Fallen Lightbringers’ Return - Chapter 67: Game

The door shook violently, as Hassan slammed them shut. He looked up, and as he saw his father, so did his majesty look at him. Unlike the time Lee Dojin and Baek Ji-ah met him, Hassan still had long hair, large eyes, and baby cheeks that were yet to vanish from age. He looked at most fifteen, at an age far before The Mirage came.

The boy’s eyes glimmered in rage. He shouted, “Why?”

His father did not reply. Rather, the man looked bored, resting his head on his fist and yawning. Instead, the person to reply was a close aide, an old man, whose hair had long greyed. “Beware, you are in the halls of His Majesty, watch your tongue.”

“It’s the 21st century, who gives a shit about all these things?” The boy waved his hand. “Besides, I am here on official business. Mind your own stuff, alright?”

“Hassan,” the aide said, with a stern voice. “Even if you are the 4th prince and family of his Majesty, disrespect will not be tolerated.” He continued. “If necessary, we will put all relations aside and punish you accordingly.”

“Oh yeah, you guys are quite good at that huh? Royalty has no blood. I know.” Hassan clenched his fist. He scoffed. “You people don’t care about anything but yourself.”

The aide opened his mouth, the man’s face twisted in anger. He was about to shout something, but his voice never left his mouth, as the king himself lifted his hand. At once, the whole hall turned silent. “Everybody, besides Hassan, leave.”

The aide’s eyes opened wide, and murmurs resounded from the spectators, but they obliged without much fuss. Soon after, there were only two people left within the spacious room.

His father stood up. He loosed his tie. “Now, what do you say about all this? I set it up to my liking. With this, people will know that we appreciate the traditional values.”

Hassan looked around. He saw an old sultan carpet, colorful and bright, with golden rims on the furniture. The floor was marbled, and the walls brocaded with fine art, seemingly out of a renaissance fair. His father liked to show off, though he himself found it gaudy. And currently, he could not care less about any of this.

The boy clicked his tongue. He asked, “Why did you let mother die?”

…

Ji-ah stared at the light pillar until it subsided. Young, the female shadow, was no more. “That’s more like it,” she said with a smile, and right after, great amounts of blood spurted out her orifices. Her face was dyed red, with blood leaving her eyes, mouth, and ear. She held her face, feeling warm, then fainted.

Hassan yelled her name and caught her from behind. Ji-ahs mouth bubbled with red foam, looking miserable but alive.

“She overused her ability, I see,” the boy shadow, Jin, said, and nodded in understanding. “That’s what happens when you overburden yourself.” He glanced at the place his sister was and shook his head. “You get doled with consequences.”

“You bastard!” Hassan glared at the shadow. “Come in here, I dare you! I will mess you up!”

Jin shook its shoulders. “I seriously doubt that.” The shadow sat down, wind rustling its hair. “If my conjecture is correct, we both aren’t the fighting type.” Jin laughed. “I’m not some martial artist or soldier like my sister. I died playing games. Pretty ordinary, right? But I am proud of my brain.”

Hassan’s brows furrowed. Though he was loath to admit it, that kid was right. “So what, are you just going to stand there?”

“That would be one option.” The boy shadow laughed. “But I have a better idea.” He clasped put his fingers into a cross, and several more hands popped up. “This world is my game. You want to play a round?”

The Saudi Prince clicked his tongue. His eyes fell to Lee Dojin. That boy was moving so fast, he couldn’t even see him. His attention returned to Jin. Even though his hands shook, he chuckled. “Guess I got stuck with the annoying one.”

“You are so rude.” Jin Moved his hands together, and the giant hands followed suit, moving to Hassan. “Let’s keep it simple,” the boy said lifting its finger. “We both aren’t fighter types, and I don’t like the idea of killing someone, so let us place certain rules.”

Hassan activated his ability, String Retina. “The giant hand’s next movement,” he said, and soon, a link formed, telling him where these shadowy arms would attack. He grabbed Ji-ah and dodged these spots, effectively making it out unhurt.

Jin continued talking. “Okay, let’s make only one rule. The first one to give up loses.”

“That’s the shittiest game I have heard of.” Hassan crouched, the hands barely missing.

Jin laughed. It wasn’t offended. “You have no eye for beauty.” Surrounding Hassan, a few zombie-like creatures appeared all made out of shadows. “You ever played Resident Evil?”

“I hope you get a copyright strike.” He placed Ji-ah on his back. At these times, he really wished to have trained his body. Though he did not have the physique to dodge it, his eyes allowed him to see the incoming attacks. He kicked one zombie, and the thing crumbled. Hassan looked up. These things weren’t hard to beat. It was these hands that were annoying.

“You just gonna run? Well, I suppose you have no choice, huh?”

“Fuck you.” Hassan closed his eyes. That shadow was right, he could not keep running. But still, he had no offensive abilities. There was only one thing he could try, even though it put a strain on his head. “String Retina, Medusa.”

“What’s that?” The shadow asked. “You don’t look like someone from greek. Or was Medusa a roman thing? Can’t really remember.”

Hassan did not reply. Instead, several strings appeared, all moving towards the hands. He felt the front of his head throb, but tried paying no heed to it. As the giant hands and his eyes formed a link, they suddenly stopped moving, as if frozen in time.

Jin’s mouth slacked. “What the fuck is this?” He realized that the beings controlled by him had stopped moving.

Hassan moved forward. At the same time, he explained. “That’s my small evolution.” He held his nose, which was currently bleeding. “Everything bound to my strings stops moving until I break the connection.” He squinted his eyes, as he felt like they were burning. Still, he maintained the strings, even if it would cost his life.

“That’s a revelation.”

The Saudi prince moved out, and punched the shadow in the face. Jin fell to the ground, his head flinging away. “This one is for Ji-ah.” He continued punching out. “And these, just because you are an asshole.” Hassan kept barraging the shadow with his fists. It was a first for him, placing so many punches on someone. Truthfully speaking, it was lethargic.

“Calm down, we just started,” a voice resounded. It was the shadow, Jin. He caught Hassan’s hand and shoved him away. The prince stepped a few steps back. There, he saw the shadow again, though it was malformed, with several dents and twists on its body. “damn, I got careless. Didn’t know you had that ability.” It cracked its neck. “Still, you will not catch me off-guard again.” Several smaller shadows appeared, the size of a dog. Unlike the hands, they were almost innumerable, encompassing the whole shadowy area. “I get it now I think. Everything you look at will stop moving right? Since your ability has something to do with sight. So if there are too many things to look at, how will you fare, I wonder?”

The shadows quickly surrounded him, biting his legs. Even with his abilities, he could not dodge them as they were too many. His wounds accumulated, dyeing his once white robe red.

The shadow shouted, “This is game over! May you rest in despair!”

…

Hassan’s flashback continued.

“That is a good question,” Hassan’s father replied. “Well, to explain, I would call it a game.”

The boy’s brows shot up. “A game? What do you mean ‘a game’? This isn’t some roleplay or hide and seek.” Hassan growled. “This is my mother you are talking about!”

“It is simple. Really.” The King spoke. “Imagine you have a weapon or amulet. It follows you to the first few levels, helping you defeat monsters. However, as you level up, you get better stuff, and the once grand item turns obsolete, not able to keep up with the stats.” He rubbed his chin. “The same goes with women. They support you and help you reach greater heights, until, at one point, you reach new opportunities and meet even nicer women. They, in turn, grant you even more power, and those who once supported you end up useless and you drop them. It is sad, but you learn to move on. You understand where I am going with this, right?”

“What the fuck? Hassan was baffled. “Seriously. What the fuck? Is this your true opinion about my mother?” He walked forward. “She waited for you all the time, until her death. And you abandoned her like a pebbled on the street? She gave everything for you! are you fucking kidding me?”

“As I said, Hassan. The world is a game.” He paused. “Learn to play it.”

…

Hassan faced the sky. The pain encroached him reaching his limbs. He didn’t know why he thought about his mother. Maybe it was like a life flashing by as he met his death. He didn’t know. Still, every time that shadow mentioned ‘a game’ he grew irate. “Shit.” He muttered. Suddenly, he felt his feet hit the ground. he looked down. He didn’t know when, but slowly, the shadows had descended, landing upon the earth and engulfing Seoul in darkness again.

“Come on! Give up!” Jin shouted, summoning even more minions. “This is just like tower defense!”

Hassan sighed. Was this the end? He coughed, then faced Ji-ah. No, this could not be it. Yet, there was no escape. He had one more thing to try, but was it worth the risk? He faced Dojin. He clicked his tongue. Maybe it was. He closed his eyes and activated his ability. A sigh escaped him. “String retina. Show me the way to win.”

At once blood spurted out his eyes and mouth, a dark red shade coloring the ground.

His ability was simple. As long as he wished for it, he could see whatever he wanted, even if abstract. But he had to mind, the less specific it was, the higher the burden on his body. Just like right now. His ability almost destroyed him, giving him an intense migraine, making him wish to scratch out his brain.

The shadow chuckled. “Self-destruction. What an anti-climatic end.”

Hassan rubbed his eyes. He saw it. For a split second, he saw. A way to win. The dogs bit upon him, but he didn’t care. They could not hurt him as much as his ability could. He waved through the shadows.

“Is this a suicide attack?”

Hassan came close to Jin. They now saw eye to eye. He grabbed the shadow by its neck and muttered. “I see. The only way to destroy you.. . was using your own powers.” He deactivated his abilities. The hands began moving again. They targeted him, swinging out.

Jins face contorted. The shadow realized Hassan’s idea, but it was too late.

Once more, Hassan activated his ability. He saw where the hands were aiming for. He shoved him to that point. The hands came down, landing upon Jin, breaking the shadow apart. It was like observing a ragdoll being hit by several trucks.

Hassan fell to his knees. His eyes felt like they were burning. But compared to the shadow, he was a lot better off.

The shadow looked at him. It smiled. “Good game. It was fun, even if short.” The last hand moved, decapitating Jin, and it disintegrated, just like its sister. And thus, through the power of Ji-ah and Hassan, the shadow turned much smaller again.