talking to me like I'd been added to some twisted carnival show.
My fingers twitched against my side, brushing against nothing. I wasn't holding the card anymore. I wasn't holding anything.
Before I could even organize a proper thought, the darkness around me shuddered.
The black faded.
First into a dull gray.
Then a blinding white.
Then.. Color.
A shape, then a smell.
The air hit me first, cold, earthy, sharp like morning dew on metal. Sound of branches creaking overhead, a crow cawing in the distance,
I was standing. On solid ground.
Dirt and roots beneath my feet. The faint squish of wet soil. Above me, towering trees stretched like ancient pillars, their bark twisted and blackened, their limbs reaching upward into a sky drained of color.
It was a forest.
I spun slowly, my legs crunching dry leaves as I tried to take in every angle. The trees were too uniform, too tall, like they were watching. Nothing moved except the air. And even that didn't feel natural. It whispered rather than blew. It nudged, rather than pushed.
"What… is this place?" I mumbled to myself, rubbing my arms as if that would ground me.
DING!
[SYSTEM]
TODAY YOU'LL BE INTRODUCED WITH THE SETS OF RULES YOU MUST FOLLOW IF YOU WISH TO LAUGH IN THE END.
My brows creased.
Laugh…? In the end?
What kind of system says something like that?
A pause. Then the message continued, flashing in big bold text across my vision like some glitched-out game UI.
[SYSTEM]
+
RULE 1
…
JUST SURVIVE.
GHAHAHAHAHAHA!
+
"The hell?" I muttered, swallowing dry.
Another screen replaced the last, this one pulsing red at the edges like a warning light.
[SCENARIO]
+
BUILD A BASE BEFORE NIGHTTIME
FAILURE: DEATH! ^_^
+
"Build a base… before nighttime."
I exhaled sharply, long and quiet. A dry breath filled with tired understanding.
So this is a game.
And I'm the piece.
A bitter chuckle escaped my throat, humorless and short as I shooked my head, looking up at the gray sky above the trees.
No timer.
No map.
No instructions.
Just a sick sense of humor… and death for failure.
"I'm in a survival game,"
"And there's no exit."
****
Even after everything I'd seen, fear didn't hit me the way I expected it would.
I wasn't screaming. I wasn't running around shouting for help, clawing at trees or begging to wake up. My chest was tight, yes. My thoughts were scattered, yes. But there was a strange… calm underneath it all. A heavy silence in my head.
I didn't know if it was something about this place.
Or if I was just too tired to break down.
Maybe… maybe I was holding it together because I had no choice.
Because I had them to go back to.
I took a deep breath, letting the cold forest air seep into my lungs.
Survive.
That was the only command that mattered now.
I repeated the phrase like a mantra in my mind, each word hammering itself deeper into my resolve.
Survive, and go back to them.
And in order to do that, I need to build a base.
If not..
[SYSTEM]
+
DEATH
+
I shook my head quickly, snapping myself back as there was no time for that.
If I don't play…
I don't survive.
And if I don't survive…
My sisters…
I started moving. One step. Then another. Then more.
My feet carried me through the woods, scanning for anything I could use. Shelter, tools, something sharp, anything that could act like a start.
The System didn't hand me a tutorial.
No starter gear.
No glowing path or guiding hand.
I was alone.
The more I walked, the more hopeless the trees began to feel, like a maze that repeated itself with every turn.
Soon after, my feet carried me to a structures, nestled between a pair of crooked trunks, half-hidden by vines and decay, I stepped closer to the cabin, or what was left of one. Its roof had caved in, and one side was entirely collapsed, but it was real. And more importantly, abandoned..
The doorway creaked when I pushed through. Inside, it smelled like mold and forgotten things. Dust clung to the air, hanging like smoke, and the wooden floor groaned under my weight.
Surprisingly, I came across a dark, weather-worn bag sitting against the far wall.
It was too clean. Too well-placed. Like someone had left it for me.
I stepped forward slowly, eyes darting around the ruined cabin. No signs of life. No movement, crouching steadily before reaching for the bag, and unzipping it.
Inside it were tools.
Useful ones.
An axe. A handsaw. A hammer. A shovel. A rolled bundle of first-aid kits. Bottles of water. Even… dynamite?
What the hell is this…?
Still, I couldn't argue.
As soon as my fingers touched the bag, another Ding! rang out in my skull.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATIONS]
BAG ACQUIRE +1
Then another screen blinked to life:
[INVENTORY]
+
AXE +1
SHOVEL +1
HANDSAW +1
HAMMER +1
FIRST-AID KIT +3
WATER BOTTLE +2
DYNAMITE +1
+
The floating display hovered in my vision, slightly transparent, shifting subtly as I blinked. I stared at it for a moment, half in awe, half in dread. Fully in realization that this wasn't just some illusion. The game had mechanics. Menus. Logic.
Inventory.
Survival tools.
This wasn't a prank.
This was real.
I stood upright, slinging the heavy bag over my shoulder. The weight was solid..
I walked toward the deeper part of the woods, where the trees grew denser, thicker, older. If I was going to build anything, I needed to find space, gather wood, and start now.
I reached into the bag, my fingers wrapping around the smooth handle of the axe.
And without wasting another second…
…I began chopping..