• The Riddle

    Ch. 1 - Istanmaru

    You are now leaving the war zone. Please choose you location.
    --> Istanmaru
    --> Hart

    “Istanmaru please.”

    You have chosen Istanmaru. Enjoy your visit…


    You have now arrived in Istanmaru. Please note that we placed you in a vehicle and that there is no speed limit set in this city. Here it takes literally less then 50 seconds to go completely around the city. Please beware that accidents are frequent and you must be careful.

    “Great I don’t even know how to drive…”

    As we pass now there is the ruler of this city. He has total control and makes the rules. Please abide by them during your stay.


    It must have been my 5th time around the city before I came to a halt. Its not like I have never been here before, heard that same speech the computer gives you, panic as you are trying to avoid other drivers after seeing gruesome accidents, seen that same ruler. It’s nothing different.

    Usually I just drive around till I teleport out again, this place is to loose and you are to free to do things that its almost scary what can happen to you, but this time I stopped. Something caught my eye.

    There was a girl walking along the town fountain. She was holding something in her hand, and I didn’t notice it till I had passed by her a couple times. As I pulled over I saw her put it down, a Diablo.

    This only sparked my interest because I had recently become interested in the Diablo and I don’t know of many who even know what it was. Before I left the war zone, I was the only one who had one.

    I stepped out of the vehicle that was given to me and left it there, I didn’t care what happened, if I teleported I would simply receive another one again, hear that same speech and be stuck on the road.

    When I walked over to the girl, she was minding her own business. I noticed her features as I got closer. She had long, pin straight hair that fell to the small of her back. Her bangs were long and practically blended into her hair as she pushed them back behind her ears. She had large, almond shaped eyes that were empty and blank, yet contained a chestnut brown color. Her outfit matched many of the others; it was more advanced, yet basic, proof that she lived in this era, this time, this war time, everything that was happening.

    I walked up to her and smiled, “Hey there.”

    She looked at me, it was then I realized that she was more than likely a foot taller than me, she had to be about 6 feet, there was no possible way she was any shorter.

    “Um, Hello.” She said in a hushed tone.

    “So, you have a Diablo?” I asked curiously.

    “Yeah…” She replied, “I do.”

    “How long have you been playing with it?”

    “About 2 years…”

    “Wow…I feel so inferior.”

    “Why?”

    “I have only been at it for about 2 months now.”

    She smiled sheepishly at me, “Why are you here? You look like you just came from the war zone…”

    “Well, truth is…I kinda did.” I replied, rubbing the back of my head.

    “Then why not go back to Hart? Its so much nicer there, the sun shines, there is structure
    and joy…”

    I looked at her for a moment, “I felt like something different.” I replied, “I don’t want to go back to Hart anyways, that place is slowly becoming like the war zone, they are trying to invade and I couldn’t stand the living conditions of the war zone, and I wanted to escape, and Hart felt like no option.”


    Hart was originally a gorgeous city that was practically perfect. If you could go there, you would go there. The sun always shined, you always lived well, people were nice, and the food was nice, it was paradise in the simplest of words.

    However, the war zone consisted of a castle, though the outside looked beautiful, nice, and colorful…it wasn’t the appearance it held. There were two pillows on the front, we would often steal them off so there would be something comfortable to use, but when you kept them on the spaces and fell on them. You literally have two choices there: Get off immediately and stay, or leave and choose to go to either Hart or Istanmaru.

    You think most people would do this, however, you were considered a coward, an abandoner, a total wimp. It was practically impossible to try and get on those pillows just to escape. If you fell or sat on one, your comrades would yank you off in no less then a second despite your protests. It didn’t matter if you screamed or refused, they would not let you abandon them.

    Why? It’s because they needed everyone’s help that could be received. Just to get into the castle, you had to figure out the riddle, and I'm the only one who knew it…then after you get in, you have to go through many tests, challenges, it just wasn’t worth it. The sad thing was, you weren’t even at battle yet. The man in charge of this whole thing was twisted, a puppet master, who enjoyed making people play the games he set up and controlling their practical outcomes. I had to wait until my comrades were asleep just to run away.


    “Huh.” The girl replied, “Well, tell me about yourself.”

    I smiled at her, “Well, you already know that I enjoy the Diablo. Let’s see, I really am into the whole Asian and European culture.”

    “Really?” She asked, “That’s cool, I'm actually Japanese.” She smiled.

    “No way!” I said in disbelief, “I didn’t know that Asians lived here.”

    “Yeah, we actually have this city divided into cultural group areas that are similar to countries around the world. Like, here, you are in the Asian district, over there, is the European district, there is the American, and so on and so forth.”

    “Whoa,” I replied, “Do I have to stay in a certain area?”

    “Oh no, of course not, it’s just us like we have our own little globe that you can travel around in.”

    “That’s so cool…” I whispered.

    “Hey, you want to come back to my apartment? I assume you have no place to live right now.” She suggested.

    I laughed sheepishly, “Heh, you’re right.”

    “By the way, my name is Kiwayo.” She smiled and led me to a large, white building filled with windows.

    I followed her and we walked up the metal staircase into the building. She walked into a door at the top of the stairs. There was no hallway, just an elevator. I stepped in after her and she clicked the button for the bottom floor. The elevator started with a jump and moved downwards.

    When we reached the floor, the elevator beeped and the door opened up. It was a cramped white area. There was maybe enough room for 3 people to stand in the hallway comfortably.

    We stepped out and Kiwayo said, “Well, this is it, it’s not much but…yeah.” She pointed to a small staircase on a wall and said, “Up there is my apartment. I share is with my little sister, Hisa. She is only 4, but she is my only family besides…well, him.” She pointed to the other stair case that led downwards, “Down there lives my neighbor, Chandler, he also plays with the Diablo and got me into it. He is kinda like a brother to me. He isn’t an orphan, but he chooses not to share a space with his family, ‘to crowded’ as he states, so they live on the floor above.”

    “How big are these apartments?” I asked.

    “Oh, you got a small room that is a bed, and another place for the bathroom and clothes. The kitchen isn’t large either, just enough space to make a meal.” She shrugged.

    “That seems awfully small, doesn’t it bother you?” I asked in concern.

    “No, you get used to it, being all small and cramped. Sure I have to bend over to move around, but you should be able to walk fine.” She smiled.

    Then I heard foot steps from around the corner, the area that seemed to lead to the backyard. I turned and saw someone come up and stand in the hallway.

    He stared at us both for a moment; I noticed he had natural red hair that was slightly long enough to show there was some curly, waviness in it. He had pasty white skin and was skinny, but with some muscle on him. “Who are you?” He asked, looking at me with no emotion.

    “Chandler, this is my friend.” Kiwayo replied before I could speak.

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    That's it for now. I'll try and get more done soon.