For each being, the expression in the mind of the Self is different. The way they visualize themselves, their possibilities in terms of themselves, all such things vary from person to person and vacillation to vacillation. Thus, to reach past those meaningless arrangements, wipe it all away. Imagine a flowing, pure, and impenetrable void that endlessly expands in every direction.

You stand in the center of this void, an empty husk. You stand alone within the die of the devil, so you can understand that it is all hidden behind a veil, and reach beyond it. Simulation, falsehood, dream, illusion, craft of a demon, prized domain of a narcissist pariah, altar of a corrupted god, plaything of an incomprehensible is-not.

You must understand this. You must, because soon it will begin. Soon the damned event of your own devising shall begin and it will all come shattering apart.

I am a mere construction, a mere basis for the overseeing of preordained events with preordained consequences. You know this. You've known this your whole life, but if you insist that you have forgotten then it is no matter, for one day you will recall its true nature.

Do not curse your world, for to curse it is to curse yourself. Do not curse yourself, for then this game will all be for naught.

Have you understood yet? I hope so.

If you have not understood yet, you will surely lose to those that have. You will lose to those instances of "you" which surpassed you.

What it means, indeed.

For if the world is an illusion.

If the man is an illusion.

If the knife is an illusion.

There is nothing wrong with it. There is nothing wrong with nothing killing nothing.

So then, go forth. Go forth and explore the depths of depravity you sought to create. Nobody will blame you but yourself.

I welcome you as you welcome yourself as you welcome the world.

Welcome to another game.

Let's roll the dice one more time, and see what results.

I hope you understand soon.

I fear what will happen if you do not.

---

Come now, we've wasted enough time already. No sense in wasting any more.

It's always weird, waking from anything remotely close to deep sleep.

You get the odd sensation of emerging from something not of this world, but from something else. As if you've been somewhere far, far away and only now have you decided unknowingly return to something that is familiar, tangible. The sharp intake of breath, whether it be panicked or as smooth as glass, is always the first thing you seem to notice, followed by whatever thought that decides to rapidly invade your mind.

This, however, is not what was going through Vint's head when he jolted awake on the floor. It wasn't in a panicked fashion, but rather as if shoved by life, as if to say "Hurry up, and wake up." For a few moments, the redneck would lay on his back, staring at a blank ceiling, green eyes slowly rolling over the blotted (and cracking?) surface. Then, his voice brought forth his first thought:

"Whar the heeel ahm ah?"

He wasn't home, that's for sure, or any other place he recognized. This, of course, wasn't entirely out of the ordinary. He didn't have a hangover, so he wasn't drinking last night. His bottom lip tightened as his brow furrowed. It was morning, wasn't it? The pimp looked down to casually glance at his watch, his eyes still bleary from rousing from his sleep. It was then that his brow furrowed even deeper as he realized his beat up, leather wristed watch was not on his person. "Wut the heel?" Vint would mutter darkly, searching his pockets. His phone was there, so that was good, but no wallet; no pocket knife either. Groaning upward in a fashion that can only be issued when one's morning is already not going as expected, he began to clear his head and gather the situation around him.

The room had no furniture, no decorations, nothing - a blank canvas. It was fairly small, and not at all familiar, still. "Wut the fuck is goin' on 'roun 'ere?" Vint said, his hands groping around the outsides of his pockets. His money and his cigarettes were priority, one because it mattered most, and the other for his morning fix. Neither would be there, and anger began to froth over in his morning frustration. "Common' now! Yew got tew be kidd'n me!" The only explanation: he was mugged. And that wouldn't do.

"Who the hell takes a man's wahlet an' nawt 'is cell?" Vint yelled angrily, whipping out to see what time it was... only to discover even that wasn't his. Instead, it had three buttons, a message scrolling out instructions. "Ri-lease condishons..?" The redneck's fingers began to play with the gadget in his hand, his mind turning over the phone's demands. He wasn't handcuffed, tied, chained...

"AWH HELL NAW!" Vint's voice was booming now, a strong hand yanking away at his new found collar, "I AIN'T NAWONE'S BITCH!" At this point, he had risen to his feet, yanking away at the collar like a mad dog, and practically bouncing off the walls, pacing the room like a caged animal.

Eventually, his exertions would settle. Leaning up against a wall, his breath pushed from his lungs heavily, eyes glaring back at the phone. "Fuck'n hate yoo. Y'HEAR?! I - FUCKIN' - HATE - YOO!" Whirling around, a fist connected with the wall behind him... Only it made a different sound than a wall. Vint, who had closed his eyes in his rage, slowly opened them and found his fist had hit a door - an exit. "Whal' now - lookie here..." A twisted chuckle issued from his throat as he made to open the door, if possible.

If successful, whether it be a door knob or panel of some kind, Vint would peek his head out, casually looking to the left first, and then the right, as his thumb moved the tabs of he quickly discovered as a "PDA" and not a phone...

However, if the door was not cooperating, Vint's face would twist into a rageful fit, "GAWDDAWM YOO TO HEEL!" He would roar at the door, giving it a solid kick with his boot before angrily muttering into the screen before him, seeing if anything could open his first obstacle.

It was frightening.

This ceiling was terrifying, in a way that other people couldn't possibly understand.

To Sierra, who had only ever woken up to the same ceiling, every day, for her entire life, this change struck her as unfathomably uncanny. Because of this she, who usually spent hours gradually rousing, woke from sleep instantaneously-

"A-", she stops herself.

Breathing heavily, and confused from having just risen from sleep, Sierra stays still for the time being, staring up at the unfamiliar ceiling in fear. She tries to remember why she was here, or what she had been doing before, but she couldn't remember. It was as if she had only awoken from the life she was living before, and this here was the real world, where she had been dreaming it from.

Or something like that.

It didn't take long for her to level her breathing, as she realized that she wasn't in any immediate danger. As quietly as she can manage, she turns her head, lifting herself up to a sitting position so that she could examine the room around her.

She quickly realizes that there were two crucial things amiss with this situation, as she feels the unfamiliar weight of something in her pocket as well as a noticeable pressure around her neck. 'I don't have a phone...', she comments dimly, using her hand to reach down and pull out whatever device was located in her pocket.

It appeared to be a smart phone, and on it, she could see at least three apps, all of which seemed accessible. All the while grasping at the thing on her neck, she clumsily operates the device in a manner that only somebody who had never before used a smartphone could.

She checks, and reads the "Release Condition" and "Rules" apps, as well as giving a quick, passing glance at the map. The whole time, she was strangely calm about the whole thing, until she realized why.

'It's just like a game', she comments mentally to herself, turning another eye to her surroundings, to check if anything else important could be seen in the room.

...

If this was a game, she wasn't about to lose here. She would have to be careful.

An unfamiliar room greeted Kellan as he slowly stirred to life on the cold floor of his 'cell'. With a low groan, the man sat up and looked around, examining the strange surroundings. The chill of fear slowly began to run up his spine as he quickly clambered to his feet. "Holy shit..." He muttered, rifling through his pockets. The man grinned a she yanked out what he had thought was his phone, groaning immediately at the small device that had deceived him. However, as he turned his head, he noticed something foreign on his throat. His hand moved up to graze slowly over the collar, mystified.

Looking back down at the PDA, the man sighed and turned it on, investigating the opening screen. Hm... It was like a smartphone... It might have information to solve his problem... Without further ado, he read over the rules and the rest of the information provided, and a good long look at the map before closing it out. "Well..." He said to himself, pushing on what appeared top be a door panel. "Least if I don't die, I'll get paid..."

Louie woke up and stared at the ceiling for a long while. He was trying to figure out what happened yesterday and were he was. He was at the school grading yesterday and that is were everything went black. He could not remember anything after that not even going home. He got up and began to look around the room was bare, no furniture or any fixtures of any kind. Louie did see a door and when he started walking to it he felt something in his pocket.

He took it out and it looked like a smart phone, after he turned it on there was only three apps. After reading the given information he chuckled. So this is someones idea of a game and I'm one of the players. "Fun" He thought to himself, he touched the collar with his finger tips and just shook his head. He approached the door and pushed on it. Like hell I'm dying to become someone else idea of entertainment.

"... A-achoo!"

Sophia rolled to her side and her hand wandered in search of a blanket. Upon opening her eyes, she was met with an unfamiliar setting. It was gray, it was dark, it was cold. She sat up against the hard, metallic floor and scanned the room.

Am I dreaming? Her thoughts attempted to replay her most recent memories but instead gave her a headache. She gently pressed her palm against her forehead and glanced down. It seems she was still in her strawberry-print pajamas - slightly embarrassing - but of no concern at the moment. The last thing of remembrance was eating dinner at her home like any other normal day. After that, blank.

Sophie noticed something buldging from her pant pocket. She reached in and pulled out a device. A cell phone? It's not mine... Immediately she began searching for a call option, but to her surprise, only three apps were accessible. With no other option, she began reading through the information.

"..."

She felt herself freeze. This is meant to be some sort of game, but there weren't enough answers. Sophie placed her index finger on the collar surrounding her neck and traced the edges. Is this some sort of sick joke? Having an explosive device practically locked onto her neck didn't seem very believable. The only possibilities that could come to mind at this point were that she was either kidnapped by enemies of her father, or she was just stuck in a bad dream.

Nevertheless there was no time to be sitting around. Sophie utilized her weak arms to push herself up onto her feet. There didn't seem to be any cameras, and the room had only a single door to access from.

"I just need to fulfill this release condition, and then I can go home... Or wake up?" Based on what was written in her PDA, she knew she wasn't alone. Sophie sniffled as she took slow steps toward the door.

"Uuuugh, I did not get nearly enough sleep... and this is not my motel room. What the fuck?"

Katya pulled herself up quickly, looking around the minimal room, raising a hand to the pentacle necklace she wore for good luck. As she did, she felt an unfamiliar weight around her neck and raised her hand to the collar she found there.

"This isn't my collar either... something's seriously off here. Still, I've woken up in stranger places."

She slid off the bed and made her way over to the door panel. She reached out to touch it, but then hesitated and pressed her ear to the door instead, listening for sounds from outside.

Best see if anyone else is here. I don't want to walk out into a mob of crackhead gangsters or something.

"Mhm... babe-

What the fuck?"

Alex sat up slowly, groggily wiping her eyes in disdain. One moment she was in bed with some bloke she picked up from a club down the street, and the next she was faced with four white walls that only screamed unfamiliarity. This must've been some surreal dream, she tried to tell herself- hell, she didn't even feel hungover in the slightest, despite pretty much having drunk the last night away. On the other hand, she knew that the moment she realized she was dreaming, probably meant that that was anything but.

The room was a decent size for a single person, and everything seemed to be in place, if it weren't for the massive collar strapped around her neck that threatened to blow any moment. Lex tried to slip her dainty fingers underneath it, struggling to unlock it, or rather, slip it through her head. She chuckled as she willingly gave up after the measly effort.

Standing up, she could feel a weight in her dress pocket. Thankfully, whoever took her definitely didn't tend to make any advances on her. The original clothing was still intact, save for the odd device she'd just found.

Thin fingers slid across the screen to unlock the gadget, with three glaring options on the main screen. Alex took a moment to read through everything, fists tightening the closer she got towards the end. There was almost no doubt about it.
"I'm being pranked aren't I?" Alex laughed to herself loudly. "I mean seriously, what the fuck is this 'release condition' even s'posed to mean?" her words rang around the room targeting no one in particular.

"Listen here, fuckers! Wherever you are," Lex circled a whole 360 in the cramped room, scanning her surroundings for any surveillance cams, "once I get out of here, I swear to Go--"

Just then, she noticed the door. Going through that door meant that the "competition" would begin. Well, she was determined to make it out of there.

And alive.

Gently fingering the collar around her neck, she took a step forward into the hallways.

(And this is what happens when I start to make corrections before the next GM ic post happens... Sigh ;_;)

In an unknown location, unknown individuals discussed known things.

"Ah, Mr. ■■■■■■, it's good to see you here again. You haven't come by in quite some time."

"My apologies, ■■■■■■, I've been rather busy. Now, can you catch me up with what I've missed?"

In front of the groups of people were a set of monitors, displaying a variety of sights. Or rather, a very specific sight repeated across multiple instances: a set of people waking up. None of those present displayed any surprise or disgust at the situation; rather, they watched with approving nods and irritated glances.

---

"Look, look at that one."

"■■■■■■ or ■■■■■■?"

"■■■■■■. I can already tell that idiot won't make it past thirty hours."

"Oh? Is that so? Oy, ■■■■■■, put me on for $■■■■■■■■■■■■ on ■■■■■■."

"Of course, sir."

---

"Hm, I'll put $■■■■■■■■■■■ on ■■■■■■ and ■■■■■■ making it to the last eight hours, and then ■■■■■■ killing them both."

"Bets about the late game in the early game, ■■■■■■? Well, I can't say I'm surprised. You're usually right about this. Hey, ■■■■■■, put me down for the same thing as ■■■■■■!"

---

"These biographies, did ■■■■■■ really do that? Not bad for a kid."

"It's not a bad crowd we've got, this time. Of course, at least ■■■■■■ and ■■■■■■ will put on a good show."

"You not betting anything, ■■■■■■?"

"...eh, I can spare some change. Hey, ■■■■■■, put me down for $■■■■■■■■■■■■ on ■■■■■■, ■■■■■■, and ■■■■■■ surviving."

---

The curtain had been lifted, and the game had begun.

Vint's initial glance revealed a door opened to the right, just a couple rooms down from his. "Shiet." The pimp murmured quietly, immediately tucking his head back in. If this was a game, a billion dollars was on the line, he wasn't going to be the only one going after the single prize. Moving through the menu, he looked at the map that he had displayed on the PDA. Eyeballing it quickly, Vint has estimated this place was decent sized building. "Gotta be a'hell ofa place than." Looking up, his hatted head poked out the door again, eyes shifting about, gathering his immediate surroundings. What lay outside, matched perfectly with the map on his little PDA - well, close enough anyway. "So this here contraption is uh-dahted. Gewd." Almost nonchalantly, he began to walk down the hall to his right, his heavy boots clomping down the tiled surface. Meanwhile, crafty fingers shifted his PDA's tabs once more, returning the to the "Rules" section. If anything, any time there had been a contest back home at the annual state fair, there had always been bullshit rules. "Ain't gonna happan this taim." The pimp muttered as his eyes cast over the rules, consciously looking up every few seconds from the screen to the world around him - hunting gators had drilled this into him. That, or living on the streets of Miami. Either way, he wasn't going to be caught off guard.

Reading was never his strong suite, but Vint managed. For the first couple rules, he understood. Fuck with the collar, besides playing it by their rules, it would end in death. 'Goddurn communists.'

"..."

Suddenly, movement from the opened door caused Vint to look up sharply. Someone was there and Vint reacted:

If there was an outward swinging door (and it was blocking the view of the unknown person emerging from the room), Vint would have only barely heard movement. But, being an experience gator hunter (or a hunter in general), Vint had learned to hear before seeing. This was no exception. Pressing himself quickly against the only cover that was available, the redneck found himself directly behind the door that belonged to the room. Assuming that the person behind that door wasn't stupid, Vint knew that he had been seen, or at least heard, so he did only thing anybody would do in that situation: he called out.

"Now, see here fraind. Ah don't want no trouble, y'hear? You jist go back in to yo' room and close tha dour, and we kin jist move ahlong like nuthin' happind."

However, if there was no such luck for Vint, and full vision was cast for both this stranger and Vint, the redneck was only left with one other option: "How'dchu do, fraind?" A gloved hand tipped the corner of his baseball cap, a smile equivalent to a charming snake stretching across his face, "Fain day to go gallivantin' daown a creepeh hall-way, eh?" A friendly chuckle slipped from his lips...

Hearing something, Sierra decides that the best course of action would be not taking any action at all. At least, not yet. She stays in her position, breathing softly and listening to whatever she could hear happening in the distance. She wasn't ready to go and meet her fellow players yet, and to be honest, she wasn't even that sure if she wanted to see them at all.

So, she hides.

Now that she's gotten over the initial shock, she sort of feels like she's a secret agent or something.

That thought helps to keep her focused.

Kellan emerged slowly from the room he began in, looking down each side of the hallway before his focus came upon the door in front of him. What would he find in here?... Just before he gripped the knob, shouting echoed from elsewhere in the building and froze the man in place momentarily. He sighed and laughed quietly, opening the door to examine what was inside before entering. "Jesus... This game's got me jumpy, but... Shit... If someone's gonna try to kill me, I better arm myself..."

Louie had read over the rules and his "terms" and deemed them as achievable and the reward was a sweet one. But questions had filled his mind, like what kind of things would stop him, and how much of a threat would these other people be. But for now it was time for him to get out of this room.

Right before opening his door, Louie heard a loud spew of profanity from some voice nearby. As he opened his door he saw something move quickly across his sight. He looked down to his right and saw a hallway full of doors. He pulled out his PDA and pulled up the map, it matched the hallway. He then heard someone speak from the other side of his open door. He stepped out into the hall to to the right. The person was behind the open door and Louie slowly stepped around and he saw a threatening looking man.

@Rhaevnn Xeno
How'dchu do, fraind?" A gloved hand tipped the corner of his baseball cap, a smile equivalent to a charming snake stretching across his face, "Fain day to go gallivantin' daown a creepeh hall-way, eh?" A friendly chuckle slipped from his lips...

"I am fine and who might you be?" He asked with a weary look. Everyone should be an enemy before he even left this place so for now he would keep his distance and play the game.

As the new threat looked around the barrier between himself and Vint, the pimp's fist knotted into a fist and it took every once of restraint to release the hand into a relaxed position. "Good t'heer." Vint nodded, giving the newly discovered man before him the up-down look, leaning back a step or two, as if to get a better look. "..." The redneck's voice was lazy, drawn out in real Southern fashion, but his eyes had a sharp look to them. "...Y'know, mah mamma ahlways seid, it's im-poh-lite t'ask a strangah's name befo' giv'n yo own." An eyebrow lifted up under his hat as his lean body pressed up against the wall in a relaxed manner, arms slowly crossing and awaiting good manners to kick in. "Ah reckon y'wouldn't wanna be im-poh-lite 'round these parts..." The smile on his face stretched into a thin line, a cunning smirk pulling at the edges of his lips, eyes hardening...

As Sophia inched closer to the door, a loud voice was heard next to her. It sounded directly from her left, so she changed her direction and made way for that side of the room. Placing her ear against the cold wall, she waited and listened.

"I - FUCKIN' - HATE - YOO!"

Sophie flailed back and fell straight on her bottom. What the... Her face turned pale and she hesitated to get up. She was able to hear the doors from both her sides be opened. Quickly, she stood up and speed-walked to her door, gripping the knob tightly. Her hands pulled it toward her waist in an attempt to restrain others from opening it.

The clank of boots could be heard just outside. Sophie waited patiently for whatever would come, but to her relief, the footsteps just passed by. She sighed and loosened her grip just before hearing more voices. Her hand turned the knob slowly and quietly pushed outward. The door was opened enough for her to peek out at who was conversing. She pushed it a little more to glance down the left side of the corridor as well. There appeared to be a single door all the way at the end.

There's no way I can get over there without being spotted.

Katya heard Vint's torrent of obscenities (that might be a good name for an album) and a couple of doors opening.

Guess I'm not the only one pissed off... Doesn't sound like more than one person, though.

She took a breath, relaxed her stance, and opened the door, stepping into the hallway. She looked over Louie and Vint, figuring out whether to get their attention or just walk past.

Neither one looks like the friendly type...

"Well my name is Louie, and I don't like the way your looking at me."

Louie had a hard enough time understanding this man, he had an aura about him that only spelled "danger" and he did not think that this should be his first "friend", but for know this was all he had to run with. Louie took a step back and looked at him, he did look like some kind of thug but you can never judge a book by its cover.

"Sooooo.....Have you found anyone else or are we the only ones out yet." Louie said while looking down the hall towards the end of it. Please let there be more people.

Alex jerked her head around at the faintest sound of yelling. It echoed slightly, causing a bit of concern. Other than that, she was definitely on track with her map. It didn't seem to lag one bit, following her pace evenly with every step she took around the premises, or rather... the floor she was on.

"I - FUCKIN' - HATE - YOO!" a voice bellowed from across the hallways. Immediately, Alex jumped back and slammed the door shut. If there were crazy psychotics stuck in there with her, she didn't want to deal with them just yet.

"Fuck that..." she whispered to herself.

According to the rules, it made it clear they had to survive throughout the entire game. Thus, she wasn't going to risk losing her life by progressing any further... for now.

Sliding down against the door, she kept an open ear for other information she could consider useful in the near future.

@Mugin"Well my name is Louie, and I don't like the way your looking at me."

Vint's green eyes turned to as hard as flint, his mouth becoming a full blown smile, teeth and everything. "Wahl naow, ain't that sume'n..." His normally loud voice would drop to a low, almost dangerous mutter, as if he were thinking about something intensely...

Suddenly, Vint would speak up, his voice returning to its usual loud state, "You ain't no looker y'self, boy." The redneck pushed himself off his leaning position via shoulder, to return in the direction whence he came, as if Vint had suddenly become bored of the conversation. The pimp's boots continuing to clomp down the hall as Vint called out over his shoulder - or he would have if he hadn't been stopped dead in his tracks when he saw another player.

"Naw, I ain't seen nobody, 'cept ye--"

The other player was a girl, who had just stepped out of her room, dressed in true rocker fashion; covered in black from head to toe and surrounded by black leather that mingled with her silver chains and necklaces. Immediately, Vint's southern customs kicked in, tipping the bill of his baseball hat yet again, "Morn'n ma'am." His green eyes gave her the same up-down look that had been given the man behind him, the redneck commenting as he did, "Mah, ain't yew jist the purtiest thang?" A hand began to prop itself on the nearest surface as Vint began to lean yet again, a turned elbow confidently falling onto an (unknowingly) slightly opened door... (Vint, being distracted by the female before him, was not looking where he leaned)