Mercury amalgamated from between the floorboard shadows. His heel pressed into the wall as he crossed his arms and creased his butler attire. He patiently awaited the breathing figure in the middle of the room.
Wouu.
Fwaa.
Meanwhile, the previously obese man, Gula, was breathing in and out while directing all his attention to the pulsating purple shard adorning his forehead.
If Adrianne were here with her Spirit Eyes, she would have noticed an unruly amount of mana condensing and dispersing into Gula from the purple shard.
The mana provoked an absurd response in Gula’s body. When he breathed in, the fat beneath his skin grew, and when he breathed out, the layers of fat receded and compressed.
Wouu, fwaa, wouu, fwaa…
The breathing formed an odd cycle that gradually thinned Gula’s body, with no small amount of help from the purple shard lodged in his forehead.
Tap, tap, tap.
Mercury tapped his polished shoe against the wall while waiting for the finished process. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the purple shard receded into Gula’s forehead, and he reopened his eyes. No bulkiness was evident in Gula’s body, yet no fairness was present either. Instead, he looked round in a way that drew in the eye once you noticed the peculiarity.
“Preparations are done?”
Mercury bluntly replied with an added comment for his own amusement.
“Yeah. You eat enough, fatty?”
Slam!
Mercury lightly dodged the hand that came rushing for his throat as he casually joked.
“Hey, hey, take it easy. Don’t waste your strength on me; save it for the damsel in distress.”
The veins throbbing on Gula’s arm were a clear indicator of the rage he felt. But, Gula calmed himself as he mumbled better thoughts and withdrew his hand.
“I could’ve made better food… A star shrimp pasta topped with ancient desert cow cheese. A—”
Mercury bonked the deluded Gula as shadows began to rise around them from the floorboards.
“If you’re ready, then let’s go. We got no time to waste. She found the red-haired brat.”
Before Gula could get his revenge, the shadows covered the two, and within moments, they disappeared from the restaurant floor.
----------------------------------------
Novus reopened his eyes.
When he saw a white, everlasting landscape that resembled the one that brought him here, he hurriedly closed his eyes.
This isn’t happening. It’s a dream.
Novus reopened his eyes and noticed one unique element this time. It was a small white table adorned with a green, spiky plant and a set of two filled teacups. With a blink, two matching white chairs were set up on each side of the table.
Novus rubbed his eyes with a pained look like someone had woken him up too early from a nice sleep. But, the table was still there in all its glory.
“Dumb tricks…”
Novus grumbled and pulled out one of the chairs to sit down. He crossed his arms and tried not to blink for a while, but eventually, he relented.
With a blink, a figure with no face sat on the opposite side of the table. Their teacup was where a human mouth would be, but it was a mystery how the tea was being consumed without a visible mouth. The figure wore an unblemished white suit that could only be described as neat, clean, and organized.
“Which divine are you supposed to be?”
Novus’ irritated tone didn’t escape the faceless figure’s non-existent ears.
“Why would I tell you that?”
Sigh.
“What do you want?”
The faceless figure put down the now-empty teacup and tucked their hands into each other on their lap. A faint chip could be seen in the rim of the faceless figure’s teacup.
“Straight to the point. Alright. You’ll be helping me with a few things.”
Novus flashed a bloodthirsty smile.
“I’d rather die a hundred deaths than ever—”
Before Novus could continue speaking, the faceless figure shook their head, and suddenly, Novus couldn’t produce a sound at all.
“I don’t like being interrupted. Just obediently listen.”
The faceless figure continued as Novus’ face scrunched in annoyance.
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“How did you regress?”
The faceless figure’s question caught Novus so off-guard that he paused the retaliatory words he was about to say. It took a few moments before Novus replied.
“What do you mean how? You and your fellow forsaken brethren trapped me here. And that’s another thing—”
“Silence.”
Novus was silenced at the faceless figure’s command, and a crack appeared in the faceless figure’s teacup.
“We did no such thing.”
The two sat silently for a few moments before the faceless figure lifted their mysteriously filled teacup to their non-existent mouth and spoke.
“You possess the greatest temporal change, but others seem to have also been transported from somewhere for unknown reasons. Why?”
Do they mean the players? How would I know why they’re here?
Novus questioned in his mind; however, the faceless figure seemed to know what Novus was thinking.
“The others of the risen islands. I believe they’ve been using the word ‘players’ to describe themselves. These 'players' are an uncomfortable variable in our world’s current peace.”
Novus’ brows perked with rage. At the mention of peace, Novus couldn’t help himself from speaking out.
“Peace!? If you know I’ve regressed, then you must have seen what I’ve seen. That future was anything but peaceful!”
The faceless figure set down the teacup as it clinked with another crack in its appearance.
“The Time God has. They mentioned that the players also present an opportunity.”
Novus’ rage was building, and he felt utterly disgusted by the faceless figure’s filthy words that spoke like a cosmic businessman. However, before Novus could say anything, the faceless figure continued.
“Kill the Hidden Shadow, and you will gain my divine support for what lies ahead.”
Novus’ crossed arms had their hands clench into each other.
“I would rather die a dog’s death than receive your support.”
The faceless figure raised their teacup and brought it up one final time.
“Our time is short. So, I won’t waste any more with pleasantries. Remember these three things since I won’t repeat them.
Firstly, you lack the strength, weak lizard.
Secondly, you will do as I order.
Thirdly—”
Novus pushed back the chair and slammed his hands against the white table.
“YOU hold no power over me!”
The faceless figure set their teacup down with a resounding clink as the teacup shattered into pieces. Then, the faceless figure sighed and spoke reluctantly.
“What did I say about interruptions?”
Novus practically growled his answer as his eyes stared thousands of daggers into the faceless figure’s non-existent eyes.
“I will NEVER submit to your will. I couldn’t in the last life, but in this life, I will kill—”
“Thirdly, don’t spread your past life’s butterfly effect around. That would mean trouble for both of us. That is all. Best of luck handling her.”
A hysteric Novus shouted as a familiar whirling black hole appeared beneath him and began to break apart his body into cubes of light.
“THIS DOESN’T END HERE!”
The last cube of light to fall into the whirling black hole was Novus’ golden eyes that radiated killing intent. Then, finally, the whirling black hole disappeared as silence returned to the endless white space.
“Brutish.”
The faceless figure snapped their fingers, and all the objects they had brought along disappeared.
After all, there was much to do.
----------------------------------------
Novus’ eyes winced against the entering curtain light. Novus partially swept off the blanket covering him as his arms moved to block the light from his already dazed eyes.
Groan.
The sleeve of Novus’ shirt unintentionally brushed away the tear stains as he dwelled in his mind.
Damned divine.
Novus’ eyes gradually adjusted to the incoming light, and he tilted his head to survey the room.
It was a bare room, furnished with a bed, a table & chair set, a piece of blank paper, an ink well, and a delicate feather pen. The only other thing was the groove marks made by the chair against the wooden flooring.
Actually, there was another detail.
Pew?
A black beetle was gently resting on his blanket-covered chest like a cat. Upon shifting enough to disturb the little beetle, it woke up and looked curiously at Novus with its antennae.
The dots all connected as soon as Novus remembered the black beetle.
Only one beetle fanatic would be on the divine’s radar.
This time a more mental groan escaped Novus' mouth as he covered his eyes again to try and forget that any of this was happening.
Pew?
Mino was confused by the odd gesture Novus was enacting. Meanwhile, Novus snuck open an eye as he looked at Mino and soon resumed his pose.
“It's not you, little guy. Troublesome things seem to keep popping up one after the other. Give me a few moments.”
…
…
…
Pew! Pew!
Mino initiated flight as it circled the bed while making agreeing sounds.
Sigh.
“I only said a few moments, didn’t I.”
Novus slowly lifted the blanket and sat upright as the only door to the room opened unexpectedly.
PEW! PEW!
Pew! Pew! Pew!
Pew!
Mino flew towards the door where numerous other white versions of itself flocked a giant white prism beetle. The beetles flew like flies around a prairie rhino. Meanwhile, the sight of them caused Novus to groan again.
Great, there’s more of them.
Having not had enough fun already, the miniature beetles flocked towards Novus and began to circle him.
“Oi. Reign in your kids.”
PEW!
With a commanding call from the giant white prism beetle, the miniature beetles flew over and landed on their parent’s white shell. The beetles squirmed as they each tried to find the best spot on the shell. Particularly, Mino was seen squirming from kick to shove towards the edge of the parent beetle’s shell. Finally, with one mighty squirm, Mino was pushed off the shell entirely and gently shook to flight in the air.
Pew… Pew!
Mino flew around Novus several times before landing on his outstretched palm. Novus looked at the black prism beetle and was sure Mino looked at him too, though he still wasn’t sure how.
“The ugly black dragonling, huh?”
Pew! Pew.
Mino spun around Novus’ hand before crawling up to his crimson-haired head and nestling itself inside. The contrast between crimson and black made for an eccentric hairstyle. Novus’ brows momentarily furrowed before easing again.
Why do I get the feeling that this will be a reoccurring event?
Nudge, nudge.
“Yeah, yeah. I’m thrilled to meet her too. Just lead the way already.”
PEW!
The giant prism beetle parent led the way as the sound of clicking wings, footsteps, and stomping beetle legs left the space.