===Charī Kasutoro===

Call me lazy. Call me dense. Call me a slacker. And, well, it'd be correct.

At least, that's what I reflected, as the principal's gaze bore into my own.

"So, Charī," she began slowly, putting away a few papers. "Why do you think I've requested to see you today?"

"My grades." I said bluntly, raising an eyebrow.

"Well," she trailed, clasping her hands and resting it on the table, "it goes a bit deeper than that. I've been made aware of your performances in the shogi and robotics club. It's clear you have limitless potential, so I'm confused as to why your grades don't reflect that."

I opened my mouth to speak, but couldn't find the right words.

She filled the silence. "I just really want to see you be the best that you can be, Charī. Spring term finals are a few days away, and I want you to at least put some of the effort into them that you manage to put into your extracurriculars. I know you're capable of doing so."

I nodded.

"If you score as poorly as you did in your midterms, then your grades won't be sufficient enough to keep you at this school. You have to remember that this is an elite school."

I nodded again. 'If this is such an elite school, how were my grades good enough at one point to get me in here?'

"Thank you Charī, that is all."

I thanked her and left, answering my own question in my head. 'Well, of course you know how you got in, your grades were extraordinary in middle school. Then obviously you had to dial it down because—'

My thoughts stopped. Maybe it was the gust of wind from an open window, or the clamoring of students exiting the classrooms at the day's end. Regardless, I couldn't remember what I was talking about in my head. Something about my perception seemed off, like I was suddenly detached from my body. I stared at the blue-gray carpets and yellow walls, a bit lost in my head. Shrugging it off, I made my way home.

The ambience of the city crowded my thoughts, yet just enough space for thought remained when I saw a suited man walk into a building. The walls were black, and a velvet carpet led into its spotless revolving doors. An array of windows lined the skyscraper, and I craned my neck to look at the very top.

'A building like this. That's how it all begins. Hyobe is promised easy money to pay off his student loans. All he had to do was walk into a building like that. Anyone who managed to clear all twenty floors would get one billion yen.'

A blaring horn interrupted my thoughts as the force of a tug pulled me back. I had nearly walked onto the street.

"Pay attention!" The grandma who had pulled me away scolded. "I'm sure you were deep in thought, but don't jeopardize your life, okay?" She looked into my eyes.

"Sorry. Thank you."

Taking a deep breath, I re-entered my daydream. 'First floor, The Floor is Lava. They're all barefoot. A physical challenge without much need for a brain... Except there's a twist. The amount of land will decrease over time, but any surface between skin and the floor will suffice. They can literally just crawl on their knees and it wouldn't count as touching the lava! But if they touch the lava... Death.'

I arrived at my house. By now, the sun was a hazy red, casting long shadows down the street. Reaching to turn the handle, I stopped momentarily and strained. My ears caught the sound: yelling. I sighed; it was probably another argument.

Turning around, I used the garbage can to jump over the splintering wooden fence. I planted my foot onto the white iron railing, holding onto the pillars for support. With a heave, I got onto the awning, which groaned under my weight. Finally, I approached my window and slid it open, and plopped into my room with a muffled thud.

This way, at least I wouldn't have to deal with them bringing me into the dispute.

The night was uneventful. After undressing, I waited for the yelling to stop, where I would then come down to make some dinner. I'd have to be hasteful tonight, so instant ramen was the only choice. I tried to do homework that night, but the idea kept barging into my thoughts. Giving in, I threw my papers aside and got out my notebook.

It's been in my head for about two months, but lately the thoughts have been mingling more and more in my head. Maybe it's the excess of death game mangas I've read, or perhaps just my morbid imagination.

I got out my pencil, and flipped to the third page where I had left off with floor six. Each floor would get harder than the last. However, there'd some opportunities to skip certain floors. 'So which floors won't be shown?' I wondered, trying to answer my own question once again.

I had meant to sleep early that night, but this idea kept me awake well into the morning. When I got to floor nineteen, I reread all my previous floors, exploring for any game design flaws or loopholes.

'Well, maybe a loophole can be intentional.' I thought, glancing at the clock. It had just hit 4AM. 'What if I leave this loophole in floor thirteen and Hyobe utilizes it to—'

Explosions sounded outside.

I got up from my table, notebook still in hand, and opened my blinds, flinching at the colors in the sea of black.

"Fireworks? At... Dawn?"

A large white streak rose up, faster and brighter than all the rest.

'That's gotta be a pretty one.'

But when it set off, it didn't release an array of colors; it released a pocket of fantasy, some strange wormhole, or some rip through reality. Maybe it was all three. I was nowhere–yet my body, morphed as a ventriloquist doll–was simultaneously everywhere.

And somehow... I was also lying on the ground. I opened my eyes, and hissed at the sunlight. I wasn't just lying anywhere, I was in the middle of a deserted street. I paused.

'A deserted street... In Tokyo? Something's not right.' The buildings towered over me, each crawling with foliage, draped with cracks and moss. My hand still clutched my notebook.

In a way, it seemed like everything was crooked, so close to reality yet falling into the uncanny valley of a cityscape. This must have been a dream.

And so, I shrugged, deciding to revel in the dreamworld for the time I'm asleep. Dusting off my clothes, I got up, and walked the short distance to the beach. The road was familiar; it was the same path I always took to go home. On the way to the seashore, the same skyscraper came into view again, the one that had inspired the idea in the first place.

I peered through the window, but decided against going in. It was dark inside, and the rotting floorboards teemed with scurrying rodents.

As I entered the beach, I breathed in the salty sea air. The beach seemed empty, and not because there were no people, but because there was no trash. I smiled.

I sat down, daydreaming further about the idea. It was funny how I haven't even thought of a name; I had already had the idea spinning for over a month.

The sun, once blaringly bright, now seemed warm, enveloping me in its grip. I lied down, closing my eyes. On the strange beach, sleep soon overtook me.

. . .

My eyes opened, and they were greeted with a sky painted lavender and streaked with orange.

I groaned, sitting up. Was it sunset or sunrise? I looked at the magnificent vermillion sun—it was west.

'Sunset.' I told myself. I turned back towards the sea, but something else caught my eye: an observation tower. It was lit up.

Then it hit me. 'Why haven't any of the other buildings had power? How am I just realizing this?'

Then another epiphany struck: the fact that I woke up and was still here meant that this wasn't a dream. Or maybe it was, and I had slept in the dream. It didn't matter anyways, for my next goal had already been planted in mind.

Getting onto my feet, I sprinted towards the tower, stealing a quick glance at the sinking sun. The endless blue and rows of buildings became a blur as the entrance came into view. Navy blue tiles lined with benches on both sides paved the way towards two massive glass doors, opened widely. The air conditioned breeze from inside drifted through the air, tickling my cheek and making me shiver.

There was noise inside. Taking a deep breath, I tread lightly into the building. There were five others, one of them my age. A sign hung on the door, with angry black lettering signifying a maximum capacity of six, whatever that could mean.

"Where am I?" I asked, my voice flat.

Many of the people took a quick glance at me, and ignored my question.

"Um, rude." I said, rolling my eyes. Sighing, I turned around to leave, but the glass door slammed right in front of my face.

"Hey!" I kicked the door. "That's not very nice."

"Um... Is this your first time here too?"

I turned around. The boy my age had asked.

"Yeah, it is."

Someone else was with the boy. He had dark skin and dreads, and was about college aged.

"Hey mate, you're also a newcomer?" He asked.

I nodded.

He sighed. "Just when I had finished explaining the Borderlands..."

"So that's what this place is called?" I asked.

"Yup, and—"

"Registration is now closed. Six players are registered. Please proceed up the stairs and onto the top viewing deck. Instructions will be given following that."

"Oh crap." I said. "That's not good."

"Okay, welp, the game is starting." He said. "I'll explain on the way up, follow me. I'm Niko, by the way."

"Thanks, Niko. I'm Charī." I turned to the other boy. "How about you?"

"I'm Kotake."

"So anyways," Niko began. "The gist of this place is that you play in games every night to survive. Each game is denoted with a playing card. The number is the difficulty, the suit is the type: Clubs is teamwork, Spades is physical, Diamonds is intelligence. Hearts..." He trailed off.

"I'm not quite sure how to explain it. Deals with trust, betrayal, and your will to live or something like that. I played one Hearts game near the beginning and it was right fucked—swore I wouldn't do anymore Hearts games if I could help it."

My eyes lit up. "So this is all like, one huge death game?"

"Well, a game implies something done for leisure. But if that floats your boat, I guess you could call it that? Anyways, you get Visa days depending on the difficulty of the game you cleared. If your days run out, you die. It's simple, really."

My legs were sore by the time we reached the top. I remained silent, letting Niko run his mouth about the full details of the Borderlands.

The room was circular. Tall windows ran across the entire room, and four doors lying in each direction led to an outer balcony. The inside was furnished with displays of pamphlets, well-set tables, TVs, and a bar. In the center of the room was an elevator door.

The sky deepened. Below it, half was a sea of perspective-shrunken buildings, and the other a sea of clear ocean.

"This feels weird..." Kotake whispered. "Like I'm in a dream."

"Dreaming?" I asked. "If you were dreaming, could I do this?" I landed a mild slap across his face.

"Hey!"

"You don't feel pain in dreams."

"Oi!" Niko grabbed me by the shoulder. "What's the matter with you?"

I shrugged. "Just proving a point."

Niko opened his mouth, but was interrupted by a ringing in the tower's speakers.

"The game you will be participating in is Philosophy."

"Philosophy?" I murmured. "Well, that's like, intelligence related. So I'm assuming this will be..."

"Difficulty: Six of Diamonds."

Niko huffed. "I guess I can't complain. It could very well be worse."

With a clink, all four doors to the outside opened. One door, on the side that overlooked the city, led to part of the balcony that bulged out further than the rest. At the end of the overlook were six platforms that extended even further. Each platform had a tablet at the very end, and a crane carrying a noose that was attached to a low metal gate that went up my knees. The sight sent a slight chill down my spine.

"Here are the rules. Each tablet has one philosophical question. A player must approach one tablet and answer the question. If they input the correct answer, it's Game Clear. If not, then it's Game Over. Once the player achieves a Game Clear, they may enter the elevator and will be dropped off at the bottom of the tower. The time limit is thirty minutes.

"There are some further stipulations. The tablet won't allow any answers to be typed unless the player on the platform has secured the noose around their neck. Once a player has gotten to that point, they may no longer get off the platform. A player may only answer one question. A player may not answer a question that has already been correctly answered. Any player may answer any question, but if a question has already been incorrectly answered it cannot be attempted again. If a player hasn't answered a question and attempts to get on an elevator, it's Game Over. Finally, if you do not wish to answer any questions, you may all just jump off the tower.

"Your time begins now."

A digital clock on the wall above the elevator lit up in red, and started ticking down.

The three other players scattered.

"There's no unity in this game. Everyone's just working towards their own goal." Niko muttered.

"At least this game isn't competitive." I insinuated, walking to the platforms.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Kotake asked, rushing to me.

"To check out the questions. Obviously, you'd want to scope out and answer the easiest question out of the six, right?"

I got onto the second platform, not equipping the noose but reading the tablet.

Platform 2:
How important would you say you are? Answer in a number from one to one hundred, with a hundred being the most useful and one being the least.

"Oh, this is tough." I said to myself. "Hmmmm."

"Platform three." Kotake read. "Is there life in the universe besides humans?" He paused. "Well, the answer must be an obvious yes, surely we can't be alone?" His fingers raised slightly and brushed against the noose, but he didn't proceed further.

"Your answer is most likely yes. However, if it were just yes or no, this wouldn't be much of a game." I said.

"You know, though," Niko said. "I think that might just be the gimmick."

An alarm blared, making me jump. I turned to the noise. An older man on platform four had equipped the noose. The metal gate had shut, and the tablet now had a keyboard and a blank text box.

"Already?" Niko asked, running up to the platform. Everyone else congregated.

"This is the easiest question out of all of them." He said.

I craned my next, leaning against the railing and squinting at the question.

Platform 4:

The man typed out 'yes' and brought his hand over to the green button below the tablet labeled 'SUBMIT'. After hovering his hand over the button for a few seconds, he deleted his old response, and retyped it.

'Yes, it is.'

With that, he pressed on the submit button.

A loading screen came up, then the tablet turned white. Then it turned red, as the alarms started blaring again.

"What?" He croaked. "No... No!" He dug his fingers into the noose but it was too late. The platform beneath him opened, and he screamed.

He dropped, the roll of rope in the crane spinning as it shrunk, lowering the noose further down the balcony.

Kotake squealed, falling onto his rear and backing up against the wall, his chest heaving.

With an unexplained sense of morbid curiosity, I peeked over the railing. After a loud click, the rope had stopped falling down. The man struggled in his noose, dangling dozens of meters in the air. With bloodshot eyes, he weakly extended his hand towards us, but death soon overcame him as his body gradually grew limp.

Kotake was hyperventilating. As I backed away from the railing, my world spun, and I pinched myself to regain my bearings.

"Dude, you gotta chill the hell out." Niko said, placing a hand around my shoulder. He led me to where Kotake sat, hands wrapped around his knees, against the corner. "It's bad, but it's worse when you panic. So just calm yourself down, and we'll think of a way out of this together."

"I am not a fan of the situation we are in." I said.

"I'm gonna take a look at some of the other questions." Niko said. "You guys should come with me."

I followed him, but Kotake stayed where he was.

Platform 1:
Can fate and free will exist simultaneously?

Platform 5:
How does courage and determination aid us in achieving our goals?

Platform 6:
What is the purpose of existence?

"So question one and four were simple yes or no questions." I observed. "Question two has a numerical value answer. Questions five and six are completely open ended. Also, question five is like a question you'd be asked in literature class. It's so annoying—that's the one question I don't want to answer."

"What irks me is the fact that the man was correct but it still labeled him as wrong." Niko said. "Something about this game doesn't add up."

"Well, the question didn't say it, but maybe it was two plus negative two. Or negative two plus negative two. In either case, it wouldn't be four, it'd be zero and..." I paused.

"Negative four." Kotake answered. I nodded.

"So we should assume each question to be as broad as possible." Niko said.

Footsteps approached us. I looked up. It was the other two players. One was a woman in blue business attire, and the other was a man in a typical workout outfit.

"It may be in our best interests to work together." She said, adjusting her glasses. "This is a non-competitive Diamonds game, so let's combine our knowledge and try to answer these questions."

Niko nodded, a beam growing on his face. "I'm glad."

The man stepped forward. "There's some papers and other things inside. Let's look around for clues." He eyes me. "You boys got pretty lucky for your first day, so try not to die on such a lenient game."

I nodded as they went inside.

My thoughts ran amok, and I gazed out into the blue sea, my mind only interrupted by the speakers.

"Twenty minutes remaining."

Casting one last glance at the man's hanging body, I went inside with the others.

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