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[URL=https://youtu.be/7OrDNukMTF4?si=hKCyu57w_5amXyVQ]{ ♪ ~ ♫ ~ ♪ }[/url]
[h1][color=6ecff6]• • •[/color][/h1][/center]

[indent][i][b]The night was cold and quiet,[/b][/i] the city sleeping under dark, cloudy skies. Thunder rumbled quietly, the storm still far off, but an icy wind swept through the empty streets, picking up trash and sending crisp, fallen leaves skittering down the sidewalk. A plastic bag flew through the air, dancing and twirling like a kite with no string to hold it back. A discarded newspaper caught on a chain-link fence blocking off an alley, a headline reading:[/indent]

[center][b][ Truth Behind the Dark Web Series, Fact or Fiction? ][/b]
[img]https://images.pond5.com/newspaper-pavement-blown-wind-footage-011115628_iconl.jpeg[/img][/center]

[indent]In a mostly empty coffee shop, a T.V. displayed the local news, the subtitles popping up on the silent screen as a female anchor spoke, her tone unheard with the program muted.[/indent]

[quote][i]Investigators are still searching for the mind ─ or [b]minds[/b] ─ behind the horrific web series which has long since taken social media by storm. 'Game of Masters', is the title of the unconventional ─ and particularly disturbing ─ self-acclaimed reality game show in which randomly chosen contestants are expected to face gruesome odds to escape a perilous dungeon. The question remains, however, on whether or not the horrors of this series are as deadly as they appear, or, if it truly is all in good fun. Many insist that there is more to the events of the show than we are led to believe [...][/i][/quote]

[indent]A young man with warm, auburn hair sat at a table in the far corner of the coffee shop, mossy green eyes focused on the dimmed screen of a laptop set in front of him as he absently lifted a large mug to take a drink of a creamy colored craft. Sun-tanned fingers raced across the keys as the man wrote in the chatbox, a video player aligned beside it playing a horrid scene of a man running for his life as brick-laced corridors slowly filled with dark waters.[/indent]

[ [color=39b54a]EmmentShooter:[/color] If anyone's interested, flip over to Falcon News ]
[ [color=39b54a]EmmentShooter:[/color] They're talking about the show right now, and they just mentioned something about an interview with a past contestant ]
[ [color=39b54a]EmmentShooter:[/color] Could be interesting ]

[indent]His gaze flicked up to the T.V. as the image jumped from the female anchor in front of the basic skyline, to her and a rugged-looking man sitting across from each other in what appeared to be a little studio talk show set. The lady news anchor questioned the man about his experiences, and the man laughed at the start of every reply, his whole demeanor screaming with a level of smugness, it was almost embarrassing. He spoke down on the game, making challenging comments about the Game Master, and near the end of it, he even challenged the serial killer to, in his words, "Give me a second run."

The man in the coffee shop shook his head with a heavy sigh as he turned his attention back to the computer, quickly catching up on the messages that had come in throughout the interview.[/indent]

[ [color=9e0b0f]LostInTheLair:[/color] who tf does this guy think he is?? ] 
[ [color=ec008c]TonysLeftShoe:[/color] Seriously, did he even run the dungen? ] 
[ [color=ec008c]TonysLeftShoe:[/color] Dungeon * ]
[ [color=662d91]helluvaHellraiser:[/color] I highly doubt he did, there's not a scratch on him, and he's way too calm about all of it ]
[ [color=662d91]helluvaHellraiser:[/color] He's treating it like it was nothing but a stupid game ]
[ [color=fff79a]wreck_RE_um:[/color] right?! ]
[ [color=fff79a]wreck_RE_um:[/color] hes strait up making fun of past contestants 4 not being "good enough" ]
[ [color=fff79a]wreck_RE_um:[/color] wht the hell is even his problem??
[ [color=fff79a]wreck_RE_um:[/color] doesnt he get tht ppl have legit DIED on this show?! ]
[ [color=39b54a]EmmentShooter:[/color] He just wants attention ]
[ [color=39b54a]EmmentShooter:[/color] That's why he's going so far as to "challenge" the DM ]
[ [color=39b54a]EmmentShooter:[/color] Not that it'll do anything ]
[ [color=39b54a]EmmentShooter:[/color] With this display, the dumbass is gonna be under 24/7 watch "for his protection" ]
[ [color=39b54a]EmmentShooter:[/color] The whole interview was probably a ploy by the investigators to try and trick the DM into targeting the guy ]
[ [color=fff79a]wreck_RE_um:[/color] and THIS is the idiot those useless dopes chose? ]
[ [color=39b54a]EmmentShooter:[/color] Apparently so
[ [color=fff79a]wreck_RE_um:[/color] disgusting ]
[ [color=662d91]helluvaHellraiser:[/color] Hey, check the stream, looks like Jerry's run is about to come to an end ]

[indent]Green eyes traveled from the chat to the video on the side, and sure enough, things were looking quite grim for the man on the screen. The waters in the corridors were inches away from the ceiling, and Jerry, as he was known, had come to yet another dead end in the seemingly endless labyrinth. Underwater cameras showed a trap door in the floor below where Jerry was treading water, the hatch was sealed tight, and only able to be opened if Jerry could figure out the right combination of stones to press on the wall, but there were some fifteen different symbols scattered along the bricks in the wall, and each one was unique, without any sort of hint, it was impossible to know which stones to press, and even less possible to know how many of the fifteen were even required in the combination.

Jerry didn't even try with the stones, completely ignoring them as he frantically clawed at the trap door. Jerry had never been the brightest contestant on the show. He had survived as long as he had on luck alone, it seemed, and though the man in the coffee shop would never admit it, a part of him was relieved the man wouldn't be making it out of the dungeon through nothing but fate... Really, he felt awful for thinking it, but there was just a part of him that felt like if Jerry had survived his run using no real skill, it would have been a disgrace to the many who had fallen at the hands of the Game Master.

As the corridor filled to the top, and Jerry was left with no space left for air, a small icon appeared in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. A simple blue die with twenty sides tumbling and rolling before falling to a stop on the image of a calla lily. It was a special quirk of the Dungeon Master, that lily, the very symbol of the show, and everyone knew exactly what it meant. Nat 1; a critical fail.

Jerry's body stopped thrashing in the water.
The last few bubbles of air escaped from his mouth.
Finally, all was still, and the image faded to black as the Dungeon Master's strange, altered voice overlaid the scene.[/indent]

[quote][color=00aeef][i]I suppose dear Jerry's luck finally ran out. Such a shame, but that's just the way of the odds, it seems. Sometimes the cast is high, and sometimes the cast is low. We need only to hope for the best, and prepare for the worst, because we never know what may be waiting just around the bend. Such is the cast of the dice, after all. So watch your back, my friends, and be careful where you let your feet lead you, for you never know when [b]you[/b] may be faced with the dreaded final roll. Until next time, may luck be on your side."[/i][/color][/quote]

[ [color=39b54a]EmmentShooter:[/color] You okay, wreck? ]
[ [color=39b54a]EmmentShooter:[/color] I remember you mentioning that you knew Jerry personally... ]

[indent]Yeah, that made him feel even more like an ass for how he viewed the man's demise...[/indent]

[ [color=fff79a]wreck_RE_um:[/color] no, im not ]
[ [color=fff79a]wreck_RE_um:[/color] i need to go ]
[ [color=fff79a]wreck_RE_um:[/color] plz ]
[ [color=fff79a]wreck_RE_um:[/color] no one dm me ] 
[ [color=fff79a]wreck_RE_um:[/color] i cant fucking do this ]
[i][color=7ea7d8][ wreck_RE_um is now offline ][/color][/i]

[indent]In the coffee shop, a barista behind the counter flipped off the T.V. with a remote and gave a heavy sigh as he set it down on the counter, before speaking out to those who remained in the cafe, "Alrighty, folks, last call; time for me to close up. If you'd like anything else for the road, speak now or forever hold thy peace."

The words got a good snicker from a few lingering about, the man in the corner included. Unlike others who lined up to grab a final drink or a pastry that was set to be disposed of at the end of the night, however, the green-eyed man just took his time packing up his things, still lingering on that page for a moment before finally shutting down his laptop and slipping it away into his backpack. By the time he was slinging the bag over his shoulder, everyone else had left, and it was just the man and the barista left in the lobby.

"Couldn't help but notice you were watching the run," the barista spoke up as he moved around the counter to start cleaning things up around the dining area, "What happened?"

The man stopped at the other's voice and looked over a bit cautiously before letting out a heavy sigh and looking away, "It's over," he told the guy, "Flood trap. Jerry didn't stand a chance, honestly, the only way out at any turn was blocked by one puzzle or another. It's like the odds were completely against him tonight..."

"It was a matter of time, huh?" the barista commented while collecting dishes from nearby tables, "His luck running out, I mean. It was bound to happen at some point...still a shame though..."

The man nodded solemnly, deciding it was best not to voice his opinions on the fallen contestant and instead just replied with a distant, "Yeah...I guess you're right..."

There was a short moment of semi-awkward silence after that, the green-eyed man drumming his fingers on his leg while the barista continued to clean. Finally, the worker spoke again, setting down his collected plates and cups to look over at the other guy, "Do you think they'll ever catch them? The Game Master. Do you think they'll ever find that freak and bring this whole shit show to an end?"

The man hesitated at that, wondering how to actually approach the question. One the one hand, he could give the obvious answer that the barista was surely looking for: 'Of course'. On the other hand though, he could just as easily give the truth of how he felt, and that was that he simply didn't know, but what more, he just didn't have much faith in it anymore. Surely [i]someone[/i] could bring an end to the runs, put the Game Master in their place, and make the freak pay for all the lives they'd taken. The people investigating it all, though? Five years of searching with no progress gained made it pretty clear that the people the public were supposed to be trusting to protect them and save them from the growing threat were not much to rely on.

Finally the guy with the green eyes spoke in response, looking away from the barista as he did, "I think...the Game Master [i]will[/i] be stopped," he told the worker, "But I don't think the investigators will be the ones to bring this all to an end. I think with how long this shit has been going on for...it might be time for the pawn to check the king."

The barista snorted at that and regathered his collection of dishes, "You a writer or something?" he asked.

The man shook his head with a light laugh, "Nah, just something my dad used to say..."

"Wise words," the worker nodded, "You might be right, but is one pawn enough to stand up to a god?"

"Maybe," he responded, "There's really only one way to find out, right?"

"What's that?"

The guy looked back at the barista, and a small smile tugged at his lips, though there was a mix of sadness, determination, and fear shining in his eyes as he responded, "Well...play the game, of course."[/indent]

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[h3][color=0072bc][b][i]One Month Later...[/i][/b][/color][/h3]

[indent][color=00aeef][i]"A full moon shines over the city...and so marks my pursuit. A cloudless night is quite the pity, but fear ever not, dear heroes, for I never miss a debut... But who shall it be? Who is the first to take a roll? With [b]initiative[/b], we shall see. Allow the odds to determine the soul..."[/i][/color][/indent][/center]