Novels2Search

A Game

Cardinal quickly noticed a defibrillator behind him. His eyes widened in surprise, he hadn't realized he was standing in front of it.

'I assume it had to do with the teru teru bōzu that almost killed me…' He thought.

There were no restraints or anything in this room to really hold him here …if he had been wearing one, maybe that would have stopped him from doing anything foolish. He tried to think clearly, he needed to escape if he ever hoped to return home. With one sudden burst of strength, he broke free, running as fast as he could across the room and out the door.

He was quickly stopped by someone else who quickly blocked his path out of the horrendous house. He gasped surprised as he was pushed harshly against the walls, the man glaring hatefully at him. Before he could ask him what he was doing there, he punched him in the jaw. Pain exploded in his cheek, making his head snap back sharply.

Quickly he noticed the facial features of Freeland. The man was dressed in all white and had blonde hair, and piercing blue eyes. He was pretty good at hiding his aura too, even when he couldn't hide his identity.

"Freeland! Where is Pilot?" Cardinal shouted.

Freeland didn't seem to understand who Cardinal was and why he knew Pilot. He just continued to glare at him.

"You almost died, but was unsure if you were truly going to make it as afterall you are just a nobody who isn't even worth our time…" Freeland confirmed.

Cardinal forgot he no longer had his sword. He was helpless against the man and he doubted he had any weapon to defend himself, especially now that he had been attacked from behind. All he could do was wait for Freeland to attack him.

"So, we will kill you and use you to take control of the situation with Fawn…" Freeland concluded darkly.

For a moment Cardinal was able to tune himself into the air where he listened closely and carefully for the whispers hanging around them.

"What are you doing?" Freeland frowned impatiently. Cardinal ignored him.

"What? Is there something funny about this conversation?" Freeland snapped as Cardinal remained quiet.

"Pilot is here…Freeland so please tell me where he is," Cardinal snapped.

The fiery red soul reached into his pockets to find his stones had been removed. Without a word, Cardinal grabbed him by the throat and slammed his head down on the floor with enough force to crack his skull and send blood everywhere.

"I am sorry Freeland…" Cardinal sighed.

Freeland's eyes popped open, scaring Cardinal. They widened in shock and he stared at him.

They both stared each other down for several seconds before Freeland suddenly turned his attention elsewhere. Suddenly a huge black shadow appeared out of thin air, hovering above the ground and towering over Freeland.

"Teru teru…" He whispered.

"Stay here for now and we will figure out what to do with you," Freeland noted.

He stood up slowly and approached the dark mass. It floated closer until he was right in front of it, looking straight into the creature's eyes before leaving without saying anything. Cardinal stared at Freeland's disappearing silhouette with worry written all over his face.

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"What…what just happened?" He muttered.

He remembered he was on a mission. And he knew exactly who it was who had done this, so he could assume he was dealing with lackies of Caym. Cardinal was terrified of the teru teru bōzu that lurked around the corners of the building, he could feel its presence even though it seemed like he wasn't alone he shuddered slightly in fear.

The whispers became louder than usual He knew there was only one thing that could get rid of them. If he wanted answers, he knew the only way was to confront the teru teru bōzu. He made his way through the labyrinth of corridors in the building. It was dark, and quiet, and empty. Nobody seemed to be around. No servants, no maids, no guards.

'Freeland must have been brainwashed…' Cardinal thought.

Hearing chains made him curious to turn around the corner only to see Pilot chained up by the wrists and feet to a chair, his body bruised, bloody and dirty. His eyes were lifeless and dead.

Cardinal stepped closer and inspected his wounds. His arms were broken and the bruises around them were spreading rapidly.

"All this so Caym could win a game…my runes and my sword was taken," Cardinal whispered.

He could feel another presence in the room with him. It was faint and barely noticeable, but Cardinal sensed its presence nevertheless.

"Who is there…?" he asked quietly.

It was faint and barely noticeable but Cardinal sensed its presence nevertheless.

"Who is there…?" he asked quietly.

He tugged on the chains as he noticed Pilot's fingers shaking violently. Cardinal glanced at him curiously. He couldn't sense any emotion from him at all as he pulled thinking how helpless he was despite all his training.

"Please, let me help you…" Cardinal whispered softly.

Pilot slowly lifted his hand, revealing four small shards of glass protruding from under it. Cardinal moved towards Pilot. "Where did these come from?" He asked cautiously as he looked at the shattered glass covering Pilot's palm.

Pilot returned to consciousness slowly opening his eyes and staring straight at Cardinal.

"Can you hear me Pilot?" he whispered softly while pulling one of the shards out of Pilot's hand.

The third eye came to life darting around looking at everything surrounding him frantically.

"Easy, you have me now," Cardinal murmured.

Gently as he took the last fragment out of Pilot's palm. The eye closed, breathing deeply as he relaxed against the backrest of the chair , his whole body shivering slightly.

"Are you alright Pilot?" Cardinal asked as he wiped Pilot's brow gently. Pilot nodded as he tried to sit up slightly.

"What happened?" Pilot asked.

Staring into the third eye Cardinal moved back as he was hit by an image of the northern shrine here. He gasped, nearly falling backward as he saw the shrine filled with dead bodies.

"How did you get to this place? Nevermind…I think I get it," He questioned. Pilot gave a weak smile.

"How do we even plan to get out of this place?" Pilot asked.

The chains fell to the floor releasing Pilot from his bondage. He got to his feet unsteadily and moved toward Cardinal.

He embraced Cardinal tightly for support. "I don't know," Pilot mumbled.

'Pilot was able to break the chains and regain his consciousness all by himself…' Cardinal thought.

Pilot's third eye kept his gaze on Cardinal as it blinked continuously as if he couldn't get away from him.

A tap on the door caused them to look back, and the person who had entered walked in.

"Ahh, I see you're awake" The woman said, smiling warmly at Cardinal.

Cardinal felt a chill run down his spine as he recognized her as the one responsible for the events which had led to him being captured in the first place in the cave near the warper in Redea.

"I assume you haven't been able to obtain the names for Caym," Cardinal smiled.

She became angry at Cardinal's words and immediately stormed towards him. Without hesitation he ducked out of the way only to be caught off guard when she grabbed him tightly by the collar, pulling him close and staring angrily into his eyes.

"So this is where the non gifted human went to," Freeland spouted.

"Non gifted?" Cardinal huffed.

He grit his teeth in anger as felt around his pants pocket before realizing he felt a large smooth pebble with some sort of inscription carved into it.

'This wasn't there before…' He thought.

He gawked at Pilot from a far as he held the stone close. Cardinal quickly shoved the stone back into his pocket and turned his attention back to Freeland.

"Lid, you really need to be more careful," Freeland demanded.

She dropped Cardinal onto the ground in frustration. Cardinal coughed harshly as he regained his footing.

"Careful? What do you mean Careful? You kidnapped us. We were forced to play this stupid game with you," He reminded me.

"Freeland, Lid? Have you not been able to get the name from one little brat?" Kot yelled.

He noticed the new face in the room unsure of what to make of it other than un-pleased with a frown creasing his face.

"How are you so stupid you captured a normal human? I didn't think those were possible to even find," Kot laughed.

"Flame Detonating Barrage!"

Cardinal charged, smashing the rune setting it ablaze before grabbing Pilot by hand and dashing outside the room. They ran through the halls not paying any heed to anything around them until they bumped into Freeland.

"I won't go easy on you!" Cardinal shouted.

"Oubliette Fiend Control!" A voice chimed.

Pilot stopped dead in his tracks as Cardinal's hands fell to his side consciously in this trance. When they were a few steps away from Pilot.

'Is Pilot so weak that he can't control himself?' Cardinal thought.

A girl's cries could be heard in the distance making a rising panic inside of Cardinal as he instinctively reached toward Pilot for support as he trembled.

"I thought he was just a human…" Kot noted.

His throat was paralyzed but then suddenly, the voices behind him vanished and left only silence. He turned around only to discover nobody standing behind him.

"Fuck…I must have succumbed,"