The Death's Game

47. Game of Past

"The light turned green, I guess that means it's our turn," Millie declared, looking at the door.

"It looks like it," admitted Percy.

"I couldn't decide on one key. There are too many here! How do I know which one will be the best?" Millie nervously looked around as if she wanted to make that last-minute decision.

"You don't have anything to think about. We already have the key selected."

"We have?"

Percy pulled out from under her shirt the thread-hung key she had received from Ryder. It had seemed clear to her from the beginning, when she found herself in the room, that this was the key she would use.

"Is it allowed? Won't it be cheating?"

"We can choose any key we want. No one specified that it must be the key from this room."

"Well, right," Millie admitted, although she still hesitated.

"Besides, there's something to all our gifts, right? I want to know what use this key is and where it will take us."

Millie squeezed Percy tighter. "What if it's some scary place?"

Percy shrugged her shoulders. She didn't think it would be. On the contrary, she was convinced that this key was the best possible decision they could make.

"That's what you can say about any of these keys. The one who doesn't take risks doesn't know." She glanced at her terrified friend, who still had a face wet with tears. She gently grabbed her arm. "Unless you don't want to?"

The two of them were in this together, and she wanted to respect Millie's wishes, even though she thought another choice would have been a bad choice.

"I want to. That's what I want, actually." Millie sighed. Deep down, she, too, was curious about what the key from Ryder was doing. She still did not understand her gift. What was her eye supposed to be good for? Utter nonsense.

On the other hand, the key also seemed like a meaningless gift. Maybe her gift will be useful, but on a different level. Maybe she will discover its purpose and find it useful after all?

But what would the eye be useful for?

"Ready?" Percy brought the key closer to the hole in the door, which seemed to radiate a bright light coming from within.

"Ready," Millie admitted, knowing that with Percy, she could defy the entire world, or in this case, the entire afterlife world.

Percy turned the key in the lock and opened the door, not forgetting to take the key with her as they walked arm-in-arm to the other side.

At first, they were struck by a white light through which they could not see anything. It blinded them completely, making unspeakable brightness and darkness mix in their eyes. For a moment, Millia was afraid that she would never regain her sight again and that maybe that was what her extra eye was for, but after a moment, the light eased, and they both saw the endless room they were in. It looked as if there was no way out of it, as in every direction, only an endless white surface could be seen, leading nowhere.

"I feel like we just wiped the whole world out of existence," Millie declared because that was the only way she could describe the white void they were in.

"Maybe we did it," Percy tried to joke, but she wasn't really laughing. "I know this place," she suddenly said, trying to dig into the farthest depths of her memory.

Although there was nothing here, she knew the place.

She could swear she had been here before.

"What do you mean, you know this place?" Millie squatted closer to her, although they were completely alone here anyway. "You mean you've been here before? For example, during a previous game? Or in a coma?"