In a dark, starless night, a lone circus tent stood under the moonlight. And inside, as if by magic, a clown appeared in a burst of colors.
His large, pointy shoes made a soft thud as he moved, and a faint jingling of bells followed him wherever he went. In his left hand, the cards seemed to have a life of their own, dancing and swirling through the air and between his fingers. While in his right hand was a silver-eyed doll with jagged features that seemed to sneer and leer at anyone. It could be seen trembling. It was alive and could understand and feel everything.
The clown made his way past the rows of empty seats to the stage where the spotlight shone over the roulette wheel, where instead of numbers were random symbols like a knife, a cow, a deck of cards, and so much more.
Upon reaching the platform, he carefully positioned the doll at the wheel's center. The doll's silver eyes reflected a hint of fear, and its tiny, wooden hands trembled slightly.
The clown took a step back, increasing the distance between himself and the roulette wheel, until there was a four-meter gap between them. His eyes sparkled with mischief as he twirled a deck of cards in his left hand.
With a flick of his wrist, he plucked a card from the deck. Then using the two fingers of his right hand, he flung it through the air towards the wheel, making the doll close its eyes instinctively, as if bracing for impact. The card then soundlessly hit the knife symbol.
The doll was safe for the time being.
***
In a dark theater where the only source of light was the floating orb on the stage, Dexter couldn't help but frown. Nine of the participants had been captured by cannibals and were about to be cooked.
'This wouldn't have happened had they gone solo,' he irritably thought while clicking his tongue.
In RELIFE GAME, the more people were together, the more danger would come. It was better to move alone or in twos at maximum.
On the other side of the orb, Jasper could be seen skinning a mutated stag with jagged, razor-sharp antlers and matted, black fur. He just acquired his first ingredient. Exhaustion evident on his face.
While Dexter was starting to lose interest with how the other nine have performed so badly so far. He already finished a bag of baby carrots with how bored he was. He was craving for more stimulation. The person they refer to as The Higher Up had been sending him messages to do something.
***
As a tradition before killing any living things for food, especially humans, the cannibals in Murkwood Peninsula would make a really huge fire and they would chant and dance around it, going along the beat of the drum made from the hides of all humans they had killed so far.
This was a sacred act of gratitude. Thanking the gods they believed in for providing them food, allowing them to survive much longer. This was bad news to their soon to be food, however.
The leader approached Marty and Eli with a grateful grin on his face to give his blessing to rid them of any human impurities. Marty knew he had to act now as he winked at Eli who happened to be looking at him at that moment. He then cleared his throat and began to cough loudly, trying to sound as sick as possible.
Eli looked at him in confusion, but quickly caught on and started to cough along with him while Lilia, who just woken up but pretended to be still asleep was listening to them intently using her ability, confused.
The leader looked at them with a frown, "What's wrong with you two? You both better not be getting sick. We don't eat sick meat."
Hearing this, Lilia grew even more confused and then she realized she was bound. June was just about to wake up too.
Marty and Eli continued to cough and moan, with Marty adding in intermittent comments about the deadly disease they had supposedly contracted.
"We came to this place to find a cure," Marty gasped, "but we couldn't find it. It's a deadly disease, and anyone who eats us will surely catch it."
The leader's eyes widened in fear, and he backed away a few steps along with the others, and the dancing abruptly stopped. The thought of catching any sort of disease seemed to frighten them, and they began to murmur amongst themselves.
Marty and Eli continued to play their parts, coughing and groaning as convincingly as they could.
A few moments later, the leader finally turned to them, his expression grave. He couldn't shake the feeling that Marty and Eli might be deceiving them. He needed to be sure.
"BuangKo!" the leader called out to his most trusted friend, beckoning him over. "Retrieve the Crystal of Truth. We must be certain these two are not lying about their disease."
BuangKo, a large and imposing figure with a stern expression, nodded and disappeared into a dark tent. He reemerged moments later, holding a small, gleaming crystal on a chain. The Crystal of Truth was said to reveal the honesty or deceit of those it examined. It would glow green if the target was telling the truth and red for the opposite.
The leader held the crystal with his right hand and turned to face Marty and Eli, his gaze fixed on them. "Speak only the truth! Are you really sick?"
Marty and Eli exchanged nervous glances, their earlier confidence waning. But Marty decided to take a risky gamble as the Crystal of Truth was lowered over his forehead.
"Yes. We… We are very sick," he said between coughs, desperately hoping his lie would hold up.
But as the crystal hovered over his forehead, its glow suddenly shifted, flashing a deep, angry red.
The leader's eyes immediately narrowed in fury as he saw the deception unfold before his very eyes.