Ao heard wind. Loud, whooshing wind blowing above her. She was on the roof of a skyscraper, one of many that span far out into and across the horizon, at similar heights of more or less 50 levels. Short routes bridged one roof to another. Planks, ropes, nets, like those you see in a high elements obstacle course. The sky was plain blue with no sun and no clouds. Actually, even though it was quite bright, there was no heat. Just cool wind.

Ao’s body was stiff. She stumbled to her feet to try to make sense of the towering landscape around her, but was tugged back. A rope connected her wrist to someone else… Her eyes dimmed with disappointment.  Some cruel misfortune kept bringing them back together.

“Hey there, gorgeous.” Hatsuharu said with a wink. “Guess you’re stuck with me.”

Jaws clenched, Ao fidgeted with the rope to get it off. It was a bit more durable than your usual rope, about 12mm in diameter and made of nylon. Ao could also walk a fair distance away from Haru, 10 metres, if you didn’t consider the section of the rope that wrapped around the wrist a few times like a fat metal shackle. To her delight, it was also possible to untie it. 

“And if you broke a rule? I thought you were smarter than this, Ao.”

Hatsuharu had a point. But she hated that he had a point.

They weren’t the only ones there. There were ten teams in total, two in each team, bound together the same way Ao and Hatuharu was. Ao spotted several familiar faces, but most notably Cyberpunk and her brawny bodyguard was there.

“How much do you lust over your partner? How much do you long for their survival? How far will you go?” Justice announced on the roof ledge. “Everyone! Welcome to the very first circle of hell: Lust!” He cuddled his shotgun and said with a sing-song voice. “Don’t worry, this isn’t a sexual game, so don’t glare at me like that, Suzume-chan!”

That name triggered a knee-jerk reaction in Ao. She grimaced. She wasn’t simply weirded out, it released a powerful wave of emotions that had been locked away, digging up old hatred and agony she didn’t know she had in her. But what was it? What significance did the name have? And more importantly, how does Justice know about it? It was irritating knowing so little about yourself.

“This circle is divided in half, or in other words, into two stages. And this first stage is super simple. As you can see, for every building, your path splits further into three. Think of it like a maze. If you pick wisely, you won’t have to meet a dead end and all will be smooth sailing. But relax, if you make a mistake, it’s not the end of the world! You can always retreat and choose another path.” Justice presented the paths behind him. On his right, there were two: A proper bridge and some sturdy planks. On his left, a tightrope. It was clear that the paths were increasing in difficulty.  “All you have to do is be one of the first five teams to make it to the finish line! That’s all! Now, take your places.”

Most teams went over to the easiest path, fighting and bickering to be the first ones to cross. Cyberpunk hopped onto the shoulders of Bodyguard and steered him to the middle with planks. No one seemed to want to go to the hardest path. Ao saw that as a sign.

“Are you sure?” Hatsuharu asked as she leaned dangerously over the edge and tugged the end of the tightrope, testing its safety. “My life’s at stake here too, you know.”

“Shut up, I know what I’m doing.” 

Just as Ao moved back, a guy shoved past her and cut in front of them. Slung over his shoulder was his partner, a distressed woman. 

“Sei, put me down! Don’t go there!” She begged, trying to pry herself away from him. At first glance, it might seem that the woman, who was on the chubbier side, could easily snap her partner like a twig. But his hold on the woman was abnormally strong for his frail and lanky frame. No matter how much she thrashed about, the vacant expression on his face never twitched with struggle or grit.

“Hey, we were–” Hatsuharu said, but Ao stopped him before he could say any more.

“Forget it.” Ao eyed Sei firmly. “We won’t win this.” No words needed to be exchanged between them for Ao to decide to be wary of him. This guy’s dangerous. 

Kicking back his legs, Justice relaxed on the ledge. As he whistled and scanned the teams one by one, a nasty grin enlarging, anxiety weighed down on most of the players. 

Oddly enough, Ao’s heart wasn’t beating quite as fast as it should, and she couldn’t tell whether Hatsuharu was frightened behind that air of suave he had. Cyberpunk was smiling away, with her arms crossed on top of Bodyguard’s head. Sei’s indifference never waned. 

Then, with a scoff of glee, Justice fired straight up into the air. Smoke puffed up and dissolved in the bright blue sky.

“The punishment of Lust begins.” 

Though they had fought to be at the front of the line, no one wanted to be the first to start. They waited for a sacrifice to make the first move, so that they could be certain of the moves they could make. What if it was a trap? What if they were shot down if they moved? Those were baseless worries, but no one wanted to risk it, especially with a loaded shotgun and its crazy owner being a few feet away.

Suddenly, a team from the middle path jumped onto the planks. They yelped, the tremble of their hands and legs shaking the entire obstacle. The man panted noisily, gasped then choked on his saliva when he accidentally glanced at the 500 feet below him. One slip and both of them would be dead. He yanked the rope on his wrist and it came undone.

“He… He didn’t say you have to make it across with two people…” The man turned to the woman, frenzy burning wildly in his eyes.

“What are you talking about, stop it…” The woman’s face crumpled in disbelief. It was clear what the man was going to do, but like the rest of the observers back on the roof, the woman denied reality…

Then she screamed. But before she could turn back and escape, the man pushed her off. As she plummeted, out of sight, her screams grew faint, until eventually, only the rush of wind remained. Looking down, a sinister leer twisted. Then the man laughed and gloated. 

“You’re tricking us, aren’t you?” Voice hoarse, he shouted to Justice. “Well too bad! I can beat this stupid game. See you at the finish line suckers.”

Ao watched annoyed as the man flipped them off and scurried off the last of the planks. A girl from a team on the easy path broke down in tears, babbling nearly incoherently about how she was scared and didn’t want to do it. Her partner made attempts to calm her to no avail. Ao grew even more ticked off. Crying won’t get you anywhere.

“What a stupid guy.” Sei muttered, shifting his partner’s weight on his shoulder. He pressed his foot down on the tightrope, feeling the extent of bounce, then stepped onto it without a single hesitation. Then he walked across as if he were on flat ground. On his shoulder, the woman hiccuped from suppressing her cries, but her random movements didn’t sway Sei’s balance.

But when Sei reached the end, he didn’t move onto the next path. Instead, he bent down, whipped out a pocket knife from his pants pocket and started to saw at the rope. 

“That motherfucker…” Ao hissed. Destroying the paths wasn’t explicitly against the rules, but she didn’t expect that guy to do it. Although thinking back, she totally should’ve. The way he treated his partner, there was only evil in that selfish apathy of his. Souring visibly, Ao made a mental note to get back at him some day. 

Hatsuharu side-eyed Ao. “Middle path it is then.” 

By then, most of the teams were either making their way across or had already crossed over, leaving Ao and Hatsuharu the last team on the roof. Great, what a great start to their first (and possibly their last) game. There wasn’t much time left. If they didn’t immediately quicken their pace, they would surely lose. Even so, Ao stood contemplatively at one side. 

“Ao…” Hatsuharu urged her on. But Ao ignored him completely.

“Oi, you.” 

Justice looked up from a comic book he was reading. “What is it?”

“So… we’re allowed to remove the rope as long as you stick together as a team?”

“What, you’re still harping on it?” For the first time, Hatsuharu let his exasperation show through a cold chuckle. Spite flickered across his face, then dissipated as quickly as it came, but his voice was still laced with bitterness, prickly and harsh. “We’re in a life or death situation here and this is all you can think of? Am I that repulsive? Am I not good enough to be your partner? I’m sorry, is that you want me to say? If you hate me that much then just say it. I’ll stop, I’ll stop everything. I was getting sick of it anyways.”

Hatsuharu’s outburst threw Ao off guard, yet she didn’t pay him any mind. Not now, at least. There were far more important things than an insecure man-baby, and the answer to her question was one of them.

“Yeah sure, just be in a team.” Justice said. “Ten metres.”

That was all Ao needed to hear.