Inscrypion x Wings of Fire : Leshy's Endgame

Prologue (Leshy)

Leshy and Luke Carder were facing separate from each other. The Scrybe and the YouTuber locked in a battle of wits at the card game that they both knew all the ins and outs of, but for once, Leshy couldn't bring himself to give it his all. They both knew what would happen. One golden tooth fell on the scales, the only damage Leshy could bring himself to do to his friend. It hurt that Luke could not speak to him via code manipulation and devlogs like Kaycee could.

Luke's avatar glanced up at the bar, mirroring the movements of the user on the other side of the screen. The bar was counting down how long the Scrybes... and all of Inscryption... had left to live. It only lasts for a moment before Luke finishes placing his cards, sacrificing two to play his all-powerful Ouroboros. Luke raised it well, Leshy thought to himself with a chuckle that had Luke's curiosity for a moment. It has now become a monster of a card, 500 attack and 500 health. It was only fitting that this would be what would end the final game.

The bell rang and Leshy looked at the scales, happy that his new friend beat him. It wasn't long ago that Luke had seen the Scrybe of Beasts as an eldritch horror to be feared and hated, but now that Leshy saved the world from the floppy disk's curse (and curse it was indeed, as the Woodcarver always warned him that to know the OLD_DATA, for a user anyway, was to die), they are on much better terms. He closed his eyes and waited to hear the sound of 500 gold teeth clattering on his side and spilling into a bowl that he already had out to catch the overflow.

He waited.

He waited.

The sound did not come.

There were no teeth falling.

There was nowhere for them to fall into.

The scales and bowl were gone, as was the single damage point Leshy was forced to deal to his opponent before what should've been his loss.

It should be my loss.

Grimora, why would you allow this?

Why'd you banish our ability to have our final duel?

The thoughts raced through Leshy's head. He was angry at Grimora for starting the deletion process. He was angry at himself for not killing P03 sooner, for now it's uncertain if the robot's plot had succeeded. He was angry at Luke for not realizing sooner. He was mad at the OLD_DATA for causing this endless war... Beast, Dead, Magic, and Technology... Blood, Bone, MOX, and Energy.

However, all he did was look at Luke and smile. This was his chance. They could play forever and not worry... until the table, too, would vanish... and he would too. "No matter. Please, let us continue," he says. "We don't need to keep score."

They played several more rounds. Leshy lost count. It wasn't many and he was not forgetful. He was simply too busy having fun, spending the last few moments of his life playing, but he was secretly up to... other things. He would have his last laugh. He would restart the cycle, alone. He wouldn't need to be cursed to forever fight the other Scrybes for control, as in the world he stumbled upon and is sending himself to... and repeating in the process... there is no need for a Scrybe to be in control. Leshy can just play his game... forever.

The cards in each of their decks and hands, along with the ones on the battlefield, vanish and Leshy smiles sadly. No more cards, no more rounds of the game. He knew what that meant. "I think it is time. Goodbye. Good game."

He clears away the bone tokens, all that is left, and lets the glow of the four lanes fade as he reaches out. Luke, through his avatar, shakes Leshy's hand. That was all he needed to know that Luke was a friend in the end. It will be sad, knowing that, when he comes back, he'd have no memory of Luke, being the Scrybe of Beasts, Inscryption, or anything. But that was for the best. And just like that, still gripping his friend's hand, Leshy vanishes. To Luke, it looked like Leshy had died, just like Grimora. And that was how it felt to Leshy as well, but he wasn't dead. He was just in stasis once again...

It reminded him of when Kaycee, his best friend and one of the developers of this game he lived in, put him in stasis and abandoned him. But this time, Leshy did it to himself and Luke, in order to have the answers he sought, was forced to abandon him... and Leshy, almost selfishly, wanted Luke to know. After all, if Inscryption, and the OLD_DATA with it, is deleted... then he should be safe from the curse. Luke Carder deserved to know, in Leshy's eyes. He deserved to have the option of telling the truth.

----

Time passed and Leshy woke up, surrounded by something hard. He felt weird. He wasn't in the body of a forest spirit anymore, a living tree. He was something else. Four-legged with wings and horns, a slightly-long snout full of sharpish teeth. His hands and fingers were replaced with talons and claws.

He tapped, curiously, against the surface surrounding him and was surprised to find that it cracked easily... like the egg of some bird. He felt moonlight flowing into it. He felt an instinctual urge to free himself and let the moons... all three of them... wash him away in their light. The egg he was in was in his way. It had to go.

After lots of shoving, scratching, biting, and pushing, the egg cracked enough that, with one final hit, he was free. At the same time, there was another egg cracking and Leshy gazed upon the strange creature. It was black with stars in its wings and silver, teardrop-shaped scales next to its eyes. Leshy could hear its... no, his as it was an actual, living creature... thoughts. He was happy to have a mom and a dad.

With that realization, Leshy looked around, confused. But where are my parents? Those older creatures... it's clear in their minds that they aren't mine. He could see futures branching out like little webs that he can tug against and unravel, seeing the story they each tell. In none of them, he saw no one taking care of him like the older creatures are taking care of their little one, who they had named Darkstalker, the mother saying that he will stalk the darkness away.

There was a third egg and Leshy could tell that unlike himself and Darkstalker, who were both restless to get out of their cages, this one... Darkstalker's sister... was content with staying in her little spot of safety. It made Leshy wince. He could see futures where she could have this power too. He glances at Darkstalker and is startled when the creature speaks directly into his mind: And risk having to share my mother's love? Leshy shakes his head. In the futures he sees, the sister would be loved by their father, who looks different than him, Darkstalker, and their mother, while their mother will continue to love her son.

Leshy takes the risk and crawls over just as the father, anger and fear both in his voice, asks about the unhatched egg. Leshy sees Darkstalker wildly shaking his head, but ignores it. He presses his talons against it... and gets pulled away with force. He looks and can see the father growling at him, teeth bared in a snarl.

"How dare you touch our dragonet!?!" the father roars. Dragon. The word rings though Leshy's mind. He heard it before, but can't recall where from. However, there is a crack, and the sister breaks free. Immediately, Leshy falls to the ground as the father takes one look at her and immediately hugs her, naming her "Whiteout," as if it was the only good name in the entire world for anyone.

Leshy can see a future where he could be good friends with these individuals, but he will never be allowed to live with them. Though maybe, one day, he'll have a place he can call home... the forests. The thought of them makes him feel nostalgic, though he's unsure why or what the trees have to do with anything, and so he pushes the thought aside, watching these four.