At that time, Marcus's apartment felt buzzed with urgency as he hurriedly dressed on his police uniform.
Moments later, he was striding into the police station, only to find chaos swirling within the station. Officers rushed about, phones rang incessantly, and the atmosphere crackled with a sense impending mysteries.
At the center of the commotion stood Susan Vickers father , Maxwell Vickers who is a wealth politician in town, one of the recently deceased parent.
His expression was a twisted, a blend of grief and fury. "My daughter was healthy, and now she's dead! I demand answers, and I want this resolved within a week. Or else!" To him, it seemed as a serial killing.
The silence that followed was heavy, the gravity of his words sinking into the ears of every officer present.
The Officer in Command and the Commissioner were already deep in discussions, their faces etched with concern.
" We have to crack this mystery..and as soon as possible, or else..
" We all will go down, l know." The officer in command interrupted the commissioner before he could complete his sentence.
Marcus stood still, a mix of confusion and urgency flooding his mind. Who exactly was this woman driving them to the brink? "Bruce," he called out, adrenaline propelling him forward, "hand me the file of the deceased."
Without hesitation, Bruce retrieved the file from a nearby drawer and handed it to Marcus.
As he opened it, his heart sank, eyes widening in recognition—it was Susan, the woman he had seen in the online game, Drerealm.
" Do you know her? Bruce asked as he saw Marcus frail face.
The lines blurred between reality and the virtual world he had doubted before when he was told in the streets, rather he wanted to confirm it with his own eyes. A surge of dread pulsed through him; but then he needed to know if the remaining five deceased are also the sameomes who were with him in drerealm.
Marcus raced to Susan's home, dread unfolding with every step. As he entered, the sight that met him dispelled any lingering doubts.
The lifeless body of Susan lay still, with the same clothes that she wore in the game. a haunting image that tattooed itself in his mind. No time to linger; he had to move. He sped to the other addresses of the deceased, unearthing a morbid connection— then did he confirm that, all six victims had been players in Drerealm alongside him.
Well, he had no one to tell about the truth..., besides, who would believe him?
The pieces clicked together like a chilling puzzle: to uncover the game inventer, he had to continue playing till the end.
Worse of all, it's not his choice to choose, whether to play or not. The game will always come for it's players.
Eleven stages awaited him, since his done with the first stage, each filled with rich fantasy and peril of different caliber, and the promised prize—a fortune funneled into a bank account—would be the key to uncovering the perpetrator behind it all.
As for the prize...that wasn't his aim. Rather the cases to be solved.
Exhaustion weighed on him as he returned home that evening, only to be startled by the figure settled on his couch—Mathias. "How... how did you find me?" Marcus stammered, noticing his door was locked. Mathias leaned back, unfazed. "Who doesn't know you in this town, Detective Marcus!"
There was a glint in Mathias's eye, an unsettling mix of intrigue and caution. "I have an offer," he said, stepping forward. "Join my group.... The purifiers.
Together, we can unravel the truth about the game." Trust hung in the balance, but Marcus hesitated, unsure—he barely knew Mathias."Sorry, I'm not interested," Marcus replied coolly.
And who were these purifiers anyway?
Mathias didn't press further. Instead, he reached out, slipping a card into Marcus's uniform pocket as he leaned in, whispering, "You have twelve hours to decide. Call me if you're ready." As he reached the door , he posed and looked back at marcus. " The clock is ticking " And just like that, he was gone, leaving behind an air of urgency that clung to the room.
As the hours dragged on, slumber eluded Marcus. His mind churned with thoughts of the victims, Mathias's enigmatic proposal, and the mounting pressure to produce results.
The next morning, with the weight of expectation heavy upon him, he made up his mind. He dialed Mathias, who provided directions to their hidden base.
The journey was surreal. Before him stood a gorgeous two-story flat, its white façade gleaming under the sun. " Waooh! It's so gorgeous.." as he was still admiring the house , the door swang open, Mathias come to welcome him. greeted him at the door, guiding him inside where others awaited introductions. Nathan, Abby and Abraham were twin brothers, Jacob, was IT specialist and then Mac, who's a doctor, they all found themselves in the game unknowingly. Where they met Mathias who helped guid them, just like Marcus.
Each sharing their unique connection to the game and its chilling aftermath. Martha, was the group's cook, kept the atmosphere surprisingly light with her gentle humor.
As they settled in, Mathias inquired about the card Marcus had received. "One red high-heeled shoe from the front, madam koi-koi from the back," he recited.
A whirlwind of debate ensued as they attempted to decode the riddle. It was Jacob, the IT specialist, who finally unearthed the story behind the hint—a haunting tale of a vengeful teacher whose fate tied to a ghostly presence that haunted the school at night and late evenings.
Madam Koi-Koi became a legend to every school in Nigeria, she was a ruthless teacher who brutally punished students. Though the students complained about her for a long time the administrators did nothing about it.
One evening after her last victim, the four boys took it upon themselves to punish her.
They beat her up, till she was unconscious. With fear they thought they had killed her but she was just unconscious. They draged her body to the nearby forest, as they were about to leave ,one of the boys turn to look at madam koi-koi, awake yearning for help. He got a stone and hit her head, ending her life. But in the process, one of her heels had fellen at the school compound.
In the morning the students come back, only to five one of her shoes, and madam koi-koi was no where to be seen. When the police investigated , they found her body in the forest.
That was the genesis of supernatural embodiment of retribution, her heels echoing through the halls with a strange, eerie rhythm, got her named madam koi-koi. From the echo of one heels when she move.
After knowing the enigma behind the hint in the card, Mathias proposed to Marcus, he was to come and stay with them for easy research and term work.
A week blended in, The clock was ticking, and as night fell, it's was time for his turn into drerealm again. Marcus prepared for the game few hours ahead of him.
This time he wanted to try carrying some nessecities that may be of use, but he wasn't sure whether they will tag along went he enters the game, he decided to tie around him— attached to his cloth before sleeping.