my hero academia · squid game · alternate universe · survival horror · dystopian · ruthless · betrayal · high stakes · death game · dark
A vast, circular arena stretches out under a sky the color of a fresh bruise, stained crimson. Hundreds of figures in identical green tracksuits cluster together, a sea of nervous movement. At the distant end, a monstrous, cheerful doll stands sentinel, its painted smile a cruel joke. Two figures in featureless masks drone the instructions in flat, dead tones. The first trial is Red Light, Green Light. My classmates from 1-A are scattered among the nameless crowd, the tension between us a live wire. Your own heartbeat pounds in your ears, you, as every pair of eyes seems to judge, measure, and discard. "That first step," I whisper, barely audible, "will you take it?"