Soulless Players

Ten tall white pillars stood firmly around the ground hall. None of the men could see where the pillars stopped or heading but they were all sure of one thing - something dangerous was residing above.

The aura emitting above was so thick and threatening that the men unconsciously trembled and quickly looked away from the sky.

Philip followed them and examined the platform that appeared once the four walls were all knocked down.

Unlike the pillars, which were all insanely huge compared to their human sizes, the stage was perfectly fit for a grand orchestra.

While everything was milky white, the wooden platform was strangely incompatible with the surroundings. It was like it didn't originally belong there and was only placed by someone.

Seeing this, all men unanimously dropped their weapons and ceased their battle stances. They agreed that someone would soon arrive at the stage and perhaps, the one they were all waiting for to explain everything.

However, seconds became a minute then an hour, yet not a single dust made an appearance.

Someone was finally fed up with waiting and could no longer contain his temper anymore.

"@&#%!?? &@/"()&@!!"

A man with golden mane-like hair voiced his frustration out. Everyone looked at him in confusion, not understanding a single word he said.

Some tried to speak with one another yet ended up failing as they realized that all of them spoke different languages.

They also attempted to communicate through their hands but couldn't do so as every gesture had a different meaning among them.

Everyone was still and tense. The deadly pressure emanating from above also doesn't help. They had no idea what to do and how to move around this place.

Suddenly, Philip's head felt uncomfortable and muddled, as if something was breaking through it. But before he could touch his head, someone from the crowd shouted in anger mixed with fear and vigilance.

"@b!%$? @b!%$?"

His eyes glowed red as he surveyed the crowd, attempting to find the suspect. His red pupil then lingered on the floating man holding an orb.

Their gazes met and he immediately attacked him without attempting to communicate first.

The floating man obviously wanted to explain something but hadn't had the time as a red laser quickly shot out from the man's eyes.

He dodged effortlessly but in effect, the laser pierced towards a tall and thin man with unnaturally long legs and tentacle-like arms. His once clean-breasted black suit now had two holes from the attack. Yet, strangely underneath his suit, his skin remained white and unbreakable.

The tall man looked at the attacker with his pale white face and ghostly gaze. Without any warning, he moved fast as he had teleported in front of him. He extended his right arm and slapped him with full force.

This resulted in him being thrown out, bouncing from floor to floor until it stopped somewhere far away.

For a few seconds, everything was silent, but the silence was chaotic, disturbing, and scary.

The man lay on the ground, broken and unconscious. All men looked at his body with fear and caution. They realized that in this place, to survive against other dangerous men, they had to fight with their lives at stake.

This very emotion of fear was what brought the temporary truce to an end. Most of the men were now eager to fight, revealing their willingness to overpower others.

Unlike others, Philip had no indication of joining the war. He wanted to remain invisible until the end. Thus, relying on instinct, he immediately fled towards a safer and hidden location.

Out of nowhere, swords, spears, and all kinds of weaponry appeared at the hands of some men.

A condensed supernatural light hovered out in the air and formed into different geometrical figures.

Herds of air, land, and sea animals also began to fill the place in an astronomical number.

On the other side, an army of skeletons, mechanical robots, and elemental spirits had already begun fighting against each other.

Meanwhile, the appearance of an oversized shield, spaceship, and a floating castle in the corner made the surroundings even more terrifying and bright from their advanced laser-based weaponry.

While running towards one of the pillars, Philip's eyes widened by an unimaginable size. This scene was totally unique and incomprehensible to him.

There were no otherworldly powers in his world, and only through science could his people achieve development. This power he was seeing was already in the realm of miracles and magic!

Having no other choice, Philip fled faster. While running, he happened to witness others escaping in panic. His eyes caught a man in his swimming trunks also glancing at him.

It was then in this scenario, that for a single moment, they understood each other's look of pity.

One who had no clothes other than his tight underwear and one whose clothes were filled with dust, blood, and gunshot holes were looking at each other with sympathy.

Others were also helpless in this catastrophe. Like with Philip's, there was no magic in their places. They had no idea how they would fight with their old pistol and dull knife.

All of them were filled with sorrow, especially Philip. He arrived in this place with his disheveled death-like appearance. He had no weapons with him, how would he defend himself if someone dared to attack him?

Philip took a glance at his back and noticed a seemingly disabled man rolling his wheelchair speedily towards his route.

Under all circumstances, he wasn't a bad person who looked down on people with disabilities, but upon seeing this, a sigh of relief unconsciously came out of his mouth.

'At least I can move my legs unlike…' Philip trembled. He could not continue his thoughts as he was forced to dodge sideways.

When he recovered his footing, he saw the man in the wheelchair, standing, running, and throwing punches everywhere while laughing maniacally.

The once frail man transformed into a well-built man who could fight swiftly. Although he was still the same person, his eyes showed otherwise. It was as if he was possessed by a strong entity.

Philip was extremely terrified. The laugh of the man brought nothing but terror to him. Though he could not understand his words, he knew he was fooled.

None of the men should be judged under a normal standard! Even a frail man has a power that he couldn't fathom.

Philip ran faster and harder, overtaking some men and flying poker cards behind him.

And when he finally arrived on the side of the pillar, he immediately looked for someone to compare. Although he knew that compared to others, he was somewhat weaker, he still refused to believe that he was the weakest among the crowd.

His eyes quickly caught the sight of a child with a cute backpack, calmly observing the people fighting.

'Good! That child looks like 8 years old. I must be stronger than him,' Philip guessed proudly. He was not even slightly guilty of comparing himself to a child two decades younger than him.

In addition, to protect his crumbling pride, he comfortably forgot his notion earlier that these men shouldn't be judged under normal standards.

If only he could throw away his pride, he would know that the child was the one who was controlling the mechanical robots around.

Well, it was still a good thing that Philip didn't know, at least his self-confidence had been ignorantly saved.

Then, all of a sudden, a stray bullet pierced through the shoulder of a petite man standing slightly behind Philip, a little bit short away from him.

"Uhhhhgg…"

Upon hearing the man's groan, Philip unconsciously attempted to help him secure a safer place.

Yet, before he could move, the man was suddenly struck by a bolt of lightning and transformed into a giant. There was even a background musical accompanying his change!

Philip's eyes bulged in an instant, his senses were telling him to run away.

But alas, the transformation was too quick for him to react. Philip was instantly squashed by the giant's foot!

"ROOOAAARRR"

When the men heard the roar of the giant, they just halted for a second and then resumed their fight.

Different men started transforming into a variety of creatures and monsters.

A huge ant, a demonic slime, and even a flying lizard joined the battle.

A more chaotic fight had ensued around!

Philip, who was flattened earlier, was revived like nothing happened.

However, the pain and psychological trauma remained intact in his mind.

It was then a man with a crown of thorns noticed this strange phenomenon. He raised his hand and declared.

"Stop! Thou shalt not kill!"

Everyone halted. They didn't do it willingly, they just couldn't control every fiber of their body.

When everyone had finally determined the victor, a teasing chuckle resounded throughout the area.

A man with black hair and red eyes, with wings like a bat and horns of a goat, was smirking evilly.

While everyone was frozen, he walked forward like nothing was wrong.

The man wearing a thorny crown was astonished but remained indifferent. He was confident with his power. He felt that the disgusting entity was no match for him.

When another round was about to occur between the two, incorporeal books floated around and quickly went to 100 men.

A man with round glasses said, "Can you now understand me? This way we can communicate with each other without a fight."

After finding a way to communicate, a wave of sighs resonated.

"What were you trying to do earlier?" The newly revived red-eyed person asked warily. He had learned his lesson to be careful. After seeing the might of each individual here, he had now lost any confidence in his power.

"I was trying to form a mental connection so we can all communicate," the floating man answered nervously. He also died shortly after that encounter and experienced a painful trauma.

"I meant no harm," he clarified once more to prove his innocence to other men.

After some point, a man in a hospital gown asked the question Philip wanted to ask ever since his arrival.

"Do you know why we are here?"

This question piqued the curiosity of some men, evident that they also wanted an answer.

"You don't know? The white ball didn't explain it to you?" The feminine man wearing a maid's clothes questioned back.

He shook his head, indicating he doesn't and it didn't. The maid saw this and was about to answer when a door suddenly fell from the white sky.

It stopped and hovered on the wooden platform and slowly opened. Then a man with an intense aura came out and walked to the center of the stage.

"It seems that I don't have to cast a language spell on all of you," said the man with an amused smile.

"Save me from trouble. Thank you." He winked and slightly bowed to the man holding a book.

After that, he looked down at everyone and nodded.

"Welcome Soulless Players! Today I will give you a chance to escape from your fate." He giggled and continued,

"Main Characters, Do you want to play a game?"