After a brief search through the cabinet—which turned out to be stocked with an impressive array of pre-Rupture board games, all in pristine condition—the group settled on what was objectively the most friendship-destroying, relationship-ruining game ever created by mankind: Monopoly.

"With fifteen people?" Juan's voice floated in from the couch, tinged with genuine horror at the prospect. "That'll take forever. Like, genuinely forever. That's too troublesome to even contemplate."

"We could form teams," Emi suggested quickly, ever the problem-solver. "That would make it go faster, and it might actually be more fun! You know, collaborative strategy and all that?"

"Fine by me," I shrugged, careful not to dislodge Carmen, who had now fully committed to using me as human furniture. "Could be interesting."

"Satori and I are a package deal, right, kiddo?" Carmen mumbled against my shoulder, her words slightly slurred but her grip on me surprisingly firm for someone so intoxicated. "Team Drunk and Dangerous. We're gonna dominate."

"Teams it is," Isabelle declared, taking charge of the situation with the ease of someone born to command. "We'll roll dice to determine the groupings randomly. Three people per team works out almost perfectly. One team will have to be a duo, but that's acceptable."

The results of the random groupings were, in retrospect, a perfect recipe for absolute chaos and barely controlled carnage.

Team 1 consisted of Natalia, Jacob, and Akari—The Ice Queen, The Analyst, and The Social Predator. It was a terrifying combination of strategic brilliance, raw calculating power, and social manipulation. Natalia looked distinctly pleased with the arrangement, her purple eyes gleaming with competitive fire. She immediately pulled Jacob close, leaning down to whisper something into his ear that made the poor boy go pale and start nodding frantically, his hands trembling on his datapad. Akari simply smiled at me from across the room, slow and predatory, her green eyes promising violence of the economic kind.

Team 2 brought together Hikari, Jaime, and Malachi—a concentration of pure, unfiltered physical power with absolutely zero strategic thinking between the three of them. Their entire game plan seemed to consist of Hikari enthusiastically shouting "CRUSH THEM!" while flexing, with Jaime echoing the sentiment and Malachi just looking confused but happy to be included.

My team ended up as the unlikely trio of myself, Juan, and Carmen—The King, The Sloth, and The Drunk. It was either going to be a disaster or a work of art. Possibly both. Juan looked at me through half-lidded eyes, his expression one of profound resignation.

"I'll handle the money," he said flatly, as if this were a burden being placed upon him by cruel fate. "It's too troublesome to let either of you touch it. You'd probably lose it all in the first round."

"Hey!" Carmen protested weakly, lifting her head just enough to glare at him. Then she immediately dropped it back onto my shoulder, apparently having exhausted her capacity for indignation.

Team 4 created perhaps the strangest, most volatile alliance: Emi, Raphael, and Marco. The Sunshine Healer, The Human Grenade, and The Happy-Go-Lucky Brawler made for a combination that seemed designed by fate to either win spectacularly or implode in the most dramatic fashion possible. Emi already looked like she was regretting every life choice that had led her to this moment as Raphael cracked his knuckles menacingly and Marco bounced in his seat with puppyish excitement.

The final team brought together Isabelle, Soomin, and Skylar—The Abdicated Queen, The Timid Fox, and The Goth Princess. It was a team of powerful, chronically underestimated women, each dangerous in their own unique way. Isabelle took the leadership position naturally, her regal bearing brooking no argument. Skylar followed her lead with bored indifference, clearly content to let someone else make the decisions. Soomin looked like she desperately wanted to disappear into her fluffy fox-print pajamas and cease to exist entirely.

"Each team needs to select their token," Isabelle announced, gesturing to the small metal pieces laid out on the board with the elegant flourish of someone who'd presided over far more significant decisions.

After much debate, strategic posturing, and one near-argument between Raphael and Hikari that nearly escalated into a physical confrontation over who got to be the car, the selections were finalized with all the solemnity of territorial negotiations.

Natalia's team claimed the battleship, Akari snatching it up with an air of naval superiority while her sister nodded approvingly. Hikari's team took the car after winning a brief but intense staring contest that left even Jacob sweating nervously from the sidelines.

My team got stuck with the iron, which seemed oddly appropriate for our mismatched trio—practical, understated, and capable of inflicting serious burns when wielded correctly.

Emi's team selected the dog, which inexplicably made Marco's eyes well up with genuine emotion, his massive frame trembling slightly as he cradled the tiny metal piece in his palm. "It reminds me of my childhood puppy, Sparkles," he whispered reverently, while Raphael rolled his eyes so hard I thought he might strain something. Isabelle's team claimed the top hat, Skylar twirling it lazily between her fingers while Soomin watched with nervous admiration.

Carmen managed to prop herself up just enough to stare blearily at the board, her green eye slightly unfocused as she swayed against my shoulder. "Alright, puppies," she slurred with surprising authority for someone three sheets to the wind. "Let's crush these kids. Show them how it's done. I used to run the Monopoly circuit back in my day."

Juan let out a long-suffering sigh that seemed to come from the deepest, most exhausted chambers of his soul, his entire body slumping as if the very concept of board games was an unbearable burden. "What a drag. This is going to take hours. Someone wake me when it's my turn... or when it's over... preferably the latter."

Raphael leaned forward across the table, his amber eyes locking onto mine with naked challenge. His grin was feral, all teeth. "You're going down, Mr. Number One. I'm going to bankrupt you so hard you'll wish you never picked up that iron."

I looked slowly around the table, taking in each face, cataloging every expression, filing away every reaction. These were my new guildmates—this collection of talented, damaged, bizarre, and powerful individuals who would, whether they knew it yet or not, form the foundation of my kingdom. Some would become my pillars, cornerstones of my power base. Others would be pawns, useful tools to be deployed and discarded as needed. All of them, knowingly or unknowingly, would serve my purposes in the grand design I was building.

For now, though, we were just teenagers playing a board game on a Friday night, pretending we weren't all sizing each other up for the real battles yet to come.

I leaned back in my chair, Carmen's weight warm and heavy against my shoulder, and allowed a slow, predatory smile to spread across my face.

"Let the games begin."

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