Chương 104: CHAPTER 102 – Out of Plays

"You don't seem like a complete incompetent." The mask raised the deck of cards over its shoulder with a dull thud. Lance smiled, continuing to draw that blade from his arm. It was grim, dark, something born of machinations far from the world of the living. With every pull, he felt the nerves in his body burn, but he did not stop.

"Really? Your view is decidedly less murky than mine!" With one last movement, the mountain of ethereal iron revealed itself in full. Jagged guard, broken tip, and worn edge. That was what had emerged from his arm. The person before him tilted their head, but Lance could feel it: a palpable tension in the Frequency. The two stared at each other in silence, both their weapons now resting on their shoulders. Without moving a step, the figure extended an arm, pointing at the bracelet Lance wore.

"That relic… How did it come into your possession?" There was no actual change in the distorted voice, yet Lance could see small fluctuations in the surrounding air, like tangles.

"Its flow is clean, which confirms that whatever is under the mask… Is at least human." He offered a faint smile while sliding his thumb over the revolver's grip. Lance stared straight into its eyes, aiming the weapon's barrel.

"Forgive me, but what do you know about this bracelet? If you ask me that, it's because you know something, and believe me, I want answers too." The mask emitted a thin, sharp hiss, perhaps a sigh filtered through those tiny cracks in the bronze." Lachesi, the relic born of judgment. A scientist found it during the Great War. Originally, it was unusable until it was somehow connected to the man who found it. From that moment on, it was passed down from generation to generation, evolving over the years.

The Frequency of that bracelet is so ancient it cannot be catalogued by modern standards. A relic from the age of the Gods…" The figure stopped speaking, now staring straight into Lance's face.

"Satisfied?" It asked, while Lance nodded silently.

"No, actually, the last part was all lies. I don't think I have the decency to answer you!" Lance smiled, immediately detonating the pistol. The mask was once again wrapped in those greyish flames, this time showing a pair of 2s. With greater difficulty, it deflected the bullet, making it explode behind. Lance vanished from sight, wielding both Gloriosus and Imago. The figure raised the fan of cards to parry, sinking into the ground as bolts of Frequency spread through the room.

Gloriosus snapped, extending and pushing Lance back.

"Got you!" With violence, Imago struck with the flat of the greatsword. The figure crashed at the corridor entrance while the smell of scorched earth spread around them.

"I can't overuse Imago. If it tears through the dome…" He gripped the relic even tighter, advancing toward the smoke. After a couple of steps, he felt the entire energy in the room stir and shift.

"I underestimated you…" The masked figure reappeared with torn clothes and the mechanical arm fully exposed. A grey flame wrapped around it completely, branching into five columns. In front of both of them, two nearly transparent cards began to float.

"Now I will treat you with the proper regard for an opponent of your calibre." An intense aura began to shake the ground and sweep away the debris, piling it along the bulkheads. The first column revealed a 5 with a heart, the second an ace with a lance, the third a 10 of hearts, the fourth a King set in a diamond, and the last showed a 3 with flowers." Ante." Lance felt a pang in his chest, immediately feeling fatigue and nausea. The greyish cards took on a colour mixed between black and red, lighting up.

After a few seconds, the Mask tilted its head and touched the cards." Check!" The cards before Lance vanished, without him being able to understand their meaning. Meanwhile, the cards revealed by it were two more 5s. Everything went dark, and suddenly the Frequency went completely wild. The figure before him overflowed with power, as if everything had multiplied exponentially.

"Did it just use a dose?" Lance had only just formulated the question when he found himself hurled into the air. The organs beneath the fat of his abdomen vibrated through his body, increasing the nausea. The masked figure appeared before him again, leg raised to face height. Immediately Lance rotated his body, kicking him in the chest. The impact shook the entire iron dome, raining down glass. The crystalline rain coloured itself with the black reflection of Lance as it battered his opponent.

"Is it a Starken? Yet I'm sure the frequency was manifested externally…" A kick, like an axe, sank between the masked figure's ribs. The shards were sent outward, shattering further. Once the cloud of dirt and debris cleared, he could not spot the figure. In that instant, a sharp card pierced his side. He pushed it away with a knee strike, then found himself struck and slammed into the wet ground.

"All its physical abilities increased?!" Lance sprang up, summoning the gigantic greatsword. The two relics clashed, releasing a river of sparks and flashes. The deck of cards began to fray and crack, while Imago continued to make its way toward the mask. Suddenly, both relics vanished from their hands, withdrawn by their wielders.

"I can't use Vergehen at full power…" He channelled all the Frequency flowing in his arm into his knuckles, aiming directly at the mask. Both their faces were shaken by the other's blow. Blood poured from Lance's face while the mask cracked. A red thread emerged from Lance's lip, coiling around the figure's neck.

"Forgive me…" In less than an instant, Lance's forehead struck the mask, shattering it. The shockwave split the ground and separated the two. A piece of bronze fell at Lance's feet, while a rivulet of blood poured down her face. An iris divided between red and green lit up the remains of the mask on her face. A deep greyish scar crossed red lips, contrasting with the pale skin.

"Is the person under the mask a woman?"

"You're strong. Are you sure you don't want to tell me your name?" The lady asked, touching a strange black protuberance emerging from her white hair. Lance shook his head, revealing the black blade in his palm.

"What a pity, yet it doesn't seem like you want to kill me." Lance slammed the blade into the ground, now perceiving that voice clearly. The words reached him no longer distorted, but with a sweet, warm tone, somehow unnatural.

"Such courtesies are the reason you can only fail." Her lips curled into a smile, and she vanished. Lance moved accordingly, thrusting forward with the blade. A whirlwind of Frequency blades tore through the air, clashing against her palm. New cards spread around her, revealing themselves as a new trio. Her nails pierced Lance's belly, closing around his organs.

"Do you still believe in keeping me alive?" Lance smiled, grabbing both her wrist and her throat." Siphon …" The energy slowly began to be drained from her, once again flowing into his veins. Violet scars began to spread across his skin, and the blood started to float, returning into his body. She tried to tear out his organs, but could not. A single gesture of his palm and the air was scythed. The woman now stood about ten metres away, with a gash on her cheek.

"Perhaps I've shown you too much of what you call courtesy…" His body fully healed, his eyes shining with a golden glow. She smiled again.

"Good, you're showing more maturity… What you lack now is being authentic!" Imago was hurled at her without warning. The lady grabbed the hilt, immediately crashing to the ground.

"Can that boy handle such a weapon?" The moment she lost her balance, Lance appeared above her, his fist clenched and wrapped in crimson scales. The floor exploded, but the debris didn't have time to fall before the two were already exchanging slashes in the rain. Gloriosus snapped, extending and clashing against her robotic arm.

"You're holding back. Are you scared?" She smiled from behind the sharp deck. Lance placed his hand on the back of the sword, continuing to push. With a fluid movement of his legs, he shifted out of the slash's path, aiming again at her side. The blade was repelled while black scales grew on his body.

"It can end here." His arm shot forward, releasing the accumulated frequency. A trail of white and black flashes made its way to the corridor, where it expanded through the rooms, tearing everything apart.

"Now I understand why Lachesi chose you…" She turned sharply, seeing five more cards floating around her, slowly turning to ash.

"Did you think my power was limited to enhancing my body?" She smiled, staring him straight in the eyes. The Frequency of the entire room had undergone some modification, yet Lance couldn't quite grasp it.

"I don't like revealing winning hands, but I am a Verwinder. Maybe you're not familiar with the term, but I am an entity with rather particular abilities." The deck of cards broke apart, taking the shape of a flying swarm.

"Don't worry about my ignorance. I've met enough people like you, and I'm sick of it." Lance touched the back of his neck, aiming right at the strange seam. He felt a tingling as something writhed inside him.

"Oh… Would it surprise you if I said I can manipulate reality?" A pair of cards appeared between her fingers, showing a pair of 8s. Immediately, the ground around Lance collapsed, remaining intact only where his feet rested. Fear took hold of his limbs, while the scar on his nape fragmented and spread behind him.

"A relic of Termìe?" She smiled as a black cloak wrapped around his neck like torn wings. Silver crosses, followed by dark chains, emerged from the crimson interior of the fabric, rippling it like water.

"It won't be long before I understand how that power of yours works, Verwinder." Lance pointed one of the crosses straight at her throat while black glasses appeared on his tired face. The cards above them began to spin, bound by a thin, almost invisible Frequency.

"Try it, walking reliquary." A rain of playing cards crashed into the dome, tearing through the ground. Among the reflections on the metal, a dark silhouette darted through the structure. Her eye began to follow him as he appeared first to the right, then behind her. She felt the flesh of her leg being torn by metal, but not a drop of blood was lost. The rain of cards ceased, and now Lance and the lady stood far apart.

"Those cards again? That wound didn't regenerate… It was nullified?" Lance's blade, previously covered in blood and tissue, was now clean and gleaming. Her suit was intact, only slightly stained from the earlier clashes.

"Convinced?" She smiled, hurling a fan of cards at him. Lance blocked it with his right hand, covered in hardened blood scales.

"Yes, I think I've also figured out how your power works!" He smiled, throwing the cards behind him. The surrounding lightning began to writhe, while the glow of his eyes reflected grimly on the glasses.

"You can't suffer overload, yet you seem to tire after every single draw." Lance appeared before her before she could react, charging a dart of energy in his clenched fist. He moved to connect it to her belly, but all the energy died. The little flames guarding the cards reappeared around her. Lance smiled, grabbing her by the throat.

"You have to reveal them to win that strange bet!" The boy lifted her off the ground, slamming her down immediately after. Numerous cuts spread across her body as the figure moved away from him again. A pair of jacks with black symbols appeared above her head. The wounds healed while she smiled.

"You bet something of yourself, and if you win, you get what you want. I imagine you have to spend quite a bit to participate in a bet that alters the nature of your surroundings…" Lance hurled one of the crosses at her, watching it crash behind his rival.

"Are those glasses a relic of Termìe too? I'm amazed how your brain hasn't exploded yet." A trail of earth followed her steps as she gathered all the scattered cards in the air to create a single violent slash. Lance raised the cross, immediately feeling the ground collapse beneath him." Ante!" Again, that strange feeling of emptiness, but this time without the nausea. Lance smiled, grabbing her by the arm as two cards appeared above his head. He kicked her full in the chest, still holding her arm.

"It's a gamble, but I'm sure she can't alter a bet in progress. If I can inflict enough damage before the cards are revealed, I can win!" He blocked a kick from her with his wrist, immediately grabbing her by the throat. With a grunt, he threw her to the ground, clenching his fingers like a hammer. Blow after blow, the remains of the mask began to shatter. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

A pang in his stomach, and Lance was thrown into the air, a thread of blood still wrapped around her fingers. She pulled him back, slamming him again with his back to the ground. The first card lit up, revealing an A immersed in a whirlwind of hearts.

"I must make sure she doesn't see the cards!" His speed increased further, accelerating until he became one with the flashes. Another impact, and this time both found themselves in the air. The second card revealed itself to be a 10 wrapped in hearts. The deck of cards whirled around them, each card as fast as a bullet. Lance found himself swarmed by blades, but he kept accelerating, jumping from card to card. With every leap, a blow landed, and a cut appeared on his face.

Another jump, and the mask continued to crack, battered by blows. The third card began to light up while Lance placed his tensed legs on the iron ceiling.

"Last effort!" The dome bent at his launch, while all the cards were swept away by the air pressure. The blow immediately reached her heart. The last card was turned: A 9 stormed with flowers.

"What a pity, I would have hoped for a straight this time. You truly understood everything! You're incredible. But I'm sorry to tell you…" All the energy of Lance's blow vanished, thinning until it disappeared into the stale air. The cards above him revealed an Ace and a 9. Hers were a pair of the last remaining Aces.

"… That in my life I have only lost once." The mask finally cracked completely, revealing her face. She was a woman with a face streaked with deep greyish scars, burning lips, and eyes of a strange colouration mixed between red and green. That thin face exuded sadness and anguish at first glance, yet she laughed. She glanced at his wrist and sighed, all in that brief instant.

"I think I've made quite a mess…" Lance's eyes went dark as a violent impact spread along his chest. He fell into unconsciousness while the echo of vibrating iron resonated in his skull.

"Damn… I was never so close to winning." He suddenly regained consciousness, finding himself completely stripped and left only in his underwear and with Lachesi. Before him stood the masked woman, with bandages binding her chest and wearing only trousers. Her skin was as pale as ash, and vaguely polished. Short and white as snow hair covered her onyx horn. A shiver ran down his spine, almost instinctively forcing him to reactivate the cloak. She turned, smiling.

"Don't worry, I didn't do anything strange to you. Just a routine inspection." She chuckled, shuffling a deck of golden cards between her fingers. First she made a circle, then a fan, and finally returned them to their classic shape.

"Besides, I don't find men attractive, though I won't deny you'd be among my favourites for now…" Immediately Lance manifested the cloak, wrapping it around his naked body. She laughed, making the deck disappear. Now he could clearly see the mechanical arm of a vague violet colour, bound to what little flesh remained near the shoulder.

"I think we can talk calmly now, Lance Klint." Immediately he pulled out Supplicium, ignoring the atrocious pain in his arm. She raised her hands, shaking her head.

"I apologise, all right? But at least let me speak. If I wanted to kill you, you wouldn't be pointing that thing at me now." The lady sighed, making the weapon disappear again.

"I didn't sense malice from you. I'll listen, though I'd like explanations for why you stripped me… Possibly also a name." She pulled a red jacket from the deck of cards, smiling.

"I am Albert Cameris, special agent of NOIR. I recognised you from the logo on the device on your wrist. Maverick and Lucas still haven't informed me of that model, though I understand them, since we last saw each other about fifteen years ago." She scratched her head as she sat beside him, lighting a cigarette.

"I suspected you were someone serious, but I didn't pay it much mind. I brought you here for safety, actually. I don't like the sea. When you live as I do, you start to forget many things and replace them with others. In any case, I knew Lachesi only ends up in the hands of an agent." Albert laughed, blowing a small cloud of white smoke from her lips.

"That sure? I understand. The people at NOIR are truly strong." He smiled, adjusting his posture.

"Assaulting that island and coming out alive… Impossible, even though there was one incident." Immediately, the air turned cold, and Lance's eyes shifted toward the floating obelisk, unharmed by the battle.

"The Unnamed, right?" Albert nodded, drawing more smoke from the filter.

"I was returning for a report when I saw the island split in two. That's when Lautre was hospitalised, then the sky lit red and then black again. When I arrived, I found only the crushed remains of Bluette, Maliard's torn body, and Lucas with his innards out. Whatever I faced that day was not of this world." Albert laughed, stubbing the cigarette on the back of her hand.

"I engaged immediately and saw my legs being severed almost instantly, eaten by that darkness. While I tried to process it, I was decapitated. Had it not been for my power, I would have died." Lance clutched the cloak around himself, listening silently to Albert.

"Then it changed form, starting to speak and behave exactly like August Noir. But it was only a copy, a stupid imitation created by that demon. It was August, and at the same time, I was sure it wasn't him. I tricked it by blaming Aline." She stroked her mechanical arm, rubbing warm fingers over the cold metal."' Only a dog like you could love a sick whore like her.' That's how I angered it until it accepted the game. Sacrificing my entire arm, I split the island and caused the anomaly, exiling it somewhere.

I think it ended up in some place far even from Hel." Lance shook his head, biting his thumb.

"Are you telling me that beast isn't dead?" Albert shook her head, lighting another cigarette.

"Kill that thing? You know why we still call it the Unnamed? Why we keep remembering it? Because its presence is a sickness that still infests the entire organisation, and it's impossible to shake off that terror. It's genuinely easier to associate it with something that has lost its name rather than erase it. Trust me, Lance, you can forget centuries of love, but never a single moment of terror." This time she inhaled more deeply, relaxing her shoulders as she exhaled.

"Frankly… I wasn't sure I'd make it. I was given a huge hand." She smiled, wiping ash from her chin.

"By whom? I know no member of the agency managed to do anything." Albert raised her hand and closed her fingers, as if mimicking a sword.

"Kaiser… The self-proclaimed emperor of humanity, perhaps the strongest Jury member after Heloise and the Unnamed itself. He brought a gigantic blade down from the sky, piercing it through and through. Strangely, it slowed it down, but from that moment on he could no longer track it." Lance shuddered, just imagining those scenes, almost able to hear the weeping.

"You know, at first Lucas told me about you. He said you reminded him of August, and frankly, I disagree. August was inhuman at times, prone to killing and dark despite everything… You are too human, I think? I don't know how to say it, but there's something in you that's strange." Albert stood, stretching her legs.

"Your emotions are loose, at times even fake. Something is wrong with you, and the fact that Lachesi chose you isn't a good sign." Lance stared at his arm, feeling it cold." Lachesi … She also chose the founder despite being human. How did he die?" Albert turned, looking at him grimly.

"Illness, a tumour spread to the brain and heart. I didn't see him die, but he collapsed after facing two Teufel to save Monica and Maliard. He was an eccentric and gloomy man, but he's the one who broke me out of the prison where I received this." She pointed simultaneously at the horn on her head and the scar on her face.

"A lovely souvenir, right? That's what I'm left with after all the experiments and abuses in that detestable project." She chuckled nervously, snapping her fingers.

"The Fortschritt project?" he asked, standing despite the searing pain in his knees. Without turning, Albert nodded, sighing.

"I heard from Lucas that you were part of a re-edition, perhaps the third. Are you familiar with the name Nyx Monoghan?" A lightning bolt of hatred and fear shot through his nape at the mere sound of that name.

"No use speaking. That slimy devil was the root of my pain. I hoped he was dead, but judging by your reaction, I think not… Yet something doesn't add up." She turned to Lance, pointing a finger.

"Do you remember anything about him?" Lance felt a strong headache, like a nail in his temples. After a few seconds, he shook his head, leaving Albert with a dull, dismayed expression.

"Well… Because the Nyx Monoghan I knew was a woman, but Lucas remembers him as a man. That means there are multiple Nyx Monoghans, each with the same intentions as their predecessor." Albert fastened her jacket, approaching the obelisk.

"What?! That's not possible, isn't she... He, dead?!"

"You've probably read those documents, but I imagine you still have questions, right?" Lance nodded, following her.

"The ritual of Termìe… From my investigations, it was a process to bring back to life a creature of Hel by implanting its parts inside a woman of the empire. What that creature was or how much it was worth to sacrifice those lives I can't tell you, but I can certainly confirm that the Thing deeply hated it." A wave of frost struck the dome.

"The Unnamed hated it?" Albert nodded, touching the cold obelisk.

"The ritual opened a door into Hel, and he somehow managed to escape, even if only for a moment. I've seen these obelisks buried in the catacombs outside the Empire's capital. Always incomplete but decidedly larger." Lance looked around, thinking back to the horrors in the dark corridors.

"How long was the portal open?" Albert stared at the dark mass of bodies for a moment before raising a finger.

"One second, judging by the size." Lance shook his head, chuckling.

"Just one second… It killed all these people?" Albert nodded without a word, turning.

"The entire frequency of this place was decimated. What do you think happened to the people? The survivors died from corruption minutes later, anyway. Being in the Unnamed's presence is toxic to anyone." Albert lit the last cigarette she had found in her pocket and began to leave.

"Wait! One question." Albert turned, nodding between puffs of smoke.

"What is the Unnamed?" She laughed, shaking her head.

"If I answered 'It's a monster,' would that satisfy you?" Lance shook his head, drawing another laugh from Albert.

"For an agent like you, investigating the thing is forbidden. But personally, I believe rules limit people too much. From my research, I can tell you that the Unnamed is not human, or at least not entirely. It is an artificial god." Lance's eyes widened, feeling a strange hum." Fortschritt is perhaps at the root of it, so if you want to investigate, you know where to start… Remember, I didn't tell you anything! I'm forbidden to look at others' cards."

Albert turned, manifesting a card between her mechanical fingers.

"I'm sorry for you, boy. The hand you've been dealt is truly strange. Two queens…" She chuckled, throwing the card at his feet.

"Break it, and you'll return where you came from." She began to vanish into the dark corridor. She stopped in the half-light, giving a last puff of the cigarette. The flame blazed brightly and then went out.

"Live as you wish, Lance Klint. The cards life has given you must not dictate how you live it. You can always choose whether to fold or not, but trust me, there's no fun without discovery. I advise you to play it. Worst case, you start over. C'est la vie." A flame wrapped around her, reducing her to ash.

"Albert!!" Lance shouted as the flames devoured her completely. She turned, showing her luminous eyes.

"Will we see each other again?" He smiled, grabbing the card.

"I don't know… I have a personal vendetta to complete… And besides, you owe me for the clothes!" She laughed, vanishing entirely, leaving him in the damp dome hidden in the abyss. He looked around, slowly snapping the card between his hands.

"Live my life? I don't even know the cards I've been dealt." The boy laughed, disappearing in a burst of flames. The journey was terribly brief and equally stormy. His body was pervaded by heat and then immediately thrown into icy water. He swam toward the surface, lit by the pale moon in the sky. His arm broke the still sea, emerging tired from the depths. In the distance, he could see the beach, with the little made visible by the spectral light.

"I see lights… Maybe they're still awake." From exhaustion, it almost seemed he was dragging himself through the water, gripping the sea as if it were mud. It took him a few minutes to close the distance. He squeezed the damp sand with his fingers, pulling himself upright. He was dripping with brackish water, and every step felt heavy. Lance saw the lights of the little house on, smiling.

"Maybe Albert told them…" He pulled a piece of seaweed from his hair, heading to the porch.

"Lance?" A voice called from the dark. Suddenly, a violet light came on, directly from a lantern. Monica Net was holding it, eyes moist, balancing on a hammock.

"Monica?!" The boy smiled, diverting his walk toward her.