Starlight [Attack on Titan Fanfiction: Levi x OC]

Chapter 2: A Dire Gamble

Chaos. That is what will succeed a lucky roll of dice. At last, somebody will feel content with their acquired results but soon enough, it will all be confiscated by the hands of the greedy. Though these pompous hands may not be able to change the inevitable, they can surely impede with its expected arrival, delaying a once supposed fate. That is the power of money. However, the two plastic cubes will still remain impartial to any player who engages in this little game; the only thing they will abide by is gravity and the three commonly known laws of motion, oblivious to all else.

One. An object in motion stays in motion. That is, unless some palpable, outside force is applied to it. Once the dice are released from the perpetrator's hands, that is it. They will diverge onto their own path now, at least until being stopped by some other distant entity.

Two. Force is equivalent to mass times acceleration. The weight of one's hands and how much intensity they invest into the flick of their wrist is determinant of how high the dice will reach, how many times they will spin, and ultimately, in how many seconds they will land. A kinship between horizontal and vertical velocities: who will outdo the other? Perhaps, it is a low but sharp throw, one where the die propels forward in a trail that is almost perfectly parallel with the ground. Or just as plausible, the throw may be skyrocketed into the air, following the track of an invisible pole, similar to that of a penny being flipped when partaking in an intense game of heads or tails.

And three. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When the dice cease to move any further and there is a clear pattern of dots displayed on the top faces of the cubes, there will be a reaction. For the one who lets go of the dice, he may either erupt into an immense joy or grind his teeth in utmost frustration. But for those who work against him, they will have the opposite reaction. If it so happens that the man is in luck and is indeed taking in the coins, then the rest are destined to falsely claim that that man is at fault, a narcissistic cheater. Even if everything at play was flawlessly set up in advance so that nobody would be able to cheat the system, people will still desperately cling onto whatever means they can at getting by, paying no mind to who they are running over and squishing beneath their raunchy feet in the process. After all, humans are inherently evil.

Another provoked individual will confidently snatch the dice away and fearlessly shake them within the perimeters of his cupped palms. Muffled clicking from the sounds of dice clashing together will somehow resound against the walls of the small room despite the dominating controversy and dispute. Accusations will be made, angry fingers will be pointed, and clenched fists will be thrown. After a short time, the air will slice into two as the dice fly with a crisp edge across the entirety of the room. They will bounce off of the rusted wooden planks that adhere to the grimy floor, and everyone will soon become silent again as they watch, frozen in their seats by some unexplainable force. One die will hit the edge of a wobbly chair, shooting off to the right in a rhythmic series of bounces and skips. The other will keep leveling forward. Attentive eyes will monitor closely. But the dice, they will only continue rolling...

Rolling...

Rolling...

Rolling...

ㅡ

It begins after several weeks. The late evening approaches with a slow meander, coupled with the gradual dimming of phosphorescent lights that hang idly by street lamps dispersed throughout the inert city. The activities of the day that were once teeming with boisterous deeds and chores die down into a complacent dormancy. Humans have taken to rest, as have the animals. Even the nocturnal owls and rats nestle in for the night, taking advantage of the nooks and crannies that lie between adjacent barrels or isolated trash cans.