A/N: PLease be patient, it'll be worth it, I promise!
The knots loosened.
Bang!
Five cabins dropped to the ground.
A heavy crash tore through the grounds, followed by the sound of metal crumpling, and bodies splitting apart under the force.
Splat!
Nyx in the cabin, squeezed her eyes shut and covered her ears to block out the terrifying screams coming from below.
The players who had somehow survived the fall, crawled, dragging themselves and begged whatever could listen to their pleas. However, the beasts tore everyone alive apart.
Fei Ming peeked from the window, enjoying the view of the gruesome massacre. 'This was better than the corpse game.' he thought while looking at a bloody man being shredded into pieces.
After a long silence, the Runic board rang another notification.
Ding!
[Seven cabins left!]
[Next Round Continues.]
The Ferris wheel rolled again.
As the creaking cabins rose higher, the Carnival red and white lights flickered, illuminating the players' face when the wheel turned.
Somewhere above, someone shouted.
"Heyy!"
The enthusiastic voice echoed behind Fei Ming's cabin. They were almost at the top. The third cabin to the top left.
When the voice echoed again, Fei Ming and the rest turned their heads back, looking for the speaker.
Pinboy leaned out of his shattered window and waved with his whole arm like they were old neighbors greeting each other across balconies.
His face was smeared in drying blood, streaked across his cheek and down his jaw. A long cut traced along the side of his neck where glass had grazed him when the window burst earlier, but he didn't look bothered.
He looked quite thrilled.
The wind tugged at his striped sleeves as the Ferris wheel rose him to the very top. His cabin rocked slightly, the glass gone, the frame open to the night.
Between him and the next visible cabin, there was nothing but a cracked chain and bent metal where a cabin had once been. After that empty space was Fei Ming's cabin.
Pinboy's eyes dropped there.
He smiled harder.
His pins glinted under the lights.
Fei Ming counted them again without moving his lips. One… two… three…
Three were missing.
"Oops. I didn't stitch them back," Pinboy whispered to himself, shoulders bouncing softly like he was laughing at a joke no one else heard.
He lifted his hand again and waved down at Fèi Míng's cabin, cheerful, blood sticking to his skin and drying on his collar. "I'm happy you're alive! Go out with me when we're done!"
Fei Ming blinked rapidly from that sentence. 'Is he talking to me or her?'
Olive leaned towards Nyx and asked: "Was he… referring to you?"
Nyx shyly averted her gaze away. But she wasn't smiling.
The Ferris wheel slowed, clicking into place as the round was about to begin.
[The game ends when two cabins are left!]
Pinboy's cabin was now at the top.
Fei Míng sat back down when the ferris wheel stopped. The cabin settled into a low sway, the wheel creaking above them.
[Do ask your assigned questions!]
Suddenly, a metal screeched behind them.
Bang!
Fei Míng turned his head back toward the top.
Pinboy's cabin shook.
It wasn't like the earlier punishment rounds where the bolts loosened till they fell off. This was smaller, a bit forced like someone was violently pushed in the cabin.
A raw feminine scream tore out of the open window. "AaaaahhhhHH!"
Nyx flinched and gripped the edge of her seat. Olive stared upward, silent. Fei Míng watched quietly, eyes narrowing a bit.
The questions this round weren't dramatic or showy like in the last round. No one was asked prying questions or hidden truths. In fact, Olive and Nyx were asked what their favourite colours were.
However, in Fei Ming's place, his questions were more personal, even downright disturbing. He was asked 'how many of his loved ones are dead? And were any of these deaths directly caused by him?' He had now taken note that whoever owned the game exclusively targeted him. What were they looking for? His weak point? Or taunt him to the point he'd break?
A short laugh escaped from his lips. 'They are stupid. If their motive is to make me look like a villain and a threat to the players… It's going awful.'
So he answered the question. "I really can't count. All my loved ones are dead. Deaths caused…"
Placing his index finger on his lips, he raised his head up.
Right now, Olive was starting to think if this 'Fateless' guy was a sadist or a murderer needed to be put behind bars. 'If he had killed his loved ones as one of his 'death expressions', I would be calling HAWKS on him.'
Fei Ming's eyes darted to Olive, and the older guy flinched from the sudden contact. "Death caused. None."
Ding! Ding!
[Correct!]
'What?'
The cabins rose and fell once more. One more round ending with that stupid ding of the Runic board.
More time slipped by.
Eventually, the screams from other cabins fell silent.
Just how long had they been in this question loop?
Ding.
[Three cabins left.]
[One more round left!]
[Buckle Up!]
****
The wheel creaked as it climbed for the final round.
[The last round of the mini game: Circle of Lies is about to begin!]
"..."
[Ask As Many Questions As You Wish!]
[Time duration: 30 minutes!]
This time, Fèi Míng's cabin rose steadily until it secured itself at the very top of the arc. The players exchanged looks. Someone let out a dry breath of disbelief.
No wonder the System announced it as the final round of the game. Pulling a quick trick for unlimited questions would bring any cabin down. It was lucky his cabin was at the very top. The cabin immune to the punishments given for the maximum of three lies. Which meant Fèi Míng couldn't die here even if the others did.
Or maybe this was just a calculated move of the Force to trap him?
Something wasn't right here.
Nyx turned her head slightly. She still looked tired. Glancing at Fei Ming right behind her, she asked: "What was your actual assigned question for me? How do you know my nickname? And… why did you do that?"
He stared at her longer than necessary. "That's a lot of questions," he muttered.
"It asked if you were angry. Just like my given name is 'Fateless,' yours was 'Hwageun.' a Korean nickname. I was curious. If I asked directly, you'd unconsciously lie you weren't, because of… Eris."
Nyx slowly bobbed her head, her short hair fell across her cheeks as she avoided Eris' sorry gaze.
Olive coughed again. Then, he too, asked Fei Ming… "what the hell does your death expressions mean?" He furrowed his brows, taking in Fei Ming's look. 'If it turns out to be what I think it is, I'm reporting his ass.'
"Exactly what they sound like," Fèi Míng replied quite bitterly.
'This is irritating. Why am I now the center of attraction? Did I slack too much?' he thought.
'Are they putting me up to lose?' He subtly shook his head. 'No, if that was the case, my cabin wouldn't be at the top. Unless… I'm still the target.'
Olive slumped his head down and groaned out loud. He then pointed a finger at Fei Ming. "The fuck was with your response? That's not how to answer a question!"
"How else should I give a reply? Think whatever you like."
"I didn't ask you how many girls you had sex with! Why the ambiguity?!"
Fèi Míng raised a brow. "Interested in my sex life, now?"
Olive gave up after that.
Fei Ming's attention shifted to Nyx. "Nyx. How much do the Citadel tickets cost?"
She blinked, a bit confused at the out of box question, but she answered anyway. "I-i heard it's worth a Game's Core. B to S-tier Game cores are most acceptable to trade for a Citadel ticket because of its high value. If you were to pawn off your earned prices for hard coins, it's about 50,000 coins," she paused, glancing at Eris for a second before continuing.
"But most times, a high tier Game core is prioritized over coins. My father says it's difficult to trade coins with other countries who still depend on their own currency."
'Oh? Game cores are tradable?'
Nyx shrank to her seat. Her palms were pressed tight, and her eyes were now glassy enough for a teardrop to fall and run down her cheek. She took a long inhale and faced Eris. "Did you ever actually see me as a friend?" Even when her voice shook, it was firm to bring a tremor past Eris' spine.
Eris' face shot up. She narrowed her eyes. Just as quick, she looked away, biting her lip, saying nothing. The silence hurt more than anything she could've said.
Nyx could feel her chest tighten. She swallowed the growing ball stuck in her throat and wiped her tears away with the back of her palm. Then she sat straight, trying her best to smile but it came off wonky, and forced. "Yeah," she croaked. "I figured."
[This isn't what we expected…]
Ding!
[There Has Been A Slight Modification!]
[General Question: What is your deepest secret?]
[Time duration: 1 minute!]
"What? Why did it do that—?"
Nobody moved.
Nobody wanted to know what would happen next. Even Olive turned his face aside, refusing to spare another glance at the Runic board.
Mr Light shrugged. He tapped his white shoes against the cabin floor and smiled at the group. His eyes forming crescent moon shapes over his small wrinkles. "Kids, don't fear. We are the top cabin. We're safe from any penalties. If you don't wish to answer, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. It's an easy win."
Somehow, they found comfort in his words.
After a full forty seconds, Fèi Míng looked down at his shoes. My deepest secret..."I fear death more than I fear living."
[Correct!]
A loud scream erupted from behind.
[Time's up!]
One of the top cabins detached completely.
Crash!
The cabin crashed into the ground, the glass exploding outward, as the base flattened. Bones broke wetly inside the wreck, compressed into a pulp.
It was absolute. No one could survive that fall, they were many feet off the ground.
[We have our survivors!]
[Current Players: 9]
[The booth beasts would be put away now!]
The wheel slowed, lifting its cabins down as the doors opened for the players to exit.
They all climbed out, toppling over the tattered bodies and flesh smeared across tiles. Some heads and stomachs had burst open, spilling the organs out. Some had been chewed and eaten off as a single detached hand rolled off the bloody floor.
Pinboy emerged out of his cabin, soaked and streaked again in fresh red blood.
One of his cabin mate's mouth was torn open, a loose pin hanging on the ripped flesh. He ran out screaming the moment Pinboy left.
The other two bolted, choking and clawing their throats with their teary red eyes. "NO! NO!!! Please NO MORE! G-get away from me!!"
It really got Fèi Míng curious what the hell Pinboy caused. Again… 'Why pins?'
Pinboy grinned wide when he spotted Fèi Míng's cabin mates. He twirled around, grabbed Nyx's hand and kissed her fingers, then drifted toward Fèi Míng with that twisted playfulness. "I am soooo glad to see you alive!! Can you tell me your name now? My name's Keres!"
Fèi Míng recoiled back from Pinboy's excessive gyration. "It's—"
The Runic board's notification cut him off.
[Congratulations, Fateless! You have won the Carnival Game.]
[The Heart of the Carnival will be granted to you by Marrow Lass.]
[Would you accept this invitation?]