"Prisoner 666. Step forward. You have a visitor."
The automated cell door slid open, and its sound could be heard throughout the cell.
He fucking hated that noise.
A boy sat on the edge of his bed, his eyes fixed on the floor. Strands of dirty blonde hair fell over his eyes, blocking his face from the dim lights of the corridor.
"666."
The number these guards had assigned him wasn't just for identification.
It had already become a joke. The 'Devil's Number' for the innocent boy.
"Move your ass. You should be lucky she even showed up after the verdict," the guard shouted, tapping his baton against the bars.
Meriel stood up, his face had no emotion.
He moved into the hallway, his orange jumpsuit hanging loose on a frame that indicated his lost weight.
The walk to the visitation room was a long one. Meriel kept his eyes on the floor, counting the cracks along the concrete.
It was easier than looking at the guards who smirked or the other inmates who stared with perverted gazes.
When he entered the booth, the atmosphere shifted immediately. The smell of sweat and filth disappeared, replaced by a fragrant scent that filled the air.
His eyes slowly looked up.
On the other side of the thick, weak glass sat a young woman.
She was twenty-two, the same age as him. Her short, dark hair was messy, usually so neat and sharp, and her eyes, black and warm, were filled with red.
She looked worn out.
It hurt his heart to look at her like this.
"Meriel," she breathed, her hand pressing against the glass.
Meriel sat down slowly, the plastic chair creaking beneath him. He didn't dare lift his hand to meet hers.
"Anna," he whispered, his voice hoarse from days of silence. "You shouldn't be here."
"Don't talk like that," Anna said, her voice trembling but filled with conviction. She leaned in, her breath fogging the glass. "We're almost at the end, Meriel. The appeal... my dad found a new lawyer. He's a specialist in this field. He says the forensic evidence was handled poorly. If we can just get the judge to reopen the case-"
"Anna," Meriel cut her off. His voice was flat, devoid of the hope she was desperately trying to hold on to.
"No, listen to me," she insisted, tears finally spilling over. "They can't keep you here. You didn't do it. We know you didn't do it. I'm going to sell the apartment. I have enough for the retainer fee, and-"
"Stop."
Meriel finally looked her in the eyes. He saw the love she had for him, burning bright and painful, and it broke him more than the prison sentence ever could.
"Don't sell the apartment," Meriel said softly. "Don't sell anything."
"Meriel, I don't care about the money-"
"But I do!" Meriel slammed his fist against the metal counter, startling her. The guard in the corner took a step forward, hand on his taser, but Meriel ignored him.
He lowered his voice, trembling. "Look at me, Anna. Look at where I am. I am a convicted murderer, and the judicial system doesn't care about the truth. It cares about closing a case as soon as possible."
He ran a hand through his dry blonde hair. "Even if you appeal... it will take years. Five years? Ten? You're twenty-two. You have your whole life ahead of you. You have med school and the dreams we talked about."
"You are my dream," she sobbed.
His heart sank hearing that.
"I'm a dead weight dragging you down. If you stay attached to me, you will drown too."
He ended it there. The conversation was over.
He had to end it now, or it would be selfish enough to let her ruin her life for him.
"Meriel, please!" Anna cried out, standing up, her hands slapping the glass.
"Go home, Anna," he said, turning his back to her. "Find someone else. Someone who can take you to dinner, not someone you visit behind glass. Don't come back. Please... just don't come back."
"Meriel!"
He didn't look back; her screams echoed through the prison.
The walk back to his cell was different. Usually, the prison was filled with shouting, swearing, and the clanging of metal.
But today, as Meriel was escorted down the main corridor, there was a strange, vibrating tension in the air.
The guards were distracted; their attention was fixed on something.
Two of them were huddled around a small television mounted in the control booth, their faces pale.
"...reports coming in from Seoul, New York, and India," the news anchor's voice drifted through the open door, shrill with panic. "Huge, rock-like structures... no communication... they say it breaks the laws of physics..."
"Hey," Meriel's escort guard shouted at the booth. "What's going on? Open the gate for Block D."
The guard in the booth didn't even look up. "Are you seeing this? They just... appeared. Out of thin air. This is happening in the entire world."
"Open the damn gate!"
The gate buzzed and slid open. Meriel was shoved inside the dark room again.
He sat on his bed, pulling his knees to his chest. He didn't care about the news.
The world had already ended for him the moment the hammer struck the sounding block.
The image of Anna's crying face was burned into his eyes. He had hurt the only person who believed in him to save her.
But it was the right thing to do.
Meriel lay back on the thin, uncomfortable bed and stared at the concrete ceiling.
"I'm tired," he whispered to the air.
He was an empty shell labelled 'Number 666'.
"I wish..." He closed his eyes, a single tear escaping. "I wish I could just die. Just end it."
BOOM.
Meriel's eyes snapped open. Something changed around him.
[Scanning Planetary Host: Earth.]
[Entertainment Value: High.]
"Who's there?" Meriel sat up, looking around the empty cell. "Is this a speaker? Guard!"
[Global Towers Established: 1000.]
[Selecting Participants for The First Trial...]
A blue holographic screen, like something out of a sci-fi movie, appeared in front of Meriel's face.
He blinked hard, but the text remained floating in mid-air; his hands tried to touch it, but it went through.
[Candidate Identity: Meriel.]
[Reason: Death/Escape.]
[Potential: Perfect.]
"What the fuck is this?" Meriel gasped.
[Welcome, Candidate 666, to the Tower of Godhood.]
[The Gods are bored. You have been chosen as their entertainment.]
[Current Location: Maximum Security Prison.]
[Target Location: The Dead Forest.]
"Wait," Meriel shouted. The walls of his cell were vanishing.
His eyes landed on the cellmate in the adjacent cell, who was slowly turning into dust.
[Objective: Survive.]
[Time until transfer: 03... 02... 01...]
Hundreds of prisoners, all wearing orange jumpsuits, vanished in a flash of light.
[TUTORIAL STAGE 1: CARRY THE SIN]
[Rule 1] You are chained to 9 other people. If you move more than ten meters, you die.
[GAME START]