the mighty river roars through us as we shake the barricade. I am but one of the many ghoulish figures floating in the water—a single "player" in this "lobby," with a single goal: get to the end alive. there must be a hundred of us, indeed it wouldn't be impossible for someone to get crushed or drowned in the crowd

it all starts at a barricade, a fence in the water. a few players on the other side help us and cut it loose, and the race is on. truth be told I don't remember much from the start, particularly as I fell asleep mid writing this, but everyone mostly just goes with the flow and maybe fights/get hurt on something. I remember going through a side path, a narrow, underwater concrete tunnel, and my leg was bleeding out a beautiful crimson trail. welcome to tetanus city, I guess.

thankfully, there was a pool of healing mist when I exited the shortcut. fixed me up good. the way onwards leads down into a rusty, industrial area. water flows past in metal grates below, concrete traps all who enter except for I think there was an opening into a hole in the earth from where the sun could shine through. there were also some like water jets akin to sideways minecraft bubble columns going around in a loop right where you land which . That's funny actually. only one other person had gotten here before me. when I land, I see them sitting on a toilet through dirty windows into the cubicle. talk about privacy. and then I remember, yes! the toilet, you have to sit on the toilet for 7 seconds, and it teleports you to the next area. the entire room is just a distraction.

a small drop into a pool of the last clean water you will ever see, immediately does it flow and mix with putrid yellow bile. yet so little flow is there, that you must continue on foot. this part I knew about, yet I had never gotten past it myself. to do so is no simple feat, for there are demons blocking the path. yes, enemies to bar your way at the final stretch. not only that, it's also a dead end.

the key to getting past them is the fact that they don't immediately attack, so you have time to climb up the wall and get out of reach. a knowledgeable voice speaking to me tells me about this. atop the wall there is naught but rock and rubble, and only a small area is walkably clear of trees. you may think to grab a hefty rock and use as weapon against the demons below, but that too is folly. you must throw yourself over to the other side and climb underneath a fallen tree. but as the voice tells me, one might fail to notice the scythe sticking out of the ground. should you leave it there, an even more powerful demon will drop down from the sky to reclaim it, while you're stuck crawling under a tree, and it will then claim your life.

"after that," the voice tells me, "it all ends."

and then I woke up. asshole.