Chapter 6: The Game Of The Chosen Ones

Some distance away from Desoreth, a blinding light began to manifest.

The light soon condensed into a humanoid figure before finally dissipating, allowing Desoreth to once again open his sealed eyes.

"Who are you?"

"And where exactly am I?" Desoreth questioned the old man who had suddenly appeared in front of him.

Instead of responding, the elderly man with a three-story-long white beard inquired back. "You haven't heard of me? So, why are you carrying that coin with you?"

"This?" Desoreth asked, showing the old man the smooth grey coin."My ancestor gave me this coin just before I was to be executed."

"Now answer my questions. Who are you? Where have you brought me? And Why?"

"Hm, I see. So your ancestor didn't explain anything to you, about what this coin is? What purpose does it serve? What's your role in all of this? Nothing?" The elderly man treated Desoreth as air and didn't bother to reply.

"No, he didn't say anything; he simply told me I'd find out soon enough." Since now Desoreth could feel some emotions, he was starting to get somewhat irritated at the old man's unpleasant treatment.

"Well, I think I get the gist of it, but if your ancestor left that coin with you, it means you're the one he chose for this purpose, the Chosen One."

"The Chosen One?" Desoreth repeated, perplexed.

"What exactly does that mean?"

"Let me give you a brief overview. I hope that it will help dispel some of your doubts."

"First of all, you may refer to me as Vishvachit. Every new participant must meet me before entering the game, and the coin you're holding is the key to your participation in The Game of the Chosen Ones."

"This game has been in progress for a looooong period, and the end mission to conclude this game is very simple, the Chosen One must accomplish one thing," the Old man paused for a short moment, stroking his long white beard, before continuing. "You must kill one person."

Desoreth remained silent and allowed the elderly man to continue.

"He is referred to as The Dark Peace," the old man explained, pausing for a moment to let his words sink in.

"He is the most powerful being in the universe. And just so you know, this isn't a debatable matter; I'm not offering you a choice; you've already been a part of it when your ancestor handed you that coin; now it's either you live or die."

Desoreth realized he couldn't back down any longer, so he asked the next obvious question that sprang to his mind: "What are the rules of this 'Game?'"

"There is only one rule: survive and slay The Dark Peace; only then can the game be considered over," the old man stated.

"And what will we obtain if we somehow manage to eliminate The Dark Peace?"

"First of all, you get to live for a longer time. Secondly, you become the strongest or one of the strongest in the universe, what else do you need?"

Desoreth gave a nod.

"Anything else? No? Then I won't hold you any longer, and as a friendly reminder, don't worry if you can't recall anything; slowly, as you gain strength, your memories will begin to resurface," the elderly man remarked, waving his hands, "Off you go."

Desoreth's body began to fade away, "Oh! It almost slipped my mind—don't utter his name out loud, because if you do, he will sense you..." the old man frantically added, and Desoreth vanished.

.

.

.

Once again, Desoreth opened his eyes.

'First a black dimension, then a white dimension.'

'What in the world is going on today?' Desoreth turned his head to survey his surroundings.

There wasn't much to see since everything around him was pure white.

*Sob* *Sob*

He couldn't see anything, but he could hear someone sobbing, 'Is it a child?'

'It does sound like a kid.'

*Pitter-Patter*

Desoreth proceeded a little further as the whimpering sound became louder, indicating that he was getting closer to its source. Until a boy came into his line of sight.

The boy, sitting on the ground with his head between his legs, continued to cry without even glancing at him.

Finally, Desoreth inquired, "What happened? Why are you upset?"

"I-I *sob sob* wumded tu vi *sob sob* uh hiru *sob sob*" Desoreth had an ugly look on his face. He wasn't even able to make heads or tails of what the kid had just said.

"Why don't you stop crying first, and then tell me again what you wanted to say?"

The youngster didn't seem to be someone who didn't listen to reason, as the sobs were quickly suppressed, and Desoreth could finally comprehend what he was saying.

"I aspired to be a hero, but I failed, and now I'm dead. I wanted to save everyone from the wrath of the Ravagers and have everyone look up to me and revere me, but that didn't happen. I was slaughtered before I could even awaken my powers and help anyone else." The youngster told Desoreth everything, but he stammered slightly and didn't lift his head from his knees.

"Slaughtered? That's a hell of a word. Anyway, who killed you?"

"It was a monster, a gigantic dog-like beast; he murdered me," he wept.

Although it hadn't been long since Desoreth began to experience emotions, he was certain that the feeling building inside him was one of melancholy, he felt gloomy and knew that the boy beside him needed some comfort.

"There, there..." Desoreth caressed the boy's head. Though it was Desoreth's first attempt at comforting someone, it appeared to have worked, as the boy's breathing had calmed dramatically.

"Will you tell me your name?" Desoreth asked, carrying on the conversation.

"Panmich Fader," the child replied.

Panmich finally lifted his head from his knees and questioned, "And yours?"

"Desoreth Varnis"

"Wow! You're so handsome, Big Brother!" Panmich spoke, his eyes puffy and red.

"Thank you for the compliment."

They could both sense that the white space representing Panmich's consciousness was vanishing at an astonishing rate.