John started to panic even more than with his hand, well, as good as he could. The room made him seem like panicking was useless, and like he shouldn't. It didn't help that the pain from his energy had subsided. But then the room changed. The gray box around him evaporated. And a new area shuffled to be placed together. This new area was almost completely dark. What little light was there was coming from tiny candles from a table opposite of him.
"So you're the first one to arrive? Perfect." A figure, mystic in appearance, said from the head chair of the table. "What?" John said. He was very confused. "Just take a seat at the table and wait for everyone else to arrive." The figure beckoned him to sit down. So he did. He took one of the two closest seats to the figure. And now he could get a good look at the figure. He was wearing a masquerade mask, so none of his face could be examined, but every other feature was present.
John felt nervous next to the figure. He was tall, maybe around 6'8, he had jet black hair, intimidating clothing that looked right out of nightmares, and that same purple glow. The same glow that the moon had. Sure the first time it was because of the coffee, but the other times the moon had just been purple. And it wasn't really a glow, it was more of a mist, and as he looked around he saw more of that mist. It was all flowing upward. And, out of his peripheral vision, he could see an upside down waterfall.
"Do stop gawking at my place and put your mask on. The other's shall be arriving soon." He looked in front of him. There was a masquerade mask, just like the figure beside him. It had a purple rim and a black base color. John put the mask on. It was easy to put on and it fit his face perfectly. But just then those people who he talked about appeared. They came out of thin air and they looked more scared than he was. They also seemed to not be as calm as him. They seemed to be in more of a panic.
"Where the hell am I!?" They all looked at each other, then to the table where John and the mystic figure were sitting. "Who are you people!", "Why did you bring us here?", "Are you the one who brought us here?" They all asked in synchronized yelling.
The figure then stood up from his seat. "Calm down. I have brought you here for a reason. Just come and take a seat." John couldn't realize it till they all started sitting down, but he couldn't see any features on any of the people. "Put on your masks." He said before sitting back down. They all put on their masks and it was like all of their features came back. "So, since some of you may know one another, and most don't, we shall all go by false names. Names that I think fit each of you."
Nameplate's appeared in front of each of them. Each had a different name and meaning. But they were all chess pieces. Like the bishop, the rook, the queen, ect. But around three of the people including John didn't have a name. The figure's name was "The King". 'Why don't some of us have names?' "As you know in the game of chess there are two bishops, two knights, two rooks, a king, and a queen. There are also eight pawns. But there are nine of us. I know that some of you don't have names. So you will earn them. To gain the second bishop, you must show thinking outside the box. For the rook, you must show a sight of courage. And for the single pawn, you must have both."
"Why does the pawn have both?" John asked "The King". "Because, they both march forward and take from the side." "The King" smiled. John had no clue what that meant, but it sounded like "The King" wanted both of those things from John. "The King" then scoffed. "I took inspiration for this place from a good book, and now it's boring." He snapped his fingers and the entire misty area started to change. It started to have pipes, machinery, and smog everywhere. "That's better." One of the others who was labeled as "The knight" spoke up: "What kind of being are you? Are you one of the gods?" "The king" laughed.
"No, I am a deation. I am a higher power than those lunatics." That shocked everyone in the room. It seemed none of them knew that there were higher powers. "Well, that is all for now. I shall send you back. No one speaks of this." He sent all of them back except John. "I know you have questions. So I shall answer them." John thought for a moment. "What are all the ranks?"
"You first have the "blessed". Then you have the angels, then the gods, and lastly the deations." He said proudly. "What makes you an angel?" "The King" raised up a finger. "You need at least one card. And when you have a three you then go to get approved as a god." That wasn't surprising. But that was also all the questions he had. "Now I will send you home." He snapped his fingers as John started to disappear. "One more thing, your first level is coming up. Don't make me bored." And the last thing John saw before being back in bed, was the sly grin "The King" gave him.