Amusement Park ~ 2

Sehyoon and the others followed the being into the amusement park. Behind them, the gates slammed shut, making the oppressive atmosphere even more profound, and they couldn't stop themselves from shivering in fear.

A fishy scent swirled about the humans, and their noses shrivelled in disgust. They quickly discovered where it was coming from when they looked down and saw the blood that had been flowing down the being's slit cheeks had made a large crimson puddle on the ground. It was spreading out and was going to shortly to reach where the group was standing; they collectively took a step back and huddled closer together.

'Can anyone hear me?' A female voice drifted through the wind and entered Sehyoon's ears. It left behind an itchy feeling and scratched at his heart. 'Hello, anyone there?'

Sehyoon schooled his expression and tried to not let anything show on the surface. From a glance at the other's faces, he could guess that no one else had heard the bodiless voice. So his reacting to it at this moment would only cause a commotion, and under the situation they were in, it wouldn't be a good idea to draw attention to himself.

'H... el... lo...' the voice had turned staticky, like an old radio that you had to hit a few times to make it work properly again. And then the 'person's' words faded away into nothing. It was like a connection had been severed between Sehyoon and the owner of the voice.

A sense of loss swirled about in his chest, but he could not figure out why: he hadn't recognised the voice just now, meaning it wasn't anyone he knew. So why did he feel so upset right now?

He didn't have time to think about it further, because the 'individual' before them let out a boisterous laugh, startling the humans as they did so; so much so that most of them felt as though their hearts were going to rip out of their chests and scurry far, far away. Unfortunately, they weren't able to do that themselves.

"Welcome to the Eternal Damnation Games." The creature said once again. There was a lilt to their words, it was like they couldn't hide their amusement. They took off their top hat and shook it out in front of them: a rattling sound could be heard from within the hat. Listening closely, it sounded like multiple objects hitting against each other.

"First, let me introduce myself. I am known as the Game Master. You can just call me Ma." Ma moved closer to the humans and fiddled with the hat in their hands as they did so. "You humans must be feeling excited, right? Happy, right?" They drawled out the word 'humans' like it was something to be relished and an icy glint shone in their eyes.

"Hehe... I know I would be if I were in your shoes. After all, you guys are the chosen ones... the people who have been carefully selected to take part in these games..."

"What bullshit!" The guy with glasses exploded and rushed forward to grab the being. "Send us back right now! What happy? What excited? Who would play with their deaths?"

The guy was breathing heavily, and before his friend could grab him to stop him, she stepped back in shock. Holes appeared around the guy's mouth. It was like something had roughly punctured the skin there, and black thread slithered out of each of them. Like multiple worms, the thread wriggled through the holes, and the guy's lips were forced to close. He struggled to remove the threads during this, but they wouldn't budge, and blood flowed like rivulets down his chin, soaking his clothes.

Once the 'worms' were done, the guy could no longer open his mouth. Soon after, the 'worms' repeated the process with his eyes and ears. He now could not hear, see or talk: it left his senses of touch and smell unaffected. Having lost three of his senses was disorientating, and he collapsed to the ground, and he crawled about like a dog as he tried to get his bearings.

No one stepped forward to help him... they all felt dreadful and were afraid that if they took even one step out of line, the same thing would happen to them.

"Tsk, too noisy." The being sneered and lowered their arm.

They swiftly lifted their leg and placed it on the back of the still struggling guy, causing him to crash painfully into the ground. "Didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to interrupt when someone is talking?" With their foot on top of the guy's back, they ignored his whimpers and faced the other humans.

"I tried to be nice and give you a warm welcome, but no one appreciates my kindness... how sad." The being pouted, and the slits along their cheeks pressed tightly together, making more blood trickle down their pale chin. The puddle beneath them only grew bigger and spread faster towards the group. "Mm, I'm done playing nice now. It's so boring and not a lot of fun." They picked up the hat from where they had dropped it previously and brandished it towards the humans.

"Three of you come forward and choose an object from the hat. Whichever object you choose will determine your fate within the game. Whether you can survive what the Game Master has planned depends on only yourself."

"Ah, but before you do enter the first game, do be warned..." they grinned once more, and said, "don't trust what is in front of you. Use your minds to see what is real."