Glimrwhisk begins to speak:
“So, you trust ? People toss that word around—trust—but very few ever back it up. I guess… I trust you to a tiny degree as well. And I’m actually serious. Your performance during the last mission impressed , and you kept your word. So let’s put your trust to the test, okay? I didn’t think I’d ever use this… maybe right before the end, if you’d make it this far. But you said those words—no backing out now.”
“I’ll sponsor you regardless of what you’re about to do, so don’t worry. This is just a little ga about your earlier words—your so-called trust,” Glimrwhisk says in a playful tone.
She sounds playful… but she’s dead serious. Almost scarily so.
[??? Runic Choker]
World: Fantasy Realm
Quality: ???
Type: Choker
Effect: ???
Note: ???
“An unknown item,” Alex says, inspecting the choker. It’s just a sleek piece of shiny black tal.
“Scary, isn’t it? Put it on quickly and you’ll never get away from again. You trust , right? This shouldn’t be a problem,” she says with a smile.
Alex glances at her and notices sothing—her eyes are flickering ever so slightly.
Really curious what happened to her… She seems wounded. I feel like she is about to cry.
Alex takes the choker and casually puts it on.
[Warning, equipping this item will have unknown effects. Proceed?]
“Yes,” Alex replies, his expression confident.
“There, I’ve worn your stupid choker. Now let’s talk about the auction,” Alex says, brushing it off.
Glimrwhisk, anwhile, stares at him in disbelief.
“Are you stupid?! You really equipped it?! You total moron! You do realize this is obviously a trick, right? You can’t be this dense—it couldn’t have been more obvious!” She screams, her mood shifting from shock to joy and finally to madness.
Alex sighs. “Yes, yes, whatever. So, with your sponsorship I can attend the audience and sell my items without having to worry about people teaming up against ?”
“Yes, that’s right. I’ll even give you a small section to yourself, and you can auction your items together. Since they follow a specific the, that might attract more attention from buyers. Seeing your whole little collecti— wait. That doesn’t matter right now! Do you realize what you’ve done?! You just gave absolute control! Are you insane?!”
“It’s fine. I still trust you,” Alex says simply.
“You! Get on your knees!” she commands.
Without warning, a mysterious force compels Alex to do exactly that.
“I bow to you, great mistress Glimrwhisk,” Alex says in a sarcastic tone, kneeling in front of her.
“You?! Are you insane?! Didn’t you feel what just happened? I have absolute control over you now. I can make you do anything I want!” she shouts—not teasing this ti, but confused, even angry.
“Yes, please don’t abuse that. Anything else? I’ve already said I trust you, and we agreed to work together. Also, Glimrwhisk—you’re not the type who would misuse sothing like this. That’s not your style. You’d feel personally insulted if you had to rely on an item like this. Your pride wouldn’t allow it. I don’t know everything about you, but I know this much—you’re soone I can trust. So this doesn’t scare at all.”
Glimrwhisk throws him a long, unreadable look. Then, she snaps her fingers. The choker begins to change—golden lines start glowing across the black tal.
[Glimrwhisk’s Runic Choker (locked)]
World: Fantasy Realm
Quality: Deep-Gold
Type: Choker (Special)
Effect: Fully enslaves the wearer, forcing him or her to obey every order of Glimrwhisk.
Note: Prove your trust and loyalty to !
Note: For A. from G.
“Yeah… I an, it was obvious,” Alex mutters. “A… can’t be , right?”
“No… it’s a long story. A painful one,” she says softly, then snaps her fingers again. The choker shifts once more, this ti unlocking itself.
[Glimrwhisk’s Runic Choker (unlocked)]
“Is it important to you? Do you want it back?” Alex asks, his voice gentler now, concern written on his face.
“No… it no longer serves a purpose for . I’ll get rid of it. I’ve already unlocked it. Congratulations, you’re free again. Your stupidity is really… mind-blowing. I’ll start the preparations for the audience. Leave alone now. The event is in a few weeks, and I’ll have to sign you up today.”
Alex gives her a warm smile and slowly gets to his feet. “I really am thankful. Let’s talk again soon—once you’re feeling a little better, okay?”
He walks slowly toward the door.
Glimrwhisk bolts up from her bed, rushing after him.
“Are you dented or outright insane?! You’re still wearing the choker!”
I need it for my plan! This couldn’t have gone better! I’ll be rich and nobody can fuck with !
“Does it really matter, Glimrwhisk?” Alex asks, pausing by the door. “The way I see it… you have trust issues. Understandably so—your father’s biased, unfair treatnt? I get that. And I can tell there’s a backstory behind all of this. Which is why… I’m tempted to do just this.”
He closes the choker again, locking it around his neck.
“Since it got my na on it I’ll keep this Light-Gold beauty, hehe. I’ll see you next ti,” he says as he walks away.
Just before he closes the door, he glances back—and sees Glimrwhisk turning around, her shoulders trembling.
He hears her sobbing softly, desperately.
Returning to the lobby, Alex waves at nchi, Tereza, and Jewel, who all rush toward him, visibly worried.
As soon as Softspark sees Alex, her eyes nearly bulge out. “No way…?! She still had that thing, and you actually wore it? Are you insane?!”
“Obviously, I am! Anyway, we’re busy—let’s go!”
Alex exits the bank with his friends, all of whom are now looking at him with curious expressions.
“She’s actually a very nice girl. Seems to carry a lot of scars though—definitely has trust issues,” Alex explains.
“That choker,” nchi says, pointing at it with a frown.
“Mind-control device. Don’t worry, it won’t affect much!”
“What?! Are you insane?!” Tereza yells, almost screaming.
ALEX!!! THIS IS A HUGE MISTAKE!
“You only call by my na when you’re serious, Jewel. Honestly, it was worth wearing it just to hear you say that,” he jokes.
Suddenly, he receives a new ssage.
[Glimrwhisk:
If you tell anyone what you learned, you’ll regret the day you entered the Realm and wish you had simply died instead
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