Prologue

"I should have never accepted the invitation" was the only thought in Daniel's mind as he peered into the three moons adorning the sky in front of his eyes.

He was kneeling in the middle of a circle of bodies. His great ax, having cleaved most of them in half, was now deeply buried in the head of some kid that couldn't be older than fourteen. Not that he had any motivation to keep wielding it; his arms were too busy clutching the broken body of the closest thing he had to a friend amidst all that madness.

The white leather armor she was once so proud of was stained with blood and filth, and her broken and twisted limbs snapped with each movement Daniel made while holding her.

"This is pointless," - He mumbled, rocking back and forth while zoning out the symphony of screams, weapons clashes, and magic incantations that accompanied the battle.

All around him, the body of enemies and allies covered the battlefield floor, their blood, piss, and shit mixing with the sweat and tears of those still alive and desperately fighting for survival. Every ounce of hope abandoned him after realizing he was the only member of his party still alive.

He was tired of the game, of trying to please the so-called Gods, of following stupid orders, of killing and betraying all those around him so he would climb the rankings, and most of all, he was tired of fighting.

"I… I just wanna go home," - Daniel whined, burying his face in the chest of his dead companion. The perfume she was so fond of in life unable to overpower the stench of death that embraced the battlefield.

"They can shove the fucking wish up their asses; I just wanna go home… please… please let me go home…." - He whimpered, tightly hugging the lifeless body in a vain attempt at comfort.

Chaos is the only true ruler of a battlefield. As such, the cries of agony of a single person are easily ignored. Far easier is to completely ignore the person's existence if he chooses to curl up on the floor clutching a dead body and stay out of sight. Pretending to be just another lifeless husk in a desperate attempt to escape the madness surrounding him.

This choice would have eventually resulted in Daniel's death on any other battlefield. But on that day, be it by sheer luck or the distorted sense of humor of the Gods, it paid off.

A situation so utterly inconceivable that Daniel couldn't believe his ears when the sound of a notification rang on them, nor the message in the bluish screen hovering in front of his eyes.

"CONGRATULATIONS, PLAYER SILVER FANG!

YOU ARE THE SOLE SURVIVOR OF THIS STAGE!

PLEASE CHOOSE YOUR REWARD."

"Is… is this for real?" - Daniel mumbled incredulously while getting up.

"HOME! I WANNA GO HOME!" - He screamed, the cruel flicker of hope igniting inside his chest as he stared at the screen.

The message on the screen faded, replaced by a new one as the sound of a new message broke the silence.

"ABANDONING THE GAME IS FORBIDDEN.

PLEASE CHOOSE A VALID REWARD."

Daniel let out a tired and disheartened laugh, shaking his head. As always, hope was dangled in front of their faces, just to be snatched away.

He studied the screen, his mind racing as he tried to find a way out.

"I want an audience with one of the Gods."

"ONLY PLAYERS EMBRACED BY THE GODS, OR THOSE RANKING AMONGST THE TOP SEVEN, CAN REQUEST AN AUDIENCE.

PLEASE CHOOSE A VALID REWARD."

"So let me talk to a representative of the Gods."

"ONLY THOSE RANKING AMONGST THE TOP FOURTEEN PLAYERS CAN REQUEST TO TALK TO A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE GODS.

PLEASE CHOOSE A VALID REWARD."

"FUCK YOU!" - Daniel screamed at the top of his lungs, anger and frustration taking hold of his body and mind - "FUCK YOU! FUCK YOUR RANKS! FUCK YOUR GAME! FUCK ALL THIS SHIT! JUST LET ME GO HOME, YOU STUPID PIECE OF SHIT! I AM TELLING YOU MY REWARD IS GOING HOME! LET ME GO!"

Body trembling after his outburst, he glared at the screen, trying to catch his breath.

"IF THE PLAYER IS UNABLE TO CHOOSE A VALID REWARD AFTER THIS MESSAGE, THE SYSTEM WILL AUTOMATICALLY ISSUE ONE BASED ON HIS ACHIEVEMENTS FOR THIS STAGE.

PLEASE CHOOSE A VALID REWARD."

There it was, the cruel and uncaring system. Ruler of all, savior of none.

"Please… please don't do this to me. I can't take it anymore." - Daniel whined, getting on his knees. Prostrated himself over the body of his companion and clasped both hands over his head in desperation.

"Just… just let me talk to anyone that can send me home; this is all I'm asking for. Anyone or anything that can get me home, please, please just let me leave…."

A final message notification reverberated in Daniel's ears. Silence reigned once more as he dreaded raising his head and facing another denial from the system.

"This is it… I am going to die just like everyone else," - Daniel cried while hot tears escaped his eyes.

"Maybe, maybe not, it all depends on the deal you make with us." - A disturbing sound that tried to replicate a voice replied, and Daniel raised his head as fear embraced him.

Looking around, he expected to see one of the gods responsible for this torturous madness, or at least one of the entities they thought were angels at first. But there was nothing besides the battlefield and its ocean of dead bodies.

"Who.. who said that?"

"Does that really matter?" - The voice inquired, and Daniel's eyes filled with despair as he finally noticed where it was coming from.

"Pa… Patricia?" - He stuttered, back crawling away from the body.

"Sorry, kiddo, but she is long gone," - Patricia's body replied. Her mouth, or the part that remained after being obliterated by the strike of a mace, produced a sickening sound as it moved to form the words - "But that's not really important, is it?"

Daniel's mind fought to comprehend what was happening. He had seen many impossible things becoming a reality after joining the game. Fantasy races, magic, artifacts, self-titled Gods, supposed angels and demons, monsters, and more. But nothing shook his mind so much as whatever was using Patricia's dead body to talk to him. There was something in its mockery of a voice that was just wronger than everything else he had faced.

"Wha… Who… How?" - Daniel stammered, trying to find the right words.

"You asked for anyone or anything that could send you home, and here we are."

Those words brought Daniel's ears the joy an oasis would get to one lost in a desert.

"Can you really send me home?!"

"That depends. Can you pay the price?"

"I will pay anything, ANYTHING! Just please let me go home!"

"Easy there, kiddo" - The voice laughed, and Daniel had to fight against the urge to throw up as he heard it - "Don't promise what you can't, or won't, fulfill; we hate that."

"What… what do you want?"

Patricia's mouth contorted itself in a predatory smile, which should be impossible due to the state it found itself in.

"You see, breaking the contract is no easy feat." - She said mockingly - "So the price for doing so is pretty high. You give us one of your offspring, like your cute little girl…."

"No!" - Daniel screamed, interrupting the voice; the only reason he wanted out was to return to his children. He couldn't condemn them to this hell even if it wasn't the reason.

"... or you name fourteen substitutes, one being blood-related to you. It can be your old pops, your lovely little mum, your older brother, your choice."

Cold sweat trickled alongside Daniel's face as he took in the conditions in front of him.

"What… what happens if I can't pay the price?"

"Nothing much, you will keep playing the game… It's not like you can't do it anymore, is it?" - It snickered.

Having finally gotten a chance to escape, Daniel's mind was torn; on one hand, freedom was within his grasp. On the other, he would have to send fourteen innocent people to this hell, one of them being a member of his family.

"Can you really send me back?"

"You know how things work, Daniel. In here, a deal that was struck may never be broken." - The voice said solemnly.

"Isn't that the only reason you're here right now?" - It chuckled.

"The faster you choose, the faster you can leave, my boy."

Daniel closed his eyes, the remains of the man he was before the game fighting against desperation's choice.

"Will I… at least be able to say goodbye to them?"

"The next game will start in two days. So it all depends on how fast you can visit them."

Silence reigned between the two for a few moments, finally broken by Daniel as he started listing names.