Violins sang Eros' praises by the Lake. The moon looked down to admire him.
The fact that he couldn't fall in love made mother nature bitter. The water caressed his body and the red roses wished they were as as pretty as him.
The water wanted him... not in the ways it hugged the oysters or seaweed, but in the ways a woman would want a man.
It was as if the lake had come alive to make love to him.
Kissing his skin with gentle splashes of affection.
The lake marked her territory because in her eyes he was hers but Eros belonged to no one. He had no owner and in his eyes , looking into her delicate waters he only saw himself.
" True love is dead and hatred is alive and well.The version of love that still exists is only entertainment for the Gods." Eros said and as Venus hid in the bushes watching him she couldn't help but admire him.
" Venus, I know you're out here. What is it that you wish to tell me ? " Eros asked and the woman flinched , she tripped over flowers and fell but her vines caught her before she touched the ground.
" M-master Eros." She stuttered as she walked out from the bushes.
"Tell me."
" There are articles about experiments designed to change you and someone said that Twisted Love is a player in the game and he wants to fight you." Venus said then she stared at the ground.
" Twisted Love can not even get close to me so how will he fight someone he can't reach? As for the articles I believe the people who wrote them are delusional." Eros said then he relaxed in the lake , leaning over on his side and resting his head on his hand.
" All these claims are ridiculous and boring. Tell me a story that will get me excited again." He yawned
" There once was a god who liked to swim , his faithful servant was in love with him."
"Lunacy! FIND. ANOTHER. STORY. One that doesn't involve love."
"Y-yes Master." Venus said bowing and trying to ignore her heart that was currently breaking again.
" An unnamed Spirit was admired by God and granted a beautiful name - " Venus started but she was interrupted by the system.
[ Knight Trials Selection Complete ]
[ Review our players ]
[ JACK. KAITO. COLE . HUDSON . ATTARO ..... ]
" Hudson ? Why is he still in the game I thought you decided to pick the strongest ?" Eros asked
[ The system felt pity ]
" How ? Are you getting soft now ? Go back to the way you were. Hudson will be completely destroyed by the other guys anyways." Eros said then he frowned.
" He will never be a knight worthy of protecting anyone."
[ His demise will be your entertainment ]
" I want to see him on his knees , groveling and being reminded that he's a disgraceful and useless human." Eros said , then he fanned at the system message as if it were a fly hovering by his face.
[ Any revisions ?]
" No. Just make Hudson's tasks more difficult."
[ System updating database ....Analysing Eros. Deep Hatred found ...NO LOVE ! ]
[ We'll be running scans on you daily especially during the games with the girls. Anyone stood out ? ]
" The Presidents daughter and Solara. They seemed virtually untouchable in the previous trials ."
[ Updating database....analyzing EROS .....NO CHANGE in Emotions]
[ System shutting down. GOODNIGHT !]
There was silence and a feeling of unease before Venus decided to confront Eros about what he'd said about the human.
"Eros,why cant you just leave Hudson alone? He meant well. He tried to be strong so you'd think he was cool, but he's a human. Humans get tired and they feel things in a way you might never understand."
"He's just a trash player. Nothing more."
" You are being very cruel."
" Cruel ? It's just Hudson."
" Just Hudson ? So far he's the only one who can share your powers. He sounds pretty special to me." Venus said angrilly.
" I don't care what you think he's too soft and he might be the one contaminating the system."
" Just a few weeks ago you hated this game. YOU didn't want to play either, so what changed ? Is entertainment really this important to you or -"
"THAT"S ENOUGH ! YOU don't tell me what to do. I will never allow Hudson to contaminate me with his weakness. Men are supposed to be strong , but YOU wouldn't understand." Eros said then he got up out the lake wearing only blue shorts.
He walked away from her and never looked back in her direction.
His large wings popped out his back and he took flight , flying far away from her frivolous feelings that he didn't want to face.
The waters wept for Eros , the trees reached out to touch him and the clouds welcomed his presence gladly.
On the other side of the world, government leaders had come together with a money hungry plan to monetize the deadly love game and create a fraudulent product with the promise of protecting women from Eros' pheromones.
They sat in a large office with flags of different countries surrounding them and plotted on the players who they thought would bring in the biggest audience.
A tall slender man in a red and white suit stood up suddenly and pulled a white board in front of them.
.He took a marker out of his pocket and turned to write on the white board.
' Heroes in Love. The Price of Power and Possession ' He wrote then he moved to revealed the words to the others and took up a small remote off the table and turned on a presentation.
A projector played a video from Hudson's arguement with Enmei then he paused it when Hudson said the words , ' Heroes fall in love.' then on another projector he played a video of Jack fighting a monster , fllipping through the air and saying ,' I'll never bend to fit society.' and he paused it.
" What we have here is the Peak of entertainment." The man said.
" I don't think we should be risking lives to ease our boredom." One government leader said. His hair was white and he had a piercing on his lip.
The presenter simply ignored him.
"Heroes who want to preserve themselves and Freak shows who break all the rules and even some bones along the way. If we try to stop this game , we sabotage our own opportunity for creating wealth. "
The man said then he walked back and forth , looking the heads of government in their eyes, one by one in complete silence. The only sound in the room came from his black shoes touching the ground as he walked.
" Tell me. Would you rather save the world or profit from it ?" He asked.
" My daughter is a part of the game. I can NOT let this happen !" A blonde man objected. His hair had graying roots. His eyes were light blue and his lips curled downward in an angry frown.
" That's right. I almost forgot to mention ....Your daughter Veronica is currently one of the most searched players on the internet , after Jack and Kaito and she's also the only girl who has a fight video with over a million views." The man said skipping through the presentation and stopping on a video of Veronica with her sword and shield. He played it for them.
The government leaders watched in awe.
" She's amazing!" One of them said.
" I wish she could be friends with my daughter." An older woman added.
The man in front of them smiled then he straightened his suit and looked at Veronica's dad.
" Your daughter has already attracted an audience and when she did her little make up trick it caught the attention of many of the leading makeup brands across the globe." The man said then he sat down on the top of the table.
" If this game continues, not only will you become extremely rich , but your daughter will become a star and maybe the wife of the most powerful man in the univ -" The man explained but Veronica's father interrupted him before he could finish.
"Where should I sign ? " The president asked and the man in front of him smirked.
Clearly the government had their priorities straight. Why protect the players when you can profit from them ?