Seven Down, Thirteen to Go

"God damn it!" Eric yelled, punching the wall of his room. "How the fuck did we let this happen?"

"Calm down, Eric." Huang replied while putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm the one dying here."

"Okay, your point being?" Eric yelled desperately. "This whole thing is bullshit! A bunch of people get fucked over, a bunch of jackasses take advantage of it, and then they get a bunch of people killed!"

"You think I'm unaware?" Huang sighed. "Look, I lost. But you didn't. You four have every chance to survive. Use it well, okay?"

"This is all my fault." Vanessa wept silently. "I thought we could all vote off Ulrich, but if we voted off Amber…you wouldn't have to die."

"It's fine, Vanessa." Huang replied, embracing her. "Besides, when I meet Ishtar, I can put a good word in for the others."

"Right. Right, you do that." Vanessa sighed.

"I have been faithful and devoted my entire life. And when I can, I'll come back with the knowledge of dozens of universes, necessary to destroy this system and rebuild it all!"

Just as he made his grand statement, a knock on the door was heard. Huang got a message on his watch from Leonie, telling him to open the door before she did. Huang did as instructed, and Eric immediately lunged at Leonie. His fist hitting an invisible barrier.

"Heh, called it." Leonie chuckled with a sarcastic smirk carved onto her face, surrounded by two armed guards. "Okay, Huang. I'm aware that unlike your friend here, you aren't completely braindead, so let's get this moving already."

"Certainly." Huang replied calmly.

"Alright. How's everyone else doing, actually?" Leonie asked one of the guards while quickly typing something on her watch. "Lot of people in this room, what's happening, exactly?"

"We're saying our goodbyes, lady." Yun-Yeong replied sternly.

"Alright, alright. It's just that we have five people in a room with cultists, I don't exactly trust it."

Within a few seconds, everyone was out of their rooms.

"What?" Silvia asked, annoyed.

"Time for the democratic execution!" Leonie yelled; her smirk replaced with a psychotic grin.

"I didn't vote for him." Silvia replied.

"But the majority did, so all of you are dealing with the consequences!" Leonie snapped back.

Once in room where the votes were cast, Leonie made everybody stand in a circle around Huang.

"Now then, Huang Wen Bai lost the challenge, lost the vote, and now he's losing his life! Anything to say, Huang?"

"To all my fellow players who voted for me, I forgive you. Ishtar will have mercy on all of your souls going forward, and when we meet again, it will be glorious."

"What the hell is he talking about?" Micah asked.

"No clue." Amber replied.

"Okay, let's get this over with, we've had enough delays as it is."

Leonie pressed a button, and Huang's body seized in place. He tried to maintain his permanent smile, but it was obvious to everyone he was faking it. After a few seconds, he fell to his knees. Vanessa took a step forward, but Huang put a hand out, and Eric held her back by putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. Huang coughed, blood spilling out of his mouth. He then fell into it, and the shocks ended.

It was over.

Vanessa started breathing heavily, the facts in front of her finally reaching her head. Her arms felt itchy, and she desperately tried not to scratch them.

"Eric. I need you to go. Now." She commanded. Eric took a step back, and the urge was eventually too much. She started scraping her arm, and the parasites began flooding out.

"Nope, not dealing with this." Leonie muttered, shocking Vanessa until she was unconscious, not putting up anything even resembling a fight. Kalea picked up Huang's body before Leonie lay her hand on the ground, causing the earth to sink slightly and burying the parasites. She then solidified the ground again, a few small insect legs buried within.

"Alright, I anyone got stuck during that, I'll get around to you. God, I need some drinks after this."

Once Yun-Yeong was unstuck from the metal, she immediately tried to go back to her room.

"So, you're a man short."

That nasally voice that acted like it knew more than everyone else. Micah's.

"What do you want?" Yun-Yeong asked, his mere presence making her feel like throwing up. She didn't bother turning around at him.

"Like I just said, you're a man short. So if we team up, we should be able to make it through together. I'll be able to supply the medicine to you, and we both get to live long and happy lives."

"Get lost." Yun-Yeong muttered under her breath.

"With the way you're reacting, I'm guessing who you voted for."

Yun-Yeong tried to keep the blood down, but she eventually coughed up a lump of it.

"So you voted off Huang, correct?" Micah asked politely.

"I don't need to answer that."

"No. You don't. But once we get out of here, I'll get you the medicine as soon as possible."

Vanessa lay in bed. She didn't want to get up, and even if she did, she couldn't. She could feel a pressure of some sort on her chest, almost suffocating her. She felt if she tried to move, it would crush her. She tried going back to sleep, but whenever she felt herself drifting off, the pressure would get worse.

After a few minutes, the door opened, and Valentina walked in, holding a bottle of wine with two gold rings hanging off it. Cyrus followed afterwards, his hands behind his back.

Vanessa made an exhausted groan, and the pressure seemed to slowly creep off her.

"Is she awake?" Cyrus asked.

"I am." Vanessa replied wearily, sitting up in her bra, causing Cyrus to look away at the sight.

"I feel I should take my leave!" He yelled into the hallway.

"Cyrus, it's fine." Valentina replied tiredly.

"Being with a woman in state is…ghastly!"

"Vanessa, could you put a shirt on?" Valentina asked politely, looking fed up with Cyrus.

Vanessa did as obliged, putting her clothes on, but without the jacket. Once Valentina confirmed she was clothed, Cyrus walked back into the room.

"Now, we don't know the exact specifics, but wine with ceremonial bangles is something Ishtarites do when someone dies, right?"

"It is, yeah." Vanessa affirmed.

"Well, seeing as Huang died, I thought it would be appropriate to do something like this." Valentina smiled.

"I have some issues with your organization, and most religious ones at that…but Huang was a decent man. He didn't deserve to die." Cyrus added, lowering his cap over his face.

"I mean…sure. Seeing as you already brought the wine."

Valentina melted her arm into three cups, and Cyrus poured the drinks. It was unorthodox, but Vanessa was willing to meet them halfway. She told them to make a fourth cup, leaving the bangles on either side of it. Once it was perfect, she held her own cup, beginning the ritual.

"Ishtar, we gather here to honour our fallen leader!" She yelled out with all the energy she could muster, raising her glass to the light on the ceiling. "If you could cast mercy on his soul, and allow it to pass over, we will be with him shortly!"

She gulped down her cup, the strong wine feeling like a punch to the head, and Cyrus and Valentina did so in turn.

"Is that the ritual?" Cyrus asked calmly, Valentina glaring at him as he said that.

"Well, minus the cremation. But I don't think we'll manage that."

"Well, I'm sorry we couldn't do all of that." Valentina sighed, looking at Cyrus, who backed out of the room.

"Well, if we're being perfectly honest, I never really believed in all of this." Vanessa whispered.

"Oh, you don't?" Valentina asked. "Then why did you stick with Huang?"

"Because if I didn't, I'd have been left on my own. And considering my powers, I would have been left for dead way earlier than I was."

"So…what were the Ishtarites like? They didn't mistreat you, right?"

"Nah, they didn't. Huang took me in when I was younger due to how I kinda…killedmyparents."

"Your what?" Valentina yelled, before calming her voice down, clutching her heart.

"Look, you've seen my powers. Nobody could explain it. Family thought I was some kind of curse. My grandmother especially. And when they took me to get tested, I panicked. And then the parasites came out. Nobody could stop them. Grandmother died, mother and father dead, everyone dead."

"So then the Ishtarites took you in?"

"My father was raised as a part of it. I had a session reserved for me, and they investigated when nobody showed up. Huang was there with them. Even as a nine-year-old, he seemed smarter than everyone else. If he wasn't there I probably would have been deemed a demon child and left to rot."

"I see." Valentina sighed after a small bit. "He seemed like a good man. But if you don't believe, do you have any plans for if you win?"

"It gave me connections. I'll probably work my way into some local government to protect them."

"Well, maybe I'll help when I get out." Valentina replied.

"You…do that." Vanessa sighed. "Actually, do you know about Mt. Sanguine?"

"I...can't say I do." Valentina replied softly.

"Basically, before whatever caused everybody to be stuck in one building, the Ishtarites would climb a mountain. According to legend, people could hear Ishtar calling out to them."

"And where would this mountain be?" Valentina asked.

"Don't know. Huang told me about it and had a book on the subject. But I'm telling you this in order to form an alliance."

"Alliance?" Valentina asked. "But I assumed that you were with Eric and the others?"

"Look, I like all of them, but none of them are able to help with my goals like you can." Vanessa sighed.

"Your goal?"

"Destroy the city. I'm not sure if you're aware, but out there is more cities. Small ones, ones bigger than here, and they're waiting for us. And if you can help me, I will assure that we make it to the end."