Chapter 1: Prologue
"After careful evaluation of provided evidence and various testimonies, the court finds Aryan Malhotra to be guilty of tampering with his gaming pod and using the illicit software 'Helper' to aide his gameplay on the highest level of warfare, as confirmed by his fellow teammate Meera Sharma and hereby sentence him to death. The court is adjourned."
Just like that, his life was over. Who would have thought his fiance would be the one to betray him of all the people? But most importantly, why did his parents, his friends, and even his lawyer, betray him like that? One day he was the nation's hero and the next day he was a pariah?
Why did all of them give false testimony against him? Why could none of them even look him in the eyes as he was dragged out of the courtroom in cuffs? Why? Why? WHY!?
"Death sentence for merely an attempt? Oof, the judge's wife must have kicked him in the nuts before the final trial. Haha!"
"Too bad he can't give a death sentence to her, haha!"
Officers around Aryan laughed heartily at the expense of his life. But was it even life when everyone he loved and cared about did something so heartless to him? He simply sat between the officers remembering what had happened last month...
Like always, it was a busy day and Aryan was busy streaming to make a living. Both he and his fiance, Meera were streamers and not just any streamers, they were at the very top since they represented their nation at a level people could only dream of. What had started as a leisure activity, soon turned their life around.
They had enough money that even if they stopped working, at least two coming generations of their families wouldn't need to worry about money. However, everything went downhill from there.
He and Meera began having constant fights out of nowhere. At the same time, his family and friends began behaving strangely. It was almost as if all of them knew something he didn't. Something that made them do what they did today.
Maybe they were after his money, or maybe the reason behind their betrayal was something else. Regardless of what it was, Aryan was doomed forever. His life was over, all because a handful of people colluded against him.
But there was no point wondering about it anymore, they played him like a fiddle. Maybe that judge was a sell-out as well. He didn't even touch his gaming pod before the event and yet there was 'evidence'? Evidence that was seemingly never presented in the court and yet his lawyer didn't even object against it?
Bullshit! It's clear as the day someone had set him up. He kept shouting at the top of his lungs against the obvious discrepancies but no one heard him and now that he was off to Tartarus, no one else ever will.
Tartarus was a prison known for hosting only inmates that were on death row, not just from India but all around the globe. The worst of the worst were thrown in there and now Aryan was one of them.
Aryan had heard rumours about that place and its weird execution style. However, apart from that next to nothing was known about the prison situated in central India.
***
Meanwhile, someplace else...
"It has been done, sir. He is on his way here."
Standing 5' 4" tall, this tanned woman has an aimless feeling about her as if she had no purpose in her life and only existed to serve her master.
Her short, straight, light brown hair was kempt and well taken care of, unlike the rest of her body which was littered with scars. Surprisingly enough, she did not have eyebrows, which made her appearance even more bizarre.
"Haha, with him on board, this year's games are going to be terrific! Just wondering about how many sponsors would want to chew him, bone by bone makes my spine tingle! Haha!"
The man sitting in the dark excitedly clapped his hands together. In front of him was a file... with a picture of a man in his early twenties.
That man did not have any striking features. He was just as ordinary as anyone else. His smooth black hair was tied in a ponytail, which did not suit his appearance at all. Just like his almond-shaped eyes that hid behind a pair of spectacles along with a well-shaven face.
The most striking thing about him was his height. He was quite tall, about 6'4", but not that well-built and was a bit on the skinnier side. He looked like a walking scarecrow, to be honest, which went along with the man's in-game name of Scarecrow.
A name was faintly visible on the file, which read: Contestant number 117, Aryan Malhotra. Talent: Strategy. Skill: Pending evaluation. World ranking: 7. Status: Captured.
"It's going to be fun... fun indeed!"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
AkshatArpit
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