55 Announcing the Grand Competition

Jayce was skeptical that any idea proposed by these three was going to be good for anyone he cared about but did his best to listen objectively. "If a lower race unit dies it will instead be transported back to the base of whatever faction it was a part of." Tatewari seemed pleased with himself. Jayce raised an eyebrow, "That actually sounds like a good plan." Ahti laughed, "Don't sound so surprised Jayce. Just because we haven't been mortal in hundreds of millions of years doesn't mean we don't understand life and death. This is the best solution. It also keeps our armies strengths about even."

Zcerneboch looked annoyed, "And how do we actually go about killing something?" Tatewari shrugged. "Any ideas?" Zcerneboch smiled evilly. "When the lower races decide who they're going to follow they get a little gem in their chest with the symbol of whichever of us they serve within it. Destroy that gem and they die permanently." Jayce raised a hand, "Does that include us?" Zcerneboch nodded, "Oh most definitely." Ahti and Tatewari nodded after a moment of contemplation, "Sounds good to us." Jayce hesitated. "Can it be shot and destroyed or only destroyed in the actual possession of whoever is doing the killing?" Zcerneboch paused, "Hand only. Keep things interesting." Ahti smiled at Jayce, "Good question human!"

Jayce fought the urge to roll his eyes. "So you can only be permanently killed if someone rips the gem from your body and crushes it?" The other three nodded. "And you choose your faction with your free will?" Again they nodded. "Can you change teams?" This time there was a pause. Tatewari looked stressed as he spoke, "Only if the one you initially chose follow has died." The other three nodded. "That seems fair to me." Jayce leaned back in his chair.

"Are we in agreement then?" Ahti asked the table. Three confident nods answered his question and he smiled. "Well then SAI we're ready to hand things over to you." SAI's skull of a face appeared and the buttons illuminated. "Just a reminder that after you approve this rule I will be in charge of the grand competition until you all declare a truce for another rules meeting. Are there any questions before you vote?"

The room was silent and SAI nodded. "Then let us vote." Four approvals and his eyes burned blue as the scroll with the rules was copied and split into four parchments. The three Overwatchers took their copy and leaned back. Jayce was ready to leave and began looking for the exit. "Are we done?" He asked as he noticed the room had no windows and no doors. "Not quite," a smiling Ahti said to him. The three Overwatchers returned to their half-monster forms and sat motionless as four mirrors appeared before their faces. Jayce dared not to move as the mirror reflected his face. He noticed that his previous blonde hair was slowly turning into a brilliant gold color and he wondered if there were other physical changes occurring in his body due to the release of Tohil's power.

Then the mirror became see-through and he saw major hub one, two, and three had been squished together into one large mass. His eyes widened but he stayed silent. Everything looked so small to him. Then he heard SAI's voice speak.

...

A gleaming human skull appeared above the four faces. "This is the official announcement that the grand competition will commence in five days. The grand prize is that your chosen Overwatcher will be named king of the simulation. Henceforth all safe zones will be removed from the game and all lower races must migrate to one of the four bases. Each Overwatcher will now make a speech.

Screams of fear and panic had rung out when the skull appeared but as it spoke a terrified silence descended on the mass of races listening. Each nervously waited to hear from these four faces. Micu held on tightly to the fence before them as his knuckles turned white from the exertion. "Jayce what the fuck have you gotten yourself into?" He growled as the skull finished speaking.

The first to speak was the flaming bird face. The sky turned red as it began to speak. "Hello, lower races! I am Tatewari. If you choose to follow me I promise you we will craft a future that is an exciting adventure for you all and well worth your trouble. I will teach you the ways of creation and together we will build a simulation that is more beautiful than any version to come before or that will come after." The bird winked and the sky gleamed with fireworks conjured from nowhere. Once the firework show ended Tatewari smiled and then receded behind the other three faces.

"Lower races, I am Ahti, Overwatcher of life. With me as your sovereign ruler, I assure you that we will create the greatest simulation for the creation of life ever seen. I will grant you the power to give life to the inanimate and crush those who delight in death. We will create the utopia that this simulation deserves." Ahti caused the oceans to roll and crash against the major hubs. Fish flew from the ocean and created a dazzling rainbow of scales reflecting light.

The sky darkened to a deep purple and the insect-like face moved forward. "I am Zcerneboch. If you follow me I will teach you how to become gods like me." His face then retreated and the color of the sky was once again it's now native blue. Jayce waited for Zcerneboch to continue but he nodded to Jayce dismissively.

Jayce realized it was his turn and coughed into his hand to clear his throat. "Hello, fellow inhabitants of the simulation. I am one of you. My name is Jayce Good. I was chosen by the two Overwatchers of Neith and Tohil to lead you to victory against these three. If you follow me I promise we will find a way to escape this simulation! I promise we will no longer kill ourselves for uninterested gods! I promise we will create a universe where we can be free to choose what we do with our lives! Together we can end this eternal torture!"

He hadn't meant to get so worked up but the emotions of when Earth had been destroyed filtered into his words and caused him to get passionate. He blushed slightly after he finished speaking and leaned back in his chair as he had seen the other three do. SAI's voice echoed through their mirrors. "You have five days to decide your allegiance. All those who have not chosen by the end of the five days will be considered void from the competition and killed. Thank you for your time." The four faces and the skull disappeared from the sky and screens. The ocean began flowing back in a natural pattern and the sky reflected the blue hue as clouds hung lazily in the sky.

Jayce leaned back in his chair. "So what now?" The three stood and shook each other's hands before offering their hands to Jayce. "Now we prepare for war." Jayce shook their extended limbs dumbstruck. "This is how you prepare for war?" The three were already exiting through now obvious doorways. "We're brothers, it's all in good fun." Jayce felt like he had just been hit over the head with a hammer. "You destroy everything about our lives in an instant and it's just a game to you all?" He cried out but there was no one to respond to him. Neith put a ghostly hand on his shoulder, "Don't take it personally. Just kill them." Her cheery smile did nothing to improve Jayce's mood and he slowly walked through the last remaining doorway.

Jayce found himself standing directly in front of the Royal Coliseum. He felt gross from being near such heartless beings and involuntarily shook. He took a deep breath and looked around himself. Stunned faces stared back at him and he waved at them sheepishly. "Hey everyone. It's me, Jayce."

...

Ionas leaned back in his chair as the faces disappeared. He pulled out a cigarette and took a long drag as he felt the heat press against his metallic jaw. He swiveled his chair around to look out the window. Below had previously been empty space extending for miles. Now, directly below him was the castle that belonged to team Pure and a medieval village. He sighed and took another drag. He continued to stare out the window as civil service robots zoomed through the city. Below him, he saw hordes of races all moving in directionless paths. He sighed to himself and squashed the cigarette on his metal thumb.

Opening up a new app on his watch four gleaming icons appeared before him. A red one with a hawk on it, a blue one with an octopus, a purple one with a scorpion, and a half green half gold one with a lion on it. The timer below it had 124 hours and counting displayed. He smiled to himself and closed the app. He leaned his chair against his desk and looked out into the city.

....

Micu sat down slowly as his hands slid down the fence. Ralnas gazed out over the ocean watching birds form from the air and soar into the sky. "I guess we're not going to get to win the capability exam are we?" He said lightheartedly. Isabel laughed softly and Jeneria glanced at her suspiciously.

Micu paid them no mind as he dusted off his clothes and turned to look at the Royal Coliseum. A crowd was gathering around a familiar figure and he sighed as he began trotting towards them. Jenira quickly followed after him. Ralnas stayed seated as he looked out over the bright blue ocean that now filled the horizon. "I haven't seen an ocean since I was back on Earth." He said wistfully. Isabel nodded as she sat next to him, "Me neither." Ralnas sighed and leaned back on his hands. The two of them sat in silence as they watched the waves slowly wash upon the beach.

Jayce felt a little overwhelmed by the sheer number of people who had gathered around him. They had panicked looks on their faces. Though none spoke he could feel their uneasiness and concern in the air. He glanced from face to face doing his best to look confident and approachable. "I'm still just a human everyone, no need to be scared." This didn't seem to have an effect on the crowd and Jayce just did his best to keep smiling.

Spotting Micu and Jenira he waved to them happily. "Hey, guys!" Jenira smiled back. Micu simply pointed at a car that Jayce recognized to be the one Steve drove. Nodding he walked through the crowd but stopped before getting into the car. "If any of you have hopes of finally being free from this simulation. If any of you have the courage to stand up for what matters to you. If any of you desire to protect everything you love from being destroyed then I urge you to join me. Together we will end this nightmare." Jayce opened the door and climbed inside the cab.