Ryan Zhao had his lips halfway pressed against Mia's when the world flickered.
One second, he was in a dimly lit movie theatre, tongue wrestling with his date; he next, he was standing in a giant hall under blinding white lights, surrounded by people.
"What the…" he muttered, blinking as he pulled away from… no one. Mia was gone. The movie screen was gone. The soft velvet seat under him? Gone too.
His shoes clicked softly against the spotless marble floor. The ceiling stretched higher than any building he'd ever been in—vaulted like a cathedral, only this place was more… Polished. Sterile.
And quite loud.
"Where are we?!"
"Is this a joke? This has to be a prank!"
"Someone call 911—does anyone have signal?!"
"Is this a dream?"
"Help."
"Hey, what's going on? What is this place?"
Voices bounced off the walls—panicked, angry, confused, all mixing with one another. A woman with a hijab looked around, eyes wide. Two men in suits were cursing in rapid French. A teenager with pink hair screamed into her smartwatch. No signal, clearly.
Ryan rubbed his jaw. Still damp from kissing. "Okay. This is super weird."
A group of girls in workout clothes was huddled near a column. One of them was crying. Another tried to calm her down. "Breathe. Breathe, Maddy. We're not dead. I think."
"Feels like one of those Isekai things," someone muttered nearby, in English.
Ryan turned. A dude in a baggy hoodie and anime-print shorts was squatting on the ground, peering at it like it might open up.
"Isekai?" Ryan raised a brow.
"Yeah, like… You know, summoned to another world." Hoodie Guy grinned, then frowned. "Except this looks too clean. I thought we would get swords and magic or something."
"Ok, normally, I will say this guy is a lost cause, but the situation doesn't permit me to think that way…" Ryan sighed, scanning the crowd again.
Near the center of the chaos stood a tall and well-built guy, tanned skin, crew cut, arms crossed over a standard military uniform.
"Everyone chill!" the man shouted, in a bit of heavy accent. "Panicking's not going to help!"
Some people actually listened. Not everyone, but a few lowered their voices.
Ryan pocketed his hands. "Okay, Ryan. Either you're dreaming, drugged, or dead." He looked up. No visible ceiling lights. The place seemed lit from nowhere. "Or, like that guy said—isekai."
He tilted his head at the ceiling, as if waiting for a narrator to explain what was going on.
As if his wishes were going to be answered, as soon as he thought those words, a ripple ran through the hall. Everyone stopped. Just for a second.
And then it appeared.
No flash of light. No smoke. Just… there. One moment the space was empty, the next it wasn't. A cloaked figure stood at the far end of the hall. Long dark robe, hood pulled low over the face. Could've been a guy. Could've been a ghost.
"Welcome, players," the figure said, voice smooth and oddly cheerful. Male, probably. "It's always fun to meet new challengers."
No one knows what language he spoke, but for some reason, everyone just automatically understood it.
Murmurs rippled again.
"Who are you?" someone demanded, not afraid of this weird thing that looked like it came straight from a fantasy movie.
"What is this place?!"
The cloaked figure raised one hand lazily. A pair of glowing dice floated above his palm.
"I am Zero," he said, voice now ringing louder, yet still carried a hint of playfulness in his tone. "Some call me God of Games, while others call me a God of wishes. And if you're here… that means you carry a wish."
People blinked.
"A wish?" a man whispered near Ryan.
Zero continued. "Yes. One that this world—your world—could never grant you. Not through hard work. Not through luck. Not even through sacrifice. A wish that needs a miracle."
He stepped forward slowly, as if walking on air. "You might not acknowledge it to others for whatever reason. But it's there. Buried deep in your hearts, one wish that you can even kill for."
Some people looked down. Some in denial. Some looked around, still confused. And others clenched their fists
"This place," Zero said, stretching his arms out, "is where your wish can be granted. All you have to do—" He held up the glowing die. "—is play the game of dice. Simple, isn't it?"
Gasps. Whispers. Someone said, "This is insane."
Another guy shouted, "This is some cult BS!"
A girl near the back turned and sprinted toward what looked like a wall.
Then—
A snap of fingers responded by Zero, the sound echoed all over the room as light burst from Zero's fingers.
Suddenly… silence.
Literal silence.
Not a whisper. Not a footstep. Not even a breath. People's mouths moved, but no sound came out. A few froze mid-run. One woman was caught halfway through raising her hand. Everyone was stuck.
Except their eyes. The fear stayed in many eyes. Wide and trembling.
Ryan stood still. He hadn't shouted. He hadn't moved or rebelled. Yet his body still locked up, stiff like stone, just like others. His jaw wouldn't open, even though he wanted to say something.
He could only stare at Zero.
The cloak hid everything. No mouth. No chin. No eyes. Nothing.
The words and actions looked terrifying, but this fellow sounded like he was having fun, like a child who captures two beetles and traps them in a box, letting them fight against each other.
Zero continued, twirling the glowing die between his fingers, "Now, let's talk about your first game."
Behind him, the shimmering board expanded. A massive grid of glowing squares stretched out across the air behind him—bright green tiles, coiled red snakes slithering across some, and golden ladders stretching up from others. An unmistakable game, blown up into something… ominous.
"Snakes and Ladders," Zero said cheerfully. "A classic game all of you might have played atleast once in your lives. Simple. Popular. But very deadly."
If people could've gasped, they probably would have.
"Out of the one hundred and ten of you," he continued, "only sixteen will make it past the finish line." He paused for effect. "The rest? Eliminated. From the games."
Eyes darted around. Panic flared sharper than before, even in silence.
"Now, before you spiral," he added quickly, "let me give you some hope. The one who makes it to the very end… will have their deepest wish granted. And I mean anything."
He let that hang in the air.
"Want to be the richest person in your world? Sure. Want to live a thousand years? Easy. Superpowers like the ones in your manga collection? Possible. All you have to do… is win a game of dice."
Some people blinked hard, others stared with twitching fingers, like they desperately wanted to speak. Still, no one could.
Zero strolled along the edge of the platform like a show host on a game night. "Now. Some of you might be thinking, This isn't fair. That you're weaker, slower, maybe not as smart as the rest." He chuckled. "True. You're all built differently—your body, mind, your stats… those are based on your real-life selves."
The board behind him pulsed.
"But that's the beauty of the games. Every Quest, every task, every roll of the dice—you grow. You evolve. Even the weakest can claw their way to the top, with enough effort."
He stopped walking. Tilted his head.
"That being said… If this is too much for you, there is a way out."
People froze in whatever pose they were stuck in.
"Raise your right hand," Zero said, grinning. "That's the only thing you can move right now. Ten seconds. Say goodbye to the miracle, and I'll send you home. No tricks. And you won't remember anything about this."
A soft hum buzzed through the air.
Ryan blinked. His arms stayed down.
Across the hall, a few hands trembled upward. One. Two. Five.
Zero didn't rush. He just nodded, almost like a teacher watching students take a surprise quiz.
By the sixth second, there were nine hands raised in total—some trembling, others firm, resigned. A few others hovered uncertainly, twitching fingers, conflicted expressions. But hesitation had its price.
Ten seconds ticked by.
And it was done.
Zero's head tilted slowly as he scanned the crowd. His hood cast his face in complete shadow, but something about his posture made it obvious—he was grinning.
"Alright then," he said, clapping once. "A total of nine players. Congratulations."
A beat of silence.
He lifted his hand. "You're eliminated."
Snap.
No flash this time.
No time to scream.
A crack of cold tore through the air. Ice exploded upward around the nine with their hands raised, encasing them in jagged blue crystals in less than a second. Their faces frozen mid-breath, eyes wide with shock.
Screams ripped out from somewhere in the crowd, one after another.
Does elimination mean death?
What about those words, stating that there are no tricks and they won't remember anything?
Chaos hit hard. Someone vomited, overwhelmed by fear of death. A girl backed up into a wall, sobbing uncontrollably. A guy cursed and kicked at nothing. The air filled with noise and fear.
Ryan, however, didn't move.
His eyes locked onto the nearest ice pillar, where the young beauty, who looked like she had been abducted straight from a beauty pageant, was frozen in ice.
Zero chuckled softly in amusement, watching their expression.
"Well then," he said, turning back to the board that shimmered brighter behind him. He held both arms out now, like a ringmaster about to raise the curtain.
"Let the games begin."
His voice echoed in their ears, followed by a low rumble that shook the ground. One after another, they were enveloped by a blinding flash of light and disappeared from the hall.
Zero's hood tilted one last time, voice almost gleeful.
"Good luck to all of you. I'm very excited to meet the winner."
As the floor beneath them began to twist and shimmer, most of the crowd screamed, stumbled, or braced themselves.
But not everyone.
Standing near the edge, hands in his jacket pockets, was a man who hadn't flinched once since the start. He looked around thirty years old, tall but lean physique, black, and as calm as a mountain.
While the others shouted or shivered, his lips curled into the faintest smile. Not arrogant. Not cruel. Just… excitement.
He murmured under his breath, "Snakes and Ladders again, huh… Yup, it is a redo, after all."
The light beneath him flared, ready to pull him into the first round.
Ethan straightened up, cracked his neck once, and smiled wider.
"Alright then. This time, I will get to the top. And I need to make sure that no new players will join me in the second round. Well, atleast, not that lucky bast*rd, Ryan…"
And then he vanished into the light.