Chapter Text
(Sadie Kane, first person POV)
We stood on the edge of the deck, looking down to the boundless sea. The strange man was nowhere to be seen, nor could we see anything that looked remotely like a "board". We stared at each other—no one wanted to be the first to jump into the sea.
My side was throbbing again. Damn the Hidebehinds.
"Percy should go first." I suggested. "That's water down there, he'll live even if he crushes face down to the sea."
Everyone turned and looked expectedly at him.
"No way. No." Percy gulped nervously. "The water may not be under Dad's command. I'm not going to test my luck." He glanced at Carter. "My dad wouldn't have much influence over him, right?"
Cater nodded. "He's Egyptian." He added. "Don't worry. If you drowned, I 'probably' would jump down to save you."
"I will push him down myself." I promised.
"Thanks." He said, looking not a bit reassured. "Alright. I'll go."
Percy climbed up the railing. Standing on the gunwale, he took a deep breath, then without further hesitation he dived into the sea.
His dive was perfect. At the last moment, he straightened his back, entering water feet first, and disappeared under the sea.
He didn't cause any ripple. Weird.
A while later, I broke the silence first.
"Well then." I said lightly. "Who's next?
…
Harry was next, then Annabeth and Carter. I was the last.
Carter had no talent in diving. He was screaming and flailing as he fell toward the sea. Then he crushed face-first into the water. The scene was so pitiful that I had to turn my head half the way.
Soon, it was my turn. I looked down to the boundless blue sea. It was really a long way down.
I screwed my eyes shut and took a deep breath. I vowed to myself that I wouldn't scream like Carter did.
Then I jumped. My posture wasn't good (I all but toppled into the sea), but at least I didn't scream.
For a while, I was falling at a heart-stopping speed. Still screwing my eyes shut, I could only feel the wind blowing past me and hear the swishing sound of the wind as I fell.
Then, the wind stopped.
I opened my eyes, and found that I was floating in the middle of water. Blue and blue was all I could see. Then I realised something strange.
My clothes were dry.
I could still breathe normally, too. I was under the sea, but I couldn't feel the water surrounding me.
For a short while, I sank slowly in the water, and then my feet touched something solid. It was a flat, like a transparent floor.
The man said: Get on board
It was a submarine.
I got up and looked around. The submarine was invisible. There was no way to tell the interior and the outerior of the submarine apart, causing some poor fish to bump into the invisible barrier accidentally.
There was nothing in the submarine besides my company and the Hidebehinds. The Hidebehinds were tied together and trapped in the corner farthest from us, keeping muttering profanities under their breathe.
The strange magician (or whatever he was) was nowhere to be seen. Bad things always happened when some stranger tricked you to board a submarine and then vanished into thin air.
I walked toward my brother. "Have you seen him?" I asked.
Carter shook his head. "No, but I found something. "He looked nervous. "Lower your sight to Du'at."
Du'at was a space with layers of magic existing beneath the visible reality. By looking into Du'at, it was possible that I could see the magical essence of the submarine. Just like I could see my brother's true essence was a chicken-headed man.
I took a deep breath and looked into Du'at. At first, I thought my power wasn't working. Our surroundings didn't change a bit, I still could only see the endless water.
But as I focused harder, light red hieroglyphics surfaced from the sea, gradually becoming clearer.
"Nun…." I read aloud. "The owner of this submarine is Nun."
Suddenly, the submarine swayed, and then it started to shake violently, making me lose my focus on Du'at. I jerked back to reality. Through the invisible bulkhead, I saw the once peaceful sea was now churning violently. Red light shone through the water, as if someone had turned on a neon light under the sea. The waving red light weaved in a dizzying way, making me feel nauseous. I stumbled and fell face down to the floor.
As sudden as it started, the submarine calmed. But the red light hadn't gone out, looking creeper than before in the dark water.
I stood up from the floor and summoned my staff and wand. But before I could blow anything up, a man's voice echoed through the submarine, like a broadcast from an invisible speaker.
"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. This is Captain 'Handsome God Nun the Awesomest and Supremest' speaking." The speaker sounded like he was trying to be professional, but failed spectacularly. "Welcome to the Nun Game! Please see the attached game rules and try to avoid loss of your lives. The winner will receive an autograph and a little something from Nun himself, so please try your best. Enjoy your trip!"
Silence fell. For the first time in my life, I felt like my brain would stop working just because of a stupid speech.
"What the Had… Ow!" A black thing fell from the ceiling, hitting right on Percy's head.
Percy picked up the thing. It was a thick card, the words on it eerily emitting ominous red light.
We read over his shoulder:
According to a story as old as time, the Three-life Stone can gift its owner an unimaginably strong power, but a curse will soon follow. The previous owners have all met unfortunate ends.
You are a team that endeavors to find the Three-Life Stone. After ten years of searching, you've finally found the Stone. However, just before you could touch it, the Stone trapped all of you under its spell. The only chance of escape lies in the mystery of the Three-life Stone…
There was one more line below it:
The game has a time limit of two hours. If you fail, there will be consequences .
My life just kept getting crazier and crazier.
"This is…" I spoke the first line that came to my mind after it could work properly again. "Room escape?"