Recap: William Mu awakens with an Immortal's Dice in his hand. He is overcome with fear as he knows what the Immortal's Dice is and what he had become. He rolls a 5 on the die and receives five gifts. Now, he and his dad are being escorted to the Pentagon.
Chapter 2: Circumstances of a Dicer
"William Mu and Tian Mu, please come with me into the vehicle," an agent asked as the plane landed in the U.S. capital.
"So, what do you plan to do with my son?" Tian Mu asked as the duo got into a black Hummer escorted by four more Hummers and ten policemen on motorcycles.
"I'm afraid that is classified. People on Earth are able to watch your son's life save for certain places or situations. One of those places is the headquarters of a nation's central intelligence agency. In your son's case, people will not know what will transpire in the Pentagon. This is standard protocol for a new Dicer. If you watched new Dicers on the live screenings, you would have noticed that the live screening shows a different Dicer as soon as the new recipient of a Dice enters the Pentagon," the agent answered.
Once arriving at the Pentagon, agents blocked the views of the crowd gathered to see the new Dicer. Security pushed the media reporters out of the way as the father and son finally entered the Pentagon. They headed through four security checks before proceeding into an elevator. As the elevator stopped two levels below ground, Will and Tian saw a blank white room with two dressing rooms on either side of the room.
"William Mu, please change into the clothes on your right. Mr. Tian Mu, the same to your left. Once you are done, leave your clothes in the box within the room and return to the elevator. Mr. Tian Mu, you will be able to receive the contents of both boxes when it is time for your escort home," the agent said and gestured out the elevator.
"I look like a sect disciple in a wuxia show," William said as he adjusted the brown robes on his chest. "Am I really never leaving the Pentagon before I go to the alternate Earth?"
"Yes. I'm afraid so. There is much to prepare," the agent dipped his head in sympathy while Tian Mu joined them in the elevator in a grey shirt and black camo pants. "Good. You are both here. We will proceed on to the Dicer Division. Your debriefing will be in a transparent room with several agents on monitors surrounding the room. In the transparent room will be an oval table and several chairs. It is there that your debriefing will take place."
"I'll learn more about Dice?" Will asked, holding the die in his hand.
"The Immortal's Dice? Yes. You will be debriefed about Dice and your circumstances as a Dicer," the agent confirmed and remained silent until the elevator reached the desired floor. "Here we are. Ignore the monitors. Just focus on the debriefing. You don't have much time. You have about two and a half days left on Earth. Good luck."
"William nodded as he and his father left the elevator. They gazed at the monitors and agents before seeing a tiny room up ahead. The entire floor was similar to a giant coliseum in terms of space. The transparent room was about ten feet high and William could see a middle-aged man with gray hair waiting for him at the table.
"Hello William. I am the director of the Dicer Division of the United States, Roger Haunt. Please sit. We have much to discuss and very little time before you head to the next world. Before I begin, you must know that you will not remember being from Earth while on that other planet. In fact, you will not remember until a year has passed and the Immortal's Dice gives you the option to return for a month or receive a randomized reward," the man said grimly.
"What? That's impossible. My brother didn't talk about any of that," Tian frowned as they sat down.
"Mr. Wan Mu had to follow Dicer protocol while on Earth. The information is highly classified as it would further cause unrest in the populace if the family and friends of the Dicers knew the truth. This information is also the reason why some Dicers choose not to return. It is not the allure of a reward, but the pain of knowing that their memories return for a month only to be sealed again for another year. This is also why your brother did not choose to return during the last three years. You did not know this as the live screenings do not show the twenty four hours during which the Dicer regains his memories and must make the choice. Believe me, the choice to remain hurts less than the choice to return. Like the rumors claim, Dicers are never the same when they return," Mr. Haunt explained. "I am truly sorry to be the one to tell you this, Mr. Mu. It is my believe that your brother will also choose to not return in the future. He will not remember your nephew nor will William remember him. No Dicer can remember another Dicer while on the alternate planet. This is to safeguard their privacy and the secrets they possess."
"This will happen to me too? I can't believe this. To tamper with the human mind....what kind of die are the Dice? Why was I given the Immortal's Dice?" William muttered as he clenched his fists in anger.
"I'm afraid we do not know. There is much about Dice that we do not understand, and the Pentagon knows more about Dice than any other country's central intelligence agency. Now, allow me to address the matter about your gifts," the director said and gestured to the giant screen to his left. "You possess a Totem-grade magical sword. I'm afraid I can't tell you about it as the Dice put it inside your body and sealed it within. Now, the fact that your spatial ring possess a 20x20x20 meter space is very useful. A meter is already over three feet. That is a lot of space. Now, I will begin to explain your three skills."
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"The first skill you learned is the Beast Tamer skill. Think of it like a videogame. As the name implies, you can tame magical beasts. Just having one already makes you more dangerous. A Dicer can make any number of magical beasts submit by beating them to near death or in the event that the magical beast recognizes your strength. The hard part is taming the submitting magical beast. Making them submit to follow you does not guarantee loyalty. Magical beasts still evolve and grow stronger over time. A submitted magical beast may challenge you in the future to regain its freedom. Taming a magical beast truly makes it your partner, pet in most Dicers eyes," the director said. "The Fireball spell is similar to ones you see in videogames and needs to further explanation. The Sunbolt skill is a martial arts technique used by immortals. Learning too many skills would have meant a harder time to master them. The Beast Tamer skill is actually a restriction or magical seal. Thus, there are only two you need to master. This is good."
"So I need to master the Fireball spell and Sunbolt technique. Okay. Doesn't sound too bad," William nodded. "Why do you call the die Immortal's Dice? It is only just one, right?"
"The die you have is very special. You will discover many uses for it. It is called Dice because there are many who received dice when they awoke. The mysterious voice that awoke them also called the die Immortal's Dice. When you return to Earth, the whole world will have its eyes on you. As a Dicer, you are superior to us in every physical aspect. You can even use flying spells or techniques. Right now, you cannot use any skills. When you return, people will both revere and fear you as you can use your skills on Earth henceforth. During the first ten or so years, the Earth was devastated by many rampaging Dicers. Luckily, the stronger Dicers who survive do not come back. Some are so powerful, even missiles and armor piercing bullets would have no effect. We would have no means to protect ourselves. This is who you are now," Roger Haunt answered. "You will remain here until the Dice transports you out of our world, our very dimension. Any requests of food and drink will be provided. You may not remember where you come from, but you will remember small things. It is part of a loophole of sorts. Your treatment, for when you return, will be based on your actions while you are gone. Please keep that in mind. Also note that no one, not even another Dicer, will be able to detect your Dice in any way shape or form. To them, it never existed. This measure was perhaps implemented to also prevent Dicers from harming one another. With every Dicer, we learn more."
William spent his remaining days learning survival tips and martial arts from the agents. His father watched in silence as his son had to grow up in a way he never did. Tian Mu was not a Dicer. He did not need to learn how to fight, but chose to learn martial arts. He did not need to kill to live. He was in control of his life. His son wasn't. His firstborn and only son. He prayed to God that his daughter would not become a Dicer.
"The time is running out. I'll be gone in a few seconds," William said as he stood on the roof of the Pentagon, his father and the agents there with him.
"You'll make it back, Will. You learned martial arts since you were a boy. Your spars were pretty good against those agents too," Tian assured him as he patted his son's shoulder.
"There is more to it than fighting. When my memories return, I might undergo a psychological battle with my new self and my old self, the self you know now. I might become a different person. I'll come back though. Even if I don't want to come back, I'll need closure. The director said that the Dice can automatically give me the randomized award if I choose to lock that option as my given choice. I'll be spared my memories from coming back. I'll need to return to give a proper farewell before I do," William said as he gazed at the blue crystal die.
"Whatever choice you make, I will support you. Your mom and sister won't understand, but they are not Dicers and they are not you. In time, they will. Just come back next year before you truly make a decision," Tian said and hugged his son. "Goodbye Will. I'll be watching and recording whenever you are on the live screens."
"Bye dad. I really don't want to go," William said, tears going down his eyes as he let go of his father.
"I know. My father must have felt the same when Wan became a Dicer. Now I understand why he was pained before he passed two years ago. Wan chose to never come back," Tian said softly but William couldn't hear him as he was covered in a blue sphere of light and vanished.
"You prepared him physically. Not mentally," Roger noted as Tian turned away from where his son disappeared.
"Just have an agent explain things to my wife. I don't want to sleep on the couch for even a few days," Tian replied as he walked back inside the Pentagon without another word.