Confined to the sweltering dungeon, a young man wakes up. Looking around, he wonders to himself, *How did I get here?* He has little memory of how he has gotten to the place he is now, although he faintly remembers one particular guy; his mannerisms were almost like that of a lizard’s. As he tries to connect the pieces in his mind, he hears a booming voice.
”State your name.”
“Who is this?!” The man demands. He looks around but finds nobody - until he turns back around, where he finds somebody lying flat on his stomach. “What the hell?!” He jumps back. The other guy finally manages to get up.
“Do not…!” The man begins his warning, still clutching his ribs as if he has fallen, “…Give mo chara here your real name - the resemblance to the Great Lord, the builder of harems, is much too high.” He heaves. “Hell, for someone who managed to find their way to actual hell while still but a fresh spawn,” He thinks for a moment, “Aha! Spades! Now that is a title you are worthy of.
The man - Spades - looks up onto the ceiling, where the booming voice last sounded. “I’m Spades.” He calls out. Did the other guy say they were in hell? And why does that other guy look so familiar - discounting the fact that he has unique gray skin and twin horns. It’s almost as if they met before.
”Damn it Fics, shut up. Spades, tell me how you got here.”
Why is this feeling like a job interview?*Spades thinks to himself. The other dude - Fics, he remembers the voice calling him - has something more to do with this than he thinks. This is nothing more than a big risk, but what else is there to do if you don’t take risks…
“He has brought me here,” he confidently proclaims, gesturing at the gray brute. However, instead of the confusion and annoyance, he expected Fics to show, his expression was one of… understanding?
“Guilty as charged.” Is all Fics says, then he sits down, seeming almost anxious. So Spades was correct after all - this guy had something to do with this!
”Well, things are not looking too good for you, Fi-”
“What is going on here?” a feminine voice interrupts. Looking at the source of the voice, there stands a relatively short elf, her powerful demeanor compensating for her lack of height. *She must be powerful,* Spades mentally notes.
“I will be taking over things from here, Dig.” She tells the voice, who does not reply. The elf turns to Spades and the brute. “So, let me get this straight,” she begins, “Fic has lead you to here, correct? As for your… actual name, let’s not go by it - spare yourself the heartache.” She now addresses the brute, “As for you, you actually lead him here with a cursed name like that?! What were you thinking?”
Fics, unable to respond properly to the accusation, just bows down, exposing his head. “Very well, I shall pay with my life,” he states indifferently. Alas, the elf would not be so lenient - nay, she had other plans in mind.
“So, here’s what will happen,” she begins, “Spades, I want you to appeal to my hunger for literature. Give me a short story, one that is a thousand words long - and for the love of all that you hold dear - make it comprehensible. As for you, Ficsean, you are to continue with the cursed draft you have been quilling lately. You brought someone into hell, so don’t look forward to leaving immediately upon shitting out the first thousand words that come to mind.” With that, she just… vanishes. In her place, however, stood a small insect.
“You know, you guys are lucky the master of endings is busy with more pressing matters,” the insect proclaims. Spades begins to wonder if he has finally gone mad, but at that moment the gray brute answers the bug back in earnest - at the very least, Spades isn’t the only one here who went mad.
“Ah hell, this went both better and worse than expected,” he says, finally calm after the disappearance of the elf. “Hold on,” Fics begins with a hint of accusation in his voice, “Did you engaged in degenerative conversation in the royal scullery again?” he aks.
“Not this time,” the bug replies, then pauses - perhaps waiting for someone?
“No, we hurt the admin’s fee fees.” A woman who was not there two seconds ago finishes. Spades was shocked - not only because someone suddenly appeared here for who knows what time now, but also at the fact that even Fics - who seemed to know all these people - was surprised.
“I am not surprised with the cricket here,” the brute says. Spades thought the bug was a grasshopper - or maybe a locust. “But seeing you here is a real surprise, May. You seriously hurt the admin’s fee fees?” he asks.
“Uh, sorry guys, Spades finds himself interjecting, “But what the hell is ‘hurting an admin’s fee fees?’” He instantly regrets asking as he’s getting stared down by the other three, no doubt thinking that Spades is some special case of stupid.
“Pretty much, just don’t piss off an admin, and if they start to bring out the big M, apologize at once.” Fics says to Spades. Fics, suddenly realizing something, leans towards Spades again. “Oh, see that lady right there? For the life of you, do not challenge her to any contests that involve the use of blindfolds - the last poor fool that did hardly lasted more than 6 hours.” With that, he leans away.
”I am looking forward to seeing how this pans out.” A familiar feminine voice booms from every direction at once. The elf from earlier - Spades remembers! As he glances around, a notices a small satchel at his feet. ”Oh, consider that a starters’ gift.” The elf offers as soon as Spades notices it. Taking that as the cue to open it, he finds 15 weird coin-shaped objects, a quill, and several sheets of parchment.
”One last thing,” the elf begins, ”Not only yours, but also Fic’s very existence are on the line here. Good luck,” she says.
”Welcome to CYS, Spades.” she finishes, and the room becomes silent for the first time since Spade’s arrival.
