Erase

Act 4: The Game

SATURDAY

-Hideout 4:43 AM-

Saturday at Yuichi and Jun's hideout. By this time, Shino, Yuichi and Jun are still fast asleep.

-Room 4:44 AM-

In Shino's room, Shino was still asleep, lying on her bed, when suddenly, a fly came in from the open window.

The little fly flew around the place before landing on Shino's midsection. The fly went closer and closer to Shino's belly button, before eventually entering the inside of it, causing ticklish discomfort.

Shino moaned a bit in her sleep, but otherwise, there was nothing wrong on the outside.

Inside, however, is a different story....

-Void ?:??-

Meanwhile, in Shino's dream, Shino suddenly found himself in a dark, empty void. Not knowing where to go, she called for help.

"Hello?" Said Shino. "Anyone... there?"

Suddenly, a loud male voice boomed around the area, startling Shino.

"So, you've come." Said the voice.

"Who... who are you.?" Shino replied.

"I am known by many names around the world." Said the voice. "But you can call me Ezdeath."

"Ezdeath?" Shino replied.

"The God of death." Said Ezdeath. "Now, I'm gonna show you something interesting. Follow the light in front of you."

A light then slowly appears in front of Shino. Shino slowly walks towards the light to see what lies beyond it.

To her surprise, the light led her into a room full of silhouettes. Some of which she can recognize.

"Wait, is that... Mayuka? And Jun and Yuichi too?!" Said Shino. "What's going on?"

"Don't worry. They can't hear a thing you say, and they don't either." Ezdeath replied. "And within their field of vision, you are but a mere silhouette as well, just like the ones you see."

"What is going on here?!" Said Shino.

"Now that you're all here, allow me to explain." Ezdeath replied. "I, Ezdeath, the god of death, have transported you here in my dimension to invite you into my game."

"What game?" Said Shino.

"What else but the game of Erase?" Ezdeath replied. "To put it simply, all 13 of you individuals right here must kill, nay, erase each other until only one of you stands strong."

"Whoever wins this game, shall inherit my throne, as the new God of death." Ezdeath continued.

"God of... death.?" Said Shino.

"The one who controls the concept of death itself. The one who decides the deaths of all the people in the world, and the one who bestows final judgment upon the fallen." Ezdeath replied.

"For that exact reason, I decided to select 13 individuals from a long list of people who have committed the primordial sin of killing, be it a homicide or a murder." Ezdeath continued. "But be warned, some of these individuals are more dangerous than the others."

"N-No...! No! I don't want this contest!" Said Shino.

"Oh? Unfortunately, I do not allow such an option?" Ezdeath replied.

"Wh-What do you mean?" Said Shino.

"Look at your neck." Ezdeath replied.

Shino touched her neck and, much to her surprise, found a purple collar wrapped around her neck. She tried to take it off, but it was too tight, and there was no lock or belt around the choker that could have been used for removal.

"H-Huh? What is this?" Said Shino. "Ugh... I... can't remove it..."

"Resistance is futile, Shino Sato. For that collar of yours can only be removed by me, once you follow all my orders." Ezdeath replied. "And in case you have no intention of following my orders, allow me to show your the fate of one of our contestants, who's currently having the same dilemma."

One of the silhouettes surrounding the place suddenly began to take shape, revealing the contestant, a man who was convicted with homicide.

"So, #13. What is it that bothers you regarding this tournament?" Said Ezdeath.

"I-I don't want to be a part of this! I just want to be home!" The contestant replied. "Take me home! Please!"

"As you wish." Said Ezdeath.

Ezdeath lifts his right hand and points it toward the contestant. Suddenly, the purple collar on the contestant's neck began to light up in a reddish color as he begins to choke.

"Ah... G-Gack! What... What is happening to me?!" Said the contestant.

The contestant continued to choke and writhe in pain as the collar in his neck continued to tighten. When all of a sudden, the collar proceeded to chop his head off, spraying blood all over the place. His body stood up for a few seconds, before lying down on the ground back first.

From the orifice where his head used to be, out comes a small fly. The fly went out of his body and flew away, as if nothing had happened.

"To cut a long story short, if you don't accept the challenge that I handed for you, it's off with your heads." Said Ezdeath. "Now, do you accept the challenge?"

Shino was frozen in fear as she saw the man get beheaded right before her eyes. It took her a while before she gave her answer.

"O-Okay... I accept." Said Shino.

"Excellent! Welcome to the game of Erase, young little angel!" Ezdeath replied. "I'll be seeing you again at your next dream. And remember, watch out for those with the purple collars! Hahahahaha!"

-Room 5:44 AM-

Shino then abruptly wakes up from her dream.

"It was all... a dream?" Said Shino.

Shino touches her neck to check if the purple collar was attached to her. To her surprise, she felt the purple collar in her neck.

"What...? How come...?" Said Shino. "This can't be..."

-Hideout 6:10 AM-

A few minutes later, Shino decided to get up from bed, still feeling insecure about what she had just dreamt. It was then that Jun woke up.

"Oh, hey there, Shino." Said Jun. "Why're you up so early?"

"Hey Jun..." Shino replied. "Nothing at all, I just had... a strange dream... or was it a dream?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Said Jun.

"Say, Jun... Have you ever had a dream, where you talked to some guy named Ezdeath or something?" Shino replied.

Shino's question surprised Jun. She did not expect Shino to be asking about her dreams, of all things.

"Strangely enough... I did..." Said Jun. "Just last night, in fact. Why'd you ask?"

Shino was shocked to hear what Jun replied, she slowly glanced at Jun, who was behind her at the time, and saw the purple collar on Jun's neck.

"Jun... your neck..." Said Shino.

"What? Oh. Yeah. For some reason, I woke up with this ugly-ass collar in my neck." Jun replied, trying to remove the collar from her neck. "Ugh, if only I could fucking remove it. It's too tight."

"What is this...?" Said Shino. "Was my dream real? Or..."

It was then that Yuichi woke up. Judging by his initial actions, Yuichi doesn't seem to be a morning person.

"Jun? Jun?! JUN!!" Said Yuichi. "Who put this collar in my neck?!?"

"No fucking idea." Jun replied. "Just get your ass down here so I can check it."

From the looks of things, it seems that Shino's dream was not a dream at all. If Ezdeath's words turn out to be real, how will she handle having to kill her new friends?

TO BE CONTINUED