— Well, now that almost all participants are in place… — the guide sighed theatrically, as if closing the last page of a book. — Allow me to take my leave.
— Wait, — Hov's voice at that moment resembled not a question, but a knife. — What did you just say? «Almost all»? What other participants? Am I… not alone here?
— Ukh-khakh-ghakh-khakh-ghkh… — he laughed as if laughter was his native language, and everything else was just a dialect.
— Stop it, you bastard! — Hov snapped, his fist clenched on its own, and his fingers found the guide's collar as if they had been looking for it since the boat. — I endured you for 12 damn hours! On this fucking boat! And if you make that idiotic laugh even once more, I will drown you in the imaginary ocean.
The guide smiled. Or smirked. Or bared his teeth, it was hard to tell.
— You still haven't understood, pathetic mortal, what kind of game you've been dragged into, have you? — his voice suddenly turned icy. — I never, nowhere, hear me, told you that you were the only guest. Before you, I managed to bring three others. Three, Hov.
— Answer. What the hell is going on here? What damn game?
— Yes-yes, only… — he twitched, squinted slightly, as if from pain in his neck. — Please let go. To tell the truth, I am astonished by your… how to put it… intellectual transparency. I did offer you several times to ask questions. And what did I get in response? Your heroic silence.
— It's just that now, unfortunately for you, I can no longer explain anything. There's no time. However, you will find the answers yourself. If, of course, you live that long.
— So, you are leaving? I thought you were part of this whole circus troupe.
— Me? — he feigned surprise, as if Hov had suggested playing chess naked. — No-no, I am just a guide. Nothing more. My duty is to deliver, like a courier. Only instead of packages, it's people. And instead of a schedule, it's chaos.
— Nice to know that you're at least honestly not hiding how useless you are.
— Ah, Hov, — the guide closed his eyes, folded his hands as if in prayer. — I am touched. Your contempt is like a slap from fate. By the way, will you miss my voice?
— I will be glad never to hear it again.
— Agh… hurts to hear that after 12 hours together… we are almost like a couple in a honeyed hell…
But Hov did not answer. He simply turned around and, without looking back, headed towards the forest, dense as an unsaid thought.
— Farewell then, demon of darkness, who came to this island in search of truth… — the guide's parting words followed, and his voice held an almost sincere tone.
A shiver ran down Hov's body. The wind grew stronger. The leaves danced like madmen, without music.
— The wind is picking up. It seems this night… will not be particularly peaceful. Well, to hell with it. — he quickened his pace.
«The guide said the castle is through the forest. Straight, no turns. If I turn — I die. Clear.»
— Strange… — he stopped, clenched his palms. — Not a drop of strength. Empty. No magic, no response. So, that's how the system works here. The rules.
— Don't care anyway. The main thing is answers.
He walked on again, not looking at the wind.
«Exactly a year ago, my wife. The last weeks of pregnancy, everything was fine. The doctors assured, everything will be normal. Everything will be normal…»
They lied. Everything was not normal. The labor lasted eight hours. She did not survive.
«I wasn't with her. Didn't hold her hand. Didn't say "thank you". For anything. Only later, too late.»
Tears rolled on their own, as if they knew the way; he wiped them away. Calmed down. And walked on.
The game is about to begin.
The mansion turned out to be larger than he had imagined. Massive, like a memory that doesn't want to let go.
«Probably, important people lived here. Or… no. This is an illusion. A ghost. Who in their right mind would live on an island that doesn't exist?»
— The wind is picking up… need to go inside before the rain starts. — he said to himself, as if someone was listening.
Inside, in the guest hall, the other three were already sitting. Silence. So thick you could sit on it.
— I-I can't believe it… — one finally exhaled. — What the hell…
— Does it seem to me, or did that psycho slip something into my water before arrival?
— Calm down. — the second one spoke. — No one gave you anything. Everything you see is real. No matter how much you want to disbelieve it.
Hov froze.
— Y-Yahweh… is that you? But… you died! You died back then! How is that even possible?! And… the Creator?! What is he doing here?! We destroyed him! And… this girl. I've never seen her before. What the hell?
— This is not an illusion. — the Creator said calmly. — The girl is also a participant. Just a new one.
— Yes… we died. — Yahweh confirmed, with the voice of a man who had been deprived of life, but not memory. — And now… we are alive. Here. Don't ask how.
— Drink. Rest. There's even champagne here, they say the cook tried hard. — he added, as if everything happening was a dinner party, not a cursed resurrection.
— The cook? So… there are other people?
— Not exactly. Servants. Three. They are not players. Just… servicing units in this game.
Hov sank into an armchair. His body was tired even before his mind.
— You must be tired. — Yahweh said. — We were in shock too. But rest helps.
— How can you speak so calmly?! You were dead! Now you are… not dead! And we are on a ghost island where there isn't even time!
— Because… — Enua began, calmly, as if explaining how to fry potatoes. — We have already been briefed. The game won't start until the last participant appears.
— Time… — Hov muttered. — There is none here.
— Exactly. Can't even look at the stars. They… aren't here either.
Silence.
Deep, like the void outside the box.
— Alright, — Hov muttered. — I'll look around.
At that moment, two people entered the hall. Servants. A young girl with brown hair and… a brother?
— Welcome. You… are the fourth participant, right? — she asked politely.
— Y-yes. Hov.
— Nice to meet you. I am Morgana. This is my… uh… brother.
— Don't call me brother in front of guests! — the guy hissed, clearly in a panic.
— I am Cheryl. A servant of this mansion. — he exhaled with practiced subservience.
— Let's skip the titles. Just Hov.
— Alas. We are not permitted to address you so. We are tools. — Morgana said. Without irony. Seriously.
— Follow us. We will show you everything you need.
And they began the tour.
— This is… a mansion? Or… a castle?
— Built by the island's owner for his spouse. Out of love. To the point of madness.
— Wait… if the island doesn't exist, and the box is only a temporary phenomenon, then the mansion shouldn't exist either.
— Correct. It exists… and does not exist. Like a cat in a box, only more tragic. After the game, everything disappears.
— But then… inside the box is empty too?
— Almost. But not for you. For you — it is reality. For others, nothing.
— Okay… then, the participants. I saw dead people. How?
— That is part of the game. — Morgana said. — The Mistress of the island resurrects the dead. All participants.
— The Mistress? Where does she get such power?
— The spouse of the island's owner. He created this castle for her. He was obsessed. Madly.
— And sealed her? His own wife?
— Precisely. — Cheryl whispered. — Out of love.
He continued, with the voice of a man paid not with money, but with fear:
— They lived happily. Until she wanted to go beyond the island. He got scared, forbade it. She pleaded, he went mad. Found grimoires, learned magic. But then… sealed her, forcibly. Forever. She died… in those shackles.
Silence.
Heavy.
Alive.
— I-I'm sorry… he shouldn't have… —Morgana bowed.
— No… it's alright… just… — Hov closed his eyes. — Just too much for one evening.
— She is resurrected too. — Morgana reminded. — Every time. Before the game.
After that, they were shown the rooms. Bedrooms, shower, toilet, kitchen. Everything as in a normal place. But nothing was normal.
— There is a telephone in your room. Call if you need anything. From 5 to 21 we are available. After that, we rest.
— Meals 3 times a day. Or more, if needed. The cook works without sleep. — Cheryl added and both disappeared.
«The mansion, seems, is clear. But… the story… is strange. And how do they know all this? The guide is clearly not an ancient guardian… alright. This isn't important right now. The main thing is to wait for the last participant.»
Four people.
Waiting.
The game is about to begin!