The Six Sides

[Vantas] The leaves rustled outside the windows of Light's bedroom... The sound of crickets and frogs muffled by wooden walls as the skylight above showed swaying branches and leaves, including the stars and the coming moon.

They had been resting for some time at most, their hooves crossed over one another as their chin lifted from their forearms. Their eyes traveling from their floor to their saddlebags and supplies from various trips... It had been awhile since they had managed to be in their own hometown, not to mention their own bedroom.

And now, they had woken up from their long rest- stirred by the bustling Fauna tapping the glass. It was tapping in small intervals, like that of a beat of music. Three beats then a small pause.

It repeated twice, three times, and lost its rhythm at about the fifth time it hit-- and in that same moment; the light from the moon was dead center of the skylight... Yet as the beautiful rays shined down through the glass, something felt off- and Healthy Light slid from their bed to investigate.

The Kirin would approach the light and stand dead center, lifting their chin up to the sky as they'd see the bramble surrounding the edges of the circular roof-- the moon full and unwavering as it seemed to have stopped in that perfect moment; a silence reaching their ears as the crickets and frogs had gone completely still.

Instincts suddenly roared, their gut feeling like it hit the pit of their insides as the moon had begun to shift unnaturally in their vision. The Kirin's body freezing in place as the moon transformed, the Celestial body's edges shifting to that of a square... The moon- had turned into a dice?!

Light continued to shine- as if the moon was still there when the dice fell, that object not leaving their sight as it grew smaller and smaller till it crashed through the glass of the skylight; the tiny object falling past their face and onto the floor as it clattered. The Kirin couldn't move for the glass would be in their way- their vision to the floor as an individual was seen in their peripheral view.

A stallion stood in the darkness outside of the faded spotlight, pink saturated hues pouring deep into the Kirin's soul as a laugh sounded. Cloven hooves tapping against wood as he gotten clearer to see.

"So much to protect, so much... to lose. Yet oh so doubtful of yourself."

A smile stretches on the stranger's face, before a fluttering piece of paper slid forward from the grey stallion's back and in front of the Kirin. The stranger's voice seeming to echo in the bedroom as he walked around the edge of the skylight's shine; as well as the shattered glass.

"You keep so much within you, like the knowledge of dearest comrades- to the monster you hesitate to let loose. Honestly- it must be exhausting hmm? So how about I give you a chance to grow?"

"Play a game with me; and relax your troubled mind~"

Standing under the shattered window, with pale Moonlight flowing into the room, and shards of glass scattered all around them, preventing them from taking but a single step, Light uttered not a word.

They knew not whence this figure had come, for the door was closed and they had heard no hoofsteps. Could it be they had stepped out of the shadows themselves, to stand before them, and to mock them?

Trying to find a weapon, their eyes darted across the room only to look back at the smiling figure, who was holding their armour and weaponry, before they tossed everything aside, out of their reach.

Then, their eyes fell once again upon the small, black, dice, which laid amidst the glass shards of the broken window. They slowly reached for it, trying not touch the glass, but still they got hurt.

As they held the dice, which was now stained ever so slightly red with their blood, dripping out of their wound, they looked at the figure with fiery fury in their eyes, and asked why they were here.

The stallion spoke not, only pointing to the ground before them, where laid a piece of paper, which held instructions to their game. Light turned to the smiling figure, looking at them questioningly.

As the stallion elegantly and effortlessly moved around Light, perfectly evading every single shard of glass, a terrible feeling grew within their mind, as the realisation of the situation kicked in.

As if the figure was made of shadows, as soon as they left the Moon's light, they vanished, nowhere to be seen, until Light heard their voice, whispering in their ear, but Light did not turn to look.

Closing their eyes and sighing deeply, Light asked the figure what it was they wanted from them, to which they said, to their surprise, they only wished to play a game, that will end up helping them.

They only had to roll this very dice, that was now stained a darker red, and play their game. Then, at the end, perhaps, they would end up stronger, or perhaps, they would not. But it was up to them.

With a heavy heart, Light rolled the dice, and when they opened their eyes, they looked upon...

The black, blood-stained dice landed in front of Light, amidst the shards of glass. Then, the three pips on its face started to glow with a bright, pink hue, and Light rubbed their eyes in disbelief.

Looking at the piece of paper, which had fallen to the ground, with their clean, unhurt hoof, Light slowly and cautiously looked at what game had been chosen, until their eyes fell upon but one word:

Sorrow...

As if the figure had been hoping for this result, they cheered with a quiet, yet noticeably excited voice. Their whisper vanished from Light's ear before stepping out of the shadows in front of them.

Tending to their hurt hoof, Light asked the figure what was going to happen now, to which they only smiled. With a single flick of their hoof, the figure washed away all the shards surrounding Light.

Glad to be able to move again, Light nodded to the figure, and walked to their bed, secretly hoping all of this was but a mere dream. But when they sat down, they felt a great weight upon their mind.

Finally, the figure introduced themselves, telling them their name was Lucas Vantas. But when Light rolled the dice, they became a player in their game, and from now on, to Light, they were the Host.

Struggling to stay upright, Light asked the Host what their game was, if its subject was Sorrow, or any of the other results from the scores they could have achieved. But the Host only laughed aloud.

Then, the Host stepped out of the light, and into the shadows once again, yet their laugh only grew louder, greater, and darker... Then, a strange feeling washed over Light and their mind felt heavy.

They knew not whether their eyes were shut, and they had begun to dream, or if their room truly was darkening, and changing into something else, when they heard the voice of the Host from their mind:

"This will be quite a sight,
so I tell you this, Healthy Light:

You have but to find your own dice,
or you will pay a terrible price.

Learn, fight, and grow,
or from the Play Zone, you may never go."

Before everything went dark, the Host spoke one last time:

"Let the games begin..."

The voice of the Host faded as Light felt themselves sink away. Then, a deafening silence fell upon them, as they found themselves alone in the dark, and they did not know what was happening to them.

They knew not where they were, nor how they got here. But as the rhyme the Host spoke from the dark echoed in their mind, they slowly began to understand what they meant and whither they were headed.

Far away in the distance, a faint light appeared, and began to grow towards them. Still, they could not see their hoof in front of their face, even as the light grew bright enough to hurt their eyes.

It washed over them, and they knew not what had happened. But as the light slowly faded, they found they could see, hear, and feel again, when they saw many overhanging branches with rustling leaves.

A slight breeze blew through the trees as they arose, rubbing their eyes after blinking a couple of times, and they were relieved to find they had awoken, and that meeting 'the Host' was but a dream.

Though, as Light looked around, they did not find themselves in their room, but in a small clearing in the woods. They laughed, sighing as they shook their head, for they had fallen asleep elsewhere.

But as they got up and stretched, and they looked around trying to find their way to their village, they found they had lost their voice, and reached for their bag next to them for the healing tonic.

Then, as they searched through their bag, finding many supplies, tools, and provisions, their heart began beating faster, but they calmed their breath and calmly looked on. Then, their heart stopped.

From one of the pockets in their bag they found a small note written in an ancient tongue, yet they understood it perfectly. "It can not be", Light thought to themselves, as they knew whence it came.

Tears began welling in their eyes, when they turned around to find their weaponry, untarnished, and ready for battle. They knew where they were, and when they were, and what had happened on this day.

They packed up and ran off. Perhaps, they could make it in time...