Chapter 5: The Shattered God

Leo gasped, breaths ragged and vision swimming.

“What the fuck,” he whispered. “What the fuck. What the fuck.”

His hand was screaming at him, and as his senses slowly returned to normal, the headache dulling into a faint ache and the cracking leaving his ears, the [Thief] realized he was on the ground, the shelf fallen over and its contents scattered across the store room floor.

Still gasping for breath, Leo struggled to rise, but he couldn’t get his body to move. He forced his head up.

Hunched over by the door, the storekeeper was gripping his head with one hand, the doorknob with the other. His eyes were wild, expression stunned, and Leo wondered if he looked like that as well. Aldas muttered under his breath and slowly straightened. He met eyes with Leo.

For a second neither of them moved or spoke, still reeling from the barrage of notifications.

And then, as the shock and dizziness faded, both sprang to action.

Leo leapt to his feet, a stinging pain shooting down his hand as he pushed off it. He might’ve cried out, but he was too focused on bolting for the door, pouring 100 of his newly earned points to raise his agility to its 20 cap and his strength to 14.

The [Thief] was in front of the shopkeeper before the man had a chance to react, and he elbowed the man aside with all his strength. It was just barely enough to push Aldas aside enough to grab the handle and bolt out the door.

“Guards!” Leo heard Aldas yell, followed by the sounds of footsteps just behind him. “Catch the thief!”

Leo’s feet pounded against the ground as he shot into the main store, vaulting over the back counter with the help of [Acrobatics] and sprinting ahead. The bag with the stolen crests hit his leg as he ran.

Through the windows, he could see the two guards at the front still reeling, movements sluggish from shock. He pressed himself more. He could make it. He could bolt past before the guards recovered. He was so close.

The [Thief] shoved the doors open with a bang. He heard Aldas yelling after him as the guards lunged, and he didn’t think. He dropped low and slid past across the rough ground, ducking just below their reaching hands.

Leo scrambled back to his feet. In his peripheral vision, he saw one of the guards rush at him, and he barely managed to dodge out of the way in time.

The [Thief] gritted teeth, meeting eyes with the guard. He was the one who’d broken his hand, he remembered. It figured he’d also have invested into agility.

Leo spun, jumping away from the second guard. He could hear the murmurs of the street. If he could just get away, he’d be able to slip into the crowd and run.

A kick slammed into his side. He was sent flying back, skidding across the ground until his back hit the storefront. Leo hacked, wheezing and struggling to stand. A guard he didn’t recognize watched impassively, lowering her leg and unsheathing a blade as she approached. She must be one of the guards who’d watched the back entrance. He’d completely forgotten about them.

A blade was held a mere inch away from the [Thief]’s throat, and Leo froze. Back to the wall, the guards surrounded him, and he could see the store owner approaching to the side. His eyes flitted about, desperately searching for an opening, some kind of escape.

“Sir,” one of the guards muttered, his voice a little shaky. “Those notifications—”

“I know,” Aldas cut off. His own voice was a bit dazed, his hair frazzled and coat rumpled. “We’ll deal with it later. We need to take care of this first.” He flicked a wrist at Leo. “Search him.”

Hands grabbed both of Leo’s arms, holding him back, and he cringed as his injured hand was jostled.

It didn’t take long for them to grab the bag, untying the knots and finding the two crest badges nestled inside. Aldas held them, an eyebrow raised. Leo met those sharp eyes with a steady glare.

“I should’ve known you’d come back,” he said, nose scrunching with disdain. “A wonder you managed to get inside.” His eyes narrowed.

“Two class crests, at that. Execution is the minimum punishment.” He leaned closer, those spectacles gleaming in the light. “Now, who helped you?”

“No one,” Leo grounded out.

“Don’t lie. You expect me to believe you managed this by yourself? Why else would you take two?”

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“One’s for selling. I don’t need any help getting into a store this shittily guarded. Your fault for not paying attention.”

Aldas simply stared at Leo for a moment, the [Thief] holding his glare. Finally, the store owner clicked his tongue and straightened, gesturing to the guards.

“Get him up. We’re bringing him to the prison.”

One of the guards glanced at Aldas. “After that, sir?”

“After that, you can accompany me to the city hall. I need to talk to the governor, see what those notifications were about,” he muttered.

The guards seemed satisfied with that, and the two holding Leo’s arms easily dragged him up, once again knocking into his injury. His eyes darted around, but he couldn’t find a way out of the situation.

A couple of people watched on the edges of the street, but no one approached. No one wanted to risk themselves. Besides, an arrest was hardly new in the slums. Many didn’t even glance their way, instead murmuring amongst themselves, likely discussing those strange notifications. Several people still looked dazed; there were even a few on the ground, staring out sightlessly as they processed.

He didn’t blame them. It still made Leo’s head reel whenever he remembered that final message, but he needed to get out of here before he could even begin to try to comprehend it.

The sound of footsteps interrupted his thoughts. Aldas came to a stop just in front of Leo. The shopkeeper frowned, narrowed eyes studying the [Thief]. He leaned closer.

“Don’t think that pathetic little lie worked,” he muttered lowly. “I don’t enjoy sending people to their deaths, so consider this a mercy. I won’t rat out your friend. He seems like a decent young man, if misguided.” He paused, his frown deepening.

“Consider this a word of advice. Don’t drag people down with you.”

Leo’s eyes widened, but the man was already stepping away and gesturing for the guards to move. The [Thief] was yanked forward, barely able to keep up with the aggressive pace.

The crowd naturally parted around them, and as Leo struggled, his eyes landed on a figure standing, half hidden by shadows, in a nearby alleyway.

Allan watched him, jaw clenched, a fist shaking. For a brief second they met eyes. A moment passed, an unspoken question.

Swallowing, Leo silently shook his head. He just barely caught Allan’s dark eyes widening before the [Thief] was roughly yanked away.

—

The doors to the slum prison were yanked open, and the guards dragged Leo unceremoniously inside. Despite his protests and yells, they hadn’t loosened the crushing pressure around his wrists. If anything, he was pretty sure one of the guards was bumping into his injured hand as much as possible on purpose.

The prison’s front desk was nicer than almost every other place in the slums, but that didn’t say much. Leo’s eyes rapidly scanned sturdy, but worn stone walls. In the center of the room stood a thick wooden desk elevated slightly on a platform. He blinked.

Where the receptionist would usually sit was empty. Instead, a few guards were clustered near the back, Leo quickly counted them. Too many.

In front, standing behind the desk, a tall man in a crisp grey uniform spoke with a shorter man wearing a white uniform. The [Thief]’s jaw clenched. He recognized the man in grey.

The prison warden. He used to be a normal guard in the slums, and even back then he’d been infamous. It figured that he, of all people, had been the one promoted.

“—prisoners rioting,” the warden was saying. His voice wasn’t particularly loud, but it carried a distinct air of authority. If someone didn’t know better, they might think he was a gentlemanly type: elegant in bearing and always composed.

Leo did know, though.

“I need extra security down by the cells at once.”

“I’m sorting through the schedules, sir,” the man who Leo assumed was the receptionist said apologetically, cowering a little. The taller man pinched his nose bridge and clicked his tongue.

“To think something like this would happen,” he muttered, shaking his head.

“It’s unprecedented, sir.”

Aldas strode forward, and the guards dragged Leo deeper into the prison. The [Thief] glanced back, attempting to judge how far the door was from him. There were no windows in the space. If he was going to try to run, the door was the only option.

The guards stopped just past the desk, and Leo tensed as the warden, receptionist, and all the guards turned to look at them. The warden frowned.

“Aldas? What’s this?”

“A slum thief. He tried to steal two Tier 1 class crests.”

The warden’s eyebrows rose, and he barked out a laugh. “They’re getting bolder by the day, I see.” He shook his head and heaved a sigh. “I’ve already got my hands full dealing with those messages. Ah well, I suppose we’re fortunate the executioner is on site. It will be simple enough to add him to tomorrow’s lineup.”

Aldas nodded. “I don’t suppose you know what’s going on with the notifications,” he spoke warily.

“No better than you do, I’m afraid.” He turned, gesturing to the guards, and Leo tensed. He would only have one real chance at running: the moment the guards currently holding him handed him off to the prison ones.

The two guards shoved him forward as two prison guards stepped forward to replace them. The second Leo felt his arms released, he surged forward, bolting—

He stopped in his tracks.

Leo blinked, trying to get his legs to move. They didn’t budge. It was like they were frozen in place.

The two prison guards grabbed him and pulled him forward, and Leo stared at the warden watching him silently, eyes pointed unblinkingly at the [Thief]’s legs. Leo activated [Judgement].

Name: Sebastian

Age: 30

Level: 24

Class: [Prison Warden, Tier 1]

Personal Skill: [Still Sight Lvl 3]

What caught Leo’s attention, however, wasn’t the personal skill, the likely source of his lack of movement, or the man’s class and level.

Instead, what made the [Thief]’s eyes widen was the single line beneath that.

[Fragment in possession]

Leo distantly felt the guards pulling him deeper into the prison, past the warden and receptionist and the other watching guards, but he kept his vision focused on the warden.

If there had been any doubt before, now he knew for certain that the notifications were real.

The warden met eyes with him calmly, undisturbed and unruffled.

“Take the rat to a cell,” he said. “And tell the executioner we’re adding another one to the list.”