When they passed through the portal, they found themselves in the middle of a huge crowd of people.
Their feet touched a marble floor, and on the horizon stood an enormous wall. It was transparent, yet its presence was unmistakable.
It felt as if they were inside some kind of artificial space.
Above every person's head floated their name, written in blue and white letters.
Cuhlun and Renas were still trying to get their bearings when they suddenly heard a divine voice —[1] similar to the "voice" that had governed the apocalypse in their previous world, though this one sounded much younger, like that of a human child around fifteen years old. Determining its gender was impossible.
"Greetings, players. Welcome to World 774.Unlike the place you came from, this world doesn't offer a habitat for living — it's entirely a game! How delightful, how fun, isn't it?"
After the voice finished speaking, noise erupted from the crowd. Most people were cursing, and with hundreds — perhaps thousands — talking at once, it was impossible to make out any words.
Cuhlun, disturbed by the overwhelming noise, covered his ears with both hands, but in doing so got separated from Renas. The crowd was chaotic, and within seconds they lost each other.
Even when Cuhlun shouted "RENAS!!" it made no difference. Then, all at once, the sounds vanished. He tried to speak to break the silence but couldn't hear even his own voice.
The divine voice spoke again:
"Thank you for quieting down. Now, let me explain your current game.
The rules are simple. There will be ten different villages, each with an equal number of players. You'll live together for three months.Every week, there will be a voting ceremony. Each person must cast two votes — one good, one bad.Everyone starts with 50 good points. A bad vote reduces your score by one; a good vote adds one.If your score drops to zero... you die.
At the end of three months, the walls between the villages will fall, and the survivors from all ten villages will gather together.What awaits the winners will be... a BIG SURPRISE I've prepared for you!
I hope you're excited. Let the game begin..."
The floor beneath them shattered, and they began to fall. First through clouds — after a long descent, they realized how high they were above the ground.
Cuhlun shut his eyes and waited. He was terrified of heights, and the fact that he wasn't screaming was an act of courage in itself.
Yet...
Why wasn't anyone else screaming either?
Cuhlun opened his eyes and noticed a strange, semi-transparent structure around him — something like a wall, or no... wings made of geometric shapes, glowing with blue sparks. Each wing was as big as a bus — gigantic.
Looking around, he saw dozens of others being carried by similar wings, all moving toward the same destination.
Mountains, forests, lakes, plains...
And there — a large town, maybe a city, marked with translucent letters: "Village D." A few hundred people were being brought there. The number seemed to be about one-tenth of the crowd from before.
The wings followed robotic flight paths, and the people attached to them weren't in control.
As Cuhlun was carried toward Village D, he smiled faintly.
There was a foolish grin on his face.
This would be an easy game...
***
Renas, meanwhile, had been brought to a place labeled Village A by a massive wing attached to his back. On his way there, he had flown over several other villages, realizing that each was unique — different biomes, different climates.
He had seen a desert town, and another built atop a mountain. His own destination looked like a rainforest.
The enormous wing passed effortlessly between the giant trees, as though it wasn't truly solid. Somehow, it could phase through the branches.
When Renas landed on a wide marble surface, the wing slowly disappeared. Lifting his head, he saw countless others around him — people just like him.
It looked like the center of town. The ground was made of a hard, marble-like material, and at the very center stood a large fountain — or maybe a spring — covered in moss.
At first, Renas didn't know what to do. The divine voice had explained the rules of the game — meaning he had to act kindly, or at least appear to.
That much he could probably manage.
While looking around to decide where to go, he noticed a translucent, geometric arrow emitting blue sparks — just like the wings. It was long and seemed to be pointing him somewhere.
He started following it, and noticed others doing the same.
Of course, not everyone was heading in one direction; at every street corner, the crowd split into smaller groups.
Eventually, only four, then two, and finally just Renas remained. In front of him stood a small villa — a cozy detached house, two stories tall, and... surprisingly beautiful.
Maybe living here wouldn't be so bad after all.
A small sign in front of the building read "Renas."
He walked past the sign and reached the door.
Above it was a camera; when it scanned his face, the lock clicked open. Renas pushed the door and entered his small home.
Inside were a kitchen, living room, corridor, bathrooms on both floors, and a bedroom upstairs.
After exploring his minimalist little house, he sat on the couch in the living room and turned on the TV.
The first channel that appeared was educational — a cute turtle popped up on the screen and began to speak:
"Hello, players. I assume you're either hungry or bored.You can ease your boredom through this television.To satisfy your hunger, you can cook in the kitchen area, or if you're not good at it, you can order food using the phone there.
There are tens of thousands of channels divided into two types — entertainment and education. Watch whatever you like.Enjoy your time."
After the turtle started repeating its message from the beginning, Renas switched channels.
First came a frog-man jumping contest, then a sandwich fighting a dragon, then a strange show about a bird swimming through deep waters.
Eventually, Renas gave up on the TV and went to the kitchen.
He wasn't bad at cooking, but didn't feel like bothering, so he ordered a pizza instead.
Moments later, the doorbell rang — astonishingly fast. He rushed to the door, grabbed his order, ate... time passed.
For the first time, he felt almost like he had before the apocalypse.
After a few idle hours, he decided sitting here was pointless. The TV was terrible, and staying inside served no purpose. It made more sense to come home only for meals and spend the rest of his time outside.
So he stepped out and wandered the streets aimlessly.
He soon noticed many others doing the same — wandering without direction. Wait... everyone must be in the same situation.
Leaving too early might be a mistake. People wouldn't vote for someone they didn't know, after all.
As he was thinking this, a sudden gust passed by his ear — something had flown past, loudly.
He turned around and saw a man holding a pistol, firing wildly. Another person wielding a yellow katana was fighting him. Their battle was damaging nearby houses — and people.
Should Renas intervene?
If he did, others might think he was part of the chaos and vote against him. But if he didn't fight, he might not survive.
So... was running away the smartest choice?
At least for Renas, it seemed so. He turned toward his house, but as he passed an alley, he stumbled upon another fight — this one between a man riding a dinosaur and someone wielding twin axes.
Damn it. A second fight? He had to get out of here, fast.
He turned onto another street to take a longer route — and then heard yet another noise behind him.
Renas turned around — and saw it.
Everyone...
Everyone was fighting.
[1] From now on, I’ll use long dashes like this (—).