[Elsword] - Formulated Hearts

Act 19 - Eve?

...

After the entire support/domino incident, the Royal Guard tidied everything relatively quick, so that the coffee shop was back in order. Elsword and his trio of girls remained chatting about various topics to pass the time, while Rena's gang was just about to depart with Raven.

"Oh! Actually, I have to go check on something. Raven probably has something to tell you guys, so go on ahead and sit back and relax for a while more. See ya guys there! Raven shall guide you~"

And with a twist and a turn, Rena left the cafe, her mere existence seemed to have attracted wind from the outside, as leaves rustled and swayed around.

The Blade Master casually sat down with Chung and Add, his stern orange eyes looked cold and uninviting at first, but the boys soon warmed up to him.

"You guys may still be naive, however, I advise you to trust the formulated hearts." he started, intently staring at the duo.

"What? Do you have some sort of story, or lecture to give us?" the Esper asked, still appearing to be bored out of his mind.

"I suppose so. Witty people like you need some sort of rational explanation, though this wouldn't be much of a help. Anyway, this is something that had occurred to me when I was attending highschool. My first love wasn't originally Rena. Her name was Seris. I had always cherished her, before the hearts came, and I had thought our feelings were mutual. I was wrong. When the formulated items had been shipped to us with Rena's magic, I had found out that Seris was cheating on me with my best friend, Alex. Ah, it was... a heartbreaking experience, I thought that I'd never get over it. Heh. Then I met Rena, because despite being the mastermind of everything, she needed someone by her side, too. And it just so happened to be me. Nevertheless, to this day, I have no clue how she makes these accurate decisions about who would be the perfect match for who. I always think that... she's a Goddess, in my eyes. Precious and loved by all." he softened up at the last sentence, though his face was still devoid of a smile.

Chung gained heaps of respect for Raven after his tale, feeling a bit depressed because of his hardships. 'It must have been hard to face the fact that the one you treasured didn't actually feel the same, even after being caught into deception. I wonder... if Add was chosen over me... would I be able to let go of Eve that easily? Mr. Raven... is really strong, and I admire that.'

Instead of scoffing and saying that it was a pathetic narrative, Add chose not to open his mouth, even someone like him was a bit speechless.

"I'll let you two think that over. Looks like I've burned a good few minutes, so we should leave and meet Rena now, for what she has planned." he stood up, pushed in his chair, and began heading towards the door without looking back.

~

The walk to their destination, which was the arcade, was filled with silence. It was several minutes away from the cafe; Elrios Square was a large locality that was popular among all ages, it had something for practically everyone. When they had arrived, Add was immediately confused.

"Why the hell are we going to the arcade? I have no interest in playing games, it's a waste of time." Add rolled his eyes.

"Rena said it was supposed to be a bonding activity, though I am not aware of the details. She'll explain once we're inside." Raven responded, as calm as ever.

When they entered, techno-pop music blasted through the small black speakers attached to the ceiling, creating a competitive gaming atmosphere.

The pair of teenagers scanned their surroundings, to see if anything caught their eye. However, all four of their eyes had landed on a particular Nasod playing a shooting game, who had silvery-gray hair with a slight wave, a glimmering blue core on her forehead, and a pitch black suit.

'Is that... Eve?'

...