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Erinyes Game

Your room number is 12. The nameplate next to the number matches the name given to you on the paper. You stumble out of the judgement room and down the hall, nearly tripping up the steps, heedless of the other Olympians around you. How could someone just die so easily?

Compared to the judgement room, your bedroom is surprisingly cozy, with a little fireplace and comfy couches to relax in. You drop down into one and stare at the fire.

You almost don’t hear the knock on the door.

“Hestia?”

Somehow you find the willpower to pull yourself off the couch and to the door. You open it to find the friendly woman, the one who spoke to you first. Her smile isn’t as bright, but she’s doing her best.

“Hey, my name is Aphrodite.” You shake hands. She’s a bit shorter than you, with long curly hair and curves. “Everyone wants to have a quick meeting. There’s a nice common room separate from that judgement room, and I thought I’d come get you! We women have to stick together,” she says with a giggle. “Come, I’ll take you there.”

Aphrodite pulls you downstairs to the meeting room, where everyone else is already assembled.

“Took you guys long enough,” mutters the unimpressed man, rolling his eyes.

“Oh, hush, Ares. Everyone, this is Hestia,” Aphrodite introduces you as you sit together. “You already know me, and that hothead over there is Ares.”

“What’s up, Hestia? I’m Zeus.” The dark-skinned tall man sitting directly across from you gives a casual wave. “And my girlfriend here is Hera.” The woman with light brown skin next to him nods, her short, straight brown hair moving back and forth. She’s got an arm wrapped around the woman who tried to stop Poseidon from leaving—Demeter. With olive skin and black hair, she smiles at you through unshed tears.

The next person calls herself Athena, and you recognize her as the one who reacted to the game being called the Erinyes Game. “I’m a fan of Greek mythology, but I never thought I’d be in this kind of situation,” she sighs, silvery grey eyes flashing.

“We’re Artemis and Apollo,” says the next pair in unison, “and yes, we’re twins.” Their only similarities are their tall, willowy figures and bright blue eyes—Artemis has her hair dyed silver while Apollo’s is naturally blond.

The shorter man next to them is looking down, fiddling with his hands, and doesn’t seem to realize that it’s his turn to speak. “That is Hephaestus,” Aphrodite says for him. “He’s a bit shy, don’t mind him.”

“Anyway,” the next man says, “my name is Hermes.” As he gets up to shake your hand, you realize that this is the man who sits on your left in the judgement room. “Nice to meet you.”

“Last but not least, I’m Dionysus!” Not to be outdone, the last person gets up and gives you a friendly hug. You recognize him as the man who sits on your right, who seemed hopeful that everything was a joke.

“Good to meet you all,” you reply.

“With that out of the way, I wanted us to come up with some sort of plan,” says Zeus. “Any ideas?”

“Dude, this whole crazy thing literally just started less than an hour ago,” says Dionysus. “We have no idea what’s going on.”

“All I want is to stop anyone else from dying,” Aphrodite chimes in.

Some of the others also start offering opinions, but for the most part everyone is at a loss. At a lull in the conversation, Zeus tries again to gather ideas, but to no avail.

“We done here?” Ares stands abruptly.

“What’re you doing?” demands Hera.

“If we don’t know what we’re gonna do, we might as well explore this place. I’m gonna go look around.” With that, he leaves.

“Well, fine, then. Meeting adjourned.” Zeus waves us all off. “Maybe we’ll find some usual clue as to what’s going on.”

You decide to walk around on your own, despite Aphrodite’s offer to walk with you. As the Olympians split up to look around, you head down the hallway in the opposite direction of the staircase leading to the second floor. As you look around, you note that there’s a kitchen, stocked up with plenty of food, and a music room, with a bunch of musical instruments.

You continue to walk, then hear footsteps that aren’t your own. This area of the facility is quiet, no voices to be heard. You’re the only one here, right? You stop walking. Then hear an extra footstep before that stops as well.

Your heart pounds in your ears, almost loud enough to drown out the footsteps as you try not to panic.