When I opened my eyes I wasn't on the street anymore. The first thing my eyes met, was a large ominous looking throne. I was frozen, so much that I couldn't turn my head around. I was in a large room, the largest I'd ever been in, along with hundreds of other people. They all seemed like teenagers like me, the fear and confusion visible in their eyes. A fair–skinned girl suddenly fainted, drawing the attention of others. She didn't look well at all. My heart began beating faster and faster, as the information began to hit me harder and harder. In the cacophony of confusion, the blue flames of the torches on the walls of the room continued to flicker silently, unfazed by our worries. The walls of the room looked ancient and the floor was composed of huge slabs, each about the size of my bedroom. The air was cold and tingly, almost as though dead hands were caressing me. My head was drawn towards the ceiling which was practically invisible. My heart shrunk at the incredible darkness above me. It was so high up, the light of the torches couldn't reach it. A deep darkness shrouded it in an intimidating pitch–black. It was as though I was staring into an abyss. It was almost mesmerising. A loud scream near me brought me back to my senses. Another girl had fainted. I began to wonder what exactly had happened. Where was I? And why? The place I found myself in seemed to be a throne room of sorts. But that throne was way too big for any person. There was something else waiting to emerge at any moment. My confusion began to turn into fear as the voices of the people around me grew louder and louder. Screams, shouts and whimpers along with silence, of course. I began to fear the worst. A sudden, instantaneous transition. A dark throne room. Others just like me. A foreboding presence waiting. It had to be it. Nothing else could explain the situation better. I looked back at the throne, eyes wide as I actually considered it. I asked myself, in a mix of fear, confusion, and enough excitement to give me chills,
"Have I...been...isekaied?"
In the very next moment, a mysterious bright light burst from the throne. Particles of light flew round and round the seat of the throne, growing into a storm of wild energy. I could hear a buzzing noise, and the crackling of electricity as the particles merged to form a persona. Large and imposing, its image slowly formed, seated on the throne. It felt magical. My hands started shaking. I stared in awe as goosebumps raced all over me, my spine tingling in anticipation. When the image formed and came to completion, I saw a woman. More like a goddess, seated. She had this magnificence, and a calm yet magnanimous aura. She didn't speak yet, but I could tell instinctually that she had to be revered. The whole room was drowned in silence. The buzzing and crackling drowned away. All of us stared at her, eyes wide. Her expression was cold, yet inviting. Orange irises in pitch black. Long, flowing hair, fading from white to orange. Her regalia was a long magnificent dress, lined with warm orange, covering her legs completely. She held a long staff in her hand with an orb crowning it. I stared in silence, anxious at what was going to happen. She opened her mouth and spoke. I gulped.
" I didn't think little beings like you could cause so much commotion. I thought you were calmer than this, but I suppose times have changed. Just because you are scared and insecure does not mean scream for every being to hear you. Your fear is justifiable, but ultimately, vain. I shall make things easy for you to understand. You are no longer in your world. None of your maps will make any sense here. You can scream for help all you want. No one will come. No one knows you are here. No one knows where here is."
She paused, letting the news settle in our minds. She then continued, "This, is a dungeon. Its depth, nature and structure is more ancient than the very material that makes you who you are. The purpose of this, is beyond the understanding of lower beings such as yourself. You are to do as you are told in order to survive. You seek freedom. You seek the proliferation of your own life, do you not? Then do as you are instructed. I do not wish for your destruction. If you choose to trust me you will live and this situation will pass by sooner than you can blink. There is no need to be frightened. Just obey and everything will be fine. As of now, you find yourselves in the Throne Room of Yulem. The task is to move from this level to the 9th level. Complete this and your freedom will be granted to you. It is very simple. Work together, follow my guidelines and you will be free. You–". A loud hoarse voice interrupted her,
" What kind of freaky joke is this supposed to be, huh?!"
The room was suddenly way more silent than it already was. All eyes were fixed on the man who said this. He started walking through the crowd, pushing people aside, making way for himself. The woman's eyes were locked on him. Her expression had changed slightly. I wondered if he was high or something. He clearly couldn't see the being seated before him. He pushed his way to the front, and walked right up the steps leading to the throne. Everyone was either too shocked or too confused to stop him. He was a white skinned boy. Probably eighteen or nineteen. He stood in front of the woman and continued,
"Dammit, does the government think I'm a fucking idiot or something? Do they think that these flashy effects and ominous looking goth bitch are supposed to trick me? I know exactly what this is. This is supposed to be one of those uhh...those new fangled drugs that get into your head and m-make you start seeing shit. Meanwhile, in the real world you're doing whatever they want you to. Dammit, I shoulda never taken those prison pills!"
I stared in silence, not knowing whether to laugh or be horrified. The man turned to address us,
"Those bastards are tryin' to get into our heads. They're serious bastards, honestly. They even know my favourite hentai, for fucks sake!" . He pointed to the woman, quite violently.
"This is Einfried, the first goddess the isekai protagonists knocks up! Well, prison guards, I've gotta let you know I ain't sayin' n-nothing! I ain't going nowhere. I'm ain't gonna do shit. So give up already!!"
He approached the woman. At his height, he only reached the woman's knee. People were getting more and more alarmed. The noise began to rise again. There was doubt of the reality of the situation. It was spelt clearly on the faces of most of the people. I didn't get why they were so stubborn. Didn't they feel the heavy presence of that being in front of them? Everything about this felt real. In fact, it was real. There was no doubt about it. It was real. My heart began to race as the doubt slowly started getting to me. Maybe it wasn't so real after all. Maybe it was just some cruel experiment. Or pills, perhaps. Or something plausible. Something naturally explicable. All of a sudden, I caught the gaze of the mysterious woman. Even though I was far away, it felt like she was standing right in front of me. Her bright orange irises illuminated in the blackness of her eyes. Clear, calm and still. The room was noisy again. People arguing. The man lashing out. Chaos. Yet, the woman remained as she was. She didn't even blink. It just kept on getting louder and louder. The people grew more and more restless. The reverence was shattered. Some screamed law. Others science. Others still religion. Some argued that it was just a joke. A game. An experiment. A high-tech prank. But the eyes. The eyes...were very real. She kept on looking right at me, her eyes piercing through the chaos to reach me. I was mesmerised. They were beautiful. Real. They spoke volumes. It was vague, but I could hear it. I just knew. The tears they had cried.
My attention was suddenly drawn to the man, now screaming.
"You won't deceive me you sons of bitches!!!", he screamed as he threw his hand forward to hit the woman's leg.
"You should know your place." The room was plunged into silence, even deeper than the second silence. It was a chilling silence. No more out of supposed reverence and anticipated danger. A silence created from the fear of death. The woman's voice was clear and definite. Not loud. Not hoarse. Not quiet. She was no longer speaking into our minds. She was speaking straight into our very souls. It felt as though an orange entity's hand was caressing my heart. My eyes widened, and I slowly drew my shaking hand towards my heart. Something was touching my heart directly. A delicate hand. Drops of sweat began to streak down my face, upon my neck. I was struggling to breathe. No one needed to tell me. I knew instinctually. One wrong move and all of us would be dead. Everyone felt what I was feeling. A slight, yet deep discomfort in the chest. Opening mouths, yet complete silence. Not even the sound of a breath or a sigh. Even the blue flames were still. I was frozen again. But this time, it was different. Something was telling me that if I moved or spoke, I would die instantly. A serious, existential danger was so, so close to me. Like a sharp knife to the throat.
A blood curdling scream tore through the air suddenly. It was the scream of the man. It was piercing. Goosebumps raced across my skin like I had never felt before. My hair was raised. My pupils quivering in fear, as the man continued to scream. I couldn't see the man anymore. The head of the person in front of me blocked my view to some extent. That person was also frozen. I could only make out the flailing legs of the man, as he lay on the ground. The screams turned into shrieks. I still couldn't see the man. I could only imagine what was happening to him. The woman's expression was still the same. Her eyes glanced slowly from face to face. She didn't look down at the man. The shriek was sharply silenced. All I could hear from that point was sound of someone struggling on the ground; dull thumping, barely audible struggles for breath. Desperate flailing. Suddenly, the flailing stopped. The sounds stopped. The room became so silent that I could hear the sound of my own racing heart. The fear in the atmosphere was so thick you could feel it weighing on you. There was a long pause. Then she spoke in a calm, firm voice, slowly,
"You are in the dungeon. This is my dungeon. My world. Do not make me repeat myself. You fear death. How stubborn must you be, for you to be threatened with death before you realise the reality before you? What would I gain from deceiving you? Absolutely nothing." She paused for a while, her voice reverbating on the walls, and continued,
"Tell me, what is wrong with your world? Every generation is more foolish than the last. I see you in your world. You willingly place yourselves within the easy reach of death, the thing you fear so much. You are low, yet you elevate yourselves and believe you are higher than everything else. You desire to be treated as animals do you not? Then so shall it be. Stubborn, unproductive, noisy, senseless creatures are culled, as is in your culture. Believe me, this is not a threat to your life. It is a choice. I seek not your destruction. The real question is do you think the same for yourself? If yes, then there is no need for fear. If no, then you should prepare yourself to be lowered even beneath the Hell you fear so much. To be placed in a place lower than death itself. Please, just comply and leave this place in peace. I wish to help you. But if you do not seek to help yourself...you will surely die."
The last words were cold and sharp. The discomfort in my chest was gently lifted. I took a deep breath in and out. Again and again. My mind saturated with the woman's words. The people around me felt same. I could see it in their eyes. A girl began sobbing. It seemed, she was trying hard to hold back her tears. She dropped to her knees, her head in her hands, crying. We all thought the same thing. It was an irrefutable fact. We all understood at that moment.
"This is real."
Damn.