Lockeroom's Pandemonium

Chapter thirty eight: The Moonwraith

“Where are we?” asked Yohanna. As she strolled her eyesight in the surrounding, she cannot help herself but to feel amazed.

To be fascinated.

The place was filled with those metallic-white, cottony flowers. It was an infinite field of it. It was a valley of those beautiful-looking flowers. The silver light of the moon as well had added a more beautiful effect to the whole place.

This was the first time they saw night in their whole stay at the game. They were as if, a first timer when they look and get awed by the beauty of the moon.

Silence.

Except their own breathing and the collision of the flowers as they moved, no other sound can be heard.

“Welcome to paradise?” joked by Silver.

“I think I know where we are,” Alina then said.

All of them looked at her as soon as she told those words. With a confused and interested look, they all waited for Alina’s continuation of whatever she would be saying.

“I think this was a realm of the Goddess Artemis,” she said.

“H-How did you know, Alina?” asked Yohanna.

“The Sabertooth's wisdom. It appeared that these flowers are called Artemisa. The flower that grows only in the surface of the moon,” Alina had answered. They now all looked to each other, questioning.

“But are we on the moon?” Silver asked.

“I asked the Sabertooth to search for more information. Then I came up to a legend that Apollo, her own twin brother, was furious of her and her beauty that even though night would come, she still shines and showcases her radiance. With that, Apollo had tricked her and came up with a plan to imprison her for a long time.”

“But, the Greek mythology haven't had that kind of story,” said Silver, for he knew few backgrounds of it.

“Well, this isn't the Greek mythology, Silver. This is a game. A real-life killing game.”

The silence fell in between all of them. Alina stared at Silver who was now guilty of what he had said, Yohanna looking at the moon to remove the awkwardness she is feeling, while Jiero continued his fascination to the glowing flower abundantly growing in the middle of the night.

“What are we going to do, then?” Silver asked.

Alina then, stared at the space. It was as if she was reading something. Her hands raised near her chest, and started to do a keyboard-typing motion.

“What are you doing?”

“Searching. I need to search for more,” answered Alina.

For few more minutes, the group had let Alina to search for more as she stood in the middle of the vast field of the Artemisa flowers.

Silver had stared at the moon as he waited for Alina to find answers from the system of her items. His mind drifted in varying thoughts—life, past, strength, death. He then started imagining different things such as of what would happen if there will come a time that . . . they all have to fight and kill each other.

He doesn't want that to happen. Even for a short period of time, Alina and Yohanna had been an important part of his life. Important women.

When he was still free and does not know about the existence of the game, he saw no importance of women but of subject for s*x.

It was as simple like that.

But things changed. He have no idea how, but he knew that the moment he realized how important life is, how it is a horror to kill and end someone's life, he seems to value everything. Especially those two women.

Silver knew also that despite him not knowing more of Jiero, he believed that the kid is good hearted.

He looked at the kid.

Along with Yohanna, they were playing in the vast field of Artemisa. Since Jiero was a child, and always fascinated of the world and beauty, he childishly swam over the whole swamp of those flowers. Yohanna followed, releasing the inner child in her, and swimming with the cottons of the flowers.

“I got it!” Alina shouted!

All of them stopped doing what they were all enjoying to do, and head back to Alina who was reading something that only she can read. Her eyes moved from left to right as they can see how the eyeglass she was wearing was emitting series of flickering lights. Probably the words that she was reading.

Then, in a sudden instant, Alina's eyes bulged in shock. She became pale as she finished reading. Her lips turned pale pink, while her hand started to tremble as she put it down, away from typing and searching holographically.

“Wh-what is it?” asked Silver.

“I—I think, we shouldn't stay here longer.”

“Why? What's happening?” Yohanna then interfered.

“We have to get out of here, or else we cannot escape here, alive,” she said. Her voice was shaking in fear.

“Alina, tell us what is happening, so that we will know what to do,” Silver then instructed.

“Me think we not need know to.” It was then when Jiero started talking. He was always at the back of the group that is why they have to look at him, so that they could get what he was saying.

He was looking at a specific direction. And when they all looked at it, Silver had agreed to Jiero that they didn't need to know what was Alina has been telling.

Because they can see it.

A few meters away of them, there stood a creature. It was a beast. A gigantic one.

“Quick, hide!” Alina told in a rush, but with the hint of whisper, afraid that the beast might hear her.

“It still doesn't know that we are here. I guess we have to keep hiding,” Alina said.

“But what is that creature?” Silver then asked.

Yohanna, beside her, was shaking. Jiero, on the other hand, shifted from childish smile on the face, down to being serious and composed.

The beast’s look was a nightmare. It was all but a serpent. A centipede. Yet, despite it looking like a centipede, it was but a horror.

It has a hundred pair of arms and legs. But it was from a human's legs and arms that it was using as it crawls. Some were already decaying, giant worms is wriggling and abundantly eating the flesh, decaying smell of the metallic blood was dripping, staining the beautiful glow of the Artemisas; some were already a bone, a skeleton, some are already broken and old.

At its head, there a crown was laid flatly. But, instead of metal, gold, or jewels, its crown was of a human's heads. Seven of them—all with the same expression of screaming while face is planted of being horrified and scared.

“It was the moonwraith. There were few known things about the beast, but it was an immortal one, and the guardian of Artemis' flowers. According to the Sabertooth, from the previous records of the player that it encountered, no one had managed to escape. That creature was long been born ever since this peculiar game started. If that is really the moonwraith, then . . .” She hesitated to continue.

“Then we will die,” Silver finished it. He knew Alina can't tell anything about it, that they will all die if the beast would see them.

But Silver also knew that he had to drop the truth.

Because they have to feel the pressure.

That if they don't take this seriously, death would surely come through them.

“C-Can't we do anything?” asked Yohanna.

“Moonwraith coming us. Moonwraith smelled us,” said Jiero.

“Shit.” Silver muttered.

He knew, even though he met Jiero just early this morning, that all of what he is telling are accurate. That there is something special at him. And that he should trust what he was telling—especially now.

“What are we going to do?” asked Silver. He looked at Yohanna who was now reading another article in her eyeglasses.

“We have to enter the portal to the next level,” she said. “but . . . the portal was attached at the back of the moonwraith.”

“N—No,” Yohanna muttered. “Th—that is difficult.”