BLOOD CASINO

"The World of Traded Souls," begins with two separate, harrowing scenes. The first follows a man who is completely broken, his hands trembling as he holds a piece of paper that has "cut his soul." He can only utter a single word: "Son." The second scene introduces another man, who is in a high-speed car chase with his wife. Police sirens wail behind them as his mind races, his focus fixed on escape. His wife, terrified, clings to his arm as the car speeds through the night. The chase culminates in a horrific crash, and everything goes white. The man from the car chase wakes up in agony, his world a painful, ringing blur. He smells burnt gas and feels the warmth of his wife's hand. She is covered in blood, and she screams for him to wake up. He realizes they are upside down in the car. Despite her injuries, she takes out a small, round object, smears it with blood from her head and a pole piercing the car, and places it in his hand. As the world darkens and his hearing fades, she holds his hand and prays. He feels something sharp pierce his chest, and as she leans in for a kiss, the pain goes numb. Then, everything goes black. He reawakens in a new place, feeling soft and warm, but the quiet is shattered by a man kicking in a door. The man, who is wearing an old-fashioned police uniform, calls him "brother" and tells him they need to get to work. Confused, the protagonist asks where he is and where his wife is. The man laughs, saying he couldn't even get a girl, let alone a wife. Angered, the protagonist grabs him, leading to a physical altercation. The man, seemingly his partner, is bewildered by his behavior. The protagonist, still confused and disoriented, spits on the uniform he's told to wear and walks out, feeling lost. He encounters his "brother" again, who is now furious that he isn't in uniform. The man pulls something out of his pocket, and the protagonist blacks out again. He wakes up next to a wall, smoke in his lungs. His "brother" is smoking and seems tired and disappointed. He remarks that someone must have "traded" his mind. The protagonist is perplexed, denying he is the man's brother and asking where he is. The man explains that he put the uniform on him and that despite his "delusional" state, he still loves him. The protagonist looks around and realizes something is strange about this world—there are no cars or roads, only people walking around in a 1900s-like setting. He asks the man the name of the city, and the man replies, "The Walking Men." The protagonist puts his hand in his pocket and finds several large coins, identical to the one his wife gave him. He remembers his final moments with her and understands what happened. He didn't get lost; he died and was reborn into this new world, a World of Traded Souls.