Read me the world. Write to me the loveliest of letters.
Sing in thou melodic tune, oh son of Kai.
Come to me earnest, oh beloved.
Preserve me thy heart, that I may eat in my slumber
and feed on your fresh blood.
____
Crix heaved a breath of relief seconds after he exited a newly dug-up pit somewhere far away from the Black Guild's broken Black Dome.
His thick yellow gloved hands desperately gripped the soil of the Earth as he pulled himself upward, letting out a soft groan.
When he finally crawled out of the medium-sized pit— if one could even call that roughly dug hole a pit. Crix turned back and dragged a dirt-faced Elian out of the pit.
Elian too, wheezed a sigh of relief when his back hit the solid ground.
They got out safely.
Elian had rightly suspected that Tina would snitch on them, but he didn't expect to be completely thrown under the bus, anyone in his position would never help someone like her.
A degenerate loser, he called her.
Especially when he knew that she was a White piece suffering from Fits.
But why's it called fits if it means false-origin syndrome? Like FOS??
Fits sounded better.
Elian had used his Sucker Punch skill by using a broken rod to blast through the fallen debris to dig up the hole.
Crix had also been quick to follow, to use an artifact in the shape of a tiny golden fox statue dangling from his neck to form an illusion for a clean break out. The faint orange hue still rippled through the air around them. To anyone else's eyes back then, the ground was untouched.
It left Elian wondering just how many relics and artifacts Crix hoarded for himself.
As they both lay flat for a heartbeat, chests heaving, laughter bubbling through exhaustion.
Crix rolled to his side and extended a gloved hand toward Elian. "So," he said, grinning, "how about joining my board? You're basically useless when it comes to knowledge, but with your… well, resurrection skills and how you use your other skills, you're worth a million pawns."
Elian stared at the outstretched hand. The merchant simply smiled.
If he knew better, this Merchant was blackmailing him with the silly ol' tactic.
And beneath the fake weebo anime cringey words… and the bizarre mix of old-world slang, Crix wasn't stupid. He in fact was far from stupid.
A merchant who bartered with secrets more than goods.
Still, Crix knew about his resurrection now. It was too late to pretend nothing happened.
So Elian clasped the man's hand.
"Alright," he muttered. "I'll bite."
Ping!
[You have successfully joined the Board: 'Gamblers'.]
[Current members: 2.]
Gamblers huh? Elian stared at his system's screen.
I've never joined a real Board before. No one wanted someone weak.
[The Constellation 'Devil Maker' just rubbed his temple.]
[He lost the bet lol.]
What bet?
[You ask them. Not me. I'm just as completely clueless as you.]
Elian's lips thinned into a frown. Suckerbot why would you—
[Leader 'Crix' can see your health stats.]
Oh so now, I'm being— whatever.
However, Crix's grin widened, eyes catching a faint gold glimmer. "Good choice, kiddo."
"I'm 20."
Crix chuckled, letting go of Elian's hand and stretched his arms, taking a quick look around the wasteland that used to be a city.
The tall buildings were completely torn open, rough metals jutting out through the sides, contrasting the settled blue sky. Shattered glass everywhere as burnt cars laid overturned on what used to be a road.
Right behind him was a pool of black blood, gushing out of a dead worm-like monster the size of a grown-up husky dog.
"Damn. Did the dungeon monsters let loose or something else. It wasn't like this before," Crix muttered.
Elian only lowered his gaze.
Crix then brushed dirt off his coat. "Anyway, before we go on about the general mission, I just wanna say—"
However, the 20 year old male cut him off. "What's your goal?" Elian asked, his gaze still downcast towards the burnt Earth.
Crix raised a brow, before he briefly answered:
"I just wanna play video games again."
"What?"
"Yeah." Crix's tone turned soft. "The real kind. Consoles, screens, that loading-screen rage. Ever since the Merge, tech's a corpse unless it's mana-fed. Every single technology needs a mana-stone as a core to function. And no one is jobless enough to find one for video games," he smiled, something more than just passion glinted in his grey eyes.
"So I'm gonna find the perfect mana stone. One strong enough to power phones, consoles—everything. I'll bring them back."
It was stupid, nevertheless.
And somehow, that made Elian's chest tighten.
Ugh.
Crix glanced sideways. "Your turn. Aside from finding your sister—what's your thing?"
Elian lifted his gaze to meet Crix's "Get stronger. And kill the White King myself."
Crix nodded slowly, smacking his lips. "That's very sugoi…" his eyes traced Elian's lean physique. Well he gotta train a lot if he wants to kill the King himself.
"...but before any of that, we'll need to find our King. If the current one's hiding, we're flying blind and it's dangerous. But if he shows himself like a raised flag…" He chuckled. "He paints a bigger target on his back. So we have to find them first to protect them before anyone else does."
Elian sighed. "Then… we need to claim territory? Especially if you wanna recruit some more members to your board."
Elian hated to say it but… Aven would really be a great addition. But would they ever meet again?
Especially when the Government stopped functioning. And the Guild system's just shot to hell. Not many people would want to join any longer since the Guild won't bat an eye for their survival.
The only thing left is to form a Board. A strong group.
"Yeah, man. But everywhere is wrecked now," Crix gritted his teeth. "All for a myth to find the hand of Kai. Are they stupid?"
Elian too dusted the dirt off his clothes, he stood up, walking around the pool of blood as Crix followed suit. He then turned to Crix.
"Who or what's Kai?" he asked as he furrowed his brow.
Crix opened his mouth to say something, glancing over Elian's shoulder.
Until suddenly… a boot smashed into Elian's skull, hard enough to shatter his teeth together.
His breath tore out in a grunt, and for half a second, all he saw was Crix's startled face twisting in disbelief as he fell forward face flat into the broken shards of glass.
The glass carved a quick, ugly line down his cheek.
Urgh. Rin wouldn't like a scar on my face…
He rolled, coughing blood, barely catching sight of a pale figure landing where he'd been. A second roundhouse kick swung out and he quickly blocked it with his forearm, the jolt burning up to his shoulder as he winced.
"Why won't you just die!"
Huh?
Elian widened his eyes. That voice. That's Sun's deep voice.
But why are they attacking him?!
Suddenly, Moon appeared out of nowhere, right behind him. Her hand locked on Elian's collar and slammed him into the cracked pavement.
Shards bit into Elian's palms as he pushed off and swung a bent metal blindly in the air. It caught Moon in the ribs with a loud thunk.
"What the hell is wrong with you two!"
Crix staggered to his feet and he threw himself between them, flailing his hands. "Oi! Hey! You two again? What the hec—"
A fist blurred through the air, hitting Crix square in the jaw. He folded with a strangled yelp, hand grabbing his jaw.
[Oof. Jaw durability: negative five.]
"Not now, Suckerbot!" Elian spat, ducking under another swing. His heel slid across blood-slick glass and drove his shoulder into Sun's stomach, feeling ribs crunch, but the man vanished again, leaving only a smear of heat.
Until something cold pressed against Elian's spine. He twisted to see, but Moon's knife grazed his neck, drawing a thin red line. "I won't let you go this time. Why did you do that?"
What is she saying? Were they by chance talking about… my doppelgänger?
But why would they pick a fight with him?
They should be on the same side, right?
However, he reacted on instinct, breathing hard as he jabbed Moon's stomach with brutal force, throwing her off a few feet away.
The blade clattered away. Elian turned, slamming his forehead into Moon's nose.
The snap was so satisfying.
Moon stilled for a while, her eyes watery. Her hand flew to cover her bloody nose, "Ow! Ow! You BROKE my nose! You'll pay for this! I'll kill you!"
Okay, things escalated.
But Elian pointed the metal rod at her. "Stop jumping me! I'm not a white piece. What are you guys doing for goodness sake!"
"Liar!"
"Why would I lie?!"
Moon raised her head up, pinching her nose ridge, "you did before, right Sun?"
"That's not me!!"
"Prove it."
"The fuck? How else do you expect me to prove it? Check my profile, you dimwits!"
"Oh."
Elian then felt a pair of cold hands clasped against his shoulders from the back, drawing him close into a warm childish embrace. Light strands of hair tickled his neck.
"It is you. It really is you, pawn. My apologies for the… crash out," Sun's hug tightened. "I thought you died when that nasty man that shared your face walked out of the Black Guild's HQ."