PROLOGUE - THE WORLD OF MIND GAMES
(Alice's POV)
The first thing I noticed was the silence.
Not peaceful silence-
the silence of people swallowing panic.
I'd heard it once before,years ago,in my college debate hall when I destroyed three seniors in a row with nothing but pure logic and a deadpan smile.
But this time...the silence was heavier.
Deeper.
Like the world itself was holding it's breath.
When the binding light finally faded,I found myself standing in the middle of a street that looked almost...normal.
Building .
Shops.
Street lamps.
A blue sky so flawless it felt printed.
But everything was wrong .
Too few people.
Too clean.
Too quiet.
Like a simulation waiting for commands.
Group of humans stumbled around-crying, shouting, hugging, collapsing.
A few stood frozen, eyes glassy with shock.
I didn't panic.
I observed.
Old habits die hard.
Top student of my college, my brain ran on pattern, calculations, silent deductions.
They used to joke that I could read minds.
If only they knew how many times that "joke" saved my exams, my friendship and sometimes my sanity.
Here?
That skill felt like a weapon.
My eyes swept the street.
Every shop looked brans new.
No dust.
No footprints.
Lights on, but no electricity poles.
Buildings perfectly symmetrical-unnatural, like someone copy-pasted a city template. The air smelled synthetic, like a perfume labelled "fresh breeze#17."
There was all type of shops like clothes shop, weapon shop, tools & utility shop just like normal world.
I stepped into the closest food shop.
The shop looked normal at first glance. Water bottles, instant meals, fresh fruits everything
Arranged neatly in shelves.
Which immediately made me suspicious.
World like this don't hand out free comfort.
A shaky women reached for a bottle of water on a shelf.
The moment her finger grazed it-
ZZZZZT!
A flash of blue electricity wrapped around her hand and slowly around her whole body in seconds she collapsed on ground. The bottle hovered midair inside the shelf in a shimmering cube of light.
Then a floating black sphere dropped from the ceiling, it's red lens scanning like hungry eye.
"Unauthorised access.
Penalty issued."
Everyone inside shop froze in fear. So.. stealing means death.
I stepped closer, ignoring tthe trembling crowd as I examined the shelf.
Sure enough, a faint holographic text hovered above every item:
[Locked]
[Item- water bottle]
[50 coins required to unlock]
Coins
Of course
But none of us had a single coin yet.
Meaning this city was nothing more than a decorated prison.
A place designed to tempt, then punish.
The world wanted us desperate.
Hungry.
Competitive.
I watched the black surveillance sphere float upward again before muttering under my breath:
So they want us powerless first...then they'll make us fight for scraps.
Clever.
I slid my hands into my pockets and stepped out of the shop. Suddenly a voice thundered across the city.
Not from speakers.
From everywhere.
Inside walls.
Inside air.
__
"Hello, participants."
Everyone froze.
Heads turned upward.
Terror shivered through the crowd.
"Welcome to the mind game world."
His voice was deep, smooth-too calm.
Like he was enjoying our confusion.
"Each and every one of you has been selected to play."
Someone screamed,"where are we?!What is this place?!"
The voice laughed.
A slow, cold laugh that wrapped around my spine like ice.
"Why so dramatic? It's simple.
This world runs on mind games."
People erupted into terrified chatter.
"Every week, there will be a mandatory game.
Refusal is not possible."
A man shouted, "you can't force us!"
"Oh," the voice purred, "but I can."
Suddenly a pinpoint-thin red light shot down from the sky- silent, precise, merciless.
It touched the top of his head.
He didn't scream.
He didn't bleed.
His body simply collapsed, like a puppet with it's strings cut.
A thin column of smoke rose from his skull.
The crowd erupted into chaos.
Another person whispered,"maybe if we hide-"
A second beam answered her.
She fell instantly.
No sound.
No warning.
No chance.
People trembled.
Some collapsed.
Some obeyed instantly.
And I...
I analyzed.
The beam were automated.
Triggered by non-compliance.
No delay.
No mercy.
A perfect control mechanisms.
It's not violence ... It's execution. Efficient.
Emotionless. I'd almost admire it, if it wasn't trying to kill me.
Seconds after the person collapses from the red beam, something else happens:
The ground under the body emits a soft metallic hum - like a machine waking up.
A pattern of hexagon lights spread beneath the corpse, forming a glowing grid.
Then-
FWSSSH
The body disintegrates.
Not burned, not crushed, not teleported.
Just... converted into particales, dissolved into
The glowing pattern untill nothing remains.
Not even ashes.
When it's completely gone, the ground returns to normal, spotless, as if the person never existed.
The voice start speaking again "In the game zone, violence is impossible. You will defeat opponent using lies, manipulation, logic, illusions... Anything except physical harm."
My heartbeat steadied.
Not fear-
Intrest.
A world where brains outweighed brute force?
Where logic could kill?
Where lies were weapons?
I almost smiled.
"This place..." I whispered, " was made someone who thinks like me."
The voice continued, voice dripping with amusement:
"A game ends only when the required number of participants are eliminated."
Someone shouted," eliminated how?!"
The laugh returned- colder, hungrier.
"Isn't it obvious?"
"They die."
Scream exploded everywhere-raw, panicked. People fell to their knees, cried.
But I stood still.
Every part of me was sharpening, awakening.
The world was dangerous.
Cruel.
Deadly.
But so was I.
The voice grew cheerful again like this was some cosmic amusement park.
"Outside games, you may live normally. But clothes, food, homes,
Money is everything here."
Someone sobbed," how do we earn money?!"
"Ah," the voice said, smiling through the sky,"that's the fun part."
"You gain money based on how many people you eliminate."
The world fell silent again.
My finger tingled.
Not with fear.
With adrenaline.
A massive holographic map suddenly burst across the sky, marking a glowing location.
"All participants report to the stadium hall."
The ground vibrated beneath our feet.
"Let the first mind game begins."
The map flickered.
The sky turned clear.
People cried.
People collapsed.
People prayed.
And I-
Top student.
Logical predator.
Girl who had spent her whole life bored by predictable human-
I straightened my shoulders.
"Finally," I whispered,
"A world worth my time."