"It’s bright."
Those two words slipped from Arthur’s lips as he took in his surroundings—the flashing lights, the ostentatiously dressed people moving about, and the reflections dancing across countless glasses and silverware.
’I’m pretty sure I fell asleep on Aramis.’
Indeed, Arthur had returned to Aramis, gone straight to his usual room in Militopolis, collapsed onto his bed, and passed out from sheer ntal exhaustion.
Yet, when he opened his eyes, he found himself standing in the middle of this dazzling place.
Glancing around at the gaming tables and the rows of slot machines lining the balcony, he quickly inferred that he was inside a casino.
The real question was—how did he get here?
"Is this even reality?"
[That depends on what you believe ’Reality’ is.]
A voice answered his quiet mutter, and Arthur spun around, his gaze locking onto a man seated at a poker table, casually playing a ga with several others.
The man was dressed in a navy blue jean jacket over a black shirt and trousers. His long legs stretched out beneath the table, sneakers visible on his feet. He had the look of a young adult—handso, with black hair styled in a simple side-parted undercut.
Arthur was sure that he was the one who had spoken.
’And that’s exactly the problem... Why am I so sure?’
He hadn’t seen the man’s mouth move. His senses hadn’t picked up any vocal activity. Yet, the certainty in his mind was unshakable.
Turning his gaze away, Arthur spoke again.
"So, if I deny this being reality, then it stops being reality?"
[Unfortunately, my belief in this Reality is stronger than your disbelief.]
Once again, the calm voice echoed in his ears, but this ti, Arthur caught the man’s lips moving.
Realizing he had been noticed, the man finally looked up from his poker table, and Arthur raised a brow in mild surprise.
Just like him, the man had rather unique eyes—srizing reddish-purple triangular-shaped pupils that spun in a steady rhythm, within which one could see an endless expanse of swirling space.
[Co, have a seat. Let’s play a ga.]
"Not interested."
The man’s eyes widened slightly, as though the thought of Arthur rejecting his offer had never even crossed his mind.
Arthur remained standing by the balcony railing, facing the man in silence.
Around them, the other casino patrons moved about, engaged in their gas and conversations, as though they couldn’t perceive Arthur and the unknown man.
[Now, this is rather awkward. It’s been a long ti since soone has so blatantly rejected my request for a ga.]
Arthur silently crossed his arms, his glowing eyes scanning the area before settling back on the man.
’This feeling... it’s annoying.’
Since arriving here, Arthur had been plagued by a strange sensation—like sothing unfamiliar was forcibly trying to make itself familiar.
And it was undoubtedly connected to this man.
"If you tell who you are and why you brought here, I might consider it."
His words made the man burst into laughter, his amusent spilling out freely. Still chuckling, he finally spoke.
[Sure! Let’s go with that.]
The man continued speaking, his pupils spinning even faster as he did.
[You see, so ti ago—just a few months by your asure—I agreed to take part in a little experint run by a colleague of mine, mostly out of curiosity.
I wanted to see how things would develop. And, well, the experint was fun, and today, it reached a fantastic climax.]
He glanced down at his cards, his expression unreadable as he slid a poker chip forward. The other players at the table, each with their own tense, calculating expressions, hesitated before following suit.
[But now that it’s over, there are certain loose ends that need to be tied up.
You see, the whole thing was a bit dangerous—not to , of course, but to a great majority of the Cosmos. If left unchecked, it could spark a very big war.
And ? I’m a rather ticulous person who likes tying up loose ends. It prevents nuisances in the future.]
One of the players across from the man, a lizardman with four eyes, smirked as he revealed his hand—four of a kind.
The man rely chuckled at the lizardman’s confident and smug expression, flipping his own cards onto the table to reveal a straight flush.
The dealer declared him the winner, sweeping the chips toward his side as the lizardman’s smug expression twisted into one of frustration.
[Speaking of nuisances, there’s a certain drifter in this universe who’s honestly more of a pain to deal with than Larry the Ubiquitous.]
Arthur’s gaze sharpened the mont he heard that na.
Larry.
Arthur knew Larry; He was the head of the Drifters back in the Hell Universe—an ancient-breed Drifter directly connected to their Progenitor.
And this man was saying that soone even worse existed here in Valmone?
Arthur remained silent as the man continued.
[Thanks to a certain soone, news about today’s events is spreading like wildfire across the galaxy and beyond. Eventually, it’ll beco common knowledge.
This ans that if certain sensitive details about the experint make it to that Drifter, then—well, the information will DEFINITELY make it to Nash.]
Nash Finley Davis. The Progenitorof the Drifters.
[And if Nash gets his hands on it... well, being the irritating bastard that he is, he’ll let it slip to Quinn.]
Another na was called. Quinn Rhodes Gill. The Progenitor Devil.
[And Quinn still has it out for us. Actually, she’s had it out for us for, what? 10,000 years? Oh wait, by your ti, it’d be closer to 12,000. Right around when Lucifer, well... died.]
Arthur’s fingers twitched slightly at that but he remained silent.
[And if she catches wind of this,] the man continued, idly flicking a poker chip into the air, [she’ll blow the whole thing out of proportion. Probably drag Zane or Astrel into it.]
Two more nas were ntioned.
The Progenitor Celestial and the Progenitor Demon respectively.
[Honestly? I don’t want that ss. It would ruin my fun. So here I am, speaking to you—one of the many unwitting participants of this little experint—to make sure you don’t, uh, I don’t know, accidentally spill certain details.]
He leaned back in his chair, grinning.
[In a way, I suppose I’m offering you a bit of hush money.]
Arthur remained silent, processing the man’s words even as he continued speaking.
[If you accept what I’m offering, you won’t be able to talk about it—whether you want to or not.]
The casino around them was still as lively as ever, but in Arthur’s mind, everything else had faded into the background.
The people this man had ntioned, the way he spoke, the terms he used. Arthur was piecing it together, but he needed one last confirmation.
Parting his lips, he spoke.
"You still haven’t answered my first question—Who are you?"
The man blinked before letting out another chuckle.
[Ah. That’s right. I did forget to introduce myself properly, didn’t I?]
He exhaled, shaking his head with amusent before speaking.
[Well, I go by many nas and titles, but perhaps you’d recognize best by my most famous one.]
Then, his gaze t Arthur’s, and his spinning pupils abruptly stopped. His lips parted, and a voice infused with cosmic energy echoed in Arthur’s head.
|Ranked Second among those who stand atop all existences, I am the Governor of the Concepts of Space and Reality.|
The fabric of space around him seed to warp at his words.
|The na’s Ranus.|
And with a grin, he finished—
|Nice to et you, Progenitor godslayer.|
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