Clover Kingdom / Diamond Border (Abandoned Iron Monastery / Hidden Surgery Chamber): January 22nd, 1016.
It was a dead morning for the world. The crater where outlaw city once stood continued breathing grey dust into the sky, clover patrols moved around its edge like ants examining the footprint of a god and thousands of black die survivors slept beneath broken roofs while pretending the screaming had stopped, yet if you looked closely inside a abandoned iron monastery three miles from the border wound. To be more specific, beneath a prayer chamber where every saint had been scratched off the walls and every candle burned with black magenta fire. You could see nyx nocturne sitting beside a corpse that had already been declared impossible seventeen times.
The atmosphere unnatural.
(Nyx's POV)
David had been dead for two days.
Nyx had counted every second.
She hated numbers now.
Numbers said his heart was not beating.
Numbers said his mana heart had collapsed.
Numbers said the thing on the table was no longer david swallow.
Stupid numbers.
David's chest had been opened from throat to stomach.
Black thread held ribs together.
Silver flesh magic crawled between ruined organs.
His left arm was gone.
His skin was cold.
Wrong.
Everything looked wrong.
Doctor mavis thorn stood across the table with grey skin, one milky eye and four gold teeth shining between trembling lips.
"This vessel is finished." Said mavis tightly.
The room was completely silent.
Benjamin stood near the wall in his burned coat.
Jarred sat on the floor without a bottle in his hand.
That scared nyx more than the corpse.
Nyx looked at mavis and asked calmly "Did I ask if he was finished."
Mavis swallowed hardly and said "No."
"Then continue working." Said nyx with cold scarlet eyes.
"This is beyond flesh magic. His soul is gone." Said mavis with a reasonably serious look on her face.
Nyx's ears twitched as she said "No."
Everyone looked at her.
Nyx pressed one hand against the mate mark on her neck.
It burned.
Faintly.
Alive.
"He is somewhere." Said nyx softly.
Jarred finally lifted his head and said with a grin "Then call him."
Nyx stared at david.
Her silver black grimoire opened.
"Pact magic: Oathbound claim." Said nyx with gritted teeth as she poured majority of her magic into the spell.
A silver black mark spread from her palm and burned into david's chest.
Mavis stepped backward and said with wide eyes "That pact is attached to a dead body."
Nyx's nose started bleeding.
"THEN THIS DEAD BODY BETTER ANSWER." Said nyx loudly with gritted teeth as the wind picked up.
Nothing happened.
One second.
Two.
Three.
The room was completely silent.
Nyx's lips trembled.
"You cheating bastard. You annoyed me, cheated on me and died before I could properly punish you." Said nyx softly with her eyes becoming red and watery.
She pressed both hands against david's chest and shouted "ANSWER ME."
…
Clover Kingdom / Royal Capital (Royal Palace / Crown Prince Chambers): January 22nd, 1016.
It was a beautiful morning for the world. The royal capital shone beneath golden sunlight, servants walked through polished halls carrying silver trays and nobles continued smiling beneath painted ceilings like an entire city had not disappeared two days earlier, yet if you looked closely inside the royal palace. To be more specific, inside the crown prince chambers where three maids stood against a wall too frightened to breathe. You could see david swallow staring at the ugliest problem death had ever given him.
The atmosphere disgusted.
(David / Nyx's POV)
I continued staring at the mirror.
Augustus kira clover xIII stared back.
He was still short.
Still pale.
Still soft.
Unfortunately, closing my eyes had not fixed him.
The room was completely silent.
One maid slowly took a step toward the door.
"Move again and I'll have you executed." I said calmly.
She froze.
I had no idea if augustus could actually execute her.
It sounded royal enough.
"Leave." I said with a sigh and wave of my hand.
All three disappeared.
I watched the double doors shut and looked back at the status screen.
Dead.
The word annoyed me more the second time.
"Storage" I thought calmly with a sigh.
[DING!]
[Storage inaccessible]
"First dice." I said calmly with augustus's disgusting voice while holding my right hand up.
Nothing happened.
"Dice magic: dice shot." I said calmly while aiming my right hand.
Nothing.
I stared at my chubby palm.
A golden light appeared above it.
Bright.
Warm.
Offensive.
My eye twitched.
"Turn off." I said calmly with creased eyebrows.
The light remained.
I stared down at the light a moment longer and said with my eyebrows creasing more "I said turn the fuck o..."
The light exploded.
*BOOOOM*
The mirror shattered.
Half the bedroom disappeared inside a golden flash.
Royal guards shouted outside.
I slowly looked at the smoking wall and then at my hand and said softly with a mutter "Light magic."
The golden mana twisted.
For one second, something appeared behind it.
A gate.
Massive.
Ancient.
Covered in treasures, weapons and writing I could not understand.
Then it vanished.
[DING!]
[Unknown magical structure detected]
Before I could examine it, my chest burned.
I grabbed it.
Not augustus's heart.
Something beneath it.
Something far away.
A silver black mark appeared over my skin.
Nyx.
The room became completely silent.
Then I heard her.
Not with my ears.
Through something uglier.
Something deeper.
"ANSWER ME." Said a familiar annoying voice loudly from nowhere.
My smile disappeared.
[DING!]
[Mate bond calling original soul]
[DING!]
[Original vessel condition: Reconstructed / Unsalvageable]
[DING!]
[Return probability: 6%]
I stared at the screen.
Then started laughing.
Six percent.
Beautiful.
I had built a city on worse math.
"Return me." I said calmly with a grin forming on my face.
[DING!]
[Warning: Both vessels may collapse.]
"I do not care about this soft little bastard." I said while looking into the mirror at augustus's ugly face.
The first dice appeared above my chest.
Cracked.
Black.
Silent.
It rolled once.
One.
Of course.
The golden room split like glass.
*CRAAAAAAACK*
Every really shattered.
Black magenta mana erupted from my mouth.
My bones twisted as something pulled me backward through my own shadow like hands.
For one second augustus's golden grimoire opened by itself.
Not light.
A endless golden city existed behind its pages.
Gates.
Treasures.
Weapons.
A throne beneath a dead sun.
Then everything became black.
…
Abandoned Iron Monastery / Hidden Surgery Chamber.
David's corpse arched off the stone table.
*BOOOOOM*
The candles exploded.
Mavis flew into the wall.
Benjamin opened a silver door against the blast.
Jarred was thrown across the floor and laughed for the first time in two days.
Black magenta mana poured from david's mouth and eyes.
His ruined heart beat once.
*THOOM*
The monastery shook.
It beat again.
*THOOM*
Blood crawled backward across the table.
Bone pushed through the stump of his left shoulder.
Flesh followed.
Not healing.
Remembering.
Nyx held his face as his body convulsed and said loudly with tears of joy "DAVID."
His pink slit eyes opened.
For a moment he stared at her.
Nyx's claws slowly came out.
If something else had entered his body.
She would kill it.
Even if it used his face.
David blinked once.
Twice.
Thrice.
"Why the fuck are all of you staring at me like I owe money." Asked david hoarsely with his teeth gritted from the adjustment of his body.
The room went completely silent.
Nyx punched him.
*BAAAAM*
The stone table cracked.
*SPLAT*
Blood flew.
David coughed blood again and said weakly "Correct answer."
Nyx grabbed his hair and kissed him.
Hard.
Desperate.
Then she slapped him.
*PAK*
"You died. You disappeared. The mark went cold. I dragged your ugly ass out of the pit while benjamin kept putting doors under pieces of you." Said nyx as tears ran down her face.
David's remaining hand slowly touched her cheek.
Nyx froze.
"I woke up rich, short stack. It was horrible." Said david hoarsely.
Nyx started laughing and crying at the same time.
Jarred crawled closer and placed a empty bottle beside david's head.
"I saved this, drink up." Said jarred with a grin.
"Like hell you saved shit. I wouldn't drink it even if I saw you buy it." Said david calmly.
Jarred started crying harder.
Benjamin walked closer and said softly "Master david."
David looked at him and said "You look like shit, you aged a few years."
Benjamin bowed.
"Thank you." Said benjamin calmly.
"Status" Thought david calmly.
[DING!]
[STATUS]
[Name: David Swallow]
[Race: Modified Human]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 16]
[Titles: [Useless Shit], [Devil of Clover Kingdom Border], [Former Master of Black Die Syndicate], [Mate of Nyx Nocturne], [Church Ruin Survivor], [Loaded Fate Bearer], [Luck Twister], [Mana Heart Bearer], [Fallen King of Black Die City], [Cheating Bastard], [The Mate of Doomsday]
[Strength: 11,589, 421.5]
[Agility: 9,666,555.9]
[Vitality: 5,000,000]
[Mana: 22,999,766.9]
[Magic: Dice]
[Mana Heart: 11th Mana Ring (Advanced)]
[Perk: [Perfect Health], [Adaptive Evolution]
[Skills: [Etiquette: Master], [Spearmanship: Advance], [Pickaxemanship: Master], [Dancing: Master], [Archery: Grandmaster], [Adaptability: Grandmaster], [Swordsmanship: Grandmaster], [Mana Skin: Grandmaster], [Mana Meditation: Grandmaster], [Acting: Master], [Mana Zone: Grandmaster], [Observation Haki: Master], [Stealth: Master], [Body Conditioning: Grandmaster], [Pain Tolerance: Master], [Tactical Thinking: Master], [Internal Mana Structuring: Master], [Management: Master], [Negotiation: Master], [Horsemanship: Master], [Multilingual: Master], [Sex: Grandmaster], [Leadership: Grandmaster], [Pianist: Master]
[Spells: [Dice Magic: Dice Shot: Grandmaster], [Dice Magic: Gambler's Fallacy: Grandmaster], [Dice Magic: Fate Reading: Grandmaster], [Dice Magic: Loaded Fate: Master], [Dice Magic: Critical Roll: Master], [Dice Magic: Weighted Roll: Grandmaster], [Dice Magic: Lucky Break: Master], [Dice Creation Magic: Carriage of Probabilities: Master], [Dice Creation Magic: Swords of Possibilities: Grandmaster], [Dice Creation Magic: Board of Fate & Luck: Grandmaster], [Dice Creation Magic: World of Fortune: Master], [Dice Creation Magic: Fortune Step: Master], [Dice Creation Magic: The Joker: Grandmaster]
[Storage: [Mana Crystal: 1,222], [Money: 555,731,433], [Mana Slime: 243], [Dead Body: 11,888], [Route Ledger: 1], [Bounty Tokens: 255], [Locked First Dice: 1], [Black Dragon Sword]
"Doomsday" Thought david with confusion for a moment but sighed and dismissed his status screen.
David smiled.
Slowly.
Ugly.
"How many." Asked david calmly.
"Nine thousand, one hundred and three confirmed survivors. Two thousand, eighty six missing." Said benjamin with closed eyes.
David was silent for a long moment and asked "And the city."
"Gone." Said nyx with a sigh.
One word.
That was all it needed.
Five years of routes.
Markets.
Clinics.
Money.
Children sleeping beneath dice marks.
His ugly kingdom.
Gone.
David sat up.
His chest split open.
Mavis shouted.
Nyx grabbed his shoulder and said "Lay down."
"No." Said david calmly.
"You are falling apart." Said nyx with a sigh as she layed hin back down.
David chuckled and said "I have done that before."
Benjamin opened a silver door.
Cold wind entered.
So did thousands of voices outside.
"Help me stand." Said david with a smile.
Nyx glared and asked with a unknown look in her eyes "Nicely."
David stared at her for a moment and said calmly "Help me stand before I bite your ear."
Nyx smiled, a blush appearing on her face, her tail wagged as she averted her eyes and said with a wry smile appearing on her face "Better."
…
Abandoned Iron Monastery / Outer Courtyard.
The survivors filled the courtyard.
Wounded fighters.
Healers.
Market women.
Smugglers.
Children with black dice marks beneath their eyes.
Men holding coats over bodies that would never complain again.
Julius stood near the broken gate.
Doran stood on a ruined wall.
Both turned when benjamin's silver door opened.
Nyx stepped through first.
Then david.
Barefoot.
One arm.
Bandages black with blood.
His burned grimoire floating beside him.
A woman screamed his name.
Then hundreds followed.
David swayed once.
Nyx's hand held his waist which eventually led to his butt.
He pretended she did not.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP." Said david loudly.
Silence dropped instantly.
David looked across them.
At the living.
At the broken.
At what remained.
"Look behind me. That hole is your home. My money. Jarred's wine. Your women and children. Thousands of people who will never annoy me again." Said david while pointing toward the distant crater.
Several people lowered their heads.
"Ariella took all of it. So we took her head." Said david calmly with his eye glowing slightly.
Faces lifted.
A ugly laugh came from somewhere.
Then another.
David's grimoire opened.
A cracked dice floated above his palm.
"I will not call this victory. We are homeless. Injured. Poor. Half of you are useless and the useful half smell worse." Said david calmly.
Laughter moved through the yard.
Broken.
Angry.
Alive.
"But I built one city from nothing. The next one will be built from whoever made the mistake of leaving us alive." Said david as the dice rolled.
Six.
Of course.
His smile widened.
The courtyard erupted.
Not cheering.
Something uglier.
Fists struck chests.
Boots hit stone.
Children raised black dice toward the grey sky.
Julius watched.
Doran's grin returned.
Nyx stood beside david with tears drying on her face.
David looked toward the crater.
His city was dead.
So was ariella.
None of it had been enough.
A golden key appeared inside his palm.
Then vanished.
David smiled.
"Good." Said david softly.
Nyx looked up and asked "What."
David stared toward the royal capital.
"Someone rich is going to have a terrible year." Said david calmly.
And beneath a sky that had already watched him die twice, the devil of the clover border started deciding who would lose everything next.
…
THE END…