WARNING: CONTAINS OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE

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A man popped out of his chest. His head held within the hand of Bahamut. With an eerie resemblance, no rather, with the exact copy of Francis’ appearance, he could be an identical twin. That, or a mirror image.

“He shouldn’t be here,” the dragon said, “Just give me a moment. There’s a lizard inside you too.”

“I am painfully aware. Could you remove them? Permanently? They’re fighting for control.”

“Control that you rightfully don’t have.”

“That I never wanted, you mean. You didn’t let me die in peace.”

“And yet you accepted my deal. Your friend there, that South Korean girl, she negotiated for days on end.”

“But did she negotiate with a dragon?”

“Dragons are business orientated. The lizard’s sticking to you because you have no taxes.”

“But he’s my only line of defense. But it’s so fucking costly.”

“Dragons are often scammers that suck your life away.”

“Just like insurance then.”

“Hah! You have a good sense of humour, breadcrumb.”

Francis rolled his eyes. What would an omnipotent and omniscient dragon know about humour? But humour wasn’t the main topic. The fact that the original Francis and the parasitic lizard could be separated was more pressing.

“Keep it that way permanently. I don’t want that man and the lizard inside me any longer.”

“No can do. I’m pretty much a god, remember? We can’t interfere too much with a mortal’s life.”

“Yeah? What counts as too much then?”

“Pretty much everything that you’re asking for.”

“Fuck. Everything? I’m sure you gods have fucked people up before.”

“Definitely. After all, with pretty much no consequences, what’s stopping them? What’s stopping me?”

“Then... Can’t you help me out here?”

“No can do.”

“But why?”

“Because I don’t wanna.”

The dragon made a ‘tsk tsk’ sound as if that was an obvious fact. He wagged his finger as the removed souls woke up.

“Oi. They’re waking up,” Francis said.

“Mhm. I can see that. I want the two of you to play the game.” Bahamut sipped his drink.

“The game?”

“You know the one.”

“Yes, very descriptive indeed.”

Francis shook his head. It was rather obvious what the dragon was getting at. The game of Truth. But there was only one issue. Inevitably, with Truth’s presence, lying was out of the question.

“I know what you’re thinking, breadcrumb. Don’t worry. She isn’t such a prude to stop a game that she made.”

“Really? A prude? Can you use that language with the nearly head goddess?”

“We are a lot more crass than you think. And, we also forgive a lot. More than you’d think, actually. Though to be fair, we are a lot more self interested than usual. The only reason you got chosen instead of someone else was that you had the most interesting past.”

“I wished you had chosen someone else instead.”

“If I may interject, what might the two of you be talking about, my lord?”

“Oh. You’ll find out in due time. Probably...”

He looked at an imaginary watch on his wrist. Pursing his lips, he made an assumption. Most likely, the original was going to ask a few questions. About the imposter’s identity, his past, and his goals. That much made sense. After all, the game was just for information. Nothing else. No body snatching or fighting for control. In that case, which could he lie about? There wasn’t any use lying about his identity, the original already knew that much. His past, then? Yes, that was likely.

“Ah. Hmm... Yes... Okay... I got it... Fine... Passes? Oh, yeah. Sure. No problem,” Bahamut spoke to no one in particular. Everyone turned to look at him.

“Urg.” The original stood up and clutched his head. “What happened?”

“Perfect timing. You. Are you familiar with the divine game that Truth designed?”

“Huh? That game? Of course. I watched that bastard play it with that pretty blonde.”

“So that is what you meant by ‘unable to lie’, Bahamut?”

“Precisely that. But, Truth called me just now. Says she wants to change the rules for this game in particular.”

“Oh dear. Go on. What does she want to fuck up now?”

“She wants to remove the lying from the game.”

“That’s stupid.”

“Instead, she wants you all to be able to pass questions instead. So it’ll go as follows. Everyone has a set number of passes that everyone has to agree on before the game. No one can lie, but you can choose to pass instead. Got it?”

“Uhhhh. Okay?” the Francises said in union.

“Iris, you play too. So here’s how it’ll work. Each person will be asked 6 questions. I’m sure it’ll be beneficial for you, Iris. How many passes?”

“Oh right. Each person must answer at least one question.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Ah. Fine. So 6 questions in total, two passes?”

“Fine by me,” Iris said.

“Great. Who wants to start?” the imposter asked, “Katalina, and the dragon. You two stay out of this. Okay?”

“But my lord-”

“No. There was once this guy. His girlfriend asked him to stay out of her business. He refused to, and he got both of them in trouble. So when someone asks you to stay out, you stay out. I hate to say this, but that’s an order, Katalina. I trust that you have no issues, Dan?”

“Nope. Go do what you want. I’m far more interested in you, Lord Bahamut.”

“Good. Then I’ll start. Original, how much have I been lied to?”

One for the first Francis, from the second one.

“More than you think. The entire past and history of me that you think you know is a lie.”

Francis nodded. The imposter had somewhat expected that. After all, the behavior that he had seen did not warrant the reputation.

“My turn. Fraud, who are you really?”

And one for the imposter, from the original.

“I am... A person from another world. One that you know nothing about. And I’m from the same world as Ms Kim. Iris?”

“Why are you inhabiting his body?”

Another for the imposter, from the otherworldly hero.

“I was thrown into this by Bahamut over there. Is the one you want to kill me, or him?”

One for Iris, from the otherworldly villain.

“I don’t know,” answered Iris, “Um, sorry. But could you help me differentiate between you two? The one in the flashy clothes is the original, this world one, yes? And the one in the dress is the foreign one? And this doesn’t count as a question.”

“The faggot, obviously. I’m the sane one here,” the original spat out.

“So that’s why people hate you. And yeah, that doesn’t count as a question,” the fraud answered, “You. Iris. Any possibility of me not getting killed by you?”

Two for Iris, from the one that she might kill.

“It is possible. Depends on which one of you is meant to be killed by me. Scumbag, the original. How many enemies have you made?”

Two for the original, from the one he might get killed by.

“Too many to count. Uh, you. The crossdresser, what do you want to be, exactly?”

Another for the imposter, from the real thing.

“I... Pass,” the fraud said as he shook his head, “Iris, would you be willing to team up with me to get rid of him?”

And three for Iris.

“If it is beneficial. Have you killed anyone?” she gestured to the imposter.

“Hm. Pass.”

Francis, the false one, was out of passes. So far, false Francis had been asked 3 questions, and he himself asked 4. As for Iris, she had answered 3 questions, with 2 questions asked. Finally, the original. The faker couldn’t ask Iris any more questions. And that meant that she only had to answer one of the original’s questions. There were two more unavoidable questions, one from the original and one from Iris that he couldn’t escape.

Truly, it was a long mind game. Even if a question was skipped, that still gave information away. And there was no lying either. Truth, she was a devious woman.

“Are you plotting with the dragon Dan to take this body back?”

“Pass. Next question?”

“What do you plan to do if you get this body back?”

“Take advantage of the princess’ advances and use her for my pleasure when she least expects it.”

“You bastard.”

“Hey don’t blame me. Blame the princess. Its her fault for coming onto me like that. And you? What the hell do you plan to do with my body?”

“Live happily ever after.”

The original slammed the table. Standing up, he made an attempt to punch the imposter. But just as he clenched his fist, Bahamut sighed. With a wag of his finger, it seemed like the original understood. As he clicked his tongue, he sat back down.

“Do you have any chance of cooperating with us, then?” Iris asked the original.

“Hell no. I’ll only work with you if I can cop a feel of you.”

“You truly are heinous.” Iris shook her head.

“I don’t care. That’s your problem to deal with. Next!”

“Well, you’ll pass this one. What do you think is the most horrible way to die?”

“Pass. My turn. Girl, what would it take to make you mine?”

“Absolutely nothing that you can provide. You’ll have to take me by force. And I’m passing your next two questions by the way, so don’t even bother asking. Who’s left?” Iris scoffed.

“Just a single question you can ask me,” replied the faker.

“Hmm. Do you have any destructive plans that you wish to commit against people?”

“Yes. I do. And that does it for the game. Truth, if you’re listening, I hope you had fun.”

Francis, the second one, stood up and found Bahamut having a chat with the inferior reptile. Something about DragonCoin. Certainly nothing that Francis knew about. He walked up to them, and cleared his throat.

The dragons turned around. In a unified motion, they raised their eyebrows. They were both in their human disguises. The tanned man with blonde hair, the muscly tavern brawler.

“Hm? Oh you’re done. And yeah, I’m sorry about not being able to help you, breadcrumb.”

“Well... Any other ways you can help?”

“Nope. Unfortunately I can’t. Not right now, at least.”

“So you’re saying that there’s a chance in the future?”

“Yeap. Negotiations take a long time, I’m afraid. But I’m on your side, breadcrumb.”

“Right. Sure. Anyway, how do we go back?”

“Hmm. Wait, hang on. Give me a moment, I gotta handle something right now.”

“Huh? Uh, alright?”

Francis headed back towards the table. There, the few sat and waited. Katalina finished her drink, as did Iris. The original Francis, on account of not being served one, grumbled.

“Well.” Francis sat down. “How’s your life, Iris?”

“It’s been going pretty well so far. I still have trauma from what you did.”

“I apologise.”

“Don’t be sorry. It wasn’t you. Most probably, it was him. Still, this is highly strange. Never have I encountered this.”

“Hm.” Francis sighed. There was a question that he wanted to ask. “You and one of us. We’re bound by fate, right?”

“Yes. Fate is a cruel playwright. You were pulled into this with no input. I’m sorry for that.”

“No, it's not your fault.”

“Arg! Gods! Let me out! I can’t take this,” the original bellowed out. Pointing an accusatory finger, he spat on the divine floor.

“What’s your problem?” Francis asked.

“You! You’re an eyesore. The one flirting with her should have been me!”

Iris rolled her eyes. Was that what she expected from him? That absolute shit stain of a human being? Francis, the original one crossed his arms.

That man stamped his feet. If someone acted like that, then it was no surprise that everyone hated him. But the pressing question was, what sort of apologies would have to be made.

In a lunge, the original tried to attack the faker. Jumping off the table, he leapt towards the faker. His arms outstretched, and his body tense. Francis dodged, sidestepped the strike. Within an instant, everything happened.

Katalina drew her sword. A longsword that could strike respect from any competent swordsman. Iris brandished a knife from her pants pocket, The original collapsed face first onto the hard, divine floor. Close to his own spit.

“I don’t look forward to having you in my head again.”

“And I don’t want you in my body.”

“Don’t move,” commanded Iris. She spoke with a cold, uncaring voice. One that sent chills down his spine. One that reminded him of a woman in power, one that he was intimately familiar with.

She pointed her knife at Francis. Out of the corner of their eyes, Kim Hye-Sung returned. Bahamut yawned, his chest puffing up as he stretched. Clapping his hands, everyone froze in place. No matter what, neither Francises could move. Nor could Iris, or Katalina, no one.

“Alright, I leave you children alone for just that little bit and everything descends to chaos. Anyway, I'll be sending all of you back. Francis, and you, the two of you are gonna go back to the same body. Goodbye.”