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Chapter 1: A World With No Answer

(Latch House - Occupation Unknown)

Half Past 5 pm - An eerie high pitch sizzle erupts in the enclosed garden. From one environment to another, his entrance was spectacular.

Liam opens his eyes to his house and a stream of light peeking over the house between the trees. Walls circled in two sections, one section with a portal and a few bushes, the other section with only a fountain. Life, health, and Death's Enemy. His armor vanishes in thin air and he drops his axe to the ground. Half of the blade is missing. Lightning extends from one side to the other. Cracks, crumbles, and chips of metal flake away from the weapon. Blood lingers from his lip to his beard. A hole in his chest, the wound pulsates blood like lava down an incline. To teleport away from danger was only his first challenge, now his gaze is upon the fountain,

How's the hand? Mockery in different tones comes from within or without. No logic is made of this because to enter home permission is needed.

"Are you talking about my hand?" His left stump blocks the light from his expanded pupil eyes. An old wound severs his forearm in half.

Time is of importance, Liam needs to make it to the fountain. Three yards away. In time his body can't take anymore as his pupils diminish.

(South Perltion, NC)

3 Years Earlier - A clock, one till seven. The room is blank as night and Liam's clothes propped up on his desk chair. An axe comforts Liam, Ironically his bed cover doesn't match the sweet taffy layered wall and a shelf of old german beer Steins. His friend once Says, "very girlish."

The clock hits seven. A long beep in what sounds like morse code sizzles in his room. A click within the clock sends the station to a channel. A voice of pure joy causes Liam's brown eyes to explode open. The Man cheers to his ghostly audience, "GOOD MORNING RALEIGH. What a beautiful day in the capital district." Liam lives an hour from Raleigh, North Carolina. "The sun is blue and the sky is red. As anti-mellowing that is, still smoother than the ex-president. AL GORE ENDORSING REPUBLICAN NOMINEE DONALD JOHN TRUMP!" The sound of laughter and fists jumping on the tables. After a few the man regains his composure, "we are talking about forty-third president..."

Liam's mother pops off the radio's button, cutting the voices short of their sentence. The curtain swings open like ballroom doors, letting the flow of morning shine strike Liam's face. "Wakey wakey." Says Liam's mother. "You have thirty minutes till the bus comes." She turns the corner of his door and out she goes.

Liam is five foot ten and a little chubby. His gloomy brown hair is a tree bark brown. A grunt leaves Liam as he lifts himself from his bed. "One... Two... THREE!"

A few minutes have passed by. Liam charges through the hall. Planting his feet to the ground. His feet smack the floor in an attempt to stop. Unintentionally his feet slide inches from the fridge. Liam's eyes peek. His almost harming, is gifted with a hard glare from his mother who joins him in the kitchen. "Haha wow." He says nervously.

Liam's mother is a tall woman that has no hair and is thin. The look of her yells chemo at first glance, through the rose bush her smile blooms like she is healthy. She opens the cabinet above the sink and pulls out a box of snacks. "You know if you keep running like that here, you will get hurt." She pulls out an energy bar and places it in Liam's Backpack. "I mean it." She hands the bag to him and her stare sends daggers.

A crack between a smile and frown sends a rollercoaster of mixed feelings. One moment he feels as if it's him being a liability to her. The next his mind takes a step back, "I'm not saying that you're wrong but." They stare at each other for a jiffy. "You shouldn't stress too much about me, you need to relax yourself." His hands hook the backpack, catapulting the Synthetic materialistic bag to his hip.

"My baby always comes first," his mother says as she follows Liam to the living room. A picture of Liam's mother and father's wedding day stands on a computer desk. The frame gets lifted to eye level. Her hair was very beautiful and long back in the day, her hair was also the same color as Liams. Tree bark brown. A lily tucked in the back of her ear. The dress was so white that heaven would transfer.

The father with a wholesome expression stands on the right of her. Shoulder to shoulder. The background of a farm in Ohio mixed with the eighties Monte Carlo SS seems so surreal. You could almost hear the wind whispering by and the sound of late-night crickets at five.

Liam Pouts and drops the bag "I'm not a baby anymore, I'm sixteen now." Liam looks to his left, "soon I'll be seventeen." He thought to himself. Down towards the door giving a slight grin crawling from his facade. His Pout is contagious because his mother does the same.

Liam's mother puts down the picture. Roping his face up, she forces their eyes to meet. "Doesn't matter how old you are, you will always be my baby." She leans in at Liam fast, swiping her hand up and poking Liam's nose. "And don't you forget that!"

Liam's grin turns into a frown, he hugs his mother. "How... How is everything going with the payments for your treatment."

She wraps her arms around his head. "You're father is taking good care of it, no need to worry." She rubs the back of his head, "just promise me when he gets back from work tonight, try not to ask too much of him, please."

"Sure," Liam says. They stop hugging.

His mother focuses on the clock. "Oh Liam, get to the bus stop before you'll be late." She straightens his shirt and steps back.

"You got it." He grabs his backpack "I'll see you tonight mom. "Don't forget to feed the cat

!." He dashes out the door and stumbles down the stairs.

On the bus, Ian looks over his seat to Liam. He is on the same track team and an annoyance to Liam despite being friends. His most noticeable feature is his blond curly hair and a small mole on his cheek, that the females seem to love. "Liam, you hear that Pelep bought Byalfulmaris from Nafelt." Says Ian.

Liam looks away from Ian Ignoring him.

"Damn, someone is grumpy today." Ian sneers.

Liam lifts his backpack onto the window blocking the shine from his face. "No it's just the light was in my eye." He puts a wireless earphone in his left ear.

"Ay, dick head. Did you hear?" Ian scolds.

"Are you always months behind on information Ian," Liams says while cradling his face into his palm. "What does it even matter to you anyways, you don't like Byalfulmaris.''

Ian jumps over his seat and plants his butt next to Liam. "What! I'll inform you that Byalfulmaris is my favorite all-time game that means a lot to me, and some nerve you have to press that against me."

"Oh really." Liam Says as he pulled out a notebook named, No More Bullshit.

"Oh really!" Ian echoes. He notices the notebook, "God damnit."

Liam flipped through a few pages. "Got it. October twenty-fifth, twenty thirteen, quote on quote." He clears his throat "Byalfulmaris is nothing, but a shitty HeartLands copy."

Ian's face becomes pale in a poker face freeze, as he lowers Liam's book. "Do you always have to be extra Liam?"

Liam smile's, showing his pearly whites. "As I say, no more of people's bullshit this year." He closes the notebook.

Ian pouts and crosses his arms. "Anyways, did you sign up for the third live tournament? They are saying It's going to be the biggest tournament ever hosted."

Liam lays his head back into the seat "I didn't, my clan did..." Sounding sluggish.

"You sound disappointed?" Ian guesses.

"Sometimes I can't stand them, I never asked them to make that decision for me. Brian must really want all of us this year." Liam sighs.

"Honestly you're lucky to have connections." Ian boosts. "Because even though there are going to be fifty-thousand players, that's out of the millions that signed up over the world. Getting into something like that isn't a joke."

"Yeah, I know. It's just I got a lot going on right now, besides today is the day I ask her to prom," Liam Says. He plays The beetle's instrumentals to calm his heartbeat, an overwhelming feeling of bravery isn't coming to him anytime soon. "Just wish me luck for this?" The light leaves his eyes as they turn onto the school's road.

"Right bud, I'll be cheering for you when prom is over." Ian slaps Liam's meaty thigh and heads back to his seat.

A few hours have gone by as the class days seem to get slower. As time ticks closer and closer as he begins to muster up the courage. Though as each minute passes he feels like he can't.

The bell rings "and that is the lesson for today, there is no homework so I'll continue class in the morning." Says the teacher.

Liam heads to his locker and is approached by a nervous-looking girl.

"Liam." Says Wendy. Wendy is a short girl. Her hair is black yet bleached to an ashy ton and her eyes are blueish green. She isn't very popular though her friends are. She is very outstanding, except when Liam is around she acts weird.

"Wendy," Liam says.

Wendy turns beet red as she walks past him.

"Okay... Why does she keep doing that?" Liam mumbles. He walks to the cafeteria, a view almost open to his friends, all at the table. He looks to his left and sees the girl, laughing with her friends, It's Shelby. She is the captain of the track team and also is one of the nicest people in the school. Her hair is brown and her eyes are greyish green.

Shelby's attention is drawn towards Liam, a smile creeps from the corner of her lips. She makes her way to him, arms behind her back. Cute. She leans towards him "You were looking at me more than ten seconds you know," She points at him. "Thats eight more seconds than you should!"

Liam panics as he looks around the room to see if anyone else notices his beet-red face.

Her eyes water as she laughs at him. It's obviously due to his dumb look.

Embarrassment fills his body, along with shivers. "Uh you see uh." Liam stutters. He again looks around. "Uh, do you need to... I mean. Can I walk you home today after track?"

"Smooth one knucklehead," Ian says as he walked past him.

Liam turns towards Ian "Listen here ass-hat, I am not gonna share my Lunch with you next time and..."

Before he could say something else. "Sure," Shelby Responds. Liam couldn't believe his ears as their eyes lock. "Want to sit with me at an empty table today." She says as she pointed at another table across her friends.

Liam nods. "Yeah I'd love to."

Night claims the sky early as mid-November is upon them. After school hours as Shelby and Liam walk home under the street lights, passing a block of houses and a gas station. A safe town and great people all around, It's the American dream. They make their way to an open field, the town park. . Politics, Byalfulmaris, and their classmates come up. A laugh between them could be heard as the last street light hovers over them. One more block away and he still hasn't brought prom to their moment.

"How is your mother," Asks Shelby. Her voice was calm, low pitched almost as if it made her uncomfortable.

Liam's eyes widen, "You heard." A question he least expects hits him the hardest.

Shelby hops in front of him. "Richard told me." She tucks her bottom lip at Liam with a stare that sends daggers. "Liam, you have to talk to people like is about it or you are going to be grumpy and depressed your whole life." She waits for him to walk foot to foot with her. "Don't you want to vent at all?"

"I'm sorry, I'm so closed about my personal life. But the doctor says she caught it early so I'm trying to stay strong," Liam lies. They arrived at Shelby's house.

"Well that's good, you're mother deserves the best. Such a sweet lady." Shelby turns her body away from Liam, "Well thank you for walking me home." Shelby chuckles. "I very well do understand why you haven't been able to walk me home much but..."

Time dulls out and Liam only sees her mouth move. No word he can hear. Before she could finish Liam interrupted her. "Will you go to prom with me!?" He says with his eyes closed.

Shelby was in shock for a second and her face looked like she regretted something. She turned her head to her right. "Liam... I... I can't. You see, every sense your father lost his job and when Maria..." She stops herself from going deep into Liam's past "you haven't been you and I can't handle the depressing energy you give off. Plus Richard already asked me. You have always been a good friend listening to me and I want to be there for you, but I just don't like like you... like you, like me." She drops her eye contact with him. "Liam we have been friends from a very young age, to ruin it like this because I don't feel the same, would hurt me."

Liam looks down as heat builds in his face, "Shelby I liked you for a long time..." He gets cut off.

"When you were with Maria, you didn't look at me though. What was I supposed to do, wait for you?" Her body sways in an annoying motion. "You know as I do, thats not how thing work!" Shelby becomes beet red to the face. They both lay silent for a few. "Liam, please... Get home safe and I'll see you tomorrow." Shelby walks to her house, she turns around to wave at Liam, useless as Liam is already on his way not looking at her.

Liam gets home, A two-story white house in a fence fortress of his road. decent quality neighborhood as his parents are in an HOA. He is about to open the door until he overhears his mother and father arguing.

"I need you to tell him, honey," Says Liam's mom. his mother is sitting on the couch.

Liam's father is walking back and forth with his hands on his head, in deep stress. "What, that his father is a bum that is out of work and cant support his family!"=

"Please make it easy for me, it will help if you just are there with me and focus on him. These last moments should be with family like it used to be." Liam's mom Says. She gets up and puts her hands on his face. "Adam."

"No please, The union promised to get me a second job and it will be easy for us, even you," Pleads Liam's father.

"If you want to make it easy for us to just let time take its course." Says Liam's mom while grabbing Liam's father's face. Liam walks through the door and both his parents look at him, Liam runs up the stairs.

"Liam!" Liam's father yells out.

Liam enters the room, locks the door behind him, and jumps on his bed with his head in a pillow.

His father soon follows as a knock comes from Liam's door.

Liam doesn't answer.

"Liam. Can I come in?" His father asks.

"Yes..." Liam replies.

Liam's father slowly makes his way to the bed. He moves Liam's legs out of the way to make room for him to sit. "I should be honest with you. The tests your mother took one week ago came in today and we found that her cancer has spread from her muscle to her ribs." He begins to rub Liam's back. "Because of this, I'm going to quit my second job and spend more time with you two. That's what she wants after all..."

"I'm scared."

Liam's father slides his hand into Liam's hair. "That's okay. If you feel scared, let it out. If you feel like crying, let it out. If you feel angry, let it out." He chuckles. "Obviously let it out on a pillow." He pulls his hand back. "What I'm trying to say is. Your feelings are valid and that it is okay to find a way of escape right now, whether that is taking a walk or venting to friends. Your mother wants you to live your life and be happy, no matter what trial will come your way." Tears at the corners of his eyes build up. "Just know, we love you." Liam's father makes his way to the door. "Good night."

Liam gets up and is at the edge of his bed crying quietly. He walks to his drawer and stares at it for a second before opening it. Inside are shirts and a paper, Liam picks the paper up and it unfolds. The paper says...

Greetings Liam Amos you have been selected as one of fifty thousand to participate in the third Byalfumlmaris TOURNAMENT, the winner will take home one hundred thousand USD. As of now with new Pelep owner's we will seek to make this event enjoyable and an experience to remember."

(Raleigh NC/biggest Capital Stadium)(Liam)

3 Weeks Later - "Liam are you sure you want to do this?" Says Liam's mother. She walks him to the office.

"Yeah mom it's only going to be a week, it's just like the video I showed you" Liam shows the papers to the lady behind the glass.

She picks up the paper reviewing it. She drops the paper and slides the paper across the blueish, white marble desk with a single finger. The lady pulls her hand under the table and pulls out a parental legal paper. "Please take this and when you're done signing it bring it to the waiting room. It's down the hall to the left, down the stairs, it can be that room or keep going straight and the two rooms to the left or right."

"Right." Says Liam with a confused look. The woman has said it so fast that it causes knots in his brain. Both he and his mother head down the hallway, "Mom..."

Liam's mother focuses her attention on him. "Yes?"

"By any chance when I get back. Can you, dad, and I go hiking like we use to?" Liam requests.

His mother smiles. "Of course."

A few hours go by as Liam now is ready to enter the portal-scuti. A device made back in two-thousand and four, during Al Gore's presidency. Later after his second term was done, The device became worldwide under individual households. Safety devices protect those who use them though, for massive tournaments they require solo servers separate from the internet. It's to protect everyone in case of a cyber-attack. The device absorbs the Player into the game, where the rules of physics are different.

Players are ready in line. They show tickets and signing papers. The tournament should start soon.

Liam is next to go into the portal that will absorb him into the server. Butterflies in his stomach, giving himself a grin. It's ridiculous for him to be fear such a Harmless device as he does it all the time.

"Well kid, are you going in?" Asks the portal guy.

Liam looks back at his mother in the crowd, he gives her a thumbs up. "Yeah." He walks through the portal. His body is ripped apart and reformed in an enclosed white room, Everything is white, but some grayish controls Liam walks up to it. A screen flashes across him. "Wait, so no tutorial?" Words appear, he has to sign in and then select a place to spawn. "My name is A M O S, Amos" Liam will now be known as Amos.

Calculations appear before a choppy A.I voice echos within the white room. "Amos... Tournaments allow curses that are attached to accounts from the main game to follow the accounts into the event. Do you wish to remove the curse, cloud slasher from your account before preceding into the main game.

"No." Amos answers.

A few seconds before the random calculations vanish. "Right. If you wish to remove the curse down the line, to do so would cost one million at the Durmax church.

A map of the land appears with the total populations of each area with in a certain region. "Village Of Tatter is at max population, So is Durmax and Flakenwell and Paptal. Stillow is close to max. That's the next best place, and I'll focus on getting my strength up. Yeah that will work."Amos pulls the lever and his vision is struck by light. The white rooms light dims as he opens his eyes to the world of Byalfulmaris. Chaos as thousands of people run the city course. One guy is bashing the other guy's head in with a bucket, while random people fight each other with bronze short swords in a weird stance. "Well fuck."

Introduction: Byalfulmaris is an MMORPG. It is your typical fantasy game that was introduced to the Portal-Scuti. The game has many skills to train, for each skill the max level of one thousand. Different magic across the board used for support, combat and occasionally defense. Each player has an inventory within their interfaces that can hold few items out of the millions in the world they are in, including the gear they wield.

Food and potions are a form of healing or rejuvenation to an individual and to satisfy ones hunger if needed. Though almost any wound could be fixable, damage to a bone is not. If Blood or any body part is taken away from the body, it will not return as it is no longer a piece of you. If you heal yourself after its removal, a layer of skin will surround the stump.

Magic is vast in Byalfulmaris. Spells can be unlocked through quests, leveling up and killing certain bosses. Unlike other games, mana isn't a thing here. To cast a spell is a connection between the person and the surrounding Nature's energy. It is possible for nature's energy to be depleted but never happened before.

Vitality isn't magic but a divine boost and or protection that drains the user's energy. The most common vitality is the protection against Melee, Range, and Magic attacks.

Curses are things you can place on items, people, and or spells. Though rare after players found out they can do without them and after many accounts having them removed, Curses are still used with in many accounts. The thing players tend to not understand is that even though the curse may have a benefit, the bad will outweigh it. You may never know who passes you may have one,

To fight know one thing, you own no unique abilities or weapons. Even rare weapons can be multiplied if wanted. You have to be faster, be accurate, know your timing, be skilled, understand the equipment, and last but not least, grind for max levels.

The map is the larger version of the normal game to be able to hold up to fifty thousand players. Three years of tournaments have given the game huge recognization from major companies and governments from around the world. After the buyout of Nafelt, they thought it would be a good idea to help more people. In short, nothing has been good about the game after Pelep took over. In fact, those fifty thousand players would later learn the hard way as after a few hours people after death would not come back, and instead of a health bar, blood and pain were real. An instant personal message to every player alive would be told that if they died they could never come back as they were facing difficulties on the other side. Eventually, a week became a month, and a month became nine. During the first month, nine thousand have died followed by five thousand in the next eight, as clans clash and the weak starve. After those first personal messages, not a single person got one again and the thought of finishing the tournament for the grand prize was soon overtaken by the instinct to survive and get out of this placeas fast as possible. Though no one understands what is happening or what the objective is.

(Ruins of Bell - Occupation W.A.L)(Amos)

9 Months Later - Three men trail along a dead city in ruins and ash. What once was a capital of a powerful clan now is darkened by the battle of two others. Much south is the dividing lines of trenches and dead bodies not yet recovered for many months. The flat lands within the valley of nothing but burnt-down trees, and the sounds of cannon fire miles away echo off the mountains.

Amos equipped with heavy steel armor and dark boots, drags his great axe across wet ash ground, leaving a trail in his past.

Hypno hums a tune from the Animal's, We Gotta Get Out Of This Place. He wears a shredded chain body, steel plate legs, and a steel horned helmet.

Christ walks in front of the two in full throness armor, he paces sluggishly. Thorness armors are loose and mobile armor pieces that have spikes along the shoulder blade and arm braces.

They arrive at the Ruins of Bell pub, the looks of destruction and ash to their left, and right as the city is no more. Yet this building is one a th few still standing... Barley. The door with a few sickle cuts in the center and the windows of the glass either melted or broken.

A fella with gambeson armor on stands outside flipping a cigarette. "Care for a ciggy mate?" Says the man.

The three ignore the man and walk into the bar to be greeted by the bartender, "hello, what can I get you." He slides two mugs to them and reaches up for one more.

"Cut the shit, it's us." Says Hypno.

The bartender stops. He gives Hypno a nod and heads for the hatch behind the counter. "My, my to come here this early in the morning something must be of great importance." Says the bartender. He opens it and allows Christ to go down first, followed by Hypno, and lastly Amos.

Over a hundred people are in this big basement, some of the topmost wanted criminals of each major clan sector. Everyone's attention is drawn towards the three W.A.L members walking down the soft dirty lane. They back up, making sure not to get in their way as they fear for their life, knowing if they die here they die in real life.

Hypno pulls out a scroll, clears his throat, and starts to read to everyone. "Understanding our contract. In this last week, W.A.L has been informed that all mercenaries that should have been on duty had been abandoning their positions, we understand the notion of a dangerous job, but we did incise to not fuck us - God." Hypno drops the scroll. "And by that, we came down taking time off our busy day to see what the fuck is going on... So please inform us on why you all are collecting millions and not doing your job?"

"Because we don't want to do it," someone says with a scared tone. The voice swept under the crowd as even the silence was overtaken by unbearable silence, not even a mouse would move It's tail..

Christ already locks his focus on the person in the crowd. He runs through the mercenaries grabbing the kid by the neck. He lifts him by his throat, "Your life means nothing to me. You assholes need to understand one thing, it's either you die by me or die in honor of our contract."

A single Mercenarie sways from behind swings a brazer dagger at Christ.

Christ switches his vitality protection to melee without looking at the person. As soon as the dagger makes contact with him, he kicks the torso of the man sending him back a few yards.

The man drops to a knee gasping for air.

Amos comes from behind and bashes the man with his great axe, sending him flying into the wall.

Dust gusts around everyone as they back up.

"Big to others and small to us." Christ squeezes his grip. "Scum like you chase a better life while trampling over others, but act like we are the devil when doing the same to you. You better realize in this pyramid, we are at the top."

The kid wiggles his arm as Christ crushes his windpipe, he can get out a few words, "I'm... sorry."

Christ realizes it's just a youngling, looks as if he was fifteen. He drops the kid. He looks to his left fast startling the crowd.

The young merchinarie gasps for air as he plays with his neck, hoping his esophagus would open so he could breathe.

Christ heads for the stairs. "I think they got the point."

"Christ, where are you going?" Says Amos.

"Back to my task," Says Christ. He stops and turns around, "If I have to come back to this shit hole, I'm going to kill half of you assholes." Hypno and Amos follow Christ with no more to say.

This world is not meant for a seventeen-year-old boy. This new hell makes me have more questions than answers. A world with no answer.

Chapter 2: The Cup Of Tea

(Wolfpass - Occupation ROT)(Ship)

That Morning - Ship is sitting in one of the few diners that had been built by ROT after they had taken the city from rogue clans a few months ago. Ship loves this shop particularly out of the others because he gets a good look at the Nanium portal from the inside.

According to the games lore, Nanium is the next planet over from Byalfulmaris. During the battle between the demi-gods Avus and Tintinaru, the continent that the Fools clan occupies was split in half. After Avus and his followers were defeated they were imprisoned on the planet Nanium. Causing the planet to turn ashy and dry. Monsters like the Colossal Dragon and Maverick Widow are few of the most dangerous mosters out there. Much land, millions of floating platforms and rock islands are unexplored, due to how dangerous the planet is. Being on the planet for too long can cause much mental irritation is another factor of why so much is unknown about the land.

Ship's curiosity peaks seeing who would tempt fate to go there, what gear they bring, and especially to look for a certain group that interests him. A sigh becomes deaf to him as he is yet to see them.

A waitress makes her way to Ship carrying his breakfast sandwich and a new cup of tea. She places both before him.

"Lovely isn't it." Ship Says as he claps his hands.

The waitress smirks at him. "That's what you say after you drink it, hun." She says in a young Tennessee accent. She takes his empty cup and his smile before she leaves.

Ship focuses at her feet as he widens the gap between them. "That's right..." He slowly brings the tea to his lips and sips it with a big gulp. Eyes widen, he can't help the urge for repetition as a tear drips off his eye. "Damn..." A sigh leaves his mouth. "Lovely isn't it..."

Later that morning Ship wipes his mouth with a napkin, he swiftly looks to his right and gazing upon a group of seven. From their setup, they look as if they are going to slay some of the smaller monsters, maybe in hopes to get a totem drop. Something was strange though as he expects, as a new member follows behind them. The new kid runs up to them in a poor man's setup with no steel armor. He is fatigued from running and gives them a nice smile followed by words that Ship couldn't hear. He focuses as the group laughs in unison while walking into the Nanium portal. A grin crosses Ship's face.. "Just finished my morning dine on time." More or less he knows he has enough time to smoke. Approaching the border of the portal, he reaches to his back pocket and pulls out a carton of cigarettes. Placing one in his mouth, he asks the guy next to to him for a light by just nodding.

"Sure thing mate." Says the guy. He opens his trench coat revealing a hand cannon, swiping his hands together a spark comes from his thumb. Casting a spell called torch fingers, he burns the tip of the cigarette. "Seven boys between the age of fourteen to twenty, and a girl age nineteen." The man drops his hand back into his trench coat. "I've been curious about them too you know, just that I think interfering with them would irritate the other clans."

Ship doesn't seem surprised by the cannon and puffs on the cigarette a few times before the end is glowing red. "Mind your own business. Besides, that cannon of yours must have cost a few pretty blood tokens, right Euro?"

Now known as Euro, He raises his hand to stroke his chin in amusment. "I'd rather you not say my name in public."

Ship just shrugs his shoulders huffing a cloud of smoke into his mouth.

"And the end result was worth it, for me." He motions his shoulders back a bit, "I know your goal is to protect, but to kill... You know he will come for you if you continue."

Ship with his cigarette hanging from his mouth he instantly equips his steel gaunlets. "It would be nice to see him again, but I don't think the feeling in mutual." He says as he looks at the man who is concerned. "What do you care anyhow?"

Euro chuckles. "Damn you brothers. As stubborn as ever."

With one last huff of his cigarette, Ship just lets it roll off of his mouth. "Yep..." He steps onto the portals platform and walks into the circular plasma.

Shaking his head Euro picks up the cigarette. "I yet understand people, and you two are a mystery on its own." He pulls back his sleeve with his other hand and holds the cigarette. His arm from the wrist is mixed with tattoos, scars, stitches, red patches, and bumps, "what do I know, I'm just a sick fuck." The burning end of the cigarette touches his skin giving him a small burn.

(Unknown Location - Occupation Closed)(Aasha)

A man in full heavy steel armor, A cape with the crest of ROT, and wielding a sword of the gods throws his sword in the air. His sword swiftly lands in the ground between a young lady's feet. His name is Ruto. "Ready when you are."

The lady's name is Aasha the pure. She has black hair in a ponytail and unknowable green eyes, as her pupils are always at large. Aasha is equipped with a mixed chest plate with chainmail, dark steel plate legs, a white scarf, and the small mobil backpack to carry more items if needed. What seems to be two Brazer whips are wrapped around her torso, she clings to a strife bow. Giving Ruto a smirk as she uses her foot to tug up on the quillon of the sword. She lifts the sword from the ground. "Calm down dipshit, you already look like you want to punch my pretty face." Her foot kicks the sword at Ruto.

Ruto catches the sword clearin the blade from dirt with a slice of the air twice before laying the blade on his shoulder. "It pained me to see such a face that is yet tainted by this world." He kneels, proceeding to pick a rock up as he inspects it. "Pain..." Standing up, he tosses the rock past her. "You were alumnus to the Monk clan. So the second chance was to see your fate change." From their past fights, it seems he wishes her dead. Such a mistake letting her go.

A carefree expression as a wide smile corrupts her face, "one." She turns on Rigour and melee protection. Her eyes turn green as she clutches her bow, "two." She lifts her bow, pointing it at him, "three." She activates her charged attack, the tips of the two arrows turn to the heads of black dragons. Aasha springs her bow back and releases the bowstring, the cry on the dragon's sizzle as the arrows pass ten yards, feet from Ruto.

Some weapons have their own charged attack, with verious styles to peirce armor, speed up ones strikes or even turn off the opponents Vitality without them knowing. Each charged attack uses up a certain percentage of the users energy depending on the weapon they use.

Ruto with one slick motion dodges the two arrows and begins to sprint at her. Little effort in his movements his feet dance side to side.

Aasha also charges at him.

Ruto jumps at her equipping an brazer crossbow, not change to his range setup, and fires a bolt at her.

She switches her vitality protection to the range and the bolt bounces off her. Charging her bow back as she kneels to a slide.

Two arrows sizzle past him as he twists his body mid-air, continuing to jump over her, and lands on a slide. Before she is able to turn around he spins to a roundhouse kick, She places a bow in front of the kick, preventing the hit from getting her face. The force of the kick forces her to stumble to her feet.

Ruto switches back to his sword of the gods and swings it overhead.

Aasha pulls off one of her whips from her torso and wraps the chain around the blade as she barely dodges the attack. The tip of the blade cuts a little part of her armpit. She unravels the other whip and snags his ankle with the chain. She pulls her whip back causing him to fall on his butt.

They both stop for a moment and stare at each other. "damn, my ass hurts." Says Ruto.

Aasha unwraps her whip from the sword and stands back. She holds both her whips up dual-wielding them both. "You already finished?"

"Do me a favor and shut the fuck up." He stands, dusting himself off. Leaning over and he picks his sword up, "I have a question."

"What?" Aasha asks.

"Your floating whip things. They a secret magic spell that only the monks knew, correct?" Ruto Questions.

"And what should I tell a piece of shit like you that?" The whips quickly wrap around her torso into an X.

"Does the five-fingered cap have any connection to it?" He unequipped his sword, causing it t vanish out of thin air. "Like how my fingered cap is powerful. If I had that power would it affect my ability?"

Aasha blankly stares at Ruto. "Stop acting so casual around me. Everyone around us knows what you are after and what a sick fuck you are."

"Tell me or not, I will come to understand it soon." Ruto dusts off his rear end.

"I see. You already can read me like a book." Her Vitality is deactivated. "It's not worth continuing this fight any longer." She jumps back as she holds her armpit, realizing that she had been cut, and looks at her hand that is bloody, "Kim dear! Mind healing me?"

Kim stands next to a man, black hair just like Aasha's. She is a tall girl above six feet and has a slight twitch in her eyes. Her accent is a slight cockney with a New England suburban mix. She holds out a medkit and walks to Aasha, "Aasha dear, why don't you just eat instead of having me heal you?" Kim takes the bandages out and wraps her armpit. The bandages dissolve and successfully heal her, as the gash closes.

"I rather not spend twenty thousand on a single mixed pack for every nail I break." Aasha exaggerates. "Besides this is our bonding moment." Gazing into Kim's blue eyes, Aasha smiles.

"Both you and Ruto shouldn't fight like this. I brought you in here, now stop being a pain in the ass." Kim Says as she inspects the rest of Aasha's body. "He doesn't like when you guys fight." She looks back at the man she was standing next to before. Her glance asks for confirmation though is ignored. "Ruto..." She captures his attention.

Ruto struts towards Kim, his walk means business. "Father could have shut down this fight any time. I would like to continue the fight, but..."

Kim interrupts Ruto while cringing. "That's not what I meant." Shaking her head, she looks to be ignoring something. "That was a beginning to a new conversation, unrelated to the last."

Ruto crosses his arms. "What then?"

"I was talking with..." She takes a long gulp of her own spit, before attempting to speak again. "Father the other day." She quickly glances back at the man she was standing next to a moment ago, he sits there in his chair non-responsive. Kim firmly looks back at Ruto locking eyes.

Silence for a few moments before Ruto shakes his head, "and?"

"We need you to pull back a bit from the twenty-second parallel." Asks Kim.

Ruto smiles. "Oh... And why is that?"

"Our connections in Sanity need more time. As it is at the moment getting info from the council is hard enough. When you pushed up the mountain last Sunday, my subordinates were forced to take up guard on the Birmingham and Paptal. In any other scenario, we would have had a chance to dig deeper in the SSIT." (Secret Sanity Investigation Team).

"I'd have you know Sanity's third cannon platoon had been on their fourth night of countless cannon barrages, over sixty of my men were injured during this." Ruto drops his arms, "I tried a de-escalation by an attempt at Captain Lolands life, but it had been a failure."

"And if he was killed, what would you have expected?"

Ruto seems to stress the possibility. "An end result being the enemy recuperating themselves. I don't think you know understand how war works. If I gave them a foot, they would take a mile. Months ago when we took Flakenwell, Sanity was hammering us by that night, shit isn't easy and it continues to be difficult trying to defend ourselves." He shakes his head. "On top of that General Lowlands is a strategy genius, if he wasn't in the picture I'd say my men would be marching in Cockington by now."

Aasha interrupts. "Don't think I've forgotten about the monk massacre."

Ruto Smiles. "It was necessary, though I failed killing Shizer." He switches eye contact between the two. "I let you live for a reason."

"And I know where the fingered cap rage is," Aasha growls.

Ruto grins his teeth moments before barking at Aasha.

Kim stops him. "Ruto!"

Ruto looks back at Kim.

Her look sends daggers. As she needs an answer now.

He sighs. "Kim, I won't go any further and I promise to pull back."

She holds her breath, with a pout before exhaling. "Thank you, but from now on. Anything that