SFW 33“What… befell upon all of you?”There was a sense of dread looming around the air; even without a tragedy happening, the interior of the dungeon they found themselves in was already dreary and ominous. But now, with all of them carrying a sense of hopelessness on their faces, Vayne was once again reminded of the true reality of the exam and what it means to be an Explorer.Throughout the days he and Nisha were exploring the island and hunting treasures, Vayne was having fun. How could he not, when just walking with both feet was a privilege to him?And now, seeing his brother lying unconscious on the ground and missing an arm. He… didn’t really know what to feel."We were being attacked when the ground opened up," Mavey, the girl that was even shorter than Vayne, was the one to answer his question,"It all just happened so fucking fast that none of us could react at all. Well, not all of us…" She then breathed out as she looked at the unconscious Vale."It's my fault." A loud, a
How did Vale know his name?-- is what Vayne thought for a second. But since he didn't really make an effort in hiding his name, the only thing he could really do was act as naturally as possible.And so, he subtly pulled his hood tighter and cleared his throat to make sure his brother wouldn't be able to recognize his voice."Yes," he then said in a deep and somewhat raspy voice. And as soon as his words crawled through his brother's ears, Vale could really only surmise that Vayne was probably already an old man."I… never thought it was a common name.""No," Vayne quickly said in haste; fortunately for him, the knowledge he garnered in reading all of those history books will finally be put to use,"It's a very common name in Ludia." Not really, but the pattern of their names was similar to his, "...Did you happen to know someone with the same name?""...Yes. He was the one I was speaking about earlier," the tone of Vale's voice started to weaken as he looked to the side,"A… anyway—M
SFW 36 "We're running low on supplies." "And whose fault is that!? We're supposed to have a month's worth of supply for 10 people, there are only 7 of us!" "It should be fine, the door is opening a few hours from now. Hoho." "Stop talking like an owl, you big useless, hair lump of muscle! We don't even know what's on the other side or if the skinny small stranger really read it right!" "Oi, the guy has a name." "I don't fucking care. As long as he wears that silly eye mask, he remains nameless to me." A few days in the empty, bleak, and cold, darkness of the dungeon; the seven remaining Explorer candidates were still alive and well—perhaps too alive. Don Grecko and Mavey's voices echoed through the corners of the dungeon where their light could no longer reach. The two have been bickering and arguing non-stop for an entire day, making Vayne and the rest of the candidates treat them like white noise already. Vayne and the others were just looking at the colossal door in front o
"People told me that no matter what I do, I could never run. But now whenever they open their mouths, I am the one that has to look behind," — Vayne Valentine, The Crippled Prince. It happened one fine morning. When the birds were singing their songs and the sun gave them the light they wished. Right when the dew disperses all the evil that might have plagued the night before— but alas, it would seem that not every evil was left behind… "No…" …As a mother mourns and grieves for her son. She gently touched his face, not yet even larger than her palm. She caressed his soft cheeks… and a smile shaped on the baby's lips. The babe was not dead, no. But the baby was pale; his arms felt like they would break with just a single soft wind. And his legs, they already were— not even capable of a kick. The babe was not dead, no. But even still, the mother mourned for her son as her soft palms slowly crawled toward his teeny, tiny nose, covering it and his smile completely. "I… I am so sorry
"Absolutely not!""But mother–""How many times have I told you that you are not to talk to your brother!? Again and again, every day I tell you……these people are different from us. We don't belong here.""..."For the first time in 16 years, Vayne's dim and desolate room was filled with more than just the mountain of books that filled it with color.But to think it would be his mother's screams that would fill the void, Vayne could really only sigh at the thought.Charlotte's auburn hair almost bounced as she waved her hands repeatedly, telling Vayne that going with Vale was a bad idea.As for Vayne, he just hid in the shadows of his books, letting his mother calm her breaths, before he once again permeated himself to speak,"This might be the chance you have always wanted, mother," Vayne said; his voice, clear and tranquil, "You have always told me how good it would be if I was able to prove myself. How our lives would be better.""Do… not put words in my mouth, child," Charlotte's
"Kh!""...""...""...You okay? Should we ask them to slow down?""It's… it's fine. I just haven't experienced this kind of quaver cradling my feeble body before.""...Quaver?""Shaking.""Oh… You really do read a lot of books.""Well, it's the only thing I could do."Vayne tried his best to smile; his furrowed eyebrows, however, failed to hide the pain that was crawling through his bones.They have been travelling in a carriage for a few days now. And throughout this linear journey, he and his brother have gotten to know each other.And although he was not able to relate to him, it was good directly hearing stories from others other than his mother."Don't worry, brother. We'll be reaching the border to the Dark Continent soon. After that, we will be……walking." As for Vale, his words could not help but become weak as his eyes slowly landed on Vayne's leg.And as soon as Vayne saw this, he let out a quiet chuckle and patted his twisted leg, "Welcome to my life, Vale. Damned either wa
"...Vale?""What the fuck!?"Shock. It wasn't only Vayne that was stupefied with what just happened. The two Explorers could also not believe what they'd just seen.Their feet, slightly stepping back on their own as they didn't know what to do.Just moments ago, they were watching a touching moment between two brothers. But all of a sudden… Vale raised his spear and stabbed Vayne straight through the chest; without even as much as a falter."...Fuck," one of the Explorers could not help but whisper as he looked at his companion, almost as if they were asking themselves what they should do now.Should… they kill Vale?Before the two of them could even make a solid conclusion, however, Vale opened his mouth."The two of you should leave us for now," Val said as he wiped the tears trailing on his face, "Return… in an hour.""What—""You will be handsomely rewarded— enough riches that would serve you a lifetime…" Val did not let the two speak, "...That, or you face the wrath of my father.
Death.That was perhaps the only thing in the world that remains and will remain completely unexplainable.After all, there was nothing after it, only a void.How would one explain what it feels? How would one tell anyone?A survivor might have words for it, but that is not death, only 'dying'.Was it cold? Extremely so.Was it hot? Extremely so.Exhausting, energizing— all the feelings, everything, at once. But at the same time, there was nothing.No matter how many books one reads, no matter how many words one knows,The feeling of death will forever remain without description.Death, however, did have a sound.A wail— almost an incessant whisper that traveled through the air like a turbulent whistle."...""..."No. Perhaps that sound was not one of death, but resurrection.A sound that was followed by silence as the eyes of one that was once dead opened. Eyes that see nothing but a blur; almost as if smoke was blanketing everything within its view.Silhouettes, recognizable, but b
SFW 36 "We're running low on supplies." "And whose fault is that!? We're supposed to have a month's worth of supply for 10 people, there are only 7 of us!" "It should be fine, the door is opening a few hours from now. Hoho." "Stop talking like an owl, you big useless, hair lump of muscle! We don't even know what's on the other side or if the skinny small stranger really read it right!" "Oi, the guy has a name." "I don't fucking care. As long as he wears that silly eye mask, he remains nameless to me." A few days in the empty, bleak, and cold, darkness of the dungeon; the seven remaining Explorer candidates were still alive and well—perhaps too alive. Don Grecko and Mavey's voices echoed through the corners of the dungeon where their light could no longer reach. The two have been bickering and arguing non-stop for an entire day, making Vayne and the rest of the candidates treat them like white noise already. Vayne and the others were just looking at the colossal door in front o
How did Vale know his name?-- is what Vayne thought for a second. But since he didn't really make an effort in hiding his name, the only thing he could really do was act as naturally as possible.And so, he subtly pulled his hood tighter and cleared his throat to make sure his brother wouldn't be able to recognize his voice."Yes," he then said in a deep and somewhat raspy voice. And as soon as his words crawled through his brother's ears, Vale could really only surmise that Vayne was probably already an old man."I… never thought it was a common name.""No," Vayne quickly said in haste; fortunately for him, the knowledge he garnered in reading all of those history books will finally be put to use,"It's a very common name in Ludia." Not really, but the pattern of their names was similar to his, "...Did you happen to know someone with the same name?""...Yes. He was the one I was speaking about earlier," the tone of Vale's voice started to weaken as he looked to the side,"A… anyway—M
SFW 33“What… befell upon all of you?”There was a sense of dread looming around the air; even without a tragedy happening, the interior of the dungeon they found themselves in was already dreary and ominous. But now, with all of them carrying a sense of hopelessness on their faces, Vayne was once again reminded of the true reality of the exam and what it means to be an Explorer.Throughout the days he and Nisha were exploring the island and hunting treasures, Vayne was having fun. How could he not, when just walking with both feet was a privilege to him?And now, seeing his brother lying unconscious on the ground and missing an arm. He… didn’t really know what to feel."We were being attacked when the ground opened up," Mavey, the girl that was even shorter than Vayne, was the one to answer his question,"It all just happened so fucking fast that none of us could react at all. Well, not all of us…" She then breathed out as she looked at the unconscious Vale."It's my fault." A loud, a
“We’ll… be okay.”--- Vayne no longer knew how many times he uttered these words. He kept repeating it over and over again hoping that it might be true but seeing as darkness was all he could see, there was no way to actually know. The only thing he knew was that a violent pour of vapor was escaping his mouth and nose right now; the cold, beyond chilling as he couldn’t even move a single finger in his body without exerting a great amount of effort. No— at the very least, his body found itself shivering and trying to fight off the cold as much as he could. But Nisha? Her body was completely frozen still and almost held no signs of life. If it wasn’t for the slight warmth that was escaping from her nose, then Vayne would have thought her dead already. He crawled near her and wrapped his arms around her waist and chest, completely hugging her back and even heavily breathing into her neck so he could try and provide her all the warmth he could give…. but it obviously was not enough. “..
"W… wait, be very gentle with it." "Relax, I know a lot more about this than you." "W… why are you using your teeth?" "Some like it." "...Wha—" "There, see!?" Vayne could not help but close his eyes as his face was showered by… bits and pieces of the mechanism that was locking the chest Nisha found beneath the pool. He didn't seem to mind, however, as his eyes even widened as soon as Nisha's fingers lightly brushed across the chest. "O… open it." "I am, can you just have a little patience!?" Nisha raised her voice as she slightly pushed Vayne away. Her face, however, failed to hide her excitement which was even more pronounced than Vayne, "Things like this… should be treated with utmost care." And with those words, she very slowly opened the chest; both of their breaths, almost enough to blow the cover away. And with their eyes filled with nothing but excitement, the insides of the treasure chest almost blinded them as… …it
"No, I'm certain now… …this will work." The leaves that have been falling endlessly around Vayne started to slow down, along with everything else that Vayne could lay his eyes upon. It was always a spectacular sight to see everything around you just frozen— no matter how many times Vayne experiences the world like this, it was something he would always be amazed at. But for now, however, he had something to accomplish. And so, he took his eyes away from the frozen world and started running in it; each of his steps, causing the clouds of dust and dirt beneath his feet to float and flutter. He tightened the shield that was attached to his arm as he continued to move forward. And soon, the dried leaves and their shavings were no more as the soles of Vayne's shoe hit the surface of the water. It rippled, of course— but there aside from being incredibly unstable, the difference between the ground he once stood on and the water was becoming… non-existent.
"She uttered the name of my father... ...Valerion Valentine." "!!!" If Vayne's mouth wasn't covered by Nisha's hand, he would have already coughed. "That is why I want to become an Explorer," Bruno breathed out, "To get a chance to talk to Valerion eye-to-eye." "..." "..." "And to reach that goal… I must become a solitary creature," Bruno then turned around and started walking away, "A creature that stands alone. And so, I'm saying goodbye now. But if fate allows it… …then we will meet again." And so, Vayne and Nisha watched as Bruno disappeared into the forest; the leaves around him, almost echoing his… emotions. "..." "...I'm just gonna say it, he's weird as fuck," Nisha then quickly muttered, "Anyway, now that he's gone, I need to tell you something… …I found a treasure." "..." "..." "...Why aren't you saying anything?" Nisha then turned to look at Vayne, not realizing she was embracing him and s
"..." "..." The deafening silence of the forest was not something Vayne expected. He had always read that one would hear whispers everywhere and that it felt like someone was always watching your every move— but he always thought that they were just a way to express a certain emotion… …he didn't think that he would actually find himself looking over his shoulders every second that passed. And he swears he was seeing several pairs of eyes staring at him from between the cracks of the trees. It… was somewhat terrifying— the forest not permitting any light to enter its domain didn't help. And so, Vayne just decided to distract himself by looking at the uruc he killed. This could be considered only the 2nd life he willingly ended, and yet for some reason, he already felt numb to it. Even when he tries to remember Mathilda's eyes as she drew her last breath, Vayne… didn't feel anything. In the books, it is said that killing never truly gets easier.
"...Fuck." Nisha could really only let out a sigh as she watched the scenery slowly unfold in front of her. She glanced at Vayne to see what he thought of the situation, but like her, the only thing he could really do was watch. He seemed a little tense and curious, however, as he raised his shield and sword from time to time. "..." Nisha looked at him for a few moments more, before turning her focus back to the ice woman. Although Nisha hasn't talked with her even once, she still could not help but express her condolences to a fellow examinee. For her to have reached this far, only to soon be devastated and defiled by the two urucs slowly closing in on her… truly, Nisha shares her pain. "Oh well… that's life," Nisha then said as she quietly crawled back, "Let's go. The urucs will definitely smell us after they're done with her." Nisha grabbed Vayne's wrist… but found him not even moving his feet even for a single inch. "...Are you sure s