Before the game had started...

The Keeper of Death stared emptily into the void of darkness, waiting for The Reaper of Death to bring back his new haul. Back then, there weren't as many people, so newcomers didn't gush in every second.

It was percepted to be dark around the Keeper, beautifully so. People who did good in their lives when they lived saw this place as a bright, golden palace; its gruesomely depressing doors to the afterlife pretty pearly gates. Those who were wicked heard screams of their loved ones back then, deprived of all happy memories, leaving them a shell of bitter madness as flames flickered around them; their door to the afterlife a tight cavern which they were forced to squirm through.

But of course, the Keeper simply saw the place as dark, yet elegant in its way. Dull, yet interesting somehow.

A faint light glimmered in the emptiness the Keeper had been staring at for what seemed like eternity. The color was unfamiliar to The Keeper: a lavish color one could see in the flowers back in the World of the Living - pink. Hot pink.

The Keeper's blank eyes peered at the visitor. The Reaper usually arrived with a blast of cold air, but this was more of a warm breeze, with an unusual color shimmering on the arrival.

"Hello, Keeper," spoke a deep voice the Keeper had never heard yet. Judging from the grandiose entrance, he was another entity that worked magic on the World of the Living. "I have something to propose..."

It was quiet betweed the two. They both haven't met, yet there was an obvious hint of determination in the gaze of the guest. He obviously wanted something. They stared at each other for a while, appraising. The guest's impression of the Keeper was: "hooded, mysterious, leaning more on the feminine side (those who didn't wander to the World of the Living often didn't have a definite gender). The Keeper thought the other as "gentle-looking, mysterious". Obviously, they the feeling of mystery was mutual.

The guest took out a scroll and the Keeper read it in disinterest.

In loss of The Selector of Love's soulmate, The Selector has come to ask for a game.

The two shall play in The World of the Living, gambling their happiness. Whoever falls in love with the other loses, leaving the other victorious.

The prizes are:

For the Keeper - a full right to stay in the World of the Living after the game, as well as the man of her choice

The Keeper looked up from the scroll and to the guest. Clearly, the Keeper was starting to like the game.

For the Selector - his soulmate shall be set free by the Keeper.

Annually, a test shall be conducted to see who falls in love with who.

The monitor for this game will be the Assistant Love Selector who will be taking half of the Selector's duty as he plays.

Signed by: Assistant Love Selector

The Keeper's eyes glinted in amusement as he glanced at the guest - the Selector himself.

"So, when does the game start?"

Round 1.1 really really ancient times where you lived in huts and etcetera...

The Keeper is an idiot, Selector decided.

To juggle responsibilities and the game at the same time, the Keeper sent little of his consciousness up in the World of the Living to sneak in the body of a dead person. Creating a new body for herself took too much power, and she needed all the power she could get if she were to maintain good keeping.

Unfortunately, that meant that her human persona was a zombie.

She started clawing out of the ground that she was buried on, shocking the hell out of everyone. Her stomach was rotting and her skin was peeling off. Even her own family refused to accept her. They all attacked her with stones, while the Selector's persona merely smirked and watched her idiocy.

After that, she was too humiliated to get reborn for a few decades.

ROUND 1.1 = DRAW

Round 1.2 really ancient times where you lived simply...

This time, the Keeper knew better than to put her consciousness in a rotting body. She put it in a woman's womb, so when the baby is born, little consciousnedd is needed; it would expand through time.

"Al-Biruni, let's go out..." The Keeper, now known as Adrika, tugged at the man who was staring intensely at nowhere, thinking of something obviously not related to her.

She tried to catch her attention; tried to win his heart, but to no avail. He was such a studious person. He started this thing called Indology which Adrika didn't really see the importance of. Well, sure, she loved her current country, but why study about it?

She shook her head. Human curiosity. The Selector had been too engulfed with it.

ROUND 1.2 = DRAW

Round 1.3 ancient times where Greece was obviously on top...

"For heaven's sake, you can't shoot an arrow straight!" Eros exclaimed. He is the Selector, and as usual, he was bickering with the Keeper, Alexandra.

The pretty woman scoffed, making a face at him. Obviously, her pride wasn't just going to let herself go down like a loser. "Why don't you shoot the apple, then?" She rolled her eyes in annoyance.

Eros smirked, cockily accepting the bow from Alexandra's grasp. He took a single arrow and concentrated the arrow on the apple.

'Ah, I can feel it. The wind is working to help me. The apple quivers, waiting for my sweet success,' he thought to himself.

Thwack.

It hit Alexandra's butler. On his bottom. A giggle escaped her lips, not worrying about the butler at all. The arrowhead was dull, so the worse that could happen to him is not being able to walk for a week.

She danced her way to where the crowds were, where the gossippy old women resided.

"Ah! Eros, he who chooses people to fall in love, shoot people with arrows!" She exclaimed in her sweetest yet loudest voice, making sure that she was heard. The women looked at her sceptically, they weren't about to believe it just yet.

Right on time, her butler came waddling towards her. He looked dreadfully pained, obviously chasing after the naughty mistress despite the shot bottom. "My lady..." He paused, gasping for air. Did the arrow really hurt him? Humans.

The butler cast one glance to the gossippy old lady before finally giving up, collapsing to the floor.

"See? See that? My butler who has been shot in the buttocks has fallen in love with this dear lady here! Because of Eros! He even fainted, seeing the beauty of his love!" She smirked, taking advantage of her butler's miserable situation. She has never been one to care about the living.

The people nodded to themselves, agreeing. Maybe this crazy Alexandra is right.

And with that, we come up with the strange rumors of Eros (Cupid) flying around shooting people.

(They have no idea why he was imagined as a baby though.)

(As revenge, Eros started rumors of Alexandra as a death god who abducted the flower goddess, Persephone to her castle underground so she could make the goddess a concubine.)

(Unfortunately, they changed 'Alexandra' to 'Hades'. And concubine to wife, since it was better to tell to the children.)

They bickered with each other until they withered into old Greeks.

ROUND 1.3 = DRAW

Fast forward because it constantly contained their endless bickering.

Round 1.7, March 13, 1992...

The game is getting boring, the Assistant Love Selector decided. He was tired of monitoring their endless arguments. Today, they decided to be reborn to continue their neverending playtime.

Are they even playing the game? The Assistant rolled his eyes as he watched two laboring mothers silently as a random nurse. It was a surprise no one noticed him; his striking pink hair and unusual presence obviously ruled him out.

He simply stood there in a corner, not being shooed away by the real nurses due to the number of emergencies they had to attend to. There, he watched the birth of the new Keeper and the new Selector's body. Covered in blood, their butts being spanked, he heard their first cry.

Finally, a doctor noticed him. A frown crossed his face.

"Hey boy, are you a stalker or something? Get out."

The Assistant simply stared at him, refusing to go out. It was amusing to watch the all powerful Selector and Keeper in such helpless states. The doctor sighed in resignation. This boy was just going to add to his stress.

"Are you family of one of them?"

The boy nodded.

"Name?"

A small smile played on his pretty pink lips. "L... L.Joe."

With that, he ran out of the room, vanishing in the mist.

It's time I joined their game too.

ta-dAAAHHHHH how was that for a first chapter.

thanks to those who commented KASHDLKJASHDFKJASH ;~~~~; /loves you