The house

It always starts with being in a car, or at least it always turns out being in one after a few minutes to a half-hour.  This car was just a carriage that you'd see being dragged by a horse. There was no roof at all as the area was covered in light and clouds. Where was she going this time? What will Kurisa discover? Her eyes looked to see that she was not alone as other carriages dropped people off at this house. It was a three-story white house that had about six bedrooms, a basement, two bathrooms, and an attic that was well hidden.

Other than herself were five other people. She was dressed in a Sinese dress of gold and red. Underneath she wore shorts since after the last adventure she had she could never be too careful. Her brown hair with blonde highlights was put up in a rather dutch braided fashion with two bangs left out. "This will be fine. Trick or treat, by the way.~" She spoke softly while fanning herself, with her feathered fan of lilac and blue. She tipped him well before going off. Once stepping out she looked around like any normal person would at a new place.

"Simple architecture. White marble and wood. Very pleasant still." She spoke to herself and then looked at the man who stood on top of the stairs. Once everyone settled he started to speak. "Welcome to the party. Please go in and get to know the house. The party itself will start later tonight by five." He bowed. 'Must be the butler or something.' she was unsure as a maid came out. "I will show you to your rooms." Her head tilted for them to follow. She might as well get to know the place. It was rather huge.

Phoebus stretched his arms and yawned, he had been in this carriage for quite some time now and he was getting somewhat impatient he wanted to see the haunted house in person but this ride was ridiculously long. He thought that maybe this whole idea was a mistake but then again when would he be able to get this chance again, so he stayed quiet for the remainder of the ride simply looking outside at the scenery, or well as much as he could see what with all the mist that seemed to engulf this area.

With a small bump the carriage finally came to a halt. He was now standing in front of the house, it didn't look particularly special to him other than it's size but he figured that the difference would be its interior instead of the exterior. He took a final glance at his clothes before proceeding closer to the building, he had put on his black kimono adorned with crimson red flowers and golden details, it wasn't too flashy but it was elegant. He wiggled his fox ears and tail slightly, his potion seemed to be working giving him briefly fox characteristics to potentially pass as a kitsune for his Halloween costume. He had left his hair free to give him that slightly wilder and charming look and his eyes already had that yellow-ish color as they were. Trick or treat, more of a treat if I'd say so myself, he thought and covered his chuckle.

Before moving forward he noticed other carriages were also stationed in front of the house, popular attraction, he thought and maybe it will prove to be a fun one as well. He paid for his ride and walked towards the house as did the rest of the people that had arrived and a man now stood on top of the stairs welcoming them to the "party" and bidding them to go inside and get accustomed with the house as a maid came out offering to show them to their rooms. "A potential butler and a maid, at least we'll know who to blame for the future murder" he whispered to himself and chuckled softly. Nevertheless, he was excited to see the interior and started heading inside, noticing the appearance of a fair maiden on the way carrying herself with grace, she has taste, he thought and he liked that, but wanted to wait till they were all settled to start a conversation.

Kurisa realized others of course came out of the other carriages but paid no mind to them as she continued to fan herself. There was no point in pleasantries since they were all going to meet anyways during the party. Her multi-colored eyes mirrored the beauty of the house inside. The floor was white marble as any modern rich home but was decorated with black and maroon. Her eyes scanned the area as she loved the two colors as the goth look went with the theme of Samhain. Swiftly, she followed the maid as she slowly escorted everyone to their rooms. Up the stairs, one could hear the steps of women's dress shoe's heels.

Once they turned to a long hallway she pointed to each door and gave out their name. "Please settle and return downstairs when ready." She bowed gently and left. Kurisa looked at everyone who went in as they all looked rather different, rather it is a race or their outfits. "Perhaps they like verity." She mumbled and went inside of her own room. She slowly walked towards a mirror to look at herself and wondered if perhaps there was anyone here she'd be interested in talking to. Her thoughts were clouding her judgment as it was time to go down and see these people, including the host.

Once she went down she was escorted to the dining room. Her body froze as she saw everyone who was here sitting in a chair. They all looked confused yet a little scared. She then shifted her gaze towards where there were guards standing at the exits. 'Looks like a trap.' she bit her lower lip. "Welcome, come sit." The man in a suit spoke and stood. Kurisa slowly sat down on a chair and gazed around... wondering what was about to happen.

Taking a step inside he was astonished by how good the interior looked, white marble floor and ebony-maroon decoration, indeed whoever was the owner had quite the good taste, he had also thought of buying a house for himself quite often and decorating just like that, maybe with dark brown wooden floors but money was running low and he wasn't ready for such an investment. Dismissing his thoughts he hastily followed the maid upstairs who showed him to his room and as he was closing the door he could have sworn he saw a smirk on the woman's face. Maybe it was just his imagination playing tricks on him, nevertheless he looked around the room for a bit , took a glance in the mirror and once ready he proceeded downstairs where some of the guests were already seated.

As he was approaching the table he caught something moving in the shadows with his side view but couldn't really do or say anything about it after all he didn't wanna make a bad impression but he didn't become more wary. After taking his place on the table he saw figures that arrived and stood in front of some of the doors, the exits, but why? he thought as the other guests started becoming slightly alarmed too. With the woman from before taking her seat everyone was finally there and the host welcomed them to his home, it didn't look like people were happy though more like concerned as to the reason the exits had been blocked.

"Oh but that is quite easy to figure out now, isn't it?" he replied with a smirk and continued saying that no one would be allowed to leave the building unless they played his game by his rules or they might lose something very important to them. Phoebus had shivers down his spine but didn't show that he was scared, he had to play his game he thought, but what if the host didn't play by the rules in the end and they were in danger. There was an uproar from the guests but it quickly died down as the host ordered silence and started explaining what the game and rules were. There wasn't much that Phoebus could do now, so he just stayed quiet and listened carefully.

The chair was wooden like the rest of the furniture in this house. Her eyes gazed around as she could see there were two older people, four women, and five men - not including; the son of the host, the host himself, and the guards. Two of them were dark-skinned that came from the desert country, as the rest were white with feats that came from different countries. She slowly fanned herself as she felt super irritated. Out of all the women here the host's son gazed at her.

Disgusting.

What entertainment did she run into this time? The host gazed at everyone and nodded towards his assistant who was also the primary guard. He went around and put down two cards on the table for each person to grab onto.

"Now you must tell me which two symbols you got." The host smirked.


Kurisa went through her two cards and saw what she had, but she looked at everyone else first to see what they will say. Who will go first?

Phoebus stared at the cards on the table for a short while, he didn't know what to expect and that admittedly scared him but at least the guests were in the same position as him, except the woman he saw before who was now fanning herself with an irritated look rather than a scared one. He thought that she was probably a powerful mage, after all who carries themselves with such elegance, has an expensive looking outfit and gets upset when others appear to have the upper hand, emphasis on "appear", he thought and smirked. The other guests looked too bland for his taste and the host's son was rather... unrefined looking at a lady with such eyes, rather disgusting.

In any case there was a "game" to be played and a card game at that, it was time for him to see what symbols he got after the host asked them to reveal them to him. Dynamite and fire, now that was an explosive combination, he looked at his cards and announced them to the host waiting for everyone else to be finished, wondering what he would be able to do with these symbols, and once everyone announced their hands he smiled slightly-despite his nervousness- and thought, let's get this party startled!

Kurisa looked at how everyone was laying down their cards. It was a big mystery what all of these meant. The only ones that knew were the host (father) and the host's son who had a shitty grin. He was defiantly cute, but not as cute as the other guy who then laid their cards down. She looked at her own, getting a sharp broken picture and an ice pick picture. She then looked at the others, but the host looked at the white-haired man first who looked really cute. Probably too young for her though, she felt old.

"I see you have Dynamite and fire." He chuckled and licked his lips. "Would you rather... Hold a firecracker in your hand and let it explode, or light yourself on fire for 30 seconds?" He wondered. He snapped his fingers and a guard grapped onto something and then showed it to the guy. The firecracker was a ten mini firecrackers stuffed with everything one would have plus a little more punch to it. It was wrapped up into one fuse. Everyone looked around, "What the fuck is this? Is this a trick?" One of the random guys spoke as he stood up. A guard came instantly and put him down into place. "You must stay.~ Whoever is the last one to survive may get one wish that money can buy. It's too late to leave." He grinned.

Phoebus was correct his cards were an explosive combination well an explosion with him in the center at least. At this point he wasn't sure what to do, a man freaked out and yelled but got quickly shushed by the guard, it didn't seem like there was a way out of this situation unless they played the host's game, and what a twisted game at that only one person would be left alive, entertaining idea for the host but not so much for the people involved certainly.

He looked at his cards again and then at the dynamite presented to him, he wasn't so sure about having a limb of his explode if not his entire body, but then again his other option was to light himself on fire. Would he go out as one of the witches in those cult movies where they were burned alive? He certainly hoped that was not going to be the case.

Something was telling him to go for the fire however, was it intuition or something else, he couldn't tell but he followed it announcing his choice. At that moment he saw the woman from before looking at him and smiled at her. Seconds later he had been instructed to enter a circle of wood and coal, if anything that was going to be one hell of a barbeque but strangely fear was not his only emotion, anxiety and stress were as well but he was also hopeful that it would turn out fine. He was lit ablaze momentarily closing his eyes and waiting for the pain to start but he didn't feel much just the warmth of the fire, well more like a scorching heat but still nothing too bad that he couldn't bare for 30 seconds. Once the timer was over he stepped out of the fire with part of his clothing charred but otherwise intact. "Well that was indeed something I haven't tried before!" he exclaimed as he asked to wash himself before sitting at the table again and continuing whatever this was.

The host laughed as he saw that perhaps the white-haired man saw through the trick and went with the safer one. It was dependant on how the flames wanted to react. If it goes high then it would kill him for sure, but if the flames were calm then it obviously will save him. She saw him smile at her, making her feel unsure if it was a smile of assurance that he will be fine or a smile of flirtation. A smile was always tricky... It can kill, save and even assure happiness unless you run into someone who just doesn't like smiles at all.

That's auto death for you.

Kuri saw as the fire went up, but only enough to touch his clothing as they slowly started to burn off. As thirty seconds hit, only his shirt was half burned off. "You're lucky young man." The host said and laughed as he puffed his cigar. The son crossed his arms and gazed at Kuri. "Your turn, Mrs." The host said as he saw what she had. "Ah."

"Haha, how fun." he started out. The suspense was killing her.

"Would you rather... Walk on broken glass with barefeet or..." He wipes out an ice pick "Stab Mr. Jennings with this icepick. ... Anywhere is fine. As long as it's not the hand.". Was this a test for her morals? Her virtues? Will she give in to her twisted personality or will she continue on her angelic path? Something about her was unsure as Ana wanted to do both. "What if I did both?". The people were shocked. "P-please, don't stab me." He said in a whimper. Her eyes looked at the host only who smiled. "Never had that offer before. You'll be free from the next round I suppose or get a 'freebee' card you could say." he shrugged with a smug look on his face.

"Fine, give me the glass and pick." Her eyes looked at the guy who looked at her and then at Jennings in a sorry-filled look. If she got these cards as easily, she could not risk getting things that could be worse. Her eyes saw the guard hand her the ice pick and then smashed glass against the floor. Slowly,  Kurisa took off her delicate shoes. "Well feet, look like you won't be perfect anymore for now." She chuckled shortly before stepping on it. A small wince, but the pain was nothing compared to the life she has had. Slowly, she walked to Jennings and gave an emotionless look. "I'll have to get you out of your misery." She whispered to him as she looked at his cards.

Hearts

She felt like she knew what that was. "Looks like it's fate anyway." She whispered to him again and shanked the icepick into the side of his skull. Deep enough to go in a less painful way. If the shock worked then his heart would have stopped as his brain told it to. Science can be weird.

Kurisa walked back to her chair as Jennings rested there dead. "Haha, great display, Mrs. Now let's go onto the next." He spoke with laughter. The other people were horrified and a part of Kurisa was already dead. So their judgments did not matter. This was after all...

A-game.

One out of six have died, but soon enough it was two out of six as an old lady had a heart attack from the death of Jennings.


What will you pull next?: Barrel, bowl, stick, lightning bolt, heart, clover, eye, earmuffs, ice, ??? symbol.

Phoebus watched in excitement as the game was unfolding, it was probably just dangerous enough to get you scared but nothing bad would happen, was his first thought as he watched the woman unfold her cards and heard what the host said. Her response came kind of dark in his ears was she really about to walk on shattered glass and stab a person out of her own volition? He frowned as he watched the scene unfold, watching her go through the glass made him stop breathing wasn't that just pure pain, just how ignorant was she to pain, maybe the glass isn't real, he thought and that ice pick probably fake as well, he reassured himself only to be proven completely wrong moments later as the woman run the item through the man's skull while he was pleading for mercy.

Phoebus stood there in shock as the woman next to him let out a cry and fainted... or more accurately died from heart attack, the brutal scene was too much for her poor heart it looked like and Phoebus was getting somewhat terrified now, with the wrong choice that person could be him and maybe his luck wouldn't save him this time. He let out a silent sigh as his eyes traced her back to the table. The host seemed to be ecstatic at least he was having a good night he thought. Another round and another opportunity at death, the cards were dealt again and this time his combination was a clover and a symbol with three question marks. He had no idea what that meant and he wasn't so certain he wanted to find out, but it was his turn again as the host cast his gaze upon him.

Kurisa sighed as she saw that the guy next got a clover card and a mystery symbol and so did the host. He looked quite bored on that, but then realized something it seemed. He snapped his fingers, "Get box number 12." He instructed to the guard. Her eyes watched as the guard picked up a wooden crate in which you could not see from the outside. "Would you rather... test your fate to what is in this box or test your luck in what this clover means?" He questioned. Soon enough he looked at Kurisa and smirked. "You may skip this turn or, better yet pick up those two cards and use them against whomever you wish." He offered.

Something within Kurisa became rather triggered.  Her eyes flashed a bloody red as her heartbeat slammed like the base of a song. The offer to kill, the offer to not worry about any consequences, to torture on people that she does not know if innocent or criminals. The one thing she did think of is that there could be only one survivor. She might as well make it faster on them, right?

She flipped the cards: Barrel and Stick

"Nice." Spoke the smuggish son of the host. The host smiled "Get them ready." He spoke towards the guard He looked at then Kuri. "Pick the players." He nodded at her. She was not sure what these meant yet, but she picked up the cards and walked to the young woman who was giving her glares all game. "Her for Stick and..." She gazed at the man who looked healthy enough... she kind of hoped. "Him for Barrel." She put down the cards. By that time the guard came to her with a bamboo stick that was about a foot long. "Give her 50 stricks. Found out that it's quite popular for discipline in Sin." The host spoke. Kuri herself remembered her last life on how when she was a child she would get whacked with it till she bled and on the floor.

The other guard had a barrel of water. "Two minutes underwater." He instructed. The guy was about to argue but the guard was stronger and shoved his face in the water already. Kuri gripped onto the bamboo with her sinister smile. "Hold her down." She instructed them. They nodded and quite enjoyed this almost as much as the host's son.

Whack

Whack

Whack

She did it over and over again with the stick as everyone could see her white shirt get shredded and skin bleeding. "Maybe you shouldn't glare and judge without even knowing anything." Ana hissed at the woman. It was no longer Kuri who was whacking as Ana continued to hit them. Her body slowly fell onto the floor as they gasped for air, crying, but Ana was not done.

Whack

Whack

Whack

Their body was lifeless, but she continued to finish the full fifty whacks with the bamboo stick. After she was done, she gave them the stick and said nothing about the lifeless body of the man who drowned. Guess he didn't have what it took. They then waited for the white-haired man to choose. "That was wonderful, a wonderful display, Mrs." It was like he was planning something for her. Something sinister as she worryingly looked at the white-haired guy.

While he was trying to decide what his choice would be and what he would have to go through, he looked as the guard was prompted to bring a wooden box, he wasn't sure he wanted to know its contents and at the same time he wasn't certain what the clover meant, maybe something about luck, it could be that luck would be on his side. As he was about to make the move and choose the clover he heard the host speak to the woman telling her to either skip her round or use both her cards on others, she would surely skip he thought, why would she want to inflict pain on others, but then he remembered what happened moments ago and now he watching her as she picked up her cards and gave them to the two other remaining players, a stick and a barrel.

He watched as she went into a frenzy beating up the other woman while the man was drowning in the barrel, what sort of twisted situation was this, this was no game, he thought this to be a staged thing, but this was a deathmatch. He was certain he did not want to end up as the other four players that were laying dead, he didn't know what to do though, he wasn't a murderer he thought he could offer to kill the woman and survive himself something that the host might approve of if he saw him being desperate and it involved death.

He had to make a choice, he looked at the woman's eyes trying to find some humanity in them, was she really there, what happened to her that drove her into such madness he wondered, if she'd want to she could have killed him instead but she opted for the other two, maybe the two could find a way out of this situation. He nodded softly to her with an expression that said "I trust you", did he really trust her after all this horrendous display? Well partially he did, after all she might prove his only way out of this mess. At last he moved his finger on the clover locking his choice.

She watched him reach for the clover and then deep a breather of relief. She knew that the clover only meant two things and no one could change it otherwise. Luck and/or money as the clover was a belief that no one will surpass - not even the voodoo. Her eyes changed to gaze at the host who then shrugged, "Alright then, Would you rather give the clover to one of the others or keep it yourself? It keeps you safe from harm for the next round and..." he smirks. He chuckled and then gazed at Kuri.

Kuri gazed at the others who started to die one by one from their cards. In the end, there were only 4 more people left, the son and the host.

Her eyes gazed at her cards as she will decline the clover if offered and told him to keep it. Pain was something she felt all the time, it was something Ana enjoyed doing towards others, but Phoe for some reason was safe from this, but did he know? She received the Lightning bolt and ice. She assumed either of these could be death, but there was always a 'safe' option in one of these.

"Lightning bolt. Don't waste our time." She replied. She knew that she was going to get electrocuted. Which way will they do this? He snapped his fingers and saw they carted an execution device that are used on prisoners. "Cause I like you, would you rather do it on him or yourself?" He wondered. It was like a test, but the answer was the same for herself. "Myself." She coldly spoke as her souless eyes gazed towards the table. Thankfully, if she had her magic then her water body would be harmed effectively. Since this was just her humanoid body, she can take it.

"Go ahead." He told the guard as everyone watched them put the helmet on, did the straps, and flicked the switch to probably the highest bolts. She didn't make an expression, her mind was in her own dream as the pulse went throughout her nerves and joints as they too were affected. This lasted about thirty seconds as her eyes coldly gazed at the host now. The last two died if the clover was not given to them, if so then Phoebus will have to pick two cards.

The last two people will lastly receive guns.

bowl, heart, eye, earmuffs,

He sighed with relief as the choice for the clover seemed to be most beneficial, he would skip harm for this round, he had the choice to save someone else of course but he wasn't going to place a stranger above himself. The woman seemed to have been presented with a choice as well, a choice to electrocute either herself or him, the host looked like he was very fond of her granting her death wishes when appropriate. He looked at her for a moment as she chose to have herself be electrocuted. Another sigh of relief, he had managed to escape the clutches of death so far but just how far was this game going to go. He hoped for the best when the electrocution started and that was for the woman to still be alive and well, which to his surprise came true, it didn't look like she was affected much if at all really, but then again she just might have received harsh training or just not care about pain anymore. Either way he was glad both of them were alive, but the same could not be said for the other two people that lied dead on the floor.

He took one last look at them before turning to the host as he was now presenting them with guns, no more card games it seemed, this was the final round, a sudden death if you will to see who would be perhaps the fastest to pull the trigger or who would have the heart and guts to even pull it. It mattered not, when the gun was placed on the table in front of him the choice was simple, he was going to make sure that he at least takes down one more person with him and that would be the host himself, playing such cruel games with people's lives was something he could not forgive and he would at least know that he would be no more.

He turned one more time to the woman and stared into her eyes noticing this time they were different in color, she looked beautiful if not for the blood stains on her dress even if her hair was not at its best like before, he wanted to believe in her and trust her, after all she could have just chosen to electrocute him instead, he made sure she caught his gaze as he touched the gun and pointed towards the son and his host with his eyes. The host was closer to the woman and the son to him, the would do a cross shooting to not take too long to aim at their targets and not give the guards enough time to act. He raised the gun towards her at first then pleaded with his expression for her help to execute the plan. And then two bangs.

It was simple as she gazed at the guns. It was obvious what the host wanted, but will they truly play their little game? She smiled cooly and took it. There was always an end to a game, but sometimes games lasted forever - just like a life could. Slowly, she licked her lips and cocked it while gazing into the man's golden eyes. She wondered if the guy knew what she was thinking as she gazed at the host and then the host's son. What a shitbird, gazing freely at everyone has they died.

Everyone goes out with a bang. Amiright?

She pulled it towards the host and shot him in the forehead as she instantly heard the opponent of hers do the same towards the son. She was pretty much done with this stuff as tormenting was only fun for a second - within Ana's views. She stood up and threw the gun down on the floor. "I suppose we should 'clean' this mess up, huh?" She chuckled as she reached into the host's pocket to reach his lighter. Flicking it a few times she saw the gasoline still covering the floor from the time the man was put on fire. "I guess this became useful. Let's go." She nodded for him to follow. She first waited for him to follow as she then lit the whole house on fire.

Truly a magnificent spectacle as the every body on the floor caught fire, the smell definitely was not to his liking, and neither this bloodshed but better the others than him. That woman though, they had saved each other and that twisted game had finally come to an end. He let out a sigh of relief as he went down the staircase walking away from the house with the woman following behind him after it was certain that the mess would well be cleansed and no one would have to look at that horrendous sight. He turned to her with a smile, as much of a smile he could muster at least after this whole ordeal and thanked her and any higher power that made them have the same idea about shooting those two disturbed individuals.

He introduced himself to her waiting to hear her own response and telling her how her name fit her beauty, well at least when her clothes weren't fully stained in blood from the maniacal murder he witnessed her commit. Apollo also gave his thanks for saving him instead of choosing to have one of the cards' actions done to him and hoped that this meeting with Kurisa would be the start of a friendship and even an adventure, after all she seemed like a passionate woman, he wouldn't mind some fun and excitement. Waving goodbye for now he left the scene and headed home, exhausted from this distasteful farce.