Once he calmed down a little, he took a deep breath to further steady his racing heart, but it didn't work.
He went to the kitchen, opened the fridge, took out a bottle, and drank water to cool his heated mind. He finished the full bottle but still couldn't calm down. Then he took out another bottle and drank it, still unable to calm his mind. He repeated this a few times but still couldn't find solace. Eventually, his gaze locked onto alcohol. Never in his life had he touched alcohol or cigarettes, though he had planned to drink when he was older. He couldn't have imagined it would be under these circumstances.
He took two bottles of alcohol, kept them in his bedroom, and came out to check the corridor for anyone. Finding no one there, he closed and locked his entrance door and also locked his bedroom. He sat near the window, opened a bottle, and took a sip. He felt a cool sensation in his body the moment it went down. He took another sip and a few more, finishing the first bottle before he started to calm down.
After calming down, he thought, 'Hmm, my tolerance to alcohol is quite high.'
After that, he opened another bottle and thought while taking small sips, 'Should I report this to the hotel staff or even to the police... No, I have no idea about the laws of this place, so I can't take any chances before this damned bug is fixed or I learn the views about this with others at the party. Being cautious won't hurt before that.'
After this realization, he finished what little remained of the alcohol and went to take a bath. He showered while contemplating ways to act natural in front of the police who would likely be present at the House of Gold for security.
After bathing, he wore his suit and locked his room. He refrained from touching the body further because he didn't want too many of his fingerprints on the woman's body. 'Don't know what kind of technology they have, so the less I interact with the body, the better.'
He went down to the reception and informed them that there was no need to provide him with food as he would be eating out, handing the keys to the receptionist as naturally as possible. Though the receptionist wasn't the same as before, he assumed her shift was finished, so she should have left.
He left the hotel, called a taxi, and said to the driver, "House of Gold." The taxi driver didn't ask anything else and started to move. It took about an hour for the taxi to stop. He asked for the price, but the driver declined, saying, "No need to pay for a ride to the House of Gold." When asked why, he refused to answer. Bittu got off the taxi, and the moment he laid eyes on what seemed to be a palace, he was too shocked to speak. It wouldn't be wrong to say he froze in place seeing the glamor of the palace.
The House of Gold, a palace, stands as a testament to architectural rebellion. Its facade, not adorned with conventional gold, sparkles under the sheen of reflective panels, harnessing the moon's energy in a fusion of luxury and beauty. The exterior is a living canvas, featuring interactive LED displays that transform the building into a dynamic, ever-changing piece of art.
It took him a few minutes to get over its beauty, but even that was because a man dressed in a butler outfit called out to him. It was the same butler who gave him the invitation. He said:
"I am glad that you have arrived, Mr. Bittu. Please follow me. I shall lead you to the rest of the musicians."
The butler gestured to follow, as that is what I did. As I moved along with the butler, I saw a lot of police officers standing at different places in a pair of two eyeing all the men and women in the palace. The one thing that I didn't understand was that no one came forward to check me directly for any malicious weapon as if they didn't care. I also didn't ask the reason because it was unnecessary, since they didn't check that means they are confident to stop anything that may happen or they have already checked in a way that is oblivious to us or rather me.
As I moved while thinking, I was inside the palace before I knew it. Inside, minimalist aesthetics intertwine with touches of innovation. Instead of grand chandeliers, bioluminescent installations suspended from the ceiling create an ethereal glow, blending nature's beauty with modern design. The walls, adorned with artworks that tell stories of cultures from around the world, reflect a commitment to both heritage and contemporary expression.
Rooms are identified by traditional numbers of ancient languages each uniquely designed to evoke a sense of wonder. Some chambers offer glimpses into the future with the latest advancements in technology, while others maintain a timeless elegance with handcrafted furnishings and classical art.
The central atrium boasts a levitating garden where flora defies gravity, cultivated through magnetic fields and aeroponics. This harmonious blend of nature and sophistication embodies the House of Gold's commitment to redefining opulence in the modern age while honoring the richness of tradition.
I was brought to a room that had a character "९" on the door. The butler opened the door. In the room I found musical instruments all around the room. While I was looking at the insides, the butler said;" Mr. Bittu, you can practice here. When your practice is finished you can see that register, to know about your performance time. You may eat whenever you are hungry, you just have to search for the door with the character "あ" on it." While pointing at a register over the piano.
"Okay"
"Now, I shall take my leave. Enjoy the night."
"Ohhh...thanks"
I watched as the butler left. I was all alone in the room. I moved around, admiring all the different instruments arranged in the room. I probably only know how to play around five of them all. There were even some instruments that I had no idea about or even knew their names.
I went to the piano, sat on the chair beside it and admired it a bit. As I admired it and checked it's notes I was happy that the piano was well maintained but, as I played all the notes I knew that it was new.
After that I took a deep breath, and started to move my hands just above the piano keys while not touching them as I felt how it would be like when I played it. After getting the vibe that I was looking for I started to play. The music that I was playing was from the song called "Timi nai hau". I liked the music in this song.
After playing for a while, I was satisfied with the flow of my fingers as it had been a while since I last played the piano. After practicing, I left the room and joined the others outside as everyone was called out.. When I was out, I heard the people around me talking about various thing, but the most common was about how the guests of the party will be arriving soon so to welcome them we were called out.
I was quite interested as to see, what type of people were qualified to attend the party. What kind of players and talents are worthy of such an opportunity to be called by the House of Gold.
The early night air was tense as I stood in line, flanked by bodyguards on either side of the road leading to the magnificent palace. The arrangement seemed strategic, with three lines forming a protective barrier on the path. I couldn't help but notice the uniformed figures of important police members interspersed between the butler, who stood at the center, and the guards.
I marveled at the level of security, wondering about the significance of this party to warrant such measures but, still let the attendees unchecked. The road had been cleared, houses nearby emptied, and even the public removed. It dawned on me that those residing near the palace, likely the elite, might also attend the event.
Turning my attention to the people lined up beside and in front of me, I speculated that, much like myself, they were chosen for their real-world talents. It was both fascinating and frustrating to see a gathering of diverse talents, some renowned, others unknown, all waiting for the arrival of the House of Gold's guests rather than shining like a star should.
As I observed my fellow attendees, a sense of concern like earlier crept in. If the log-out button was absent for me, were these individuals facing the same dilemma? What if only I was facing this problem, what would I do them ?
The numbers seemed insufficient; approximately thirty people were present in both lines. It struck me that, in a game boasting two billion players, where were the rest? The thought lingered briefly as I wrestled with my own predicament in the absence of the log-out option.
Amidst these musings, a sleek black car, reminiscent of a Mercedes-Benz, glided down the road. It came to a graceful halt parallel to the horizontal line. A striking young woman, adorned in a captivating red dress with flowing black hair and intense black eyes, emerged. The butler respectfully bowed, engaging in a brief exchange with her before gesturing towards the palace. With a nod, the woman gracefully acknowledged the assembled crowd, her gaze sweeping across both sides of the road, before disappearing into the enchanting depths of the palace.
After the woman, a car that looked just like a Ferrari came. A man in his mind twenties came out of the car. He wore a blue suit. He too looked at the crowd and moved in the palace after exchanging some greetings with the butler. Just like this a lot young men and woman came in various luxury cars that looked like; BMW, Audi, Toyota, Ford, Lamborghini, etc. But didn't have the company logo of those respective companies but had the same logo. The logo had four rings of silver colour with four pictures inside of the four rings, the four being; a bull like Lamborghini, a half Balck and half white circle like bmw, a three coned star like Mercedes-Benz and a horse like Ferrari.
Aa I looked at all these men and women I couldn't comprehend what type of talent they have based on their appearance as they didn't have any aura of a star from the real world. One has a kind of pride when they have talent in something and like to boast about that but non of the ones that came showed any of these.
'looks like I can only see what talents they have in the party.' One thing to be concerned about was that non of these guests were genuinely smiling, while taking with the butler it looked like they were forcing a smile or faking it. I was confused as to why but as I looked at all the people around me and seeing none of them simple either rather have a tensed face and the silent atmosphere with only the sounds of car engine a thought came to me.
'Could it be.....that they have the same problem as me, and they are here to check if the others have the same problem too.' Seeing the tensed face of all these people it could very well be the truth and I am not the only one to figure it out as I could see many people thinking with tensed and serious faces.
As I was contemplating things, the butler walked passed me into the palace with a man that was surprisingly older than all the others, likely in his mid thirties. The butler was very respectfully and politely talking to the man more so than all the others.' Looks like this guy is the star of the night',I thought. After that all of us were taken to each of our rooms. One person from each of the room was taken including from my room. I heard that all the people were taken from the cooking room probably to serve food.
I sat with the others in the music room. There were six people. Four were men while two female. We all sat in the room with tensed and worrying expression on our face. After sometime a man spoke;
".....Can you guys not go out too..?"
I looked at the place that here the voice came from. The one who spoke had black hair and brown eyes. He wore a black suit. He was quite handsome. Looking at the man I thought,' This guy is cautious'. Although what he spoke has no meaning for the natives of this world but can instantly be understood by the those from outside. Hearing the guy all the others looked at each other for their reaction. Seeing all of us having the same reaction, we knew that we all are from the outside. The instance we knew this a relieved expression appeard on all our faces all thinking the same;
' Thank God, I wasn't the only one.'
After confirming, the guy spoke again," So, what do we do now ?" Listening to the guy no one answered as no one had the answer to the question. After a while, a woman spoke.
"...since we can't, why don't we think about how to stay here."
The one who spoke had a black hair and black eyes. She was gorgeous to say the least. She actually looked like a star performer that has performed in front of a real crowd. She had this aura around. I was stunned for a sec after seeing her but wasn't captivated by her beauty. It was quit odd as I was never captivated by a beauty no matter how beautyful the woman was. At first, I thought that their was something wrong with me. How can I not be captivated by a beauty being a man but then I did what most men do at night to confirm that my thing does work. And thank God that it does after that I left my worry behind thinking that I haven't met the right one and when I did I will be able to to that. While seeing her I thought;
'She is being cautious too, as she didn't directly reveal that she had the problem but still chose to go along with the guy.' Looks like this damn game has made most people paranoid about who to trust. Like how the hell would you trust anyone again if someone traps you in a game.
After seeing the two people taking vaguely the man with an slightly average face, brown hair and brown eyes aslo decided to not reveal any extra information and said, " we should do that."
After seeing all of them talking vaguely with serious and tensed faces, the remaining girl was scared and just nodded while saying," Yes" with fear apparent in her voice. I and all the other looked at the girl hearing the fear in her voice but seeing her cute face filled with innocence and fear all of us had a face filled with pity.
Seeing everyone agree, the remaining guy that had brown hair and black eyes with an average face said, " Why don't we stay together till it ends then ?" The guy said with anticipation in his voice but hearing what he said the two to talk first were alert and looked at the guy in caution thinking that he was the same as the Nexus but thing about how they were alone in this world and needed someone else to be same in this situation they agreed. The cute girl was happy seeing someone suggest something she wanted to, as she didn't want to be alone.
Listening to the guy all of us agreed and sat down together. After sitting, the guy with an slightly average face, brown hair and brown eyes said"....."