1 A Small Punishment Game

"Hmph! As expected of me!" A bellow of satisfaction and an arrogant smile came from a young man. Standing in his home, he had just received a letter of his acceptance. His haughty smile could be felt from worlds away as the young man's morning began bright and breezy.

Tossing the letter ever so casually toward his father, he began walking out of his front door. His yard had a large tree, one that was soon to be removed due to speculations of it becoming a hazard as the tree was dying. Not wanting it to topple over, his father had made an arrangement to get it removed the next day.

Slipping on his blue denim jacket, the morning wind blew his black hair slightly to the side. Walking into the busy world with his arrogant attitude would only cause him trouble, especially in his current city— Chicago.

His life in America had started when he enrolled in high school. His father had wanted him to learn English to manage the family business. An argument over this broke out between the youth and his father. Not about learning English, but managing the family business. It wasn't anything much, but it was just a small internet firm that wasn't well-known. Reluctantly, his father had accepted the bet where if his son managed to get accepted by the best university in America, the youth wouldn't have to inherit the family business. And so, the battle for his future began.

Scoring full marks on every test, his ego became inflated. So much so he began viewing himself as the best in the entire world. That, however, was challenged by someone in his class. One that could be regarded as a true genius among geniuses. Her beauty was also not something mere mortals should possess. Her enchanting gaze along with her long brown hair and mesmerizing green eyes could allure anybody. Female students were also unable to resist her loveliness, gaining her many followers.

But, the young man had noticed something about her. Sometimes, her eyes as mesmerizing as they are would have a sense of lifelessness; almost as if she had no desire or ambition in her life.

"Well, whatever," he thought. "She has nothing to do with me in the first place. A genius among geniuses? Oh, please. If anything, I am an existence above those so-called 'true geniuses' that will stay at the top!"

The youth had decided to walk to his friend's house. He had nothing to do anyway, and he could brag about how he was accepted into the number one university in America!

As he was walking toward his friend's house, he was bumped by someone. Feeling his pocket, he knew his phone had just been pickpocketed. Noticing the other party wearing a green jersey, he followed him and was led into an alleyway. Two other shady characters were there as well. One had a purple longsleeved shirt, the sleeves rolled up. Standing next to him was a person clothed in a dark red.

Seeing him walk in, purple-shirt perked up. "Well, look what we have here, boys. A stray cat looking for its momma's milk!" As soon as he said this, the other two turned to face the youth.

"Hm?" The youth began to act. His hands slipped into his pocket, and he stood up straighter and stuck his chest out to look bigger than he was before. "Me, a stray cat? You must be blind." Purple-shirt's eyes narrowed and he walked over to the youth, also making himself look bigger.

"Ah, yes. You are the stray cat. One with a sharp tongue as well."

"Oh, you flatter me Sir Impaired. Though, let me help correct your incorrect assumption. I'm no cat, much less a stray. I'm the one that'll make you beg for forgiveness." Green-jacket and Red chuckled.

"A scrawny guy like him?" Green-jacket chortled as he recognized the youth. He produced a sleek-black phone and began to play around with it. "Hey Jess, make him cough up the pass to his phone. He's the one I picked."

"You're next, idiot." The youth proclaimed. "Pickpocketing a master in martial arts like me was a bad idea." After this comment, Jess produced a knife in his right hand, the blade about four and a half inches long.

"Since you're versed in martial arts, then I'll use this as a precaution." He licked his lips and lunged forward. Being deep in the long alleyway, there were no passersby that noticed the fight.

Swiftly kicking the knife out of his hand, the youth then regained balance and threw Jess into the wall. Landing on the ground, his stomach was kicked in right after.

Or so what was supposed to happen. After he kicked the knife out of Jess' hand, he had been ambushed by Red.

"Hey, what gives?" The youth was struggling to break free as Red held a strong grip on his arms where they stood.

"Ah? You thought we'd play nice? Think about where you are. Think about who you're dealing with. Now, what's the pass to your phone?" Jess rubbed his right hand and picked up the knife with his left.

"You think I'd abandon my pride and tell you that?" Ptoo! The youth had spat on Jess' face.

"Now you've done it!" Red with rage, Jess slashed at the youth's stomach, drawing blood. The cut was not deep, but the youth winced in pain.

"Playing the tough guy eh? There's more where that came from." Just then, someone had appeared. Her long brown hair and green mesmerizing eyes held a phone with the numbers "911" punched in.

"I've already called the police. They're on their way." The three thugs fled the alleyway, with a look of disdain for the girl.

The youth looked behind him and saw the enchanting beauty. "It's her…" He thought.

"I… I can't let her see me in a mess like this!" Despite the youth's wound, he hid his face with his jacket and ran past her.

"Wait! You're injured…" She couldn't catch up to him. Staring at his back, rain began to start dripping down.

Bleeding, the youth ran back to his home as it was near the alleyway. His father would call the ambulance and he would be able to recuperate at the hospital. The rain began to pound, and the sound of rolling thunder came. Crashing by every other pedestrian, he clutched his stomach wound and ran as fast as he could in the rain.

His steps became heavier. The wound wasn't deep, but due to his overexertion, it widened and his blood count decreased. His eyes were getting a bit blurrier, but he was just about to turn toward his house.

Hobbling across the street, blood trailing behind him, he collapsed in front of the tree on his yard. Rain pouring down on him, his body grew colder, his strength getting weaker by the second. His blood loss was too much for his body to handle

Miraculously, his father had looked through the window and saw his son collapsed on the yard, and he noticed the blood trail. He immediately dialed 911 and ran out to aid his son.

As if in slow motion, the youth saw his father running toward him sluggishly.

"Is this the end? But… I've done so well… This was supposed to be a good day… right?"

Lightning flashed, and the tall tree was struck. An explosion burst forth, causing the tree to snap and fall toward the youth.

"This… why?"

…

A day later, the newspaper published an article of a youth, one to be a future prospect of the top university in America. He collapsed from blood loss in front of a tree. The storm from yesterday had caused the tree to snap, crushing him completely, the father of the youth was devastated. His name….

…

"What?" A warm feeling welled up inside of the youth. "Am I… dead?"

"Indeed." A figure appeared. The surroundings of the room were purely white. The only color was provided by this being that had appeared seemingly out of thin air. The color of the being was something inconceivable to the mortal eye, much less the newly formed spirit.

"Who are you?"

"I am but a messenger, here to deliver you a choice." The figure held out both of his hands. One hand held a swirling mist, in the other was a magnificent paradise.

"In my right hand, you can see the afterlife; a place where spirits reside. In my left, you will be able to be reincarnated anew."

"This… I'll be able to reincarnate? Would there be any special powers I'm given? Can I get something to rival even you? What kind of world is it?" The youth's mouth shut forcibly.

"Hush, child. Yes, as I have said previously, you would be reincarnated into another world. If you work hard enough, you may become of an elevated strength. However, should you choose to be reincarnated, you would have to play a game." The youth's mouth became unbound.

"A game?" A smile appeared on the figure, pure white teeth shone.

"Why, it is a simple game. Should you accept, it will begin immediately."

"Then let's do it!" The youth look excitedly at the being. As soon as he agreed a wheel appeared. There were hundreds of sections in no particular order. The wheel was golden and very massive. So massive to the point that the room even expanded to accommodate the entire wheel.

"Genius, plant, lightning, no luck…" The youth read off a few of the options.

"The game is simple. All you need to do is spin this wheel and your life will be set in the new world. There are no redos, and you cannot go back on this decision."

"Hmm…" The youth began to ponder. "You need to reduce the amount. Just leave all of the top-notch options on there." The being frowned.

"You dislike the game?" His head twitched to the side, going unnoticed by the youth.

"Frankly speaking, yes. All of the lesser options are useless, especially for a reincarnation. I demand you change this, or I'll just select what I want from this list!" The figure twitched more.

"Useless?"

"Yes, I've just said that. Now, get to it." The youth waved his hand as if shooing the figure away.

"Are you… ordering me?"

"Yes. I am. Now, do it." The figure flashed and reappeared directly in front of the youth. The color that exuded from him changed to a ghastly one. A malicious smile appeared on his face.

"You do not order me. Hihihi… I am the one who controls this space." His head twitched to the side. "Congratulations young one. You get to play the hidden game." The figure's head twitched to the other side. "Do not worry. It is a simple game. It is just a small punishment game for attempting to order me. I am not to be ordered by outsiders," he hissed.

The youth fell down, taken aback by this complete 180 of the figure. "Wasn't he a messenger of a higher being?" He asked to himself.

"Yes. I am. However, you broke a taboo. Now I get to play." His smile grew wider, showing an extra set of teeth that were razor sharp. Upon seeing this, the youth felt his legs begin to shake in complete fear.

The golden wheel that was once there disappeared. What appeared next was a black wheel, but it was much smaller than the golden wheel. The second wheel could not be even more than an eighth of the size of the former wheel.

The figure clasped his hands. He bent his waist and extended his neck a freakish amount toward the youth so their faces were less than a centimeter apart. The youth's eyes were shaking in utter horror of the monster before him. Beads of sweat dripped down. He was completely dominated by this creature before him.

"Now then… shall we play?"