Alice whipped her head around. ‘Okay, let’s get this over with.’ She raised an eyebrow. ‘Jason.’
Jason nodded and stared at the scroll. He took a deep breath, his hand gradually inching toward the scroll. His finger wrapped around it, as he picked it up cautiously. H gripped the scroll and brought his other hand to twist the top and shakily unscrolled it.
Jun stepped forward. ‘Okay bro, like Alice, read it all in one go.’
Jason nodded as he raised the scroll and began reading aloud.
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‘Hello! It’s Yuki again. First of all, though I don’t think you need me to remind you I hope there’s no one here except the five of you. If there is…kick that sidepiece out. ‘
Alice nodded with a smirk.
‘Anyway, Congratulations on reaching Kai’s base. I risked a lot sneaking this message in, but you needed to hear this. I mean do you have any idea how hard it was to avoid him and leave this message here when I’m about to betray him? Well, that probably made your opinion of me worse. That probably worsens your opinion of me, but one day, you’ll understand—we were all slaves to our fate, no matter how powerful we became.’
Jason glanced at the group, brow furrowed, and continued.
‘ Of course, you might think it’s my fault, sure. Blame me if it makes you feel better but the conditions here made it difficult to continue. That is why you’re here, aren’t you? I’m sure you’ve realized knowing our history weakens the seal on your souls. ‘
Daiki looked down with furrowed brows, remembering the possible memory loss that could bring. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.
‘That’s my purpose– helping you awaken your abilities, shake off the chains binding you, and maybe, just maybe, not ending up like…us. I hope that in a new era, with individuals who bear no attachment to this world, your no chances would be much better. But it’s only a hope. ‘
Jason paused, his eyes meeting Alice’s. She was leaning in, arms crossed as she shook her head at him.
‘What a fucking drama queen’, she muttered. Jason raised the corner of his lips and resumed.
‘So, with that introduction, let me get to the point – Kai Marines. The golden boy of the Sea. Eldest son and crown prince of House Marines in the Kingdom of Marines. Yeah, I know everything is about Marines.’
Snow rolled his eyes, coiling around Alice’s neck. ‘True, mom.’
‘Well, you get the gist. He was to be the next ruler of the merpeople. His origins should be pretty self-explanatory too. I mean, he’s the son of the King and Queen and a merman. Not nearly as exciting as mine of course. Or any of us for that matter, we always have a blast making fun of him about it. Well anyway, you’ll learn more later I suppose.
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His abilities? Nothing special. Strong, sure, but typical Merman stuff. A few natural gifts, a bit of physical superiority, blah blah. But the real kicker? He got desperate. Stupidly so.’
Jason raised his eyebrows.
‘He was already the strongest by merpeople standards but that was it. The problem? Well a house of dragons or something, don’t know, don’t care. They were from a vassal state, which had grown in power…a lot. They waged War, a rebellion really, to overthrow Marines and they were winning. ‘
Jason’s breath caught in his throat, and his chest felt heavy. Maybe I feel this way because of my connection with him? He shook off the thought and continued.
‘The Marines House was losing…miserably. So, being the Crown Prince, his sense of responsibility or whatever bubbled up and he decided to learn some forbidden secret art, a one-time opening book for emergencies which grants you amazing power over all things related to water. Why didn’t anyone do that before? Well because of a warning, whoever has ever done it…died within 2 days. ‘
Jason clenched his fist.
‘He didn’t think that mattered and drank some weird potion that came with it and read the book a day before what was considered the final battle to decide it all. He was enlightened, discovered secrets of the universe, and all that.’
Jun muttered. ‘That never ends well…’
‘He took on the entire army, by cutting off their air or would it be water supply. He made some explode, some…well a lot of terrible things. But, they won the war in a matter of minutes from what I’ve heard and naturally revered him. He was happy and preparing for that. ‘
Zhiren gasped, the sound making Jason pause, eyes darting around the room. He noticed everyone looking down with a dark expression. Zhiren and Jun were supporting their head with their hand. While Daiki sat with his eyes closed. Alice was staring at the table top with arms crossed, while Snow buried his head in the girdle of her shoulder.
‘Except, it wasn’t that. Wish I could build up the suspense by making you open another scroll but I’ll be found out then. Sad. I have to continue on this. So, what happened next was the same as me. His sensory overload was a bit delayed…so it came 2 days after the enlightenment. ‘
Jason’s fingers dug into the sides of the scroll, hands trembling slightly.
‘Then the same thing, a supernatural being showed up and took him to the other world.
He met us and we became the closest of friends. Closer than family over the centuries. Until we learned that horrible truth and waged war on the higher beings.’
Jason paused, exchanging glances with the group.
‘Which brings us here, to the deal I made with the King. You know the whole thing I mentioned? Of course, if you don’t not my problem you didn’t visit my base first. Idiots. Go there and find out, but great if you did. You’re the best. Awesome.
I hope you got Snow out, if not go back and fetch that young dragon. If yes, then hello Snow dear. Be a love and burn this scroll after they’re done reading this, would you? Great! Thank you, my child.’
Snow whipped his head, tail swishing.
‘Oh well, I’ve explained what I needed to for Kai. At least as far as I know? You know what you have to do with the scroll and the awakening and all. I’ve mentioned it after all…at my base. Anyway, see you at the next destination. You should know where. Best of luck!’
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Jason stared at the scroll for a long moment before slamming it on the table. His heart pounded hard against his chest. He turned his head toward Alice. ‘Yeah, I think I kinda hate your predecessor.’
Jun and Daiki nodded. Zhiren sighed. ‘Agreed…’
Alice shook her head. ‘Yeah, can’t blame you guys. She’s an annoying bitch’.
Snow glanced at them, stepping forward and mumbling. ‘Okay, Mom...’ He opened his mouth and spit a small flame on the scroll, as the group watched it burn to ashes.
To be continued…
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Yuki: See you next time!
Players: (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
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