Angel of Magic_The Cycle of Fury

"Welcome to your first sequence."

A chilling feeling ran through the three of them. Louis's mind wandered as he tried to understand what it meant. However, the bulky man did not leave him any time to think as he continued reading aloud.

"You have completed the tutorial. Follow wherever the road leads you, and you did it. You should be proud of yourself. You have not yet encountered any danger as of now, so I introduce you to the first sequence. The three of you may have many questions and want answers; however, you will only get these answered if you manage to complete all twenty sequences! Yes, twenty. This is one of many.

"As you progress up the sequence ladder, you will find it harder and harder. So, as the kind person I am, I left you with a gift. Around every sequence—or you could say level—there are things to help you through the journey. For example, weapons, scrolls, and magical potions. They are scattered throughout the sequences, so finding them is very helpful."

Before the bulky man could turn to the next page, Louis stopped him. "Wait! We should fully think about all of this." Louis was trembling as he bit his nails. Russel's eyes showed no sign of emotion, and the bulky man couldn't fathom believing any of this.

"Weapons, scrolls, and magical potions. What is this sequence thing?" Russel asked as he abruptly woke up from his slumber.

"You heard it. They are like levels. Floors, you could say. We must go up each staircase filled with dangers and such to get to the next floor and travel through the dangers and such to the staircase, and so on," the bulky man replied, showcasing a sudden change in personality.

"Yes, yes. That's it. We must be at the first sequence. What is this place?" Louis asked as he looked around. He began showcasing scholarly vibes as he thought to himself deeply. The bulky man turned to the next page and continued reading aloud.

"The first sequence is called Liminal Spaces, and it follows throughout the twenty sequences. For example, Liminal Spaces - Playground Sequence 1, Liminal Spaces - Parking Lot Sequence 6, and so on. To beat each sequence, you must escape and follow wherever the road leads you. At every level, there are monsters roaming. I'll give you valuable information. Sequence One, the current one you're participating in, is called Playground Sequence 1.

"The monsters roaming there are dark, slender creatures that are almost transparent. They are wearing a disgusting owl mask that is damaged, and they feed off humans. To beat them, you must stay in the light. Staying in the light is one of the most important things to beat any monster at any sequence. So, remember that. You have a flashlight equipped with you, and it is the most valuable item in the first sequence.

"Losing it or destroying it will mean death. Take care of it. Also, batteries are important. You will lose battery on the flashlight, meaning you must find new ones. It is important to search everywhere for any sign of a battery. Ahem, I think I've covered everything. Hmm, yes! You must run after reading this, as the room will be flooded with water…"

On the top of the walls were air vents with metal covers. Louis's eyes darted toward the vents as he heard flowing water rushing toward them. As the room began to shake, the three of them ran toward the exit and closed the door as they watched water gush through every vent.

Bam!

Louis panted as he touched his forehead lightly before looking at the room they were standing in. It was a hallway that led to an open door. Barely visible, a slide and ladders could be seen. It was a playground!

The dark, eerie hallway made Louis take a few steps back as he was horrified. "Tall, slender builds, and they look transparent… Are they around here?" Grover asked as he looked at the dark hallway. None of them made a sound. Louis touched the flashlight and silently stroked the dark button before pressing it. He quickly brought the flashlight toward the hallway as everyone closed their eyes quickly.

Louis opened his eyes and saw nothing. "Phew, we should be safe for now." The three of them sighed in relief as they began moving toward the open door. As they were walking, Grover opened his mouth.

"I wonder why the Black Eagle organization would want us here. Is it testing one of their newly found powers? Or is this perhaps some sort of mystery…" Grover couldn't help but feel hopeless. Nothing made sense ever since he saw Louis walking back and forth in the dark at midnight a day ago.

Firstly, when he had gotten home, he was instantly perplexed to find out that his body wouldn't cooperate as usual. And when he was sleeping, he heard murmurs and voices all night long. He even found himself in a deep, dark red world! It resembled how The Book of Life(1) explained hell. The dark red moon hung high above, a blood-filled landscape stretched far below, and red mountains loomed above the sky.

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This was common knowledge, and the failed god Julius was one of the reasons hell was created by the gods. Julius was a man in his early thirties, and he began showcasing psychopathic behavior. Before anyone knew it, he had murdered a woman and her child. He was given a death sentence, and as his death was celebrated, his spirit remained in the world.

Above the skies and mountains, a scream erupted, and a man with long, dark wings appeared before humanity. He wished to destroy everything, and he began fulfilling his wishes as doomsday fell upon humanity. This was Julius, who had gotten hold of some god-like powers. The Gods and Goddesses intervened, bashing him to hell, where he was thrown into the Pitfall of Hell(2).

No one knew what had happened to him since. In The Book of Life, it was explained how this 'hell' had looked, and it was just as Grover had seen in his dream. He had thought of it as a revelation but couldn't fully understand why he was shown that. This had left him puzzled the entire time.

…

The trio continued walking, showing no sign of happiness as they headed toward the open door. The playground was dark, and the feeling of fresh air was instantly vaporized as the darkness of the skies descended upon the three. A faint smell emerged, and a horrifying scream followed. The three stopped breathing as they looked all around. As minutes passed, Russel broke the silence.

"Okay… What are we supposed to do now?"

The silence filled the playground as none of them knew the objective. "Follow wherever the road leads you…" Louis said softly as he looked for a road or any sort of way leading toward another place other than the playground. However, it was all filled with darkness, and his flashlight wouldn't shine brightly enough to cut through the gloom. Louis sighed as he began thinking clearly. His mind was occupied, and he was feeling slightly annoyed. The eerie sound of grasshoppers made them question where in the heck they were.

Sitting there for a few minutes, the door closed shut, leaving them stranded. Louis stood up and began thinking deeply. Rain began pouring down as a voice echoed throughout the playground. It was a robotic man with a slight glitch in his voice.

"This is not real."

The three felt a sense of nostalgia in the voice.

"It's just a dream."

The three felt a sense of nostalgia in the voice...

"Please wake up."