Elian tilted his head, slowly as if he were trying to decide which part of that sentence was more insulting.
"You buried me…In a shallow grave," he finally said. "Who hell does that?!"
[The Constellation 'Devil Maker' says your grave should've been deeper.]
His system chimed in.
[Just let it go, player.]
Crix, standing a few steps behind, blinked between them and muttered,
"Dude. Buried? What— let's all forget this, shall we? And settle it over good ol' agreement, ey?" He grinned nervously, his merchant's satchel clinking with coins.
But Aven only draws them closer. "Can this be solved over an agreement?" He pointed to the chaos happening, monsters invading the city, burning buildings and the sky painting red with flames.
Aven then gestured towards the forest they both came out from. It illuminated in a blue grid of a chessboard, covering the forest like a dome, although it was flickering now, buzzing in sizzling static.
Above were words boldly written; [Owner: Elain Talon.]
[Restricted.]
Aven smirked at a scowling Elian. "Huh. Didn't know a pawn can claim territories. Now… have you ever used your brain for the slightest moment that the forest—" he gritted his teeth, sucking in air, "—has inhabitants? Wolves? Monsters? Are you out of your mind? They're all roaming around in the city!"
"A forest that YOU buried my body in!"
"How was I supposed to know you were alive?!"
[The Constellation 'Eye of the Board' notes that the pawn just tipped the game board.]
[The Constellation 'The Hunter Of Lost Lines'' bets ten stars you won't survive the next twenty minutes.]
[Touché.]
From the smoke and wind came three new figures, behind Aven. black piece elites, their silhouettes hard against the orange haze.
A blonde man in an obsidian plate, helm shaped like a wolf's skull, wiped off the beading sweats on his crinkled forehead. "Hunter Aven. Things are getting out of control without your help." [B-Rank Knight: Kent.]
Another man popped in, his breath was jagged, he was broad and squared, his great shield still dripping with ichor. "The white pieces are all claiming territories! Crossing the boundaries. I can't block them all!" [A-rank Rook: Charles.]
And a Bishop draped in white-and-gold, divine glyphs burning faintly on her exposed skin. She wore a white cloak, floating in the air before she descended slowly onto the ground.
One glance told Elian their ranks. A-rank, A-rank… and the Bishop's calm smile screamed an S-rank. [Name: Jupiter.]
The Knight pointed at him. "He's the cause, isn't he?"
Jupiter mainly smiled, she held a staff in one hand, her doe eyes scanning him.
"Is this the threat the system warned us about? Tsk. He sure is cute."
Elian squirmed a little, staring at the divine beauty. But Crix coughed out loud, he stroked his black hair backwards, a mere effort to 'tidy' up, winking at Jupiter who ignored him after the slightest discomfort.
Aven sighed deeply. He pointed his sword at Elian again. "You're one idiot. But… just follow me. We'll sort this out someway."
Elian shook his head, "no."
"No?"
The silence was cut short by a loud shrieking sound. A shrill, wailing voice of. a girl with smeared makeup, her brown hair disheveled. She came running into them. She was hiding behind Aven before, mixing into the chaos until she showed up.
"You! You ruined everything! My team's dead! My—" She choked on her own sob and kept going louder.
Her companion, a rat-faced man with watery eyes, pointed like a child tattling to a teacher. "Tina's right! He's cursed! Just look at him! Don't let him come with us! J-just kill the brat!"
[The Constellation 'The Weeping Raven' enjoys their performance.]
[The Constellation 'Devil Maker' tells you to kill them both instead.]
[You have been gifted 2000 coins.]
What the—? Kill
The System chimed.
[Several Constellations have expressed interest in sponsoring you. Weird.]
Elian's lips twitched, scrolling pass a few list of sponsors. "Reject all."
[You are currently sponsored by an unnamed Constellation. Don't you want someone a bit... active?]
Replace them? He still didn't even know what they wanted. Or why they'd been watching in silence when others shoved their bribes at him.
Constellations were… stories that refused to end. Myths, gods, heroes that either died spectacularly or never died at all. They sat in whatever passed for heaven, watching the living scramble on a board they'd once bled on.
If they liked you, they might sponsor you. If they loved you, they might save you. If they got bored… well, there were always new players.
Elian rejected every name. His only sponsor stuck with him. Maybe it was pride... or stupidity.
Either way, the System announced a notification.
[Your sponsor 'The Nameless god' is… amused.]
"Oi, oi, oi," Crix murmured again, stepping closer to Elian like a vulture cozying up to a tiger. "All press is good press, eh? Let's not kill anyone."
But before any blade could be drawn, before the air could fully charge with violence… they appeared.
Twin White Knights. A male and a female, dancing in sync with their swords drawn.
They were pale as moonlight, eyes mismatched in blue and grey colour, their armor carved with sharp spirals that felt wrong to look at for too long.
They smiled in perfect sync.
"Black piece," one of them purred.
"Pawn," the other finished.
Aven gritted his teeth, pushing Tina away from him. "The white pieces managed to get in? Secure all the areas! And the pawns!"
But in a swift moment, the female knight appeared behind Elian, kicking him sideways.
Elian hurled in pain. Groaning and gritting his teeth.
[You've been hit! -20HP]
[HP: 188/300.]
The female knight stepped over him, twisting his stick till it fell out of his hands. Crix was heard shouting his name, but they were too fast. And luckily for Elian, he still had his vision intact even from all the beating.
The other twin teleported, instantly grabbing his face, and forcefully tilting it to the side, viewing him.
"You sure are good-looking. Isn't he, Moon?"
Moon grinned widely, her blue eye sparkling. "Wanna be our pet?"
However, something static buzzed in the air. Like the sound of a mic dropping on the ground, creating a loud unsettling noise, startling everyone.
A deep voice settled in, the slight discomfort crawling up everyone's skin
"Hello." The voice cut through the telecommunication.
Ever since the phones stopped working. No one had thought to use a broadcasting studio to pass messages to other areas.
Amidst the chaos, everyone stopped, the twins flinched, eyes turning to the advertising board, making a narrow way for Elian to escape and roll under their grasp, running towards the other side as fast as he could.
He glanced up at the broad screen. It flickered in disintegrated pixels, showing the face of a distressed man.
The man wore a military uniform. His heavy breathing echoed through the speakers. He was half covered in blood, his eyes bloodshot as he groaned in pain.
Everyone stopped, perhaps listening to what the man was about to say.
"I— my name is Richard Reynolds. 41 years old. A-rank knight. And I will get straight to the point."
"The— the… this 'game' we're playing against the white piece. Please let's all stop. Everything was burnt down within seconds—" his voice stained, almost choking on tears that were now stinging his eyes.
He wiped them off before they fell and then continued.
"My whole family is DEAD. My daughter… my wife. I— I… I don't know why those gods are doing these. B-b-but I know, if we can reach an agreement like 20 years ago. We are no longer 'players'. We can settle—"
Suddenly, the camera flipped, and it distorted into nothingness. Until everyone heard the man's scream.
It came out as a raw, gurgling sound, as if his throat had been ripped open mid-shout. Wet, tearing noises filled the broadcast, each one a sickening squelch of steel parting flesh.
The mic caught every twitch, every gasp as something slid in, then out, peeling muscle from bone with a sticky pop.
There was a brief pause.
Then, a slow, dragging scrape, like a blade being pulled free from a wound that didn't want to let it go.
Another distorted voice popped in.
"Well, greetings everyone!" This man bore the same face as 'Richard'. Even has the same voice as his. But he was dressed in a more historical style… ancient way.
Dressed like a Duke with his blue sash on. Although all now stained with blood and a bit of torn flesh slipping off his powdered face.
"Tick-tock! Reynolds' dead too!" The man laughed slowly, and quietly. Startling everyone watching. Until his laughter got louder, like something tearing inside his throat, more twisted in any sense of humanity left.
"YOU'LL ALL DIE! And we will WIN! You black pieces of shit treated us like inhumane objects. Calling us dustwalkers and graybloods as if we asked for our world to be taken from us!" He spat the words so cruelly.
"Guess what? I have been waiting for THIS moment! Ha! This perfect moment to kill every single one of you." He wiped off the blood off his dagger, pointing it at the camera, and smiling so wide like an unhinged mad man, even questioning how the flesh can stretch that much into a smile.
"I wish us GOOD LUCK!" The camera flickered off. It left an aftereffect of dread and anxiety.
Tina screamed, clutching her head. Her tiny voice scraped in everyone's ear like chalk on a dry board.
Elian quickly blocked his ears with his fingers, flashing a hint of annoyance from the girl's scream.
"I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. I don't want to DIE. I DON'T want to die!" She ran towards Aven, almost tripping halfway through.
She gripped Aven's collar, her mascaraed-stained eyes didn't do her any justice as Aven recoiled back in disgust, scrunching up his face.
"I said I don't wanna die! FIX this Aven. Fix it. Fix. It. You're our hero, m-my hero. Aren't you?"