The Mansion of Trials and Trials

The Rules

"That's better! Alright, then! It looks like everyone is willing to listen to me now."

"But in order to prevent anyone from getting out of control again, why don't I take away all the weapons you guys have first?"

Weapons.....? What the heck is she talking about?

Ignoring me, Puppet clapped her hands. I closed my eyes and waited for something to happen. Nothing did.

"Hmm.....there are guns, knives, steel wires and poison...........hehe.......how interesting. I wonder who brought these. Well, never mind, if you don't want to die, listen up, my dear Wanderers." Puppet spread her arms.

"You guys have entered the fork in your lives. In here, you will make choices! Choices that determine your ending and fate!"

"I, Puppet, as the Resident of this land, welcome you all to the Mansion of Trials and Trials, a distant place of curses, salvation and blessings. In five days, you guys will be trapped here and be tested in five different kinds of trials each day. Only the ones who overcome the trials can leave this Mansion safe and sound. However, if you fail to overcome the trials or break the rules, you will RECEIVE JUDGMENT just like that cute police officer earlier. BANG! BANG!"

Trials? What the heck is she talking about?

"Wanderers! Please, first, look at the bag that is given to you. Inside, there are three items. A room key with a tag which shows your Wanderer number, from No. 1 to No. 31 and your room number. A pocket watch with chains. And a coin called Obol. Obol is like a kind of money here. A thing that has equal value as your life," Puppet waved her hand, a number of drawstring pouch bags emerged suddenly into the air. The bags floated and landed in everyone's hands. She kept on talking, my mind went completely blank.

"In this Mansion, there are in total SIX unbreakable rules!"

"One. Wanderers must participate in the trials."

"Two. Wanderers must pay enough obol to enter the trials."

"Three. If anyone cannot pay enough obol, he or she will receive judgment immediately."

"Four. Wanderers can only leave the Mansion by 'receiving judgment' or 'passing all five trials'. Any other kinds of escapes are not allowed."

"Five. Wanderers cannot kill or harm the Residents in the Mansion. Anyone who kills or harms the Residents will be trapped in the Mansion forever."

"Six. As long as the rules are followed, Wanderers can use, go or do anything in the Mansion."

"Above are all the rules. Remember! All of the choices you make in this Mansion will affect whether you can leave this Mansion or not. If you guys still don't understand the rules, let me give you a hint. Don't trust anyone in the Mansion easily. You'll never know who is lying."

"So, my dear Wanderers, if you don't want to die, put your life, dignity and everything you have to challenge the trials. Change your fate! Change your destiny! Let the trials begin!"

Hearing Puppet, I doubted my ears. My mind was completely blank. I didn't even quite understand what was happening here.

As my heart panicked, I started to regret going inside the Mansion.

I should have just left.

∞∞∞

On the highest floor of the Mansion, a ray of moonlight shone on the white checker frames and sneaked inside the room. It was quiet and still, unlike the floors below. A gigantic, antique, triple lens telescope stood alone in the middle of the room. Globes, paper and stacks of books scattered around the floor like jigsaw puzzles, chaotic and disorganized, yet, had a sense of pattern and beauty in it. Near a pile of books, a cute light brown fox curled into a ball and slept comfortably in its castle of dreams. It ducked its head behind its tail and wiggled its ears gently. The ears were large and pointy, distinctive for a baby fennec fox. On the stack, one of the books on top was placed high. A cool breeze blew in and the book wiggled and vibrated. It lost its balance and fell over, crashing on the floor, breaking the silence. Without the pillar point, other books followed and collapsed like building blocks.

Hearing the sound, the fox woke up and looked around, wondering where the sound came from. Its eyes were sleepy, there was too much work these days. It raised its head, scratched its ears and looked back. In front was a wave of books emerging towards him.

"Arrr!" The fox jumped up in panic. Its fur straightened up immediately. It hopped up and ran. But the books were faster, they tripped over and collapsed on its body, stabbing its body and head. Dust swirled around. The rest of the piles of books followed and collapsed.

"ARRRRRRR!" The fox screamed.

After a minute or two, one of the books got pushed away and fell over from the stack, creating a deep hole in the middle. The fox squeezed its tiny body and ears through the spaces and climbed its way out from the mountain of books, shivering in fear. It darted and ran away from the monsters. In its view, the books were much scarier than any blood or corpses.

"What's wrong, Coffee?" A young man with short silver hair and silver eyes asked. Under his sleeves, his body was full of sewed stitches, unlike any normal human being. Arms and legs, his face too. The man sat on a wide arched window and patted the fox's head. The fox sighed and cuddled on the man's hand. Fingers touched its ears, the warmth and comfort relaxed its nerves.

"Did you sleep near the books again?" The man raised his voice and asked, "I told you not to do that. You'll get hurt."

"Arrrr....." Squeaking, Coffee lowered its ears down and licked the man's finger. Its tongue was less than a centimeter, smaller than any living being. It tried to clean the man's hand even though it might take ages.

"That's enough. I'm not angry. Just don't do it again, ok?" The man sighed and put the fox on his shoulder. It was his pet's best sleeping spot. He just couldn't stand his pet cuddling him.

"Arrr!" Coffee wiggled its tail and squeaked. It laid on its master's shoulders and closed its eyes immediately, dozing off to its castle of dreams. His master's shoulder was always so cozy and sweet.

"Coffee. Don't sleep. You have been sleeping for hours. Foxes don't need to sleep that much. You're not a cat."

"Arrr......?" Coffee squeaked softly and gazed at his master.

".....are you listening?" The man sighed. His pet was always problematic. It loved to sleep everywhere and hated work. He wanted to scold it but he was just too soft-hearted. He turned his head and gazed at the window.

"The trials finally started. I wonder how many will survive this time." The man smiled.