<i>The man made no remark to the comment about not applying, but wore a sinister smile when Yu mentioned it. He opened the limo, which hit Yu with chilly air. There was three woman waiting inside the limo to go as well.</i> &quot;Please sit down, we'll be at BlackRain shortly.&quot; <i>The tall man said getting into the driver’s seat.</i>

<i>The tall man was happy at Alex's enthusiasm. He let him inside the limo, which welcomed Alex with cool air. There was three people already inside waiting to go to the college just like him. Three other men.</i> &quot;Please sit down, we will be at BlackRain shortly.&quot; <i>The tall man said getting into the driver's seat.</i> <i>The man smiled at Gin opening the door to the limbo, giving him refreshing frosty air.</i> &quot;It is entirely necessary! If BlackRain can't provide something as simple as a comfortable transport to it's school then how would it keep the title of the best school in the world?&quot; <i>He preached to Gin. Going inside the limbo would greet him with three other people also waiting to go to BlackRain. Two men and a woman.</i> &quot;Please sit down, we will be at BlackRain shortly.&quot; <i>The tall man said getting into the driver's seat.</i> <i>The man nodded, seeming to take pride in Leon's comment. As he let him inside, a blast of above average temperature air gently hit him. There was two women and one man already inside waiting to go,</i> &quot;Please sit down, we will be at BlackRain shortly.&quot; <i>The tall man said getting into the driver's seat.</i> <i>The tall man grinned while opening the door of the limbo to Isla.</i> &quot;Of course! There will be nothing less for the students of BlackRain college.&quot; <i>A blast of non-hot air hit Isla nicely. There was two woman and one man inside.</i> &quot;Please sit down, we will be at BlackRain shortly.&quot; <i>The tall man said getting into the driver's seat.</i> <i>The tall man nodded his head. He opened to door to Jo, letting out icy air. There was one woman and two men already inside.</i> &quot;If you expect the transportation to BlackRain to be this first-class then expect it at the college as well&quot; <i>The man told Jo while closing the door.</i> &quot;Please sit down, we will be at BlackRain shortly.&quot; <i>The tall man said getting into the driver's seat.</i>

<i>The tall man nodded at Yu, giving him the same sinister smile as when he first met him. He then told Leon about how the best college in the world isn’t just for show as well.</i> “Gin Bara? Never heard a name like that. Are you from overseas or something? I’ve heard of plenty people named Isla though. They also don’t get much sun.”<i>Marc laughed. He suddenly turned serious before asking:</i> “So what are you trying to get out of BlackRain?” <i>The woman once again flinched before looking out the window. She turned to her laptop and began typing faster. At this point Jo would notice she was looking at him, not even trying to hide it like before.</i> <i>Alex would hear a man and a woman laugh at his entrance. When Alex looked at them anyone could easily tell that they were twins. The man held out a drink towards Alex and padded the seat next to him. The woman also smiled and offered her hand to help.</i> “My name is Faust Graham” <i>She told Alex.</i> “Mine’s Fern Graham.”<i>The man said warmly. The limo took a turn off road making the trip now slightly bumpy.</i>

<i>The tall man looked at Jo and Yu.</i> “There many things that BlackRain does that may seem strange at first, but never without reason! BlackRain can’t become the best in the world by doing the same thing your competition is can it?” <i>Jo noticed a woman who was typing endlessly into a laptop flinch at his question. She quickly recovered but Jo could feel her eyes on him. The man laughed at Leon and tapped the touch screen next to his wheel. The sound of whirring and machinery softly humed before a can of soda popped out of the cup holder next to Leon’s elbow.</i> “I’m sorry but soda will have to do for now.” <i>A relatively muscular man grabbed Isla’s hand and shook it with a firm grip. He had blond short hair and blue eyes, but what stood out the most was the fact that the claws from a tattoo on his neck were showing.</i> “Hi, my name is Marc. Marc Taylor. A lot unfamiliar people right?” <i>He said with a smile. He turned to Gin and stuck his hand out as well.</i> “It is really fancy right? Feels like a lot for just a college huh?” <i>Gin could feel the tall man grip the leather wheel tighter at Marc’s comment. Alex got a few stares from the other students due to how he “entered” the limo. There was 25 people in the limo in total. The sound of the engine starting was the only indication that limo began moving. Since Jo was looking out the window he would notice that the road around them became more and more empty despite being on the freeway already.</i> “We’re almost there!” <i>The driver said excitedly.</i>

<i>Marc laughed before scratching the back of his head.</i> “It’s kinda embarrassing... but I want to fin- What the hell?” <i>Marc had realized the limo stopped. In the middle of nowhere. The tall man who was driving was now outside of the limo. The driver tapped his watch making burst of vapor exploded inside the limo. Jo would see the heading with the name “Mary” on it before she slammed it shut.</i> “D-don’t look at it...it’s...private…” <i>She was only be able to get those words out before passing out. One by one people began dropping like flies. Faust would scream trying the door only to realize it was locked before being knocked out. Alex would see Fern trying to wake her up before he joined her. Marc smashed his elbow into the window to no avail. He collapsed just a moment after. Yu had already succumbed to the gas. The tall man’s sinister smile glared at them the entire time. Isla, Leon, Gin, Jo, and Alex would all begin to feel the effects of the gas, the desire to sleep becoming overwhelming.</i>

<i>The tall man made a call. A few minutes later he stepped back into the driver's seat of the limo. Still on the phone, he would begin driving to the true BlackRain. While everyone was asleep, they all had the same dream.</i> They were in the middle of a beautiful forest, emerald green grass and leaves. A man wearing a white tailcoat and black fedora pushed a cart in front of the table you were sitting at. His blond hair covering his left eye. He pulled out a tea cup and teapot, beginning to pour… nothing. He smelled the empty cup and smiled. “My favorite tea, it’s named Purple Blood, and I must say it surpasses any tea I’ve ever tried.” He said before setting the tea cup in front of you. He would then look off to the distance, admiring the scenery. Everything was perfect. Except one thing. The cup was now filled with a crimson liquid. “Now then!” He yelled before slamming the table. His nose was gone, a smile which covered the bottom half of his face disturbed you. The green grass and tress was now black as if caught in a fire. Lavender blood dripped from what you assumed the man’s left eye. <i><span class="underline"><b>What is your desire?</b></span></i>

<i>The man laughed at how Leon and Gin wanted power, yet he was interested on what they would do with it.</i> “Hmm… yes that will certainly help <i>her</i>... very well… <b>you can serve her.</b>” <i>With that, Leon and Gin woke up. The man paused after hearing what Jo said. He chuckled. Then he laughed. Then he exploded with a cackle. He smacked the table after calming down.</i> “That will be easy detective, there is much you don’t know... <b>yes, you can serve her well.</b>” <i>With that, Jo woke up. He looked at Isla before frowning. He leaned across the table, his eye widening beyond what any human should be able to.</i> “<b>That is not your true desire girl, but I know what it is.</b>” <i>The backed away before his iconic smile appeared again.</i> “Well, I think once you realize what it is you’ll have the power to do so. Hmm... <b>But even as you are now, you can serve my master well.</b>” <i>With that, Isla woke up. The <span class="underline">butler</span> eyes widen when he heard Alex’s desire.</i> “Hmm, that will be a challenge, especially where you’re going… but someone with your mentality…<b>yes… she needs someone like you</b>” <i>With that Alex woke up.</i> Gin, Jo, Isla, Leon, and Alex all woke up surrounded by the other students they met in the limo. Most of them were already awake, a few still asleep. You are in a Gymnasium; the four gray walls around you had to windows, only two double doors behind you and the other one next to a stage. The stage had it’s curtains drawn, a panel hovering above displayed a clock counting down. It read 00:02:34. Observing your own body would show that you now had a brand on your right hand that read “Z”, along with a throbbing pain from your forearm. There was a red dot on it reminding you of when you got a shot at the doctor’s.

<i>Gin and Isla would find no answers asking the same questions the other students around them were probably thinking as well. They noticed the countdown was nearly done, whatever it was counting down for would come soon. Jo however drew attention to himself by calling out, yet it worked because he heard a quiet timid voice answer back:</i> “Y-yes…? Oh, it’s you from the limo...”<i> She would walk over to him nervously.</i> “How did you k-know my name? Who are you?” <i>The student Alex was looming over regained conscious before Alex could go any farther.</i> “What the fuck?!” <i>The student screamed before smashing his elbow into the handle of Alex’s trusty knife. He then jumped up and took a boxing stance. The student Alex was.... “Curious” in was named Marc. Leon made the wise decision of simply waiting the time out.</i> <b>The clock was now 00:00</b> Jo, Marc, Alex, and Mary all were cut off by the sound of the curtains covering the stage drawing back, revealing a old man with some of his limbs covered with wires like the they were his veins. Next to him was the tall man you’ve come to known as your kidnapper. The old man smiled warmly, which was somehow more disturbing due to the situation. “Hello! My name is Bramwell Arapovic. However you may choose to remember me as the Founder of BlackRain.” The old man introduced. He then waved his boney arm to the tall man. “This is the principal, Zane Ancic. We will be the ones that oversee your stay at BlackRain.” The students that were awake were beginning to murmur among themselves. The principal, Zane, put his hand up making them silent. Zane then began speaking with a clear deep voice. “I will now explain what you will be doing here at BlackRain. You will attend classes regularly. You will not fight among each other unless you are chosen to be in the birdcage or challenged. You will obey your instructors. You are all given 36,000 dollars to begin with. You will find out quickly what you can use with this money but the main thing I know you can think of is this: If you have 1,000,000 dollars, you can graduate early. Ways to make money is by challenges, birdcage fights, gambling, and by getting them from other students. The money you have is stored on the IDs you will be getting in a moment. You will also be required to wear a watch once they arrive. Any more questions can be answered by your seniors, which will be here shortly...“

<i>One of the seniors, a man wearing a black tuxedo with combed black hair, nodded to Isla while scratching the beginnings of his beard. Marc lowered his guard slightly before turning his head towards the seniors.</i> “I can’t tell what the fuck is happening anymore man…” <i>Marc sighed before letting his guard down. He then held out his hand towards Alex smiling.</i> “At least I can trust you won’t die right?” <i>Mary agreed with Jo while looking at the seniors. Her jaw dropped for only a moment before she began walking towards the stage.</i> “You! You’re the girl that went missing ten years ago!” <i>Mary was pointing to a woman wearing a black tank top and ripped jeans. The woman frowned at Mary, obviously not pleased with the sudden appearance of her. The woman slowly bit her wrist.</i> “You’re from that Highwater middle school! You’re Sebasti-” <i>Mary didn’t finish her sentence. Blood would usually drip down from people’s wounds, but the woman’s blood didn’t. It shot out of the bite mark of her wrist, becoming a line that stretched from her wound to the inside of Mary’s skull. Mary froze. The woman smiled before the line explored with smaller thorns. Mary’s head stood no chance, the thorns ripped the top side of her head into chunks of cleanly sliced meat. Jo would see this from a front row seat, so close a drip of blood fell on his cheek. The woman’s smile grew wider and wider until a hand was placed on her shoulder. Zane seemed furious.</i> “Calm down now, we’ll excuse it just this once since that journalist was an annoying thorn in our side.” <i>Bramwell told the vice principal. He slowly let her go. Yuki was used to seeing things like this, but she noticed a bit of blood landed just in front of her. Since Leon was the first to see them, he was the first to notice the seniors had a “Y” brand on their left hand.</i> “Well we’ve explained the fundamentals, if you any questions ask your seniors I’m sure they’ll be…” Bramwell looked at Mary’s corpse. “Delighted to help. So get out there! Explore! Make friends! Get stronger! But most importantly, make sure to not lose too much blood.” The man then walked to the backstage and vanished, leaving the freshman alone with the seniors and the rest of BlackRain to explore. The sound of a student vomiting was a clear indicator to start now.

<i>Mary gave Jo a worried look after hearing what Zane said.</i> “What’s happening Jo? What are they talking about? What did you mean by not applying??” <i>Mary became more and more visibly distraught, shifting back and forth. Gin would look around, seeing people ask the same questions. Which led to them questioning if they had to do any of this. After a while most of the students were mumbling the same things Leon and Isla were yelling. Marc would look at Alex, trying to focus on the speech while not taking his eyes off him. Alex grabbed the knife Marc knocked out of his hand</i>. “Who are you? What the fuck was that?” <i>Marc quietly yelled at Alex.</i> Bramwell frowned from what Leon and Isla were yelling. Zane rolled his sleeves while walking off the stage. Bramwell held his hand up which made him stop in his tracks. “They are freshman, of course they don’t know how things work.” Bramwell explained. “What makes you think you can keep us here? My family will be looking for you as soon as you even try and touch me!” A student yelled. Alex would recognize the voice to be Fern, one of the twin’s from the limo. Bramwell then smiled like he was waiting for something like this. “It’s quite a tragedy… so many phone calls… how your families are planning your funerals as of now”. “What?!” Fern yelled. The old man smiled, showing how much he was enjoying this. He snapped making the panel that showed the countdown change to a News report. It showed the limo you remember being driven in. It was on the freeway. On fire. The limo was completely destroyed, another car was rammed in the side of it while the rest of it seemed to be engulfed in flames. The headline was the most disturbing, it read: <i>Breaking News! Lethal car crash on the freeway. Reports confirmed no survivors…</i> The crowd became silent. There was no sound coming from the panel. The only thing breaking the silence was the sound of the double doors opening, many other people were now walking in. “The seniors are here!”