(James)
As each member of the group flipped their cards, their faces relaxed into sighs of relief. Although I couldn't see their cards, their expressions gave me hope that maybe, just maybe, we had a chance to successfully complete the campaign that Maddie was describing.
After about five minutes, Maddie finished explaining the rules and limitations of actions within certain parts of the game. She also detailed the role of the realm master. I wasn't sure if the radiant words shining on the table were gonna be the main communication between the player and the master, or if we might hear a voice emerge from thin air. Regardless of how the realm master chose to command, we needed to focus on outsmarting and outplaying the game, or at least making unexpected choices during our playthrough.
"Now, to finally begin, we place our cards face up, then say, 'The wheel of life will determine our fate; let us fulfill fate's plan. Let's begin!' Cringy, I know, but it's been a tradition since the first game,"
Everybody around me seemed to be sweating nervously, even Ellie kept her head down, not daring to look up. The whole supernatural occurrence was fucked this was no miracle. Before the uplifting of the cabin, Maddie and Debbie set the game stage - with a wheel in the centre, cards for the players, and a separate deck of cards for the shop or rewards section.
I rubbed my sweaty hands on the side of my pants, feeling nervous and uncertain about how this would turn out. I wished everything would be fine afterwards.
In unison, the group declared, "The wheel of life will determine our fate; let us fulfil fate's plan. Let's begin!"
Then, without anyone even touching it, the wheel began to spin at a rapidly fast rate, moving in a circle. What seemed like radiant lines outlined our cards on the table, and words next to the cards repeated the same words on the cards, but they faded into another language then back to English over and over. The table was shaking, yet no cards moved.
the cabin took on an unsettlingly familiar sensation—it was as if the earlier phenomenon, the uplifting, had returned. Glancing through the windows, I caught sight of flashing lights. Initially, I thought it was the stars shifting, but no, it wasn't them. It was us—the entire cabin was spinning just like the wheel at the center of our game.
The spinning continued relentlessly, with no signs of stopping. It seemed to stretch on indefinitely, distorting my sense of time into a surreal blend of years, days, and minutes. As the cabin whirled, our bodies began to transform grotesquely. We stretched and elongated, our eyes bulging, our fingers extending and twisting into noodle-like forms. How were we still alive?
It felt as though we had been caught in a black hole. The room was flooded with a bright, overwhelming light that enveloped everything, casting a radiant glow that suddenly disappeared, plunging us into stillness.. The contrast from fast motion to stillness was even more nerve-wracking.
My mind felt heavy, my body sore; up felt like down, left felt like right. I was going to puke.
"Jayjay, you alright buddy, wai—" Tommy started, but then he vomited.
So did everyone else.
"Help, guys, what the actual fu—" Maddie barely got out before she vomited again.
For a while, it was just everyone letting their insides out, not daring to say anything that might make matters worse.
I felt like I threw everything i had out that day, this was no detox, this was a result, of going through a goddamn wormhole
The air in the cabin hung heavy with tension as I stood there, trying to make sense of the inexplicable transformation that had just occurred. Everything around us had shifted, as if we had stepped into a different reality altogether.
"Fuck! Is everyone alright? Does the tap still work? I need some water," I exclaimed, my voice trembling slightly with disbelief. It was a feeble attempt to break the eerie silence that enveloped us.
No one responded immediately. We were all too busy taking in our surroundings, trying to comprehend the changes that had taken place.
The once-modern cabin now resembled something out of a medieval fantasy. Wine bottles and antique lamps adorned the shelves, casting a warm, flickering glow across the room. The kitchen table, which had once been sleek and modern, now exuded a rustic charm with its wooden fixtures and look more like a counter to a bar. Even the windows, though not broken, appeared weathered and neglected, as if they hadn't been cleaned in years.
"James, what are you wearing? And what's with your ears?" Ellie's voice cut through the silence, her tone tinged with confusion and concern.
I turned to look at her, only to freeze in shock. Her hair, which had been black with blue streaks just moments ago, was now a vibrant reddish-orange hue. And her outfit—gone were the familiar jumper and blue jeans, replaced by a green cloak, light dark green armor, and brown trousers. Two small horns protruded from her head, though her face remained the same, complete with freckles and acne scars she usually tried to conceal at school with skin-toned pimple patches.What are you wearing? How... what the hell happened? No, don't tell me!" I exclaimed, running towards the windows.
"Wait, James, not the window! There might be..." Ellie's warning came too late.
Ignoring her, I reached the window and saw not my reflection, but someone else's. This wasn't me. Yet! no?—I was human; I was James Walker, not this pointy-eared creature in front of me. The only differences were the ears and cloak—ye even with a small difference I knew this wasn't me, well it seemed like me at first but I had this tingling feeling that my skin wasn't my own skin. My dark skin, my Asian features from my Filipino heritage, my silk-backed hair—all of it matched, but the clothes were entirely foreign, my ears were alien.A cloak adorned my body to the waist, a black tunic, and a belt carrying numerous pouches and bags on the side, with a silver medallion as a button on my hooded cloak—none of it was what I had been wearing moments ago.
Glancing back at the others, I realized they too were dressed differently, their expressions mirroring my confusion and disbelief.