Brandon walked around. There was no familiar face in sight.
Realizing he probably couldn't find them, he walked towards a nearby tree and leaned on it.
Flick. Flick—!
Lighting up a cigarette, Brandon took a drag, the bitter taste entering his mouth, followed by the heat that seed to suffocate his throat.
Yet that suffocation seed to ease his mind as he exhaled, the smoke escaping his lips.
Crouching down, he glanced at his phone.
For the past week, he had sent Illya to watch over Belle and Alia whenever she was free.
In the first place, Illya was always free.
She had barely taken on any jobs, but since Brandon was paying her good, there was no way she would refuse.
In any case, Brandon frowned.
'Why isn't she responding?'
He had asked Illya for their whereabouts. Yet for so reason, she wasn't responding at all.
Brandon's thoughts were cut short when a voice reached his ears, soft yet clear.
"Strange, isn't it? How people vanish when you need them most."
Startled, Brandon turned to the side, his eyes narrowing as he focused on the boy standing nearby.
The kid had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
"Where'd you co from?"
Brandon asked.
The boy tilted his head slightly.
"I've been here the whole ti. You just didn't notice."
"Is that so?"
'Did my senses grow dull after all that isolation?'
"People have a way of ignoring what's in front of them when it doesn't fit their desires."
"Desires, huh?"
Brandon glanced around, then looked back at the boy.
"Are you lost? Or did you co to pay your respects too?"
The boy's lips curled into a small, almost amused smile.
"Pay my respects? No, not quite."
His voice was light. As if he was talking about sothing as mundane as the weather.
"Respect is given when it's earned, don't you think?"
Brandon frowned. The kid was oddly weird.
"What's your na?"
Brandon asked, dropping the cigarette on the ground and stomping on it.
"...."
The boy didn't answer imdiately. Instead, he stared at the distant building where the morial service was held.
"Nas are just titles, aren't they? People think they an sothing, but they're just labels for things we want to own."
He paused, turning his sharp gaze back to Brandon.
"What's more important to you? A na? Or what soone can give you?"
Brandon blinked his eyes, confused by the sudden question.
"What are you talking about?"
The boy shrugged, taking a step closer, his hands tucked casually into his pockets.
"We all want sothing, don't we? Whether we admit it or not. We cling to what we think will make us happy, make us whole. But in the end... it's never enough, is it?"
Brandon's brows raised.
"Did you watch too much ani….? What are you getting at, exactly?"
"You want to protect them, don't you? Your friends, your family. But how far are you willing to go? What will you sacrifice to keep them safe?"
Brandon's heart skipped a beat at the words.
There was sothing in the way the boy said it, as if he knew more than he should.
"What do you know about ?"
The boy's gaze remained fixed on him, unblinking.
"More than you think."
Silence hung between them for a mont.
Brandon's eyes narrowed.
"Who are you?"
"That's the question, isn't it? But maybe the better question is, who are you, Brandon Locke? What are you willing to give up to get what you want?"
The boy chuckled softly.
Brandon took a step back, his instincts on edge.
"I don't know what you're playing at, but—"
"Greed."
The mont those words left the boy's mouth, Brandon's phone buzzed. Briefly glancing at his phone, he read the ssage.
[Sothing happened. They disappeared all of sudden. I'll get to the bottom of this.]
"...."
Brandon froze.
"Greed is what drives us. It pushes us to want more, to take more, even when we already have enough."
The boy's voice was calm, too calm.
"And when you want sothing badly enough, you'll do anything to get it. Isn't that right?"
"...."
Mana started to wrap around Brandon's figure. But the boy only looked at him with his head tilted.
I ca to see if you understand."
"Understand what?"
Brandon asked, his hands trembling.
"That no matter how much you try to hold on, it will never be enough. You'll always want more. More strength, more power, more ti. And in the end, you'll lose everything."
Slowly, trying to escape the boy's perception, a thread extended out of his finger.
"Greed takes," the boy said softly, his voice almost a whisper. "It always takes."
"...."
Remaining silent, Brandon jerked, threads abruptly lashing towards the boy.
However, before it could reach him, the boy's figure blurred.
A whisper reached his ears soon after, sending a shiver down his spine.
"You can't bind what you don't understand."
The boy's voice was low.
"Greed is everywhere, even in you."
Ba… Thump! Ba… Thump!
Brandon's pulse quickened, and he instinctively stepped back, trying to widen the distance between them.
The threads he had summoned hung uselessly in the air, as if frozen in ti.
Dismantling the threads, Brandon retrieved his sword from the system's inventory.
SHIIING—!
The boy remained still, as if the weapon didn't concern him in the slightest.
"You act too quickly. Always rushing to take…. but never knowing what it costs."
Brandon's eyes narrowed. He lunged forward, closing the gap between them in an instant, his sword swinging down in a swift arc.
But the boy didn't move.
"...."
The impact never ca.
Instead, his sword was stopped mid–swing. Pulling back, his sword wouldn't budge.
He couldn't move his sword at all.
"....!'
The boy's fingers hovered near the blade, not even touching it.
But as Brandon narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing, he noticed the glint coming from his sword, tracing all the way to the boy's fingertips.
Threads.
Threads held the sword in place.
'A [Curse] affinity user!?'
"Greed stops you," the boy whispered. "It holds you back from seeing the truth."
Brandon gritted his teeth as he forced mana into his arms, pulling harder against the resistance.
He broke free, staggering back slightly as his sword ca loose. He wasted no ti, lunging again, swinging the blade toward the boy's chest.
"You're relentless," the boy whispered, "but that only feeds it more."
The threads shot out again, this ti wrapping around Brandon's legs, pulling him down toward the ground, stopping his attack.
He cursed, slashing at the threads with his sword, cutting through them one by one.
But more kept coming.
"You can't win like this," the boy said. "The more you fight, the more you lose."
Brandon ignored him, focusing on cutting through the endless threads.
With one final burst of energy, he freed himself, rolling away from the threads and springing back to his feet.
The boy's smile widened.
"Do you really think you're free? Look at yourself."
Brandon's eyes darkened.
"Shut up."
He kicked the ground, cladding his blade in athyst flas, the surrounding slowly enveloping in mist.
But just as the sword neared its target, more threads shot out, wrapping around the blade, stopping it inches away.
"...."
"You keep taking…. but what do you gain?"
Brandon gritted his teeth, pushing against the threads. Slowly, the threads began to tear.
Slash—!
With a surge of power, he broke through, the force sending the boy stumbling back.
Brandon didn't let up. He followed, swinging his sword in a relentless barrage of strikes.
The boy dodged gracefully, fluidly maneuvering through the attacks with ease.
"You think you're different?"
The boy whispered, continuously dodging with minimal effort.
"But you're just like everyone else, clinging to what you desire, never realizing it's slipping through your fingers."
Brandon ignored the taunt, focusing on each strike, waiting for an opening. But the boy was too fast.
Then, in a flash, the boy flicked his wrist, sending a wave of threads toward Brandon.
Brandon barely dodged to the side.
The boy smiled.
"You're fighting so hard, yet you don't even know why."
Brandon charged again, slashing at the threads that ca at him from all sides.
His sword blazed with mana, cutting through them like paper.
But for every thread he cut, two more appeared.
"You're trapped, Brandon Locke," the boy said softly. "Trapped by your own greed."
Brandon pushed forward, his sword blazing brighter.
He swung with everything he had, a wide arc aid at the boy's chest.
The boy raised his hand, as if to stop it. But this ti, Brandon's blade t flesh.
Slash—!
A thin line of blood appeared on the boy's chest.
The boy's eyes widened in shock, his calm expression faltering for the first ti.
"You…. cut through it?"
He whispered, touching the wound.
Brandon didn't hesitate. He followed up with another strike, aiming to finish him.
Brandon's blade cut clean through the boy's chest, blood splattering as the boy crumpled to the ground.
Panting heavily, Brandon stood over the body, sweat trickling down his forehead.
"Haaa…. H-haaa…."
His heart pounded in his ears, adrenaline coursing through his veins.
He looked down, his sword still clutched tightly in his hand, blood dripping from its edge.
The boy lay motionless.
"Haaa…. Is it…. over?"
He wiped the sweat from his brow, trying to calm his racing pulse.
But then….
"Did you really think it would be that simple?"
Brandon's entire body tensed. He froze.
Slowly, he turned around.
There, standing a few feet away, was the boy. Completely unhard.
"You see," the boy said, an eerie smile spread across his features. "Greed never dies. It always cos back."
Brandon's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Seems like ti is running out."
Snap—!
The boy snapped his fingers. All of a sudden, the space surrounding them shattered, and the rain's downpour drenched his features.
Looking around, the boy's figure was nowhere to be seen, as if he vanished along with the cracks.
This entire ti….
"A Zone…."
He had been inside a [Zone].
His black bangs covered his face, blood trickling down, mixing with the rain.
"...."
The silence was palpable.
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