Staircases

"Please wait a little while as we wait for a fourth contestant. If there isn't one within the next hour, then the game will start automatically."

The voice of Naya resounded throughout the place, echoing ever so slightly. Jessica and Mia both shifted uncomfortably in their seats, frowning. Jack on the other hand tried to get up but found himself unable to.

After finding that out, he didn't really care too much and began swinging his legs back and forth.

"I hope someone joins quickly..."

Jessica looked between the two of them before letting out a small sigh.

"Perhaps it was a mistake to come here..."

She bit her lip as bad memories came back to them from being here. Although she couldn't be too sure, this was probably also quite an unfair game that wasn't worth the possible rewards.

Mia began chewing on her lip, also feeling the nervousness. However, she was actually thinking rather positively about the situation. She took in a deep breath and smiled slightly.

"This time we aren't here because of a punishment game, right? So that probably means it should be much more forgiving than last time..."

Jessica let out a hum.

"I hope so."

Jack put a finger on his chin as he looked at the two talking.

"What are you talking about? It sounds like you guys didn't really enjoy the last game we played here. When I think about it, the only thing I could remember was having a lot of fun!"

A bitter smile formed on Mia's face.

"Well... I suppose your life wasn't at any major risk, but for us, we were afraid of dying. If it wasn't for you, we lost the game, then we wouldn't be here talking with you anymore."

Jack scratched the side of his head, his eyes lost in thought. He thought for a good long while as he mumbled to himself.

"Playing games... can make you die? But... playing games is a good thing. Mmm, but isn't dying also a bad thing?"

He put both hands on the sides of his head, seemingly unable to understand what was realistically a simple sentence. It was almost like he was finding out that he was actually adopted and trying to comprehend what that really meant.

At this point, most of them waited in trepidation. Mia had the Gameboy out, but it wasn't responding whatsoever as though dead on batteries. As for Jack, even after pondering for over thirty minutes, he was unable to come to a true conclusion. Though before he could think about it anymore, a person suddenly appeared in a chair along with a bright flash of light.

It was what looked like a young adult man. He had pale white skin, as though he was drained of blood. His hair was black and a tad bit long for a guy. It was in a messy style, but it looked quite deliberate as though it was made using some hair gel. Despite the serious setting, he had a pretty carefree frown on his face, like a delinquent.

His clothes didn't exactly go against that impression, considering he was wearing a denim black jacket along with jeans.

Although the man was sitting down, it was still easy to tell that he was quite tall from his legs. They were quite long compared to the rest of his body, especially so for a man. The first thing he did upon being transported here wasn't taking in any of his surroundings, but rather cross his legs for the sake of comfort, not minding that it would hinder him should he suddenly need to run away.

He cast a glance over, but before anyone could initiate a conversation, overly squeaking sounds of a pulley being used rang throughout the place. And from the ceiling, Stanley was being lowered from a few cords.

With a bright smile, he showed off his distorted face and body. Naya was on his shoulder, but it was motionless, as though it was actually just a doll. While being lowered from the ceiling, Stanley let out a hearty laugh and waved with his mechanical hand.

"Hello, hello! It is so nice to see so many familiar faces once again. Now that the required participants have all shown up, I will now introduce you to the game, Ten Steps Between Heaven and Hell!"

His voice was scratchy and grating as always, though the enthusiasm was there. He cleared his throat and lifted his fingers.

"To start, there will be a total of eleven steps, labeled between 0 and 10. The four of you will each be dealt seven different cards, taking turns until everybody has no cards in their hands. The cards have the same value as they would in blackjack, and determine how many steps you move. Red cards are virtues that make you go up, while black ones are sins that make you go down.

To start, all of your positions will be determined by the value of the first card you end up drawing. If nobody goes past the 0th or 10th step, then there will be no problems. However, going below or above will either take you to the steps of Hell or Heaven."

With a smile, Stanley lifted up a finger.

"Taking one step into Hell means you will have to draw two cards from the deck. On the other hand, Taking one step into Heaven means you are willing to bear the sins of others, taking one card from each other person. If there is anybody without cards, then you will draw from the deck instead."

He raised another finger.

"Two steps into Hell means you will have to draw four cards from the deck, while two steps into heaven means you will take two cards from each other person, or draw from the deck if there aren't any to take."

Then the third one.

"Three steps into Hell mean you will have to fight a monster. Only after defeating it, will the game continue. However, three steps into Heaven means you push someone down three steps, or if there is anyone in Hell, you must push one of them down once."

The fourth finger.

"Four steps into Hell means you will have to fight an even tougher monster which you must defeat. As for four steps into Heaven, you must pull someone up four steps, or if there is anyone in Heaven, you must pull one of them up."

And then the fifth one.

"Should you go five steps or more in either Heaven or Hell, you will lose immediately."

Stanley paused after saying that, his smile widening ever so slightly.

"Keep in mind, if you ever move into a space that someone else is in, or move past them, the other person will be moved forward by one. The only way to win the game is by not being in either heaven or hell by the end of the game."

He let out a small laugh.

"You can also use the cards in your playing deck to either move up or down, but they won't count towards your card total, and will not directly change how many cards you have. That is all, I hope you have a fun time in the game!"

Once his explanation finished, Stanley landed in the seat. With an entire game explained to them, Mia and Jessica appeared to be quite overwhelmed, not really prepared to start the game so soon. On the other hand, Jack and the new guy didn't seem to care that much.

Though before anybody could think of any strategies, a fairly large deck appeared out of nowhere. The stage also shifted, becoming a series of overly large steps going upward to the right. A card was dealt to each person one after another.

First Jack got a 7, putting him at the 7th step.

Jessica got an 8.

Mia got a Jack.

And the new guy got a 3.

The ground beneath them shifted and forced them to take their proper places, with Mia being dangerously high. Though despite being just five steps away from losing the game, a smile was on her face, albeit an awkward one.

"Hey, why don't we all work together to win this? It's not like we all have to lose for the sake of this game."

The new guy let out a small sigh.

"Sure, why not."

Mia was honestly surprised about how agreeable he was. Though Jessica appeared to be on pins and needles from the last time they tried to work with someone, staring at him skeptically.

"Are you truly going to work with us?"

The new guy raised an eyebrow with a slight frown.

"Is that how you ask someone for help? Yes, I'll try to work with you. At the end of the day, all of his are here for the cards, no? If we don't have to fight over them, then there's no need to go that far."

Jessica cleared her throat and put a hand on her chest. She looked a bit regretful and bowed down slightly.

"My apologies. My name is Jessica. Thank you for accepting to cooperate."

The guy put two fingers against his forehead and clicked his tongue.

"Yeah, yeah. My name is Kenji if you care enough."

Jack lifted up his hand enthusiastically.

"My name is Jack!"

"And I'm Mia. Nice to meet you, Kenji."

Kenji clicked his tongue.

"Yeah, it seems like all of you are already buddy-buddy, so I didn't have a choice in the first place."

Mia scratched the back of her head awkwardly.

"Y-Yeah... haha."

From there, seven cards were dealt to each person, and the game began.