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Crystalline figures warred upon water that was colored to a hue of blood. It was a dance of death, where only one could emerge victorious. As I watched, I saw one of the figures plunge their icy blade into the other’s chest, and the vanquished one dissipated into water. The surviving warrior turned to me and bowed, before falling back. I clapped quietly for the ice figure’s bravery, before turning to view the red sunset, its rays gave the water its blood colored hue.
I was Lord of this world.
Here, on the eighth floor, where I had set up my mansion, was where I ruled. Like all the other floors of the tower which I ruled over, floor eight covered a substantial amount of ground. And it was undoubtedly the most beautiful of all the floors. To the south, lush, verdant forests bloomed in evergreen beauty. To the north, harsh, icy peaks of mountains standing thousands of feet tall rose above the horizon. Here, twixt the two locations, I had created my home.
Here, on the eighth floor of the tower, there existed only one other being beside from myself. That entity just so happened to be one for whom I had the greatest amount of hate. However, he was my roommate, in a sense, and I could not fight him. I spoke to address him, quiet as a whisper, “How long has it been now, Adam? Since we met, I mean.” As far as I had known, I’d been here years. Perhaps decades. However, Adam’s reply was quite sobering.
“Six months, three days, eight hours, twenty seven minutes, fourteen seconds.”
Slightly dismayed, I turned away from the setting sun to look back over at the diamond bowl, waving my hand and beckoning the warriors into life once more to watch them at their swordplay. “And what’s the count now? Not counting, of course, the half a man from yesterday.” I knew Adam would likely say something stupid like ‘A thousand and a half’ if I didn’t.
“Discounting the half-man, three hundred and sixty seven. You’ve been quite busy, Doomsayer.”
I shrugged, before nodding slightly at his words. “Naturally.”
From his words, I’d been inside this game for six months. Based on when I’d entered, that meant this was February. I hadn’t left yet, partially because of personal interest, and partially because of other reasons which I was quite uncomfortable with.
As a God, I had a duty. However, as a deity, I was not quite unmatched. Adam could still likely hold his ground against me, if not best me.
However, what held my interest in this moment was not my musings of whether or not I’d win if I were to meet him in combat. Instead, my gaze was focused on where the figures of ice had suddenly disappeared. “Adam?” I questioned, thinking it was his attempt to rob me from yet another of my enjoyments.
However, the truth was much more saddening than that. My footsteps made quiet ‘tap tap’ sounds as I walked closer to the bowl, curious as to why my warriors had stopped. Adam had not replied as of yet, and he likely wouldn’t. I was on my own.
As I drew closer to the diamond bowl, I became acutely aware of the fact, that in the approximate center of the bowl, swirls appeared. These swirls swirled the water about in an unconcerned matter, before stopping altogether when I was directly above it. Instantly, the water stagnated and an image appeared upon the surface.
It was a boy.
Sharp, black eyes which seemed to challenge his surroundings stared back through the water at me. I observed a nice nose, and lips that were neither too large nor too small. He had locks of black hair about him which hung down to about his eyebrows. He was, in his own way, attractive. However, that was to be expected. Adam liked his players to be all dolled up before their climb to the top.
However, this face intrigued me. It wasn’t particularly because of the challenging eyes which he had, or any other facial feature for that matter, but more because it was a face I felt I had once known. The name that belonged to this face danced upon my lips, dispersing into the slowly growing cooler air. “Zain.” I whispered.
A slight smirk crept across my face before I turned from the bowl. “Adam, I assume you knew about this?” I raised a hand over my shoulder and snapped my fingers, the bowl disappearing at once.
“Yes.” The reply was quiet, almost like a guilty child being reprimanded for taking a cookie from the jar when he was not meant to.
However, I knew better. Adam never felt guilt. “And I’ll take a guess as to your intentions for this boy.”
Compared to his guilt-sounding reply earlier, this time his words sounded quite amused. “Of course. I want the boy to climb the tower.”
I began to reply, but Adam cut me off.
“And you want to keep him on the ground.”
I clenched my fists at my side. Now I felt like the child who was being reprimanded. However, I needed to hold my ground. “Yes. I will stop him.” I spoke.
Mournfully, I glanced over my shoulder at where the diamond bowl once was. Now it had been replaced with open air, and the sky around me changed to night.
I knew what I had to do now, and I took a deep breath before I said the words. “Adam?” I questioned, making sure I still had his attention. But, I did not wait for him to answer me before finishing.
“I want to make you a wager.”