Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

"No, and I've seen him try." Ihra says, giggling a bit.


"What is there to prove? You've already ousted the old king and queen here, and you've helped the respite last much longer than it usually does. What else could possibly warrant barring you from the title?"


I nod.
"If you wanted another game, I'm in no rush - you're a couple hundred thousand better than most others at home. That being said, I would be willing to part with a bit of money if you wouldn't mind keeping fire guardians from killing me mid-game."

The dragonling on my shoulder spreads its wings in response to the air guardian's name entry, though I just chuckle.
"No, you get to wait another year before you fly, bud. Next year for sure, though." I say quietly to it, scratching its chin.

 

Imp-chan shares in Ihra's good mood for a moment, before casting her eyes back on the black bottle and sighing.

Imp-chan glances down at her legs, and the rest of her body before seeming to freak out.

"W-Where's his cloak? He'd kill me if I lost it! I-I don't know if I'd be able to get back to Praecantatia's islands if I ended up back in hell!" Imp-chan says, stressed, putting her hands on her head in a panic.


"The root of the problem still exists. I don't want to start taking in fame and glory while a greater evil is still threatening your lives, as well as the lives of many others." Stephanie says proudly.


"T-Thanks," The air guardian says, blushing a little more at the compliment, "The guys here act tough but they're not that bad. They just don't like getting beaten."

"Your dragon is cute. What element are they?" The air guardian asks, leaning in a bit to look at the dragonling.

 

“The guards have his stuff, it’s okay. Well, the shield’s probably busted, but I’ll let Praecantatia know it was just a misunderstanding. Like a lot of stuff has been lately.”


“That’s true, but... you’re already nobility in many eyes.”


“Oh, thanks! I don’t know yet, his parents were ice and electric, but this species doesn’t show elemental traits until adolescence.”

The dragonling leans forward to sniff at the air guardian, chirping at them after a second.

“As for this game, I’m the champ in my hometown, and guardians tend to be better than humans at everything. I figured I’d visit and see how I stack up against people who are actually good at the game.”

 

Imp-chan lets out a sigh of relief.

"Shield?" Imp-chan then asks, looking puzzled.


"Thanks, I'm glad I can at least make up for some of the things my friends have done." Stephanie says appreciatively.


The air guardian giggles at the dragonling, smiling.

"Wow, you're the champion? That's amazing!" The air guardian says, enthralled, "I'd love to watch you play. I'm sure you...have a lot of fans already."

The air guardian's wings flash a little as a few bolts of electricity spark across them, and she seems to ponder saying something before just smiling.

 

“You had a shield protecting you and making you roll around like a ball.”


“As long as you don’t all start killing everyone you see...” Maralune sighs.


I sigh.
“No, being good at games doesn’t mean much at home. I dunno what the high score is here, but I’m assuming that I’m gonna be stuck far below it. I’d really love to watch whoever’s the champ here play, but I get to be more worried about dying to fire, rocks, being suffocated, or apparently electrocution. I haven’t seen a water guardian around, so I think I’m in the clear on drowning for now.”

 

"Oh...yes, I cast that. It used up the rest of my magic, I guess that's how you caught me..." Imp-chan says, sighing.


"I'm sorry about him." Stephanie says, sighing too.


"O-Oh, s-sorry!" The air guardian says, nervous, looking around before grabbing a metal pole and discharging the built up electricity.

"Water guardians aren't common here because of the heat. Apparently two or three a month overestimate how hot it is here and end up passing out in the street, but with winter coming, they might be able to survive the heat a little longer." The air guardian explains, before looking a little worried.

"B-But, I'll keep you safe!" The air guardian suddenly says, "By the way, d-do you have, a...um...do you have a-, uh, g-general need for cooling? I can keep you cool with my wings while you play, i-if you want."

The air guardian gives a slightly weaker smile, though her face goes a slightly darker shade of crimson.

 

“Oh... I can try to replenish your magic reserve, if you’d like. Sorry about that.”


“I-I mean, a-all’s well that ends well, right?”


“Don’t worry about it, I signed up for suffering the moment I walked into town. I appreciate the offer, though.” I say, before pulling out a gold coin.
“You sure you don’t want another game, though? It’ll be on me.” I offer.

 

"I got some of it back, it's ok," Imp-chan says, gesturing to the empty potion bottle previously filled with blue liquid, "Sorry for trying to scare you earlier..."


"Yeah! All's well that ends well!" Stephanie says happily.


"U-Um, ok." The air guardian says, accepting the gold coin. There's a slight spark of what feels like static electricity when the air guardian accepts the coin, though it more tingles than shocks.

The air guardian starts up a new game, but keeps occasionally glancing over at the human beside her and smiling, distracted. She ends up barely reaching a hundred thousand points before she loses.

"Oh...sorry, I kind of wasted that. D-Do you want your coin back?" The air guardian offers, searching the pockets of her shorts.

 

“Don’t worry about it. Sorry for shackling you.”


Maralune heads into the respite, a raptor visible still sniffing around on the castle rooftop.
Stephanie notices a spark as the raptor jumps, startled.


“No, don’t worry about it. My apologies for distracting you.” I say, checking if there’s a line for the game or if I’m free to sit down and start.

 

"Thanks for letting go when I faked death..." Imp-chan says, smiling a bit.


"That's not good." Stephanie says, looking up at the raptor.


"I-It's not your fault!" The air guardian says, "You're just...kinda cute...and all..."

Nobody else seems to have queued up, surprisingly.

 

"Sorry about Iris. She's... well, literally my evil twin, effectively."


"At least we got that part right. Do you know how to fix it?"


"That sounds like it makes it my fault." I sigh, sitting down and inserting a coin.

 

"I'm used to evil people." Imp-chan says, staring off into the distance a bit.


"Umm...I can try!" Stephanie says, smiling with false confidence.


"Um...I was wondering, did you maybe...want to go somewhere - with me - after this. I-I mean, did you want to hang out? I-I have some games this arcade doesn't have back at my place." The air guardian asks, sounding nervous.

The game starts anew, giving a brief moment of calm before the action kickstarts.

 

"You... make it sound a bit like Tiril isn't who he claims he is."


"Well... that's better than what we've done thus far, so..."


"I don't think bringing a human home would be well-received." I say, starting to play.
My play looks nigh flawless, though the game looks absolutely chaotic. Five minutes in, and I'm past the air guardian's score without a death.

 

"Who?" Imp-chan asks, confused.


"Hopefully it isn't damaging it..." Stephanie says, quickening her pace a little.


"Oh, I have my own place. It'd just be you and me!" The air guardian admits, before realising what she said, "I-I mean, if you want that."

The air guardian watches the human play, completely enamored by his skill and grace at the game; occasionally turning away to discharge herself as her emotions get ahead of her.

 

"The forest guardian I was with."


"The raptor? No, again, none of us have touched it." Maralune says, starting to be left behind.


"I still don't know if that's a good idea. I'm a human." I say, not seeming terribly distracted from play.
I last about 23 minutes before my first death, shaking my head as I continue on as I seem to ignore my mistake.

 

"Oh," Imp-chan says, "I don't think he's evil."


"Well, something must have touched it to make it spark like that." Stephanie responds, looking for any evidence of someone sneaking up to where the raptor is.


The human starts to gather a small crowd, some disgusted and others amazed. Among that crowd is Abigail, who the air guardian starts speaking to. It's hard to make out their conversation, but a few bits slip through.

"-it'd be like old times! Don't you remember how fun it was?"

"-stopped doing that for a reason - not with this guy, he's different."

"- him to yourself? - by, it'd be funny!"

"-ome along...but this guy is-"

"-st got him, maybe - ome?"

"-ure, whatever..."

 

"Do you mean evil as in the heartless things?"


There's none; it just seems to be some sort of malfunction.


I keep listening in on them, though only halfheartedly.
Second death winds up being at about 45 minutes.
"Shit, I'm playing like trash..." I grumble.

 

Imp-chan shakes her head.

"Evil as in demon things." She says, mood improving a little.


Stephanie heads straight for the malfunctioning machine, jumping and climbing her way to it as her armour assists her movement.


Little else of any interest is said, other than a couple of friends catching up on recent events.

Quite a few guardians laugh at the second death, though some seem worried.

 

"You mean like things from hell?"


The raptor gives her space, not seeming sure how to react to her presence.


After an hour, I seem to feel more comfortable and my gameplay falls into more of a rhythm.

 

Imp-chan nods.

"That kind of evil." Imp-chan clarifies.


Stephanie tries to figure out where the sparking is coming from, inspecting the machine.


The crowd only increases as the difficulty and time does, a lot of the more hateful guardians turning to admiration as they start discussing the high score.