Four years ago…
"Did you hear about Miko?" Hina, the bubbly brunette, asked.
"That senior from high school?" Shyra asked back, twirling her red hair.
Under the loud music, the girls had to yell, making sure everyone around them heard the same.
"Yes, she disappeared yesterday," Hina continued.
"In the mist?"
"Where else?"
Mist and disappearances.
Those two words have been synonymous for a while now. Such disappearances were so common that even law enforcement had started to take them lightly.
After all, people who get swallowed by the mist rarely come back. Even when they did, their minds were too broken to reveal any information to help the world crack such cases.
It was a dead end, through and through.
Not that Zaen cared about it as he wrapped his arms around Shyra's slim waist.
"Are we here to celebrate or to gossip needlessly?" he asked, giving Shyra a twirl.
"To celebrate, of course," Shyra replied, caressing his cheek. "To Mist-versary!"
Mist-versary marked the day when the mist was first spotted. But didn't mist kidnap people? It shouldn't be something worth celebrating, right?
It was the case in the rest of the world, but not Ayran, an island nation located between Asia and Africa, in the middle of the Arabian Sea.
Despite being technologically most advanced nation in the world, they were a highly superstitious bunch.
They believe the Mist was inherently good. It only swallowed the people who had done something wrong or evil.
Their belief was based on the fact that entire countries with which Ayran had conflicts had been swallowed whole. Since it swallowed the evil first, it was deemed good by the Ayranians.
Even in Ayran, those who disappeared first were either corrupt or had links to the underworld. These people never returned from the mist and were eventually pronounced dead.
As for those who returned alive, albeit broken, they were thought of as sinners who had learned their lesson.
That's why the mist was viewed as a benevolent entity, one whose appearance was celebrated as a national holiday week, much like the Golden Week celebrations.
It was such a big affair that even compulsory military training would be suspended for the week, allowing people to visit their homes and families. There were two kinds of programs for the training.
The first one required the individuals to train for three years straight. The second option let them train for one year, then live like normal civilians for half a year, and kept switching like that.
The latter was preferred by the young ones since the training started when they turned seventeen and lasted till they turned twenty-one.
It was the case with Zaen. After spending a year training, he was back to being a civilian again for the rest of the year.
"So handsome," Shyra whispered into Zaen's ear, wrapping her arms around his neck. "How's the military tolerating your tantrums?"
"Tantrums?" Zaen said. "When have I ever thrown a tantrum?"
"You should ask your butler about it—"
As soon as she said that, the doors to the dark room were kicked open. An angry, hulking man walked in, stopping the music. At the same time, the lights went on, revealing the mess in the room.
Discarded glassware, half-eaten pizza slices thrown everywhere, and in the middle of it all were three guys and two girls.
"Zaen," the old man said, cracking his knuckles. "What do you think you're doing?"
"…wanna join us, uncle?"
"Do I look like Did-he to you?"
Zaen glanced him over. Tanned skin, wearing a suit that was too small for his bulging muscles, and a bald head. He could pass as an amateur cosplayer, but Zaen kept that thought to himself.
"You're seventeen now," Uncle Mack continued. "You should know better than to waste your time like this. Do you have entrance exams to prepare for? What face will I show to your parents when I meet them in heaven?"
"I'm sorry… uncle. I'll clean this mess after dropping them off," Zaen apologized, eyeing his friends to leave.
"I'll wait by the car," Shyra said, planting a kiss on his cheek before walking away.
"What are you waiting for? Go drop the girl off. At least you can try to be a gentleman once," Uncle Mack scoffed, calling for the house helpers to clean the room. "Be back before midnight. I don't want Aeron to throw a tantrum while you're gone."
"I'll be right back!" Zaen smiled, running outside.
That was the last thing Zaen remembered before waking up in a strange place. He was in an empty room that seemed to have been abandoned decades ago.
The paint was peeling off the moss-infested walls. The furniture was either rusted or eaten away by termites. Yet, it had a familiar feeling. The layout… was exactly the same as his bungalow!
"My… head…" he mumbled, waking up. "Shyra, Hina? Hey guys, wake up!"
Zaen got off his feet, still wobbly, and grabbed Shyra, who was lying next to him.
"Shyra, get up!" he called out, gently patting her cheek.
She stirred away, groggy from sleep. But when she saw Zaen's face, she immediately sat up.
"Zaen? W-What's happening?" she asked.
"I do not know. I just woke up myself," he replied. "Let's wake the others first."
Shyra nodded and shook Hina's unconscious form. Zaen did the same with Harris and Rouland. They all woke up confused, groggy, and scared.
"Where are we?" Harris asked, scanning the room. "Is this… your home?"
"I think so… but I have no idea what's happening."
"What do you people remember seeing last?" Rouland asked, stepping forward.
Zaen told them about leaving the house, and thought it would be the same for the rest, but their accounts were different.
Shyra remembered her and Zaen taking a shortcut to her home through an alley. Hina said she was chatting with Uncle Mack. Harris remembered the faint taste of the pizza they had been enjoying before.
It was as if they all remembered different futures. Either someone had mixed drugs in their drinks or food, or something was seriously off with their minds.
"So… none of you remember that stop sign?" Rouland asked.
"What stop sign?"
"The one where that young guy told us not to cross the road and leave?"
"What are you on about?" Zaen scoffed. "Stop signs? Young man? Who would stay outside with a sign in the middle of the road?"
"I-I don't know! I just remember there being a stop sign and… mist."
"Mist—?"
Before anyone could do or say anything, strange words appeared before them.
[Congratulations, mortal! You have been selected to participate in the Hunter Games!]
[Slay anomalies and gain treasures. Anything you get inside the game is yours for the taking!]
[Mission 1: Survival!]
[Introduction: A mischievous anomaly wants to play with you. How long will you survive in the game of hide-and-seek?]
[Pro tip: Take a look around. Who knows, you might find something useful!]
[Time Limit: 24 hours.]
[Early Landing bonus has arrived. Please claim it to begin the game!]