Mikado stared at the ruins in awe—like he had just discovered fire.
The faint reminder of finders' keepers flickered in his mind, and he made his move.
He stepped forward, kicking away the tall grass as the ruins grew more visible.
"Oh man! I'll be rich!" Mikado squeaked, looking forward to the reward he would find in there.
Unfortunately, he had a misstep, and his foot plunged through unstable ground—falling into a sinkhole that closed, like it swallowed him whole and sending him into a tunnel.
Mikado panicked as he tumbled around in the tunnel, covered in dirt—mud—and dust, the earthly scent overpowering his sense of smell.
Eventually, he reached the end of the tunnel, rolling out and splatting onto the carved basalt floor—slamming with a thud.
"Oww…" He groaned, clutching his neck as he winced in pain.
He sat up, looking around at his surroundings—surveying the area, his eyes glinting in intrigue.
"Woah…" he muttered under his breath, absorbing everything he saw through his eyes. He was in a temple—overflowing with essence—a special type of energy that behemoths wield.
He pushed off his knees, standing tall as he patted the dust off his shoulders. The temple was uniquely designed—too unique for it to just be naturally-formed.
He quickly became unsatisfied when he realised that there's no treasure at all. Everywhere he looked, not a single gold coin in sight.
"Hey… is there really nothing here?" He asked himself, frantically looking around for even a glint of light.
While he searched, he felt the inexplicable feeling of being observed.
Someone or Something was watching him.
He stood frozen, slowing his breathing and concentrating to scan the room.
After a moment—he exhaled. "No one is here. But something is watching."
During his observations, he had noticed that a portion of the wall looked deformed. Curious, he decided to touch it.
Upon touch, the cavity collapsed and he fell right through.
"What?!"
Mikado stumbled on his feet, but he managed to catch himself before he crashed onto the basalt floor.
He looked up, groaning. "Ugh… what now—"
His words froze as a dazzling ray of light blinded his eyes, causing him to stumble.
"Ouch! Bright! It's too bright!" He covered his eyelids with his fingers, attempting to shield away from the light that was bright enough to burn him.
Eventually, the light dimmed and Mikado could see clearly.
When he looked forward, a small pedestal with rune carvings sat before him. It radiated power—overflowing with so much essence it was suffocating.
The pedestal held something forbidden. A ring that looked like it should not exist.
It had a galactic pattern, covered in ancient runes and complex shapes, it looked like it had the power of the universe.
It wasn't like any other ring he's seen.
Mikado's feet could barely hold him up; it was like staring death in the face—his knees were about to give out any moment.
He was put on alert when a voice shot out into his ear, demanding.
"Put me on."
Mikado's jaw quivered. "W-what…? Who's there?"
It spoke again. "It's me. The ring."
… What? How is this possible?
A ring that talks? A sentient ring? It was just a fairytale, something like that shouldn't even be allowed to exist.
Mikado swallowed hard, hesitating whether he should take it or not.
The ring grew impatient. "Put me on your finger already! You little bastard! Don't make me change my mind!"
Mikado froze for a moment. He felt very lost and discombobulated. First, he stumbles into the ruins, falls into a hole, gets blinded by a ring and now it's talking to him while throwing a tantrum.
"What are you waiting for?!"
Mikado snapped back to reality, reaching forward. "Okay, okay, chill yourself." He took the ring, fitting it perfectly onto his index. The ring shimmered faintly, humming quietly as it became bound to him.
"Woah… I can feel the power flowing through me." He muttered, looking down at his hands with a smirk. "Well, ring? What should I call you?"
The ring vibrated, seemingly chuckling; "Hah! You will call me… Uh…"
Mikado tilted his head. "Uh…?"
The ring vibrated again. "I'm thinking here! Give me a moment…"
They stood in silence for a moment…
Then again, the ring vibrated. "…Got any suggestions?"
Mikado scratched his chin, giving it a deep thought. "Uh… How about Saku?"
Saku vibrated aggressively. "YES! PERFECT! WHAT A GREAT NAME!"
Mikado smirked, looking around the ruins to find an exit.
"Need something?" Saku asked.
Mikado nodded. "Yeah, where the exit is."
Saku sighed after hearing that response. "Okay so first you go here, then there, then around and through the wall, and—"
On the surface, Gan navigated his way through the bushes, getting tangled on everything his body brushed against. "Damn it! This forest is pissing me off!"
Max replied flatly, "Then don't be fat."
"Brutal." Kokuine replied, following Max.
Gan clenched his fists, gritting his teeth as he scolded them. "I'm not fat! I'm just too big for this forest!"
Max waved him off. "Well, don't be over eight feet tall, just be six foot two like me." He replied arrogantly, disappearing into the bushes—Kokuine following behind with a chuckle.
"Tch… I'll chew him out right after I get out of this!" Gan exclaimed, squirming as he tried to untangle himself. But instead, he made it harder than it should have been.
Gan sighed before calling out into the forest. "Yo! Anyone there? I'm kinda stuck over here!" He tried tugging himself out again, but the vines tightened and constricted him even more.
"DAMN IT!!!" He squirmed harder, rustling the vines and branches as they lodged themselves deeper into his armour plating.
From behind, he heard the faint crunching of leaves approaching—accompanied by a short pause after each crunch.
Gan looked over his shoulder, quiet and observing.
"How did you get stuck?" Yoriko asked, guiding the branches away from her as she approached.
Gan turned away, looking back at his situation, muttering. "I dunno, it just happened."
Yoriko let out a deep sigh, mumbling. "You're hopeless." She walked towards him, pulling out a small pocketknife from her leg strap. "Hold still, I'll get you out."
Gan clicked his tongue, his feet tapping impatiently. "Hurry up! Those greedy pillocks are gonna gank all the treasure!"
Yoriko rolled her eyes, cutting quicker at the vegetation. "Just give me a moment."
Eventually, she cut the last of the vines before Gan took off—running into the forest and disappearing into the fog.
Back underground, Mikado found himself in another chamber of temple ruins, walking slowly as he glanced around, observing.
"You said the exit was on my right, but I've made 7 right turns already and I don't know where I'm at." Mikado murmured, sliding his hand across the dusty walls of the temple hallways.
Saku vibrated violently. "Oh, so it's my fault that you're lost? Maybe you should've turned right instead of continuing on straight you absolute buffoon."
Mikado's jaw tightened as his eye twitched. "What did you say? How about you tell that to my face." He raised his hand to eye level, staring intently at the ring.
Saku laughed in vibrations before speaking, "I'll say it again. It's not my fault that you SUCK at directions, you absolute buffoon."
Mikado took a deep breath—a nice deep breath…
"I'M TAKING YOU OFF AND THROWING YOU OUT RIGHT NOW!" He exploded sharply, forcefully attempting to tug the ring off his finger.
Saku tightened around his finger as it retorted, "NO! DON'T! I'M VERY IMPORTANT! YOU'LL REGRET IT IF YOU DO!!!"
Mikado snapped back. "HOW SO?! YOU HAVEN'T EVEN TOLD ME WHAT YOU CAN DO! SO, I THINK YOU'RE USELESS!"
Saku vibrated again. "THEN I'LL SHOW YOU, JACKASS!"
The ring glowed an ominous bluish hue, shimmering like stars before something manifested in front of Mikado.
Mikado stood frozen, blinking as he tried to process what he was looking at.
…
He could not.
He rubbed his eyes, blinked more, covered, then uncovered his eyes—and squinted to get a better look.
Then it clicked.
He was looking at himself. A life-sized version of Mikado standing before him.
Mikado's jaw dropped when he finally realised, shooting forward to get a closer look. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait… Is that me? Am I looking at myself right now?"
Saku vibrated slightly as it chuckled. "Yep, that's right, but that's all I can do for now."
Mikado inspected himself closer, rubbing his chin. "Well, the more I look at it, the odder it seems… like, my nose is crooked and I look a bit blue, not to mention the blue static around me."
The ring retorted. "Matey, I had just met you, and that's the best I can do right now. If you want better results, you must learn how to use my power better."
Mikado sighed, putting a hand on his clones' shoulder, just for his hand to phase right through. "Man… that's just… boring."
Saku hissed. "Boring?! Are you lazy or something?"
"No… I'm not." Mikado muttered, walking through his clone. "What even was that… I couldn't even touch it or anything."
"That's an illusion, or in other words, a projection!" Saku proudly stated, bragging. "Pretty cool, right???"
"I guess." Mikado replied blankly, not entertaining the ring's attitude.
Saku vibrated. "What? That's it? At least put more life to your words."
Mikado yawned as he continued to walk through the halls of the temple. "Well, what's your ring model?"
"I am the Ring of Projection. I can create illusions of anything I've laid my eyes upon."
Mikado snapped back jokingly. "Eyes? What eyes?"
"Shut up!" Saku shot back sharply. "It was a choice of words, you dalcop."
Mikado exhaled sharply, mumbling. "It was a joke, jeez, you're so soft, stop hurling your niche insults at me."
Saku replied sarcastically. "I'm not soft actually, I'm made of durable lightweight metals." It let out a forced laugh.
Mikado shook his head. "And now we're being literal."
Saku barked back. "I gave you a taste of your own medicine, LOL!"
"Tch, whatever." Mikado murmured, stuffing his hands into his pocket.
"Oh yeah, one more thing." He took his hands out of his pockets.
"Why do you have a galactic-like pattern or whatever you call it?"
Saku nodded at the question, if he actually had a head. "It's because I can create illusions of anything I, or you can see—so, I guess the galaxy represents a lot of things."
"Okay, thanks." Mikado stuffed his hands back into his pockets without another word.
On the other side, Gan and the others bolted through the ruins, grabbing every bit of treasure they could claim.
"Hey! Piss off, I got here first!"
"First come, first served!"
"Hey that's cheating!"
It was a pure greed frenzy in the ruins; everyone disregarded the safety of themselves and others because of the situation.
"Hah! I haven't seen Mikado in a while! He's missing out!" Gan barked, rushing through the treasure like a madman.
Max spoke blankly. "Who knows?"
"Well, it's his fault for missing out anyways." Gan replied, picking up a heap of jewellery.
The two continued to loot the area without a care in the world.
Back on the Flying Beauty, the sounds of sparks and blow torches echoed through the halls of the airship—coming from the engineering laboratory.
"Mr. Seismo, are you not gonna go out? It's a chance to earn a fortune." A man with a snowman head asked, sitting on the desk as he kicked his feet.
Seismo did not respond. He continued to weld the frame of whatever he was working on, sparks flying everywhere as the smell of iron and smoke filled the air.
After a while, he pushed up his welding helmet with beads of sweat trickling down his face.
"I'll go later; I just have to finish this quickly." Seismo replied, flicking down his helmet as he continued to weld.
"Okay, suit yourself." The man replied, his head flickering towards the window outside.
"Hey… do you see that over there?"
Seismo flicked his helmet up. "What? What are you talking about Ice?"
Ice spoke in a monotone voice. "That giant thing heading towards us. Do you see it?"
Seismo pivoted, sharply turning his head to look at what Ice was pointing out.
Seismo's breath hitched when he saw it, his hands freezing mid-motion as the welded he held dropped onto the floor with a clang.
"What is that…? It's way too big…"
In the distance, a giant silhouette approached ominously, like a skyscraper slowly sliding towards an ant.
Seismo hesitantly reached for the walkie-talkie on his belt strap, pulling it up towards his face—turning it on and whispering.
"Behemoth, 8 o'clock…"