Chapter 4 – Fractured Land
"Do you dislike our method, Cassius?" Aldrin spoke, noticing his son was not quite pleased with what had been done for him.
Which was strange, given that blackmail was one of Cassius's favourite pastimes.
"It's not that I dislike it," Cassius answered, shaking off the whisper of unease and refocusing. "But I think there were other ways to make the Amaris agree without going that far."
"There were other ways, yes," Sefira acknowledged, tapping the table with one long, sharp crimson nail. "But why should we bother, my baby?"
She smiled thinly. "The Amaris are a Tier Three Family. We are Tier One. That alone is reason enough."
'A Tier Three Family that holds two Peak Rank Birthright Marks.' Cassius added inwardly.
He knew his new family's way of thinking well. And it was one of the reasons they all died in the game.
The Amaris might sit low in the Badur Kingdom hierarchy, far beneath the Desdemona, but they were not to be underestimated. One of the Main Heroines of the First Game came from that family, after all.
'She is Isolde's little sister who is a Main Villainess, on top of that.' Cassius thought, remembering why Isolde had not been chosen but her sister. 'The older one overshadowed by the younger. How classic.'
Isolde was dangerously talented. But her sister was a different kind of monster entirely. It had reached the point where even the Royal Family — the only Tier Zero family in the Kingdom — had personally arranged her protection until she came into her own.
'And so Isolde was chosen as the sacrifice to keep their secrets buried. And I get killed for all of it, despite being the most innocent of anyone involved.'
How ironic.
"Fair enough." He looked at his mother and shrugged. It was already done. Now it was about figuring out how to survive the fallout.
"Still, I'm curious, what exactly did you use to make them yield?" He asked, wanting a clearer picture of the situation and to confirm everything was indeed the same as the game.
Sefira parted her lips to answer, but Morgan's voice rang out first.
"You still haven't congratulated me, Cass!" She complained, waving her hands around erratically. "I worked so hard to uncover that the Amaris had hidden a Tier Six Fractured Land from the Royal Family."
Cassius raised an eyebrow. "How did they manage something like that?"
"Praise me—!"
"You are incredible, sister! The best of all! Even better than Dorian!" Cassius said with exaggerated awe, then let his voice drop flat. "Now, for the love of any gods still watching, just speak."
Morgan beamed. "Of course, Cass." She winked. "As for your question, I don't know exactly how they pulled it off, but they fairly succeeded in hiding it. I think it has mostly to do with the nature of the Fractured Land itself."
"You said it was something like…" Sefira tilted her head slightly. "…an empty-like aura space?"
"Exactly." Morgan's face turned oddly serious. "I wouldn't have caught it without my proficiency in the Shadow Aspect. And that's not even the strangest part. The System didn't show me the name of the Fractured Land, but it still revealed the type of monsters inside."
"What type?" Cassius asked, falsely curious.
He already knew the answer. That Fractured Land was quite important to Isolde's plan at the start of the Game as she used it to farm knowledge. But he would be a fool not to confirm it was the same one.
"The Voids." She said tightly. "The Mind Eater type Monster." She frowned. "Can you imagine that? Mind Eaters at Tier Six? That type usually starts appearing at Tier Two and above."
"Unique resources," Aldrin spoke. "Unique resources would be found there, most likely."
"And the difficulty is low," Sefira added, smiling. "Meaning it can be farmed continuously if handled carefully. No wonder they wanted to keep it to themselves."
Cassius listened closely, confirming what he already knew.
It was no surprise the Amaris had agreed without much resistance. If the Royal Family ever discovered this, the punishment would be severe.
'A Unique Fractured Land with a hidden name.' Cassius suppressed a smile. 'That can only mean a god is involved.'
It was one of those hidden mechanisms almost no one knew about, something he had only pieced together after playing through the same First Game 333 times.
Fractured Lands were wounds in the fabric of the World of Sunu Gaal — the game world — where miniature worlds existed within, each with their own rules and conditions set by the System.
'They are great tools for sharpening skills and gathering artifacts and wealth. Still dangerous though, hosting stronger monsters than those found outside. And some are tied to a god or gods which means harder, more unique, and far more rewarding.'
That was exactly what he needed right now. Especially knowing which Goddess, and which Blessing she held, was behind this one.
'This is a good opportunity.' He thought quietly. 'I need to become a Blessed if I want to grow stronger. She will be perfect for that.'
Decision made, he brought his attention back to his family.
"Where is the Fractured Land now?" Cassius asked.
"We took it." Morgan said simply, grinning. "And I made sure they signed a Silence Contract with the System. Do you want to try it? I can send some of my people with you."
"I'd definitely like that…after." Cassius nodded. "But before that, the matter of the marriage."
He drawled, looking between the three of them. "Is it completely settled? No going back?"
"Yes." Aldrin said. "And you have a meeting with your future wife in one week."
'As expected.'
"Only then will we announce it officially to the rest of the Badur Kingdom." Sefira added.
Cassius nodded faintly without arguing.
Not that he wanted to. Isolde was his dream woman, after all.
To everyone else she was calm, sweet, indifferent; a big sister quietly supporting her sibling without a trace of jealousy. Only he knew how wicked and calculating she truly was.
'But I love it.'
She was also the type to kill, manipulate, and blackmail without blinking, as long as there was something to gain.
'Though that won't be the case with me. Not only did I cause her to lose a Fractured Land she had plans for, she also considers me too incompetent and worthless to bother with. So she had me killed by framing the Tier Two Castria Family.'
He quietly shook his head.
'I'm still amazed she pulled that off.'
Still, the old Cassius had never known her true nature. He did.
"Is everything alright, my baby?" Sefira asked, her voice carrying genuine guilt. "We wanted to give you the most talented one, but you know we can't openly challenge a Tier Zero."
She was apologising for giving her son a second choice.
'Yes. Second. Always second. That's how Isolde has been treated since the day the Chosen Heiress, her own little sister, was born.'
"Don't worry, Mother. I think I'll like her more than you'd expect."
"Oh? Why?" Morgan asked, eyebrow arching.
Cassius grinned shamelessly. "Because I like older women."
Silence swallowed the room instantly. Even the living shadows paused in their treacherous dance.
The family looked at one another. Then…
"That's my boy." Aldrin whispered, voice proud despite his unmoved face.
Sefira erupted into loud laughter, harder than Morgan herself, completely losing composure.
Morgan followed close behind. Cassius smiled watching them…his new family, enjoying themselves.
Then the image of raging blue fire surfaced in his mind without invitation. His smile half froze.
He clenched his fist quietly, trying to hold his smile and not let the memories back in. The numerous times he had watched everyone inside this shadow room die.
Yet he still remembered.
His mother shredded into pieces, her head hung on a spike. His father chained in a bloody pit, left to be eaten alive by crows. His sister. His brother. The twins.
All of them killed just to make an example. Just to frighten the others.
Cassius closed his eyes briefly, his goal now clearer than it had ever been.
'I need to save them. No, I will save them.'
And for that, Isolde was waiting.
At that thought, he couldn't help but wonder…
'Will I finally be blackmailed by a woman?'
He shivered with excitement without meaning to.
—End of Chapter 4—