The woman's eyes shook for a second, but quickly turned slanted again. Hearing him utter, 'feast,' something jumped inside of her, but she kept it hidden.
Suddenly, the necklace rattled in her hand; she began rubbing the empty bracket with her thumb.
"Where is it?"
"W-what?"
She tilted her head.
"The gem."
Altinae gritted his teeth.
"P-pocket."
She sighed.
"Which one?"
"M-my right."
She retrieved her sword, returned it to a sheath near her waist, then stood up, turning her attention down the empty road, where not even a single car roamed.
"So, you know about it."
Altinae became extremely confused.
"W-what?"
The woman just stood silent for a moment, then turned her eyes back.
"The Guide, the black mist that appeared when you tapped it."
"Y-yeah, it was shitty."
Suddenly, the woman slipped the necklace into a pocket underneath her armor, then held out her hand down to Altinae, who hesitantly took it, meeting her eyes directly as she pulled him close.
Seeing her face so close to his, Altinae blushed, darting his awkward eyes away.
"Give me the gem, and in return I'll give you something else that'll help you out."
"Huh? What is it?"
The woman shook her head and held out her hand, beckoning her fingers.
"First, the gem."
"O-okay."
Altinae pulled the gem from his pocket and placed it in the woman's hand.
She looked down at it, tapped it, then inserted it into her own pocket. In doing so, she retrieved the amulet Altinae had swiped before and placed it in his palm.
"This is yours. And before you ask something stupid. Yes, you can keep it."
"H-huh?"
She continued talking, ignoring Altinae's confusion.
"So, about your mother, no amount of money could help her; if the people taking care of her were asking for money, they were just scamming you."
"W-whAt?"
"Do you even know anything about Feast?"
Altinae stared blankly for a second, then, without confidence, slowly uttered:
"It started decades ago..."
The woman sighed.
"So, almost nothing then?"
Altinae shook his head.
"Basically."
Altinae knew nothing about his mother's illness; he only remembered a bit about it from what The Wizard told him when he once asked him.
He remembered that it began around 20 years ago when a mysterious black mass appeared in the middle of the sky above the capital of Honnel. It had appeared like a flash and disappeared in an instant, but its impact left humanity devastated, and that's when the mysterious disease known as 'Feast' began. Other than this, he didn't know anything else; in fact, that was all The Wizard had known. It was surprising that even he was left in the blue…
The woman sighed another time.
"Then listen to what I say."
"Wait… why are you even helping me?"
The woman suddenly grasped her sword and pulled it out, holding it to Altinae's neck.
"Just listen, alright."
"Y-yeah."
She retrieved her sword, then took a deep breath.
"Feast is a disease that started years ago, but you know that. Truthfully, though, Feast isn't the only thing that came during that time. The Shade Gems appeared as well, but we've only come to know about them in the past few years, as they are just too hard to find."
"How did you find them?"
The woman ignored his question.
"Now, these gems have special properties which take form in the 'Guide' as we call it. There are multiple aspects to it, but think of it as a way to identify your strengths and weaknesses. However, there is also another important detail, a timer. It counts down to an event known as a 'Reckoning.' A reckoning transfers us to the shade and its other worlds. There, you improve your abilities and your grade, and all of what is listed in the Guide. However, they are not to be taken lightly, not at all, you understand?!"
She inched extremely close to Altinae's face, causing him to dart his eyes away again as he nodded.
"Y-yeah."
The woman lifted her head back and smiled.
"Good, keep listening… You might die in a reckoning. Actually, it's likely you will. But, there is always a chance you will survive, and if you do, surely you will obtain great strength, and with that comes wealth, and I know you're interested in that."
Altinae nodded continuously.
"I think I know what you may have in mind as a question, so I'll explain what happens in a reckoning. Simply put, you go to another world, you kill beasts, kill humans, you survive, you fend for yourself, you conquer the shade world, and then you sigh in relief because the nightmarish hell had ended."
"That's a way to explain it."
She looked up at him and nodded. Then she looked down at her hand where a silver watch wrapped itself around her right wrist, then intently stared at the time, seeing the hands both almost at the 12, and then a second later she brought her attention back to Altinae.
"That's all I have to tell you about feast and everything with it. So, use that gem that I have given you and partake in a reckoning."
"Wait, you're asking me to go into one?"
"Yes, it's either you die there, or die right now. I can't have the information I told you about getting into the public, only those with a gem should know of the shade."
Thinking about it, Altinae took a deep breath and reluctantly agreed.
"Fine, I'll do it."
Hearing him agree, the woman turned to her right and eyed him from the side.
"Thank you. I truly hope you succeed, young thief. And if you do, I will find you again… and maybe we can save everyone…"
Ending her words, she walked away, losing herself in the emptiness of the night.
And watching her leave, Altinae continued to think about everything she said.
It didn't feel real; he didn't know what to do because it seemed just like a death sentence going into a Reckoning. But after seconds, his foggy mind turned to normal and first, he set his sights on the amulet, ultimately deciding he had no other choice.
"Shade gem…"
He stared at its radiating darkness for a brief moment before tapping the center of it with his thumb.
The same black mist appeared from it, 'The Guide,' but instead of the word 'Darkening' appearing, it said something different.
*Register?*
* Yes No *
He clicked yes, and the words disappeared; then the guide began to stretch. Soon, the information showed itself again, but vastly different; instead of it being the woman's information, it was his.
He was now the true owner of the gem; there was no going back.
In the top left was a portrait of Altinae, showing his straight dark brown hair, as well as his thin pale face and amber eyes. He stared at himself for a long moment, amazed at how clean he looked.
Currently, his face was dirtied, dirt and grime were spread all over it, and he even had a bit of scarring, but in the portrait, it was all clear, and with the dirt and grime gone, he found himself looking like a model!
Taking a look at the rest of his information, he saw his name, his weight: 132lbs, his height: 5'10, as well as the entire other confusing string of info, but instead of it being full like the woman's, it was barren, almost empty.
*
Given Name:
Escalation: Human
Grade: 341
Incision:
Version:
Possibility: ?^
Shatter Condition: False Faith^
*
Staring at his information, Altinae found everything to be lackluster and disappointing.
My grade is so low compared to that woman's. Is that like strength? I mean, she was pretty strong.
Being newly registered, had had yet to obtain a lot that the gem brought. But, he still had a grade, which was something everyone had, registered or not. It was a way of showing one's level of power, and Altinae's was just slightly below average for a human.
Reading the rest of his information, he also saw he had a Possibility, but it was just a question mark, and he also had a Shatter Condition.
A question mark? False Faith?
Touching the question mark, the guide stretched and its description descended.
*
Possibility: ?-
Description: ?
*
Altinae tilted his head.
"Nothing's shown, it's like something's there, but it's not telling me."
Additionally, he touched the shatter condition, bringing its description as well.
*
Shatter Condition: False Faith-
Description: Restricted from betraying
*
"This is… manageable, but it's a bad explanation, I don't understand the boundaries for it, or why I am even restricted from betraying in the first place. What shatters if I betray something? This guide explains nothing!"
Rambling about the poorly made guide, a fading white light suddenly caught the corner of his eye on the top right of the mist; it was a small symbol of an hourglass with the top empty, and the bottom almost full.
Curious, he pressed it, and the guide compacted, appearing with a timer in the middle of it.
He stared at the timer, noticing it was all zeros, fading in and out slowly like it had just finished counting down. Then, after two seconds, it faded, replaced by a short sentence.
*Reckoning 3 is now commencing*
"Huh? A reckoning right now?!"
…
"Whoa!"
Pulsing, the guide hurriedly began to expand in every direction, and quickly Altinae's vision lost its light…
Everything was dark…