The Game Before the Fall

Chapter 68: Who's Paradise? (Part 3)

The sight was magnificent, otherworldly, and would have been a stage renown across all the world. Despite the bright atmosphere however, a darker a foreboding tone couldn't be erased. It was a feeling beyond what could just be seen or heard, like an itch gnawing at one's heart.

Mia stopped halfway down the aisle towards the stage, "It's here.... The core is somewhere here."

"Below the stage?" I looked around, alert for danger.

"Maybe," Mia frowned, checking for danger as well. She reached for her dice, and it was that moment that my instincts cut in. Like a fucking arrow. The Old Man's words echoed in my mind. I dived in front of Mia, pre-emptively swinging my sword with no clear target in sight. As my swing reached its midpoint, a sudden blade collided against it and I was almost thrown back, barely able to parry the strike and deflect the assailant away. The force numbed my entire body and the energy from the impact caused my insides to bleed.

I gasped, tracking the blur of movement as I quickly drew a potion and drained it. They landed lightly on the edge of a seat three rows away, a smile expressed on their lips. My heart and body shivered. They appeared younger, the wrinkles on their face gone and the wear that had plagued their body cleaned away. He stood as a strikingly gallant figure, a slim sword in hand and pointed towards me. There was no denying it. It was the Old Man.

"Ardent!?" Mia gasped, only fully registering what happened now.

"Focus on your dice!" I shouted without turning around. I didn't want to believe it. The Old Man, like Zen, I considered him my teacher. Even he had fallen and become a demon.

"You're pretty fast," he cackled a familiar sound but laced with malice. "But can you keep up?"

"Tch," I clicked my tongue as he vanished and reappeared striking not towards me but Mia. I reacted and warded him back like I had before only for his smile to grow further and attack again from another angle. It was only from our frequent training and sparring that I was able to keep up. The problem was I knew I'd lose. The Old Man was already stronger than me, but now as a demon... could I even compare?

"Mia!" I called, hoping for her to find a way to break the stalemate I was quickly losing hold of.

"I...," her eyes were wet with frightened tears. "I- I can only see death. We're going to die!"

"Smart girl," the Old Man laughed and struck again, this time managing to fling my sword away. I drew another from my inventory just in time to block his sword from cutting Mia down on the spot.

"Get- the fuck- away!" I roared in pained anger, releasing my energy and throwing back everything around us, including the bolted down seats. The Old Man took the blow easily and simply let it carry him to stage's centre. I breathed heavily, downing another potion while I had the chance.

"Ardent-It's- it just gets worse," Mia shook, the dice on the floor were rolled straight and all facing the same number.

"How can this get worse?" I grunted and from the stage my answer appeared. A hidden door opened and from it a table and occupied chair lifted to the stage floor. An elven man grinned from ear to ear. Kazu Hinterhold. A crown of red crystals adorned his head. The eyes that I found annoyingly curious were now tainted with a desire that crossed the line of sanity. It wasn't just his appearance but the immense energy that radiated from him. I had only felt that level of power from one person before, my mother, the Witch of the Void.

Death. I saw it now clearly. I had bitten off far more than I could chew. This world was beyond fucked. The Isles would be squashed in seconds. Using Celestia to invade? That was just on his whim, on his fancy for entertainment. The reason I was still alive, the same. It was that whim I had to cling for hope, to use his curiosity against him.