Chapter 2: Ch 1 The Invitation

"Sofia, what the heck is this?!" I asked angrily while waving a thin piece of metal at my sister on a hospital bed. I knew I looked like one of those thugs trying to collect debt from some poor unsuspecting victim, and I knew it looked even worse because I was doing this to a patient.

But man, I couldn't help it. 

Sofia looked a little better today, but she was still too pale and gaunt to be considered healthy. Unfortunately, her condition had been worsening since she first fell ill six months ago.

My question to her was clearly a rhetorical one. Anyone with half a mind could tell that this metal slab was the Invitation. It was made up of an unearthly-colored metal, and it had the distinct rhombicosidodecahedron shape etched on it along with my name.

Yes, I know.  The word rhombicosidodecahedron was a mouthful, but it was the term everyone on earth knew very well. It was a complicated geometric shape that symbolized the Door, a mysterious structure that appeared all over the world over two decades ago.  I wasn't even born then yet, but I learned from history classes that it changed the whole world.

I continued to glare at Sofia.

"I was cleaning when I found this hidden in your room! How could you do this to me?! Why didn't you tell me that it arrived for me?"

I was annoyed, and for a good reason too, but I made an effort not to raise my voice. Sofia was becoming weaker everyday, and the useless doctors so far couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. I didn't want to upset Sofia if I could help it, especially because it was obviously why she did this.

But at the moment, it was anger that trumped over my usual concern for my older sister. With this Invitation, I could become a Rhombic. And if I became a Rhombic, I could make a better living for the both of us.

And most importantly, I might even be able to find a cure for Sofia.

Sofia looked away, guilt clearly showing on her face. I knew it was wrong to get angry at my sick sister, and boy I felt terrible about it, but I couldn't help it.

"You know why…," Sofia murmured. She didn't have to explain any further, because  indeed, I knew it very well.

Becoming a Rhombic meant I could enter the Door or the Pockets and fight the monsters. Sure, it was a dangerous job, but the reward from it could improve our lives beyond our wildest dreams.

It was just me and my sister in this world after our parents died 10 years ago. I was five at the time, and Sofia, who was only eight years old herself, had to grow up very fast. The only family we had left were our uncle, his wife, and his two children who lived nearby. Uncle Bob ran his own restaurant, and unfortunately for me and Sofia, he and his wife weren't the caring type.

As soon as Sofia was old enough to work, and our uncle's definition of "old enough" was being able to stand in front of a sink, she was put to work in his restaurant kitchen. This was the only way for us to eat and clothe ourselves, because our uncle believed charging us less than the going rate for a dingy apartment above the restaurant was more than what he was obligated to do as a family.

So Sofia, and myself when I got older, worked in our uncle's place to make a living. I supposed I should be thankful for that. At least this was what Sofia always told me. Vancouver was an expensive place to live. So if it wasn't for our uncle, we would have been separated by the social services, or possibly even become homeless.

"Promise me you won't do it," Sofia begged. Her eyes filled with worry, she whispered, "You know how dangerous being a Rhombic can be. Leah, I… I can't lose you too!"

Sofia's tiny body shook. Although she was older by several years, we were about the same height. Sofia used to be a popular girl with plump cheeks and shiny reddish tint in her dark hair. But now, she had lost a lot of weight, and her hair looked sickly dull.

Sofia was the "cute sister" between the two of us, but she often told me how beautiful I was. She would call my boring mousy brown hair "caramel brown," and I would smirk at her like a little brat.

I pretended not to care how I looked, which was mostly true. But I was short and skinny for my age, and oftentimes, I wondered if I'll ever fill out and grow taller.

"Sofia… When did this even arrive anyway? Was it three years ago when there were a whole bunch of extra Invitations sent out?" I asked, trying to calm her down because my guilt was finally driving my anger away.

Over 20 years ago, countless door-shaped structures appeared all over the world. They were named the Door, obviously because whoever named it had no imagination whatsoever. There were many theories regarding these doors. Some believe that they were from God and that they led to heaven. Others believed that they were a message from the aliens.

Being curious creatures, people made various attempts to enter them. But the Doors refused to open for anyone no matter what was done to them.

Then about a month after they appeared, the Invitations began arriving at the doorsteps of some teenagers in the world. The scientists soon figured out that only those kids who received these invitations could enter the Door.

No one could figure out who sent these Invitations, where they came from, or how these teenagers were selected. But it soon became clear that the Invitations were sent only to kids between the age of 13 and 19.

Once inside the Door, a rhombicosidodecahedron-shaped tattoo appeared on these teenagers' wrists, and they were given superhuman powers. These special figures were nicknamed the Rhombics, short for rhombicosidodecahedron.

I could imagine people being excited when this happened. It had to be like X-Men slash Avengers combined together in real life.

But it turned out that inside these mysterious structures was definitely not heaven. There was a whole new world inside and all of the Doors led to this same place. This dimension appeared to have an unlimited number of floors somewhat like a giant department store. But instead of providing a juicy shopping opportunity, inside the Door was filled with many different types of monsters. The higher the floor, the more powerful and vicious creatures that inhabited it. 

Thankfully, the Rhombics were able to fight off these monsters due to their new powers. The problem was, it appeared that this world contained an infinite number of these beasts. But because these Doors were only one-way, meaning no monsters could leave to enter earth, people were relieved at first.

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All they had to do was not enter the Doors and that would be the end of it, right?

Nope, not even close. If that was the case, I wouldn't be here waving a piece of metal like a lunatic.

Soon after the appearance of the Doors came the Pockets, named so because they contained "pockets" of the world from inside the Door. Unlike the Doors, which remained fixed where they first appeared, the Pockets popped up randomly in different places at unexpected times.

Again, only the Rhombics could enter these structures. And not only did the monsters live inside these Pockets too, but each Pocket also had one very powerful creature, nicknamed the King, that reigned over the place.

Now, here was the scary part. It quickly became apparent that the entrances to these Pockets were not one-way like the Doors. The Pockets "exploded" after varying amounts of time unless they were "terminated", which involved the Rhombics killing the Kings living inside.

As you might have guessed, this lesson was learned the hard way after several Pocket explosions took place. They led to gruesome results in various cities. Soon after these incidents, the involved nations declared that it was all Rhombics' duty to terminate the Pockets as soon as they appeared.

"It arrived about a year ago, okay? But that doesn't matter! Leah, you understand why I hid it, don't you? How can you be angry at me when you know what happened to mom and dad…?!" Sofia protested.

Of course I knew what happened to our parents. We never talked about it, so I didn't know all the details.  But I knew that our parents were Rhombics, and they were killed while trying to terminate one of the local Pockets.

Now, it was my turn to protest.

"But Sofia, the money I could make…! I've heard that some Rhombics rake in dozens of gems every time they enter the Door!"

Whenever a monster was killed, it left a precious gem that could be sold for money. This was why being a Rhombic became a popular career choice despite the danger it involved.

Higher floors were inhabited by the monsters that turned into larger and more expensive gems. But climbing to higher floors wasn't as simple as it sounds. Because the monsters became stronger as you went up, it was necessary for all Rhombics to train in order to become stronger themselves before ascending higher.

Then, there were also the Tests.

The second, sixth, and every tenth floors could be accessed by a Rhombic only if he passed a challenge given by the Door. Failing these Tests unfortunately meant death. Therefore, although it was every Rhombic's goal to climb higher, he needed to be certain of his ability before taking these Tests.

Sofia shook her head as if she was scolding a little girl. I hated it whenever she treated me this way. I was 16 and therefore no longer a child. And on top of that, it looked like I was going to be a Rhombic, which was a huge deal.

Sofia argued, "Or you could die. Do you know how many Rhombics get killed every year?"

"...Well, that number includes all of them who went missing, so it's not accurate."

"And what do you think happened to these 'missing' kids?" asked Sofia with a snort.

Well, Sofia had me there. I had to admit that these missing Rhombics were most likely dead. Their bodies couldn't be found probably because they were eaten by the monsters.

But no pain, no gain, right?

I kept my voice even as I replied, "This isn't just about the money. What about the Miracle Potion?"

This was the main reason why I wanted to become a Rhombic. The Door gave rewards called the Gifts when a Rhombic accomplished something significant like passing one of the floor Tests or killing a King monster to terminate a Pocket. A Gift from the Doors could be anything from high quality gems, special magic weapons, or healing potions that could be poured over a wound for quick recovery.

But the greatest Gift that has ever been received was the Miracle Potion. Only a handful of it had been awarded until now, and it was known to cure any kind of illness. It was clear that the doctors couldn't come up with a diagnosis for Sofia let alone cure her. But with the Miracle Potion, I knew Sofia would get better.

But of course, I knew selfless Sofia would be against this idea. Being my big sister, she would refuse to endanger me in any way.

Sofia begged, "Just forget about it, okay? No one has gotten the Miracle Potion in years, which means it must be all gone. Besides, I can't have you risk your life for me. Please promise me, Leah! Promise me that you won't go into that cursed Door!"

I could see Sofia's eyes tearing up, and I knew it was pointless to argue. Sofia had worked her whole life to take care of me, and now, she was ill. I refused to make my sister upset when I knew continuing this argument wasn't going to change anything.

So I promised her that I won't become a Rhombic. I told her this even though I knew this wasn't a promise I intended to keep.

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