From the sudden and terrible pain that went through his whole body, the pain that felt like his bones just cracking and splittering, everything changed in a second… it was the exact opposite of the pain he felt a moment ago.
His whole body became this weightless in the dark, and from that dark suddenly came the light… the light that shined over everything and, well, it wasn't for heaven's gate or the hell's pit… but the sun.
"What the fuck…" He whispered as he opened his eyes slowly and there he was.
In a random hallway shined by the sun and filled with the bustling noises, and he was pretty quick to recognize where he was exactly. Well, it was not a big thing as Miu already said it to him before fucking him up.
Briminia… He thought, but didn't even want to move, not even his eyes. He just stared at a random spot, because of that terrifying pain he just felt moments ago, but it was enough to realize that he was truly there.
Briminia, one of the six kingdoms of Eldoria and the spawn point of all the beginners, and with it basically the best country he could have been sent down by Miu. At least in game it was the best, because it was restricted, no PvP, no monsters no nothing.
Basically it was the riviera of the game, the spot to chill out. A kingdom that, even though had a king ruling over it, resembled democracy pretty much, and all classes were equally treated… but that was in the game…
I need to think rationally… He thought as he was watching the end of the hallway, seeing the people walking by, the bustling noise of the city, the music, the laughter, the voices of children… but there was something to it.
Briminia is one of the best locations to be in… but if all NPCs have consciousness it's a fucking whole other story…" He closed his eyes as thought about it. Who was the king of Briminia… Lucos, no, Himmel, yeah it was Himmel, a well-respected with noble background and the one that fought for equality, and was titled the King of Kings… if he's not an NPC anymore he can be even greater than he was… or worse than ever.
Yeah, the main point of all of it, that was maybe the worst thing… all of them gained consciousness. And Lucius knew pretty much that there is no way they're following the script of their background, but they have will, desires, maybe some of them the exact opposite of what they were in the game…. but he forgot one important thing.
Himmel Ibrums Killen, a fuck-ass name that the developers made up, but what was not random was the way they created Himmel.
Basically, like in every other game, NPCs were scripted to be either righteous or not. But in Eldoria, there was also something called a corruption level.
This meant that even if an NPC started out righteous, hostile monsters or deeply evil beings could influence them, causing their corruption level to rise. That's what made Eldoria so great,you could never predict what would happen next. Events in the game became huge and unpredictable, for example, there was even a time when the Emperor of the Imperium turned evil as his corruption level rose, leading him to start an all-out war.
But the only NPC that had no corruption level was him, Himmel Ibrums Killen, because his backstory was something so wild that the developers actually ended up rewriting it because they got sued.
He can't be evil huh, his mother and sister were raped in front of him then was eaten alive… his soul couldn't be corrupted because he dedicated his whole life to kill the evil. Lucius was right.
The so-called backstory was what shook the gaming industry a bit. Eldoria had been advertised as a rather peaceful game, but when Himmel's backstory was revealed, controversy broke out.
Some even sued the developers, claiming that children who read his story suffered emotional and psychological damage. Of course, many believed it was just a quick money grab, since the lawsuits never made it to court and were instead settled behind closed doors.
Though the developers truly fucked up with that, because they didn't really use light words to describe it no… they went all out with every little detail how Himmel mother and sisters were raped and then how they were eaten alive… that's exactly why they need to rewrite his backstory but they didn't modify one thing.
That his very soul, his very being, hates and despises everything that is corrupt and evil… he is the one who wields the sword of light and banishes all darkness, the one who stands for the people, like a hero.
And maybe that's why Briminia, as a kingdom, is the starting point for all beginners.
The developers executed it well, at the beginning players could see the Forgotten Gods gate and see how much power they can achieve, power that corrupts the player, they want to taste it, to use that power… and then they are transferred to Briminia where everything is right, calm, and peaceful… that is the so-called turning point to see what the player will go for, to be a peaceful one or the one that goes after the power and let it corrupt it soul.
And for Lucius there was no turning point at all… his whole being as the Fool of Death is the corruption itself, the evil itself.
"Should I just start to murder random beings…?" He laughed as he thought about the sanity of what he had just asked himself. "But there is nothing I feel right now."
He looked down at his hand, and yeah, there was nothing. No black marks that usually corrupted beings have, not even voices speaking to him, nothing that screamed that he was darkness itself.… like how Miu said it.
He just felt normal.
"Hey you!" A sudden deep but clearly drunken voice came from in front of him. "You are in my spot kid!"
His first encounter in Briminia, a human, a homeless one, with a long beard, long hair, dirty skin, and even the smell of alcohol mixed with pure stench.
"Your spot?" Lucius replied as he finally stood up, feeling the weight of his body, feeling that he was truly alive, feeling the reality of it all. It was thrilling, and not for a single second was he confused about it.
It was a blessing… to live within what he loved most.
"Yeah, so get the fuck away from it!" The man shouted again, this time his voice was stronger.
But what truly caught Lucius's eye was what he held in his right hand.
He saw it only for a moment… a knife and the adrenaline immediately pumped him up as his heart started to race and his eyes, his whole being, focused on the knife and the threat… fear.
He felt it as goosebumps ran all over his body… the same fucking thing that had happened on Earth, a homeless man threatening with a knife for money, for everything you had in your pocket… the thing he had experienced before… the fear for your life.
But this time it was different, so much different.
"Why do I fear…?" He looked down once again to his hand that was shaking.
Fool of Death, do not fear… for the Fool of Death is fear itself.