Ryong orbs twinkled with mysterious gleam. "Yet here you are hiding away from your brother. Maybe I should kill him while you hide here like a rat." His voice mocked.
Iseul 's clenched as she remained quiet. "Keep my brother out of this." Ryong snarled.
His fingers wrapped around her neck. "Then tell me where the yeouiju is." Ryong's voice got louder, and his clear impatience dripped out.
Iseul smiled, the restlessness in him gave him out. That's the cue she needed. The desperation to get his one only thing he cared about. Iseul leaned closer, "Pity to see the strongest creature of my world so desperate and helpless. Alas! I should have created a better one than a weak monster who is a disgrace to monster kind." The mockery in her voice was clear.
Iseul had one goal in mind, making him desperate enough to play his first move in this game.
Ryong chuckled at her words, his head craning, "I thought you were smart, Nuwa. Otherworldly smart. It seems I was wrong. The hopeless attempt to make me work was a foolish move. Get me my Yeouiju by the dawn and you might still have a family. Goodbye, Nuwa."
As those last words left he vanished into thin air, and the light of her cell flickered up. The grey monotone wall once again came to light with it the wall of the otherworld.
The strokes of paint created vivid imagery. The forest of Crypt, the waterfall and a vast plain. Iseul finally let out a breather, crouching down on the concrete floor.
"You want me to follow him?" A whisper echoed.
"No, he will be back. Keep an eye on Jaehyun for me. Anyone from the other world gets closer to him. Kill them." Iseul sternly ordered. Her eyes focused on the wall with the painting of Crypt Forest.
"As you wish, Nuwa. Take care of yourself." The voice hummed before disappearing.
Iseul remained quiet, she glanced at the wall hung in the corridor against her cell. It was exactly two past eleven. Five more hours before the game starts.
Iseul leaned back on the wall, her hands wrapped around her knees. She rested her head on the concrete wall, as her eyelids betrayed and sleep drifted her in.
Five in the morning…
The bell echoed in the hallway as an alarm. Iseul jolted up from the noise, as the sunlight from the barred windows hit her face. It was well past dawn which meant Jaehyun was fine or Willow was dead.
Iseul was still wrapped up in her thoughts that she hadn't heard the commotion going on in the hall.
"Welcome, ladies. Me, the great lord of the North, The Great Han! Woohoo!" The voice echoed in the speakers, catching everyone's attention, especially Iseul.
The doors of every prison cell started to open, with prisoners walking out from it. Every guard in the prison suddenly seems to vanish.
"Ladies, let's play a game. You see, I am always fascinated with your human games. Hmm… What should we play? How about a game of mafia? Someone among you is a mafia and finds the person before time runs up and kills them and all of you free. If you can't, the mafia survives and all of you die. FWOOSH! It's fun, right?" Han giggled like an excited seven-year-old, clapping his hand.
"Ah, right one more thing, every time you get wrong one two dies." Han continued, "Now, everyone is on the ground."
Halls echoed with whispers. Iseul glanced around. It was clear everyone heard them. "This was not supposed to happen." She mumbled under her breath. As the gates to the ground, one by one started to open.
The captives took the opportunity to run out. The opening of the gate was a golden opportunity. The chaos
ensured as every captive ran for the unattended. A prison filled with three hundred murders and high-level criminals was now a playground unattended.
"Get out of the way, b*tch." Ilysa knocked Iseul to the floor, as she dashed for the ground with her group. Iseul remained calm as she picked herself from the ground. She was among last to go among the ones who never wished to leave.
***
A white fog encircled the boundary. By the time Iseul reached the ground, the captives quietly froze there as eerie quietness took over the place.
"Hello! My pretty ladies. It's once again your beloved host, The Great Han. If you guys didn't see there is a fishbowl with roles on the paper. Each one of you will pick up and get your roles and burn the piece of paper in the goblet beside it. Easy right?" The voice in the speaker continued, humming and enjoying.
"Ah! Also, don't touch the fog. It will burn you to ashes and it surrounds the place. Interesting, right?" Han chuckled as he continued to explain.
"Due to an unforeseen accident, the players had come down to a total of 299." Unlike the cheery voice of Han, it was a woman's voice, mature and elegant.
Iseul couldn't help but squeeze her way towards the crowd forming by the boundary. If she was right, then…
The haunting ashes with bones charred to the black were the only thing that remained. Iseul glanced back into the speaker. Using the prisoner to kill her. Nice game.
Iseul took a quick breath as her legs moved towards the centre, if the plan was to get her killed then let it begin.
"Ohh~ What's this? The first contestant is reaching for the bowel, what will she get?" Han's voice commented as the crowd around her silently watched Iseul reaching into the bowl. The shock and silence filled the atmosphere with everything that was occurring.
Iseul didn't waste time to grab a paper. Seeing how things were going, there was only one role she would get— Mafia. Until they get her and Jaehyun's heart they wouldn't stop. Too bad she will do anything in her power to protect him.
Iseul unfolded her paper already expecting the answer. What she didn't expect was that the game would change.
"Oh my! What's this? The role of doctor."