Post by Liar Game on May 17, 2012 10:57:28 GMT
You remember the day you first received that envelope in the post. It was black and glossy; the postcard inside was smart and formal. Before you knew it you were facing immense wealth and peril.
It's all over now. And nothing's changed, really.
The cavern is glinting in the low light, the shine reflected from the candles bounces off the black walls, which gleam with moisture from the waves. The layout of the pentagram (now with one pedestal abandoned) is so strongly formal, you had been holding your posture more upright that normal without realising it. And sucked in your stomach. That's what happens when you eat rich food provided by these LGT Michelin-starred chefs.
Only the wealth and peril has changed. Because you have seen it through to the end, and the peril is gone.
The candles flicker on the players' faces as the candles are revealed. Something is different now. There's a lot less tension and fear. Maybe it's the comfort in knowing that the four people still standing won't have debts to bear after this game ends. Some form of joint struggle had arisen, but in the end, all four get a return. Four people out of who knows how many leave with the wealth offered. Four gamblers' sacrifices receiving dividends.
A small click, after the winner has been announced. A tunnel has emerged from the wall, the stone apparently having melted away to reveal a passageway leading upward. The stairs are jet black obsidian, winding up, lit by a steady stream of candles.
Barbaro leads the way, then Aitou, Sada, Suzuki, Tai, Kuwabara, with Sagaro at the rear. The procession is in a single line, nobody looks backward; you lock eyes on the back of the legs of the person in front of you. You're suddenly aware of the silence in the group. The hush is almost one of reverence, and you understand why: the stone steps make you feel like you're entering some kind of temple. The light from the cavern gone, you expect there to be a moment of darkness, but no: the tunnel gets brighter somehow, and the steps wider, more pronounced. The walls are plated with silver, ornate and majestic.
The passage emerges at an archway, and you realise suddenly that you're in the courtyard of the castle you had visited before. The dominion of the first Liar King. The sanctuary to house the latest one.
You all seem to have realised where your procession is going. The route to the Coronation Chamber is lined with masked attendants. Three deep either side, with tuxedos and tidy hair, masks concealing the drones from your gaze. You learn now that you'll never know what they look like. Deep down, you wonder if they know who they look like any more, and if they do know, whether that's who they want to be. It's a thought you push aside for later, though you know you'll never think about it again.
The doors to the Chamber are lined with four more Dealers. Your eyes open as you recognise them. Petrushka, Navarre, Aldaniti and Jacola's porcelain masks are as enigmatic as ever. Even they don't speak. Clearly it's some sort of protocol.
The doors swing open with a uneasy creak. Unlike before when it was so quiet your footsteps echoed, the Chamber is full of colour and clamour. The guests, maybe sixty of them, all gaze at your procession as you walk forth. The four extra dealers have taken positions flanking you all, forming a sort of diamond, but as you glance over, you suddenly realise the way these guests are dressed: not just formally, but in masquerade masks. You're reminded of a mansion to which you were once invited. These guests are frozen in place, too.
There is one throne, and Barbaro leading the group, stops. He kneels, respectfully lowering his head. You follow suit, only to feel a slight roughness from behind. Sagaro's hands are guiding a surprisingly clumsy set of feet to the throne. Finally, on seating, you feel ready to look up.
"All present," said Sagaro, "I invite you to recognise your new Liar King: Kuwabara Kimura!"
And the crowds erupted with applause. Outside, you could hear a thunder of feet stamping, yelling and celebrating, something that sounded like a cannon going off, and a distant whoosh as a few jets did a fly-by overhead. Had it been dark, you probably expected fireworks. In fact, there probably would be fireworks later on.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," Barbaro begins, "I would like to thank each and every one of you for taking part in this tournament. We certainly hope you've learned a few things about yourselves. And for four of you five, the rewards are bountiful. One of you has been crowned as the champion to our cause. And yet... something unprecedented happened in this finale."
Sagaro continued from where Barbaro left off: "For the first time, players have cooperated enough to pull a fortune from the LGT coffers. In the dying sessions, funds was being raised for all, and because of your joint efforts, over a billion yen has been gifted to you all."
"It almost makes up for the three billion you sacrificed before Christmas when everybody exploded," shrugged one of the other Dealers, possibly Jacola.
"Quite," Sagaro said. "But because of this, the outgoing King would like to extend an, ah, special invite to you players.
Perhaps it's the constant exposure to the Liar Game, but you think you know what he is going to say and in a moment of recklessness, you speak your mind:
"You want us to stay with the Organization, don't you?"
All eyes in the building turn to you. If the Dealers were able to, they were surely grinning.
"Ah, the deftness of a finalist!" Sagaro chuckled. "Ku ku, you're quite right: it would be a shame to lose your talents."
"You will provide you all with the money we owe you, as promised. Oh, except for Aitou. Your debts will be used to offset the costs," Barbaro said casually, deliberately ignoring the change in atmosphere as talk turned to money. "And yet, all five of you are free to continue with the Liar Game Tournament."
"You will likely never see us again," Sagaro said, "but you will have a role to play in future."
With that, Aldaniti, Jacola, Petrushka and Navarre rose to their feet and walked into an antechamber. Barbaro ignored them:
"It is your free choice. We will not press you for it now. You are finally free to walk away, and no: we won't charge you a penny for it. For you five, the game is over."
The four other Dealers had returned, each one laden with briefcases. Each of the four presents their load formally to the four survivors of the finale. You look in the case, expecting to see it laden with banknotes, but instead they mostly seem t contain gold bullion.
"Each gold ingot is worth a hundred million yen," Barbaro explained. "The other case your Dealer is carrying is banknotes, which make up the rest of your funds. Please check that this is all in order. We shall transfer it to your accounts once you are satisfied."
All of you check your takings, though there's nothing for Aitou. It's not awkward or anything. Goodness, no.
You look at those poverty-stricken hands and wonder if they'll try to snatch some gold and run for it. A blur of movement from a neighbour's lazily-guarded winnings, a dazzling crackle, and, as if you're looking in on the scene from above, Aitou is on the floor with a Taser is his calf. The guard appears to be a woman from the crowd. She is wearing a full-face, ornate gold mask. She gives the trigger another squeeze for good measure and you feel the hairs on your neck stand on end.
The coronation continues, and you can feel some solemn vibes to the occasion. This is the final curtain call on the game.
No matter what happens after this point, and no matter what the future may hold, you know in your heart that it will never get any worse than this.
At the banquet, you consider your new philosophy with the airs and graces that befit your place in this tapestry of deceit and lies, and, truly accepting that things would eventually get better from now on, you treat yourself to a complementary hotdog.
It's all over now. And nothing's changed, really.
The cavern is glinting in the low light, the shine reflected from the candles bounces off the black walls, which gleam with moisture from the waves. The layout of the pentagram (now with one pedestal abandoned) is so strongly formal, you had been holding your posture more upright that normal without realising it. And sucked in your stomach. That's what happens when you eat rich food provided by these LGT Michelin-starred chefs.
Only the wealth and peril has changed. Because you have seen it through to the end, and the peril is gone.
The candles flicker on the players' faces as the candles are revealed. Something is different now. There's a lot less tension and fear. Maybe it's the comfort in knowing that the four people still standing won't have debts to bear after this game ends. Some form of joint struggle had arisen, but in the end, all four get a return. Four people out of who knows how many leave with the wealth offered. Four gamblers' sacrifices receiving dividends.
A small click, after the winner has been announced. A tunnel has emerged from the wall, the stone apparently having melted away to reveal a passageway leading upward. The stairs are jet black obsidian, winding up, lit by a steady stream of candles.
Barbaro leads the way, then Aitou, Sada, Suzuki, Tai, Kuwabara, with Sagaro at the rear. The procession is in a single line, nobody looks backward; you lock eyes on the back of the legs of the person in front of you. You're suddenly aware of the silence in the group. The hush is almost one of reverence, and you understand why: the stone steps make you feel like you're entering some kind of temple. The light from the cavern gone, you expect there to be a moment of darkness, but no: the tunnel gets brighter somehow, and the steps wider, more pronounced. The walls are plated with silver, ornate and majestic.
The passage emerges at an archway, and you realise suddenly that you're in the courtyard of the castle you had visited before. The dominion of the first Liar King. The sanctuary to house the latest one.
You all seem to have realised where your procession is going. The route to the Coronation Chamber is lined with masked attendants. Three deep either side, with tuxedos and tidy hair, masks concealing the drones from your gaze. You learn now that you'll never know what they look like. Deep down, you wonder if they know who they look like any more, and if they do know, whether that's who they want to be. It's a thought you push aside for later, though you know you'll never think about it again.
The doors to the Chamber are lined with four more Dealers. Your eyes open as you recognise them. Petrushka, Navarre, Aldaniti and Jacola's porcelain masks are as enigmatic as ever. Even they don't speak. Clearly it's some sort of protocol.
The doors swing open with a uneasy creak. Unlike before when it was so quiet your footsteps echoed, the Chamber is full of colour and clamour. The guests, maybe sixty of them, all gaze at your procession as you walk forth. The four extra dealers have taken positions flanking you all, forming a sort of diamond, but as you glance over, you suddenly realise the way these guests are dressed: not just formally, but in masquerade masks. You're reminded of a mansion to which you were once invited. These guests are frozen in place, too.
There is one throne, and Barbaro leading the group, stops. He kneels, respectfully lowering his head. You follow suit, only to feel a slight roughness from behind. Sagaro's hands are guiding a surprisingly clumsy set of feet to the throne. Finally, on seating, you feel ready to look up.
"All present," said Sagaro, "I invite you to recognise your new Liar King: Kuwabara Kimura!"
And the crowds erupted with applause. Outside, you could hear a thunder of feet stamping, yelling and celebrating, something that sounded like a cannon going off, and a distant whoosh as a few jets did a fly-by overhead. Had it been dark, you probably expected fireworks. In fact, there probably would be fireworks later on.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," Barbaro begins, "I would like to thank each and every one of you for taking part in this tournament. We certainly hope you've learned a few things about yourselves. And for four of you five, the rewards are bountiful. One of you has been crowned as the champion to our cause. And yet... something unprecedented happened in this finale."
Sagaro continued from where Barbaro left off: "For the first time, players have cooperated enough to pull a fortune from the LGT coffers. In the dying sessions, funds was being raised for all, and because of your joint efforts, over a billion yen has been gifted to you all."
"It almost makes up for the three billion you sacrificed before Christmas when everybody exploded," shrugged one of the other Dealers, possibly Jacola.
"Quite," Sagaro said. "But because of this, the outgoing King would like to extend an, ah, special invite to you players.
Perhaps it's the constant exposure to the Liar Game, but you think you know what he is going to say and in a moment of recklessness, you speak your mind:
"You want us to stay with the Organization, don't you?"
All eyes in the building turn to you. If the Dealers were able to, they were surely grinning.
"Ah, the deftness of a finalist!" Sagaro chuckled. "Ku ku, you're quite right: it would be a shame to lose your talents."
"You will provide you all with the money we owe you, as promised. Oh, except for Aitou. Your debts will be used to offset the costs," Barbaro said casually, deliberately ignoring the change in atmosphere as talk turned to money. "And yet, all five of you are free to continue with the Liar Game Tournament."
"You will likely never see us again," Sagaro said, "but you will have a role to play in future."
With that, Aldaniti, Jacola, Petrushka and Navarre rose to their feet and walked into an antechamber. Barbaro ignored them:
"It is your free choice. We will not press you for it now. You are finally free to walk away, and no: we won't charge you a penny for it. For you five, the game is over."
The four other Dealers had returned, each one laden with briefcases. Each of the four presents their load formally to the four survivors of the finale. You look in the case, expecting to see it laden with banknotes, but instead they mostly seem t contain gold bullion.
"Each gold ingot is worth a hundred million yen," Barbaro explained. "The other case your Dealer is carrying is banknotes, which make up the rest of your funds. Please check that this is all in order. We shall transfer it to your accounts once you are satisfied."
All of you check your takings, though there's nothing for Aitou. It's not awkward or anything. Goodness, no.
You look at those poverty-stricken hands and wonder if they'll try to snatch some gold and run for it. A blur of movement from a neighbour's lazily-guarded winnings, a dazzling crackle, and, as if you're looking in on the scene from above, Aitou is on the floor with a Taser is his calf. The guard appears to be a woman from the crowd. She is wearing a full-face, ornate gold mask. She gives the trigger another squeeze for good measure and you feel the hairs on your neck stand on end.
The coronation continues, and you can feel some solemn vibes to the occasion. This is the final curtain call on the game.
No matter what happens after this point, and no matter what the future may hold, you know in your heart that it will never get any worse than this.
At the banquet, you consider your new philosophy with the airs and graces that befit your place in this tapestry of deceit and lies, and, truly accepting that things would eventually get better from now on, you treat yourself to a complementary hotdog.
= GAME OVER =
(for now...)
(for now...)
