Chapter 1

Kiran opened his eyes, blinking the blurriness out of his vision.

Where was he?

He tried to recount what he last remembered.

First I was at the bar, then I got kicked out, then I got an email about a job… a job!

Like instinct Kiran went to grab his phone. What time was it? Was he late? Did he remember to even schedule an appointment?

Then he realized something.

He didn't have hands.

He didn't have a body.

He tried to scream in terror, but he had no mouth.

“Please child, do not be afraid,” My voice boomed. To him it was comforting yet terrifying at the same time. Kiran saw someone in front of him, he could only make out a blur. I moved closer to reveal myself.

The form I chose was that of a gentleman, tall and severe. A shock of stark white hair fell over the collar of an immaculately tailored, two-toned suit. But any hint of humanity ended there. From my back, were two massive wings, carved an intimidating silhouette against the light. A thin, golden halo hung in the air above me, a sliver of cold, divine light. Where my eyes should have been, there was only a black censor bar.

“Do you recognize me?” I let out a giggle, I couldn't help myself, I knew if Kiran had a body his heart would be racing.

“This isn't our first time meeting, child. I go by many names but you may call me God,” I  tried to bite back a grin, this would all fall apart if he caught on to the lie. “You've lived an obscenely unfair life, left behind by the world and disrespected at every single turn.”

“Of course you aren't alone, many people have been dealt the cruel hand of fate. It feels absurd, doesn't it? So many people are being put on this planet just to suffer. To slave away, having their happiness and freedom be sold to some powerful bastard against their will just to survive. And the world goes on and on as if you don't exist, perfectly content with the status quo,” I couldn't help but shiver a little. I channeled a bit of Kiran's actual feelings to appeal to his emotions. I knew he was passionate but I didn't expect such ferocity from someone so seemingly apathetic. He was perfect.

“As God I shouldn't interfere with mortal matters, but I don't want to stand by while such injustices around the world continue. So I propose a little game, a chance to win and turn it all around, are you in?” I bit the inside of my cheek. The anticipation was killing me, I hadn't been this excited in centuries. This was the moment of truth, all I needed was his permission.

Kiran's soul was silent for a good minute, it was understandable, if God came to you out of nowhere and asked you to play a game with him, you would also need some time to mentally catch up.

Finally the soul “spoke”.

Yeah, ok.

My face dropped. Kiran had seen past my facade. I could feel it. He knew I wasn't God. And yet he still agreed. What was he thinking? Perhaps he was so hopeless that anything seemed better than what he had now. I understood that feeling all too well.

Whatever his reason was, I didn't want to know.

A smirk tugged at my lips. There was no reason to be disappointed, things didn't go exactly as planned but this result was still very interesting.

“Alright son, then I'll see you on the other side.”

And just like that Kiran was forced into a deep slumber. He felt as if he was floating in space in what felt like somewhere in between a couple of seconds to decades, until the feeling of hard stone touched his back.

A harsh sunlight pierced his eyelids as he realized he was now out of wherever he was before. He felt his body once again, now sore from laying on the concrete for what felt like a while. Slowly, he pushed himself off the sidewalk, rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes.

Was it just a dream? He asked himself. He wondered if he'd just gotten so drunk he collapsed on the sidewalk and imagined the whole thing, but as soon as he looked around, the truth made itself clear.

He wasn’t laying on the streets of New York but instead in the middle of what looked like a medieval style version of Time Square. The architecture looked ancient yet pristine, complex marble patterns carved into every wall.

Kiran wasn't alone either. Countless bodies surrounded him, slowly getting up, one by one, all tired at first, then shocked as they seemed to come to the same realization he had. They were very far from home.

“Good morning ladies and gentlemen,” a voice yelled through a loudspeaker, it was me. My voice echoed throughout the city. Magical holograms all over the city came to life, all with me at the center.

“It is I! The one and only, your lord all mighty; say it with me folks! Loud and clear…” I paused for a moment.

“…God,” I growled. I let the silence linger for a bit. I could feel the despair, the shock, the fear, the awe, all of it. It was intoxicating.

“I'll be candid for a bit, I've been watching you humans for a bit and I must say while you all have been doing fine on your own, I grew a little… how do I put this… bored? Yes, bored. Though I guess that is my fault isn't it.”

Whispers of confusion, shock and terror littered the street, multiple people seemed to burst into tears, another woman kneeled and began bowing desperately. Kiran meanwhile stared blankly. He recognized the man in the display. It was the same “God” that had talked to him in the void.

“I put you all on this blue trapped bubble with no purpose, no direction and sent you all to do who knows what. It really is no surprise that you all developed these absurd rituals, building cages of your own creation and trapping yourselves in them.” I clapped my hands in mockery. It felt good to unwind, was anyone listening? It didn't matter.

“You called it ‘society’ while you all participated in this game of charades, all pretending to be ‘human’. All living a collective lie to fulfill some non existent social contract that everyone seems to accept no matter how vile it may make you feel, just for a crumb of a purpose,” I gasped for air as I ranted, catching myself on my knee, my heaves turning into hysterical laughter, by the end it was hard to tell if I was screaming from amusement or rage.

Then it all stopped.

“This was my mistake, one that I promise to rectify.” My head laid low as I bowed slightly. I wasn't God, I wasn't responsible for this, but still, my words felt genuine just this once. It was a sin to be put on this earth for no reason.

“So ladies and gentlemen! I present to you a new game! This experiment, tested on a tiny bit of the population for your entertainment! If you're home then sit back and relax, enjoy the show for however long this runs, and if you are one of our chosen contestants then congratulations!”

Contestants? Kiran scratched the end of his chin thinking, the ‘God’ said something about a game earlier, right? If we're here in this weird ass place then that must mean…

“That's right! If you woke up in this weird ass place you're one of our lucky contestants, if you're watching from home please give a warm welcome to them right now.” I interrupted. With the snap of a finger, large bugs with the heads of cameras fluttered around the town, capturing the confused faces of the contestants as they began to process their fate.

Kiran shivered as the bugs fluttered around, Cameras? This nut job's treating this like reality TV. And people back home are watching this? Kiran didn't want to even imagine the sure panic that the streets back home would be dealing with. “God” just revealed himself to the world and is making a gameshow for entertainment.

I  stepped through the display like it was a window, at first looking like a giant invading reality through the screen but quickly shrinking to the size of an average man. Many contestants screamed at the impossible sight, many doing double takes just to make sure their eyes weren't playing tricks on them. I fluttered down to get closer to their level, still keeping a bit of distance as I turned to a camera.

“The rules are simple. Listen closely cause I'll only explain this once: seventy contestants, one island, eight keys. You only need five to win.” I snapped my fingers, visuals popping out of thin air. “The prize? Six wishes of anything you desire, yes even that. Don't blush, I've heard far worse.”

I floated down closer to the ground lazily, my hands clasped behind me. “Of course nothing worth having comes for free. These keys are locked away in dungeons that will bleed you dry if you’re careless. Monsters, traps, treasures… oh, and each of you has a little gift. A superpower, carved from your very soul. Use it wisely. Or stupidly. I don’t care.”

I suddenly stopped, my grin fading into something colder. “Oh, and should you die? Don’t worry, no funerals here. You’ll wake up right back on Earth. Alone and emptyhanded. Which, might be worse.”

I spun a cane I'd just made and cackled, the sound bouncing loudly off the stone walls. “Now! A test! Consider it a filter. We wouldn't want to waste our time with some small-time nobodies. It's just a little warm up round with some trash mobs. If you can't even beat them, you deserve to be kicked out.”

I raised his arms. “Welcome to the game, my darlings. Let the games begin.” and with the snap of my finger, the plaza was now empty.

Kiran blinked once and his environment had completely changed, he was now standing at the center of a roman arena. Before he even had the chance to process the change the sound of a rattling gate behind him caught his attention.

Beasts made of clay crawled out. There were only three but that didn't make them seem any less threatening. One was top heavy, its fists so large it weighed its entire body down to a four legged position, spikes littered its arms. Where a face should have been was instead just a flat stump. The other two beasts were similar but far thinner. They carried themselves around like zombies, a scraping sound followed them, it was their hands, or lack there of. Instead of hands, they had two long blades for appendages that dragged against the floor. They were pretty far away, but once they spotted their prey they made no hesitation to chase, eager to close the gap.

Kiran couldn't help it, this was too much. He tried to keep his cool, make sense of the nonsensical but he was just about at his limit. His breathing changed to gasps for air as his panic grew, this entire day had been nothing but a nightmare with no rhyme or reason to it. An insane “God” was putting him through this game and for what? Entertainment? Because he's bored?

He had to admit, a game sounded tempting, a chance to escape. But when held up to that offer he was a coward and he knew it. Perhaps his repetitive life wasn't so bad. By no means great but it was safe and predictable.

Kiran took a step away from the beasts as they ran closer, those steps shortly turned into rushed strides. Monsters that shouldn't exist were going to kill him for a cruel beings' entertainment.

He suddenly stopped running. He thought for a moment, why not let myself die?

The rules said that if you die you return back to your normal life, and Kiran did have a job interview he could catch if he died early. The choice was obvious, going through the hassle to defeat those beasts just for the tiny chance of claiming a prize was insane.

What was the prize again?

Six wishes…

The sound of stomping and scraping had been getting louder all this time when it had suddenly stopped. Despite Kiran wanting this he still felt an instinctual fear in his heart. He turned to see from the corner of his eye, a blade, headed right for his neck.

Kiran ducked out of the way, clumsily falling to his feet, kicking himself back up as he started a mad dash away from the monsters once again. He needed more time to think. Six wishes of anything? Even one would be more than enough for him. It was really tempting.

If I fight these guys and die I can do my job interview, if I live I could get a wish… The logic was sound enough for him, it was a win-win scenario.

What would I even use my wish for… He asked himself. As he ran his mind quickly found an answer. It was a no brainer to him. He swiftly turned around ready to face the beasts head on.

“My name Kiran Stone, I am twenty-two years old, and my dream is to become filthy fucking rich,” he yelled, pointing his finger at largest beast stomping after him.

The beasts of course did not stop to listen, if anything it looked like they were getting faster. Kiran felt sweat drip down his forehead. Didn't that wannabe-god say I'd have powers or something?

“Uh- Abra kadabra!” his voice cracked mid sentence, his confident posture now a meek slouch. The beasts were about two arms lengths away now. In unison they leaped in the air.

“Ah, Son of a-” the large beast's club-like fist slammed into Kiran's jaw, throwing him to the ground.

Kiran couldn't hear a single damn thing except the loud buzzing in his ear. He was now coughing up blood, he could see his own teeth in the puddle, the entire left half of his face couldn't feel a single thing but he was sure something was very broken.

I can't even get a swift death? He was mad, embarrassed too but he didn't fight it. This was one of the wins in his win-win scenario after all. If anything this was better, thinking he'd be one of the winners in a seventy person tournament was foolish, meanwhile a job interview would almost certainly get him a job.

The beasts had no mouth yet they let out a guttural scream. Could they just get this over with? It was like they were rubbing salt in the wound.

Kiran's head felt light, he wasn't thinking straight, he couldn't explain it but he got up, the pain felt like it had disappeared in an instant, he massaged his neck like he had a mild cramp.

In front of him was the hulking beast at the center and two of the skinny ones to its sides.

The left one moved first, its blade raised high in the air.

Step back. Drop low.

The blade hissed through the air. A clean miss.

The giant's fist came next.

Roll. Pivot.

Concrete cracked where he had been a moment before. The shockwave rattled his teeth.

He came out of the roll, facing the right flank. The beast was already slashing, its blade a blur.

It grazed his hair. Too close.

Back foot, aim for the knee, load the spring. Kick.

The beast stumbled, now off balance.

The other two rushed him from his front and left.

Twist. Thread the needle. Duck here. Be patient.

Kiran was fighting for his life, he was by no means even close to winning, but he felt electric, high on adrenaline. Dodging and weaving each attack coming his way, and when the opportunity presented itself, striking a blow.

He couldn't tell where it was coming from, he was never much of a fighter at all, he was at his most furious behind his desk punching in the keys on a keyboard.

But he did know that more than anything he didn't want it to end. He didn't want to return to his old life. To continue in a path of fighting for the chance of a dead end job, only to slave away for scraps.

It was easy to be apathetic, pretend not to care, to be indifferent to whatever outcome you get but it was dishonest. He was not standing in front of a win-win scenario, there was one clear, truly miserable option, and one that would give him the chance to live.

Still he was on the back foot, his form was getting sloppier, the impact from the giant was catching up to him, his dodges getting closer.

The giant swung its massive club-like arm in the air while Kiran was still mid dodge.

Was this it?

Kiran closed his eyes in acceptance.

It's fine. I wanted this anyways.

…

This was a lie.

Kiran felt light headed. For a moment nothing made sense, it was as if he were floating on clouds. Then something materialized in his hand. He had never held anything like it before yet somehow he knew exactly how to wield it.

He raised his hand to make his weapon meet the brutes torso.

“I want to live!” The scream was ripped from his lungs, and his finger answered.

The sound of gunfire roared through the air puncturing dozens upon dozens of holes into the foul beast. It stumbled backwards from the continued impact, disintegrating into dust before it hit the ground.

The remaining two weren't phased. This time a synchronized attack.

Dodge backwards. Then parry.

He moved. A blade sliced for his neck. He brought the rifle up, not to shoot, but to block.

PING!

Metal screamed against metal. He had parried the beast's attack with a sharp blade. The impact shuddered up his arm, but his grip held tight. The rebound sent the beast stumbling.

Kiran moved faster than even he could have predicted. Pain? Gone. Numbness? Vanished. There was only the hum of the weapon and the clarity of the fight.

From this view he finally got a good look at his weapon. It was difficult to describe. It looked like a rifle mixed with a blade, a rapier specifically.

He followed the stumbling beast’s momentum. A flick of his wrist and the rapier drew a line across its chest. It stared down at the wound as it unraveled into dust.

One left.

The other beast was still standing but it may as well be dead in Kiran's eyes, he already saw the path.

Rush it.

He closed the distance in three steps. The creature raised its arms, a clumsy shield.

Knock it off balance.

He didn’t slash. He swung the entire weapon like a club. The heavy stock crashed into the beast’s crossed arms, shattering its guard and sending it reeling backwards.

Its chest was wide open.

Stab.

He lunged. The rapier punched through its core. A final, silent shriek as it faded into nothing.

…

I won.

I won?

I WON?

He couldn’t help himself. He laughed, he cried. It was over. It was incredible, terrifying too, but the thrill wasn't bad at all. He felt truly alive.

DING. DING DING.

“Jesus Christ!" Kiran clutched his chest, nearly jumping out of his skin.

“This is a prerecorded message. If you're hearing this you finished the tutorial, congratulations. Please wait patiently as the results from your fellow contestants come in.” Said a familiar voice coming from seemingly nowhere.

Kiran took a deep breath, it was nothing. He fell to his knees, then took a nap on the ground.

Meanwhile, I sat in a booth, an array of a screen each containing the fights of contestants in front of me. The room was chaotic, golems walking around, each at their own station finding the most entertaining battles for the broadcast. I had made them to help with the production, finding the most entertaining moments to air, ready to alert me anytime something big happened. I couldn't be everywhere at once, after all.

A little more than twenty were eliminated, dwindling the contestants from seventy to just forty-eight. Did I make the entrance exam a little too difficult? Maybe. But I knew the folks I had left were going to make one hell of a show.