He met his wife on a particular cold night, where snow slowly drifted down from the heavens. He had finished his shift at the restaurant and was walking home, taking in the scene of the shimmering skyline in the distance, and the grey skies.

He stopped for a moment and looked at the convenience store at the corner of the street. He didn’t have any food in his fridge, and the super market was already closed. After blowing out a few white wisps, he crossed the street only to be struck by a truck.

Kagami flew in the air like a loosed arrow. He blew through a stone wall intruding on a mother-son moment. In reaction, the mother grabbed her son in a protective embrace. The child held a snowball in his hand and it slipped from his finger, dropping on Kagami’s face.

“Ah, that’s cold.” Kagami slapped his face, wiping it off. He stood up, brushing the stone and dust off his shoulder. He looked over to the mother who flinched.

Kagami tried to manage a smile, but that seemed to put her on edge more. Thinking back, it might have been the blood that was dripping from his head. It may have been how big he was, he was at least two heads taller than the average Japanese. Still, he wanted to make sure that he meant no harm to them.

“I’m sorry for your wall.” Kagami bowed and then stepped back onto the street.

The truck that had hit had its headlights on the brightest setting. The engine hummed despite how dented the grill was. The truck turned off, and his wife stepped out of the truck.

She was a woman with golden hair, and ruby red eyes. She wore a black trench coat, and held onto a white katana as pure as snow. She gave a grin and whistled as Kagami took a couple more steps forward, stopping in front of the truck.

“Wow. I was told that this might not be enough to kill you. I was wondering why the bounty on you was so high.”

Kagami arched an eyebrow at that.

“There’s a bounty on me?”

“Of course there is!” She smiled, and spoke in a tone as if they were close friends. “After all, you’ve caused so much destruction, you truly made enemies of the wrong people.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Blood dripped in Kagami’s eye, he used his thumb to wipe it off. “I’d say they made an enemy of me. Didn’t even know there were Yakuza left for me to squash. You said I had a bounty, how high is it?”

She leaned forward in the open truck window. “It’s quite high. They’re spending one hundred million yen to kill you.”

Kagami clicked his tongue.

She straightened herself.

“You don’t seem happy.”

“I thought it would be more,” Kagami bitterly said. “But I thought I destroyed the Yakuza here. Last time I crippled the leader.”

“See, that’s the problem.” She pointed at him. “You didn’t kill the leader, and that’s why someone like me is here.”

“And what are you? A bounty hunter?”

His future wife gave him a bold smile. She used her thumb to flick her katana, letting the blade peek from her sheath. It was frighteningly white, for a reason Kagami would know later, brought a shiver down his spine.

“An assassin.”

#

Once more he had been revived by whatever power this body contained. Each death to Kagami felt like a mark of shame that etched in his soul. His pride had been shattered many times, with many gruesome deaths. This death had been his first choking to death.

“It probably isn’t the last time either.” Kagami shook his head and blew out a frustrated sigh.

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The body wasn’t bad. Kagami knew that. He had trained this body quite well. If anything, the body could at least match twenty percent of his previous strength. He’d seen people fight better than him with less strength. But he couldn’t imagine how to do it though. He tried to follow his wife’s movement, but all it led to was dying.

He sat on the edge of the cliff, his feet dangling in open air, and he gazed upon the vibrant forest that seemed to spread on forever. The colors were vibrant and clashed with each other, feeling ethereal and unreal. He watched as a giant bird surfaced to the top of the trees, only to see a giant worm emerge and chomp on it.

Kagami recognized this area. It was the bottom floor where the Warden’s house was. The house was in the middle of the floor where the monsters were the most dangerous.

“Why am I even here?” Kagami asked to no one in particular. He rubbed his chin and cocked his head at the thought.

He had been killed, but dropped here instead of the Warden’s house. He looked over his shoulder. His knapsack was gone, but it had been replaced with a bag full of foodstuff. All its contents were preserved foods, something Kagami confirmed when he dumped the bag a few minutes ago.

I don’t like it. There were a lot of red flags, and no explanation. When was the other shoe supposed to drop? Last time he made it to this floor, he was strung up by at least three spiders, and brought to the Warden who turned him into mincemeat and tossed him down the spider’s nest.

His musings were answered when he felt a prick at the neck and the world turned dark. Kagami stood up, scanning his surroundings.

A sudden spotlight lit in the center of the dark world. Kagami covered his eyes, taking a moment to adjust to the sudden bright light. Underneath the spotlight was a man that Kagami would never mistake. He was a thin man, with heavy purple bags under his eyes, and messy long teal hair that was lazily tied into a ponytail. The Warden’s tired eyes met with Kagami’s burning eyes.

“Warden!” He yelled as he rushed him. As his fist passed through him. Kagami turned around, and the Warden’s image blinked. Kagami walked back to the Warden and waved his hand through him.

It was some sort of hologram.

“Really?” Kagami collapsed on the ground, crosslegged. “And here I thought I get to fight him. Hey, can you hear me?”

Silence.

“Great.” Kagami grumbled.

“It seems all of you are awake now.” The Warden spoke. “I’m sure many of you are confused, so allow me to introduce myself. I am the Warden of the Wishing Well. I am the one that brought you here to this place.” The Warden spoke in a tired and almost grandfatherly tone, despite how young he looked. “Let me be clear, all of you will fight to the death. You will fight each other, you will fight the beasts that lie in this floor, you will fight until only five are left. If no one is killed within the next six hours, I shall kill one of you at random until there is five. If at least one kill has happened, then I shall kill the person with the lowest kill amounts.”

Kagami straightened his back, his mouth agape.

A deathmatch?

“Now, I’m sure all of you are asking yourself, what is stopping you from not taking part of it.” He had the smile of a man that was confident in his plans. With a flick of his fingers, Kagami gasped, feeling his throat squeeze. After a moment, he could breathe properly again. “Around your neck, I have placed threads. I relieve all of you of your heads.

“You will-”

A deafening ring went off in his ear. He could hear no longer what the Warden was saying. The horror of what the deathmatch would entail rattled around Kagami’s head like a can full of nails.

If that happened, how many would die?

Kagami’s feet moved as if they had their own will. He stopped in front of the Warden’s hologram, and held up his fist ready to strike. His brain knew it was futile, but he still wanted to wipe that arrogant smirk from the Warden’s face.

The Warden turned to him and his neck seized. His fingers raked at his neck, trying to pry the invisible threads that was choking him out. The Warden looked at him, his tired eyes wide and a delighted smile forming.

“That was close. You almost had me.” Kagami had a thought while his brain was being deprived of oxygen, that those words were being directed to him personally. A chuckle from the Warden seemed to prove that. “It seems the reports are true. You truly don’t need the Key because your Gate is wide open.”

Then he returned his gaze to his invisible audience he was addressing.

“I shall add a new rule! If you kill the Cedar Oswell, yes, the Prince of this fine kingdom, then I shall allow that person to exit this Deathmatch!”

The threads were released. Kagami gasped, the sudden air made him cough and wheeze like a man sucking water after three days in a desert. He rolled himself on his stomach, pushing himself up weakly. The Warden looked at him once more, addressing him directly.

“I hope you survive. Watching you grow is worth it, Cedar.”

Kagami gripped his hand into a tight fist. Drool dripped from his mouth as he forced himself to speak from his damaged throat.

“…”

“I can’t hear you. You should visit me again at my house before you act so high and mighty.”

The darkness was sucked away, leaving Kagami back where he had been. On his belly, his fingers touching the cliff’s edge.

The wind blew drowning out his whisper.

I’ll kill you.