"Are you really fine?" Morgan asked with a tired sigh, leaning back in her seat. Night had already settled over Swindler's Trick, and the two of them sat in Ah Chu's Café. Despite Ah Chu's questionable fighting style, his desserts and coffee were something to behold.
"Yeah, I am. Luna healed me, so I'm as good as new." Medici replied between bites of pancakes, wearing a satisfied smile, as if nothing life-threatening had happened just a few hours ago.
Then he paused mid-chew, looked up at her, and smirked. "Though… I never thought you would lose to Ah Chu, heh."
Morgan grimaced immediately. Her eyes slid toward Ah Chu, who sat nearby with a bored expression, legs on the table and reading a book. A book that had a very questionable cover. It was a naked woman in some absurd, anatomically impossible pose, which made Morgan's face twist in visible discomfort.
"Yes… it was quite a disturbing experience." Morgan muttered, disgust settling into her expression as she remembered the last fight in the arena. "Deeply disturbing, actually."
Meanwhile, Ah Chu just turned a page, continuing to read his book. Then, he suddenly covered his mouth dramatically, like a fair maiden seeing something shocking, and giggled.
Medici chuckled, stabbing another piece of pancake. "From what I've heard, fighters are traumatized. Seriously, what happened? Why is no one talking about it?"
Morgan shuddered, almost flinching at his words. Sighing, she wiped the sweat from her forehead and sank into her seat with a helpless look. If she had nightmares tonight, she knew exactly who to blame. And it wasn't Medici.
...
Every fighter who had won their duels was gathered in the arena now, watching one another with guarded hostility. Morgan stood among them, arms crossed and wearing a nonchalant look. After all, most of those fighters were Awakeneds. There was no way any of them could beat her.
Or so she thought.
Because the next second, the gates creaked open… and Ah Chu stepped out, strolling forward with a creepy smile on his face.
Every fighter froze, staring at Ah Chu in disbelief, as if he were some kind of unholy beast. Their blood ran cold, and they stepped back in horror.
Morgan tilted her head, confused by their reactions, but chose to observe for now.
In the sky, a dot appeared, slowly growing in size until everyone could make out the silhouette of a man they all knew.
It was the Nightingale, famous localist and member of the Bug, Kai!
"Shiiiiiiiiiit! It's Him!"
"Wait… is what I'm thinking really going to happen?"
"Holy shit! It's really Ah Chu's theme song!"
Then Kai's voice rang across the arena as the entire audience erupted into roars, hyped up for the upcoming bloodbath… or green fog.
[Now I'm like, "Shit," I hopped out so quick, then I raised my blick
And I don't miss, I let off two shots, I hit him in his shit
Now, Von, think quick...]
I see… I don't understand a thing, Morgan thought, her face blank as she wondered what the heck was wrong with these people.
But when she looked back at Ah Chu, Morgan froze. For some reason… Ah Chu felt intimidating.
He's just a pathetic trickster… someone who can only win with dirty tricks… This doesn't make sense, she thought, gritting her teeth.
Ah Chu's grin widened as he cracked his knuckles in slow motion. Seeing him, one fighter instantly ran back, another fainted from shock, and a third dropped to his knees, whispering with a look of despair. "This is worse than death…"
Meanwhile, the commentators finally decided to speak, to make the fight more interesting.
"Alriiiight! Time for the another pointless bloody tournament!" Gunlaug announced through his sound-amplifying Memory, yawning. Then came the loud glug-glug-glug of him drinking, because, of course, he was already at it.
Aiko chimed in with a bright smile, holding the Memory close as she overlooked the arena. "This is the moment of truth, my friends. Will Ah Chu, Demon King of Backfiring, remain undefeated… or will we witness the birth of a new champion?"
"Absolute waste of money, dream realm tournament bullshit is finally beginning!" Gunlaug nodded, leaning back with a grin. Despite his rude way of speaking, he still had fans. Yes, it's shocking but at this point, no one should be surprised.
[Note: All the fans were teenage girls.]
Aiko ignored him entirely, continuing with adorable giggles. "Now remember, folks, this battle isn't about who's the strongest, but about who wins. In this battle, even the weakest might become champion. It's a reflection of how harsh the Dream Realm truly is. How adaptability, quick thinking, and versatility matter more than raw power. Many powerful Awakeneds have died here… and many weak ones endured."
Gunlaug slammed his cup down after emptying it. "I wanna see a dirty fight! No handshakes, no honorable duels, no long speeches about 'courting death,' and no musical numbers! Kai, SHUT UP!"
"Aww, why?" Kai called back, still floating above the arena, pouting with a saddened look.
"And if ANY of you touch my little boy…" Gunlaug snarled, using his aura of drunken… ahem, Laughing Storm. "I will fucking annihilate you. I have the power of an author and hentai on my side!"
He said it with such conviction that the audience collectively leaned back.
"And oh? Killing is not permitted," Aiko added with a soft smile, sipping her juice, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.
"But I will kill you if you touch even a single hair on my son's head…" Gunlaug added casually, his voice strangely calm and composed, making the fighters finally relax and focus on upcoming battle.
"And don't forget, have fun." Aiko clapped lightly, her cheerful tone making the whole threat situation feel even stranger.
Gunlaug leaned forward, gulping down another bottle of beer, then shouted into the sound-amplifying Memory. "And I fucking see the future. I know how overpowered I'll be! Future me is busted as fuck, so don't forget my words, punks!"
Then he blinked, staring at the arena and then at his bottle, nodding to himself. He emptied it and said, his voice softer, "Oh? And good luck, my boy. I love you. Make sure not to let your guard down, look after your essence, and beat them all. And also, don't forget to-"
"OKAY, fine! I get it, fucker!" Ah Chu shouted from the arena floor, rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration as he groaned.
Then he sighed, shoulders dropping, and muttered under his breath, "…I love you too."
"RAAAGGHHHHH!!! MY BOY LOVES ME!" Gunlaug roared, his voice cracking like he'd just achieved enlightenment through alcoholism. He grabbed tiny Aiko by the shoulders and shook her so wildly she nearly rattled out of her own skeleton.
"Did you see that, Aiko!? DID YOU HEAR THAT!? My son loves me back!"
Aiko felt disoriented from all the shaking, her tiny, weak bones threatening to shatter as she muttered, "I see…"
Morgan, watching all of this, remained motionless, her face straight and expressionless. The only thought she managed to form was: what in actual fuck?
At the same time, every fighter in the arena suddenly bolted backward, scrambling toward the gates and punching them as if their lives depended on it. Panic rippled through the arena as a deranged grin spread across Ah Chu's face.
Morgan snapped out of her thoughts as she took in the bizarre scene unfolding before her very eyes. Awakened warriors… those battle-hardened killers… were running from… him? But why?
Her answer came instantly.
A horrifying, guttural sound echoed across the arena. It was deep, distorted, and vibrating through the very air.
Ah Chu doubled over, eyes squeezed shut, muscles locked in agony. His fists clenched so hard that his skin turned pale. He gritted his teeth as if he were fighting off some ancient evil spirit.
Morgan tilted her head, looking at Ah Chu and then at the cowardly warriors who couldn't even face this clown. This is ridiculous, nothing makes sense here, she thought, shaking her head in disappointment.
Oh, little did she knew...
"PRRRTTRTRTRTRTR-"
A dreadful sound escaped from Ah Chu, and a greenish-orange fog blasted outward, engulfing the entire arena.
Morgan remained perfectly still. Literally. She wasn't even breathing, because doing so would be fatal. Inhaling that fog was as deadly as the swords his father forged.
"Oh shit! He used Ew, That's Disgusting!"
"RUN, FUCKERS, RUN!"
"No no no no no! Bleeergh!"
What was supposed to be a fight instantly devolved into a massacre.
Meanwhile, Ah Chu slowly straightened up. His tense expression softened, his face slackened into the most serene, relieved grin imaginable, as if he had just achieved spiritual enlightenment through pure gastrointestinal destruction.
Ew, That's Disgusting was no ordinary technique. It was an Awakened ability of Ah Chu, infamous for its absurd and catastrophic power. The fog it created was poisonous in a way no one could resist. Simply put, it was an exceptional ability capable of wiping out anyone in sight, regardless of rank.
Ah Chu glanced back at his opponents, bent forward again, and unleashed another barrage. His stance widened with unnatural precision. In that moment, he was not a man, he was a biological machine gun, firing with ruthless, merciless eyes after he sneezed.
"Ah... CHUUU! Rakatakatakatakataka!"
The gas consumed the arena, swallowing fighters left and right. One by one, they collapsed, twitching, gagging, drowning in the vile haze until all movement ceased.
When the smoke finally thinned enough for the audience to see what was happening, they were met with a sight straight out of a nightmare. Every fighter lay defeated, completely and utterly crushed, their bodies sprawled across the arena floor and covered in their own vomit.
Only one remained standing.
The man.
The legend.
The one and only Demon King Of Backfiring, Ah Chu!
...
"So that's what happened… Damn, now I'm glad you smoked me," Medici muttered, a shiver crawling up his spine as Morgan finished recounting the tale. Her expression was twisted with disgust, her vibrant vermilion eyes glaring at Ah Chu with such lethal intensity that Medici half-expected her to leap across the café and stab him with a teaspoon.
But the fact remained.
Ah Chu was the demon king of backfiring.
"Yes… it was enlightening," Morgan said through clenched teeth. "An experience that ended with me spending hours in the bath, scrubbing myself without stop…"
She glanced at Ah Chu again with clear hatred and spite.
The little bastard did not care about her hostility at all. He sat there giggling, legs swinging, nose buried in a smut novel while Gunlaug sat beside him, grinning in the same unsettling, creepy way.
As for Medici, he was genuinely happy he had lost. Normally, losing a fight irritated him to no end, but this time? No. They could take the victory. He didn't care in the slightest. He was simply grateful he had avoided that nightmare. Honestly, even Second Nightmare would have been less traumatizing than what Morgan described.
"Gods… I'm glad I was struck by lightning. At least I lost with dignity."
The demon king of backfiring just giggled at his book, completely oblivious to the fear, hatred, and trauma accumulating around him. In a way, he was like his uncles and dad. He was feared as well, but for entirely different reasons.
"Fine, forget about that. What do you think about this place in general?" Medici asked with genuine curiosity, leaning back in his seat. While he was proud of what Amon had built, he still wanted to hear the opinion of a Princess who was the heir of Bastion.
Morgan frowned slightly, her eyes lowering to her tea. For a moment she simply stared into the cup, her expression unreadable and a little odd, as if she didn't know how to answer. For once she wanted to be honest about her feelings, but she was still a Princess of War. And she knew well what happened when you placed too much trust in someone. So she answered dismissively.
"I think… it's not bad." she murmured before taking a sip.
Medici groaned, pulling at his newly restored crimson hair in frustration. On that note, his hair seemed more majestic than before. Now that he thought about it, he didn't even need to wash it anymore, and the same applied to his body. Why would he bother bathing when he could just ask Luna for New Life and in an instant he was as good as new. The thought brought a satisfied smile to his face, but he quickly shook his head, snapping out of his strange train of thought and focusing on Morgan again.
"Such an obvious lie, at least put some effort into it. And it is just the two of us here, so be honest, it will not kill you."
Morgan raised an eyebrow playfully, a faint smile tugging at her lips. "And why should I? It is not like we are close."
Medici nodded automatically. "Fair..." Than, He paused, staring at her with a slightly confused expression. "Huh? Aren't we… friends, though?"
Morgan nearly choked. She set her cup down a bit too forcefully, grabbed a napkin, and wiped her mouth, looking at him as if he had just confessed he was secretly a Blasphemer in disguise. She was even waiting for him to put a monocle on his right eye.
"Listen here, you told me to get a broom and that I belong in the kitchen. Do you seriously think I consider you a friend?" she asked in bewilderment. What was wrong with these people?
"Not to mention, friends are useless, Mr. Medici. I will teach you this. There is no such thing as selfless friendship. Every person who approached me did so because of my status as Princess. They used me and I used them, it was nothing but a transaction and acting."
"Uh-huh... Sure sure." Medici nodded with an unimpressed look, crossing his arms. "Let's agree to disagree. If friends were so useless, then I wouldn't be here. I would have died in that arena, is that not true?"
Morgan frowned, her eyes dimming from old memories. Sure, Amon had saved Medici from her arrow, but who could say he hadn't done it because Medici was useful? Now that she thought about it… how did that arrow vanish? Amon's aspect ability was hypnosis. Maybe it was an Awakened Ability. Her mind had been messy back then, all she could think about was killing Medici. Did he influence her mind in some way? Or was the arrow nothing but an illusion? Perhaps it had been a memory with some kind of magnetic ability that attracted her arrow. She didn't know, another mystery added to the list.
Sighing, she composed herself and shifted in her seat, ready to prove her opinion was correct, but before she could speak, Medici continued talking, gesturing at the street, the temple, the arena, the crimson spire, the forest and fields, the harbor, and the coin he was holding.
"I mean, look at this place. Really look at it. The coin here is called Luna. Do you think that is a coincidence? It is kinda funny now that I think about it. That idiot literally turned the entire economy into a love letter."
Morgan stared at the coin. Its design was horrifying, if she was honest, but somehow it was still unique and beautiful. Was this some kind of hint? What did this coin represent? It was crystal clear that it was related to Princess Luna, but there had to be a deeper meaning to it. From the reports and her sister's words, Blasphemer liked to play games. He liked to leave hints behind, as if foreshadowing events and his plans… Hmm, another mystery… Wait, why did she feel like this had already happened?
Still, it was romantic, Morgan could admit that. Too romantic and sweet, in fact. She even felt a bit envious of Luna for some reason.
"And do you know the name of the arena we fought in?" Medici interrupted her thought process.
She exhaled slowly, feeling annoyed. "I do not."
"It's called Endless Hunt. Amon named it after me because he knows I love fighting. So if it is as you said, that friendship is nothing but a transaction, why would my friend bother to do all of this? Build things in his friends' names? Even the entertainment district is called Gambler's Bliss. It is named after Gunlaug and Aiko," Medici said with a proud grin, leaning back in his seat with a hint of arrogance.
Morgan's eyes widened for a moment, but she quickly hid her surprise and feigned indifference. She didn't really know how to answer this. The cynical part of her still whispered that everything was just a deliberate act from Amon, designed to make him appear in a favorable light, but another part of her, the part that longed for genuine connection, told her that not everything was meaningless or fake, that some things had purpose and meaning, even if it was hard to comprehend.
"I don't… know," she admitted reluctantly.
Medici nodded with a sigh, feeling a bit melancholic. "Even I don't really know. Amon rarely talks about things like that. Maybe it's because he wants to feel our presence, even when we're not with him."
Morgan looked down, at a loss for words. Skepticism clung stubbornly to her, the product of a life in which genuine connections were nothing but beautiful lies. Her father had been nothing but an empty, emotionless man obsessed with perfection. Her mother was dead, and her brother a beast locked away. Her uncle wasn't as bad, but he was a saint with incredible strength and just as distant. The elders in her clan were obsessed with the benefits of the clan, while Saint Jest was always cryptic and unsettling. It was hard to imagine what Medici described when warmth was absent from your life, when you couldn't even touch another person in fear of shredding them to pieces.
Medici smiled faintly, his expression bright with the joy of having spent time with his idiotic friends. Well, he was just as stupid as they were. Or maybe they all became stupid when they were together. There was some kind of connection there, something he felt as a Conspirer. He shook his head with an amused smile and glanced at her.
"I mean, memories with the right people will always be priceless. And every moment with my friends feels timeless. It is hard to explain. Time isn't something I am familiar with, unlike a certain prankster. But from what I can see, every second with them is too short. It will never feel like enough."
He tilted his head toward the starless sky of the Forgotten Shore, his expression turning thoughtful.
"Really, it is funny. Luna and Amon are like stars in this starless sky. I can't always see them, but I know they are there. When I fought you, I couldn't see Amon, but he was there, protecting me from your arrow. And Luna was there healing my injuries. We are never truly apart. Maybe in distance, but never in heart."
He shrugged.
"So no, I cannot agree with you. I would rather walk in the dark with my friends than stand alone in the light. They're all I have."
***
[A/N: So, what's up, gang? Hope you're all doing well. These chapters are mostly slice-of-life before the Second Nightmare begins. What do you think about them? Are they good or not?
We explored a bit of Morgan here. Ngl, instead of a demoness, Medici might end up with her.
The Second Nightmare will start soon, probably a few chapters later, most likely after Moirai is explored. Think of it like a party before the storm.
My boy Medici is a bro and always was. Seriously, I love those three idiots.
Lol, Medici even decided to use Luna's New Life as a cleaner too.
And don't forget our glorious king, Ah Chu! He's the one and only Demon King of Backfiring!
That's it for now, gang. See you later and enjoy the meal.]
***