The place was sinister, covered in a dark mist.
"Where am I?" Joel whispered.
Immediately, he looked down.
Corpses. Dead bodies.
Red like blood.
Joel suddenly froze in surprise because there were thousands of them.
Suddenly, eyes appeared on the corpses, and they all stared at him.
Joel started running, but after a few seconds, he stopped.
"I can't move anymore."
There was a road of skulls stretching into the sky, and dead bodies stood like burning flames, their heads on fire, wearing malicious smiles.
They were demons.
Joel's body trembled.
Meanwhile, the dead bodies woke up, whispering:
"You killed us…"
"You killed me…"
They grabbed his face and his entire body. Then he heard a voice echoing in his mind.
Open your eyes.
Suddenly, Joel woke up in bed.
His eyes opened, gleaming, and he was breathing heavily.
"What was that?" he whispered.
Then he turned to his left and saw Eliane observing him.
She gave a warm smile.
"Good morning, Joel. You did great."
She clapped her hands twice.
Immediately, Joel looked at his arm—it was completely healed.
He breathed out in relief.
"Did the girl survive?" he asked.
Eliane held her chin with her right hand.
"Yes. She said thank you and gave you a flower."
Then she folded her arms.
"But the flower almost dried… because you slept for six days."
Still, Joel felt uncomfortable. There were dark circles under his eyes.
Eliane stood up and was about to leave.
"If you have a problem, tell me," she said, smiling.
"I'm your mother, right?"
Joel's heart felt warm, but he didn't want to talk about his dream.
I'll tell her later.
Then Eliane told Jena that Joel had woken up. Immediately, she went to his room.
Joel instinctively closed his eyes.
"Joel, you're fine! We all thought you had died!"
She held him tightly, and Joel felt pain.
"But I'm not dead…"
She let him go. Joel gave a small smile.
"I'm ready for a beer competition."
Jena immediately flicked his head with her finger.
"You're not allowed to drink."
Joel's face darkened in disappointment.
Then Jena felt pity for him and said,
"Do you know what juice is?"
Joel lowered his head.
"No… is it better than beer?"
Jena nodded, folding her arms.
"Yes. It's the best for children like you, and it doesn't contain alcohol."
While Joel was unconscious, Jena had prepared it for him, hoping he would wake up.
After that, they both went downstairs.
Jena shouted confidently,
"The eating event starts now!"
Now it's time to make some money.
Silence filled the room.
Then everyone looked at each other. Eliane sat alone, bored.
Pots full of food, empty plates, and spoons were placed in front of everyone.
Suddenly, they hit their spoons on the tables at the same time, like soldiers.
Jena called Eliane for help. She agreed, wanting Joel to enjoy himself.
Eliane tied on a servant dress and started serving food. Others joined in, and soon all the tables were occupied.
Why is there such a crowd today?
A plate of food was placed in front of Joel.
Suddenly, Jena rang a bell—the competition began.
Joel started eating at high speed.
The others stared at him as they swallowed food without even chewing.
Then a man appeared—Joel's rival in drinking contests.
Joel, not today. I must win, kid.
Joel thought,
Was he waiting for this moment?
The man increased his speed, starting to surpass Joel.
Joel was surprised.
Meanwhile, others fainted and fell down because of overeating.
Joel paused for a moment.
I can't go beyond this…
In Jena's mind:
Joel, don't lose. I bet everything on you.
Then she had an idea. She quickly brought Joel some juice.
He tasted it, smiled, and felt refreshed. He continued eating and drinking without stopping.
The other man fainted, but Joel kept eating.
Jena folded her arms, staring at him.
"Where is all that food going?" she whispered.
At his 30th plate, Jena stopped him.
Joel collapsed to the floor and fell asleep.