Hallo again! :) Here's the third chapter for you~
Chapter 3: Moonshadow
Moonshadow
Owner: Kiku Honda
World Three
Type: Katana
Slashing damage: 5000
Alfred woke up in a meadow. His first thought was, So I died and wound up in heaven. He realized how ironic that was and almost laughed, but it was so quiet he didn't dare make a sound. All he could remember after the Sky Tower lit up was lightning, an electrical shock, and immense pain. He passed out after that.
His head was pounding. Alfred sat up and, wondering why his body was so heavy, looked down at himself. He was clad in full blue armor and there was a sword gripped in his right hand.
A flaming sword.
He yelped and dropped the sword. Red flames danced across the blade's etched surface, and he was instantly reminded of his weapon in Kiku's game. In fact, the sword was identical to his virtual one.
'Greetings, players,' a robotic voice said. The voice seemed to be coming from every direction. 'Welcome to Seven Faces of God. I have no name, but you may simply address me as the Creator.'
What the hell is going on? Alfred thought. Is this really heaven, or some kind of sick reality TV show?
The voice continued, 'I feel that a little explanation is needed. In this world, you will be playing as personifications. You have three weeks to destroy the Error. Goodbye, and good luck.'
Silence returned to the meadow.
He grabbed his sword and jumped to his feet. "Who the hell are you?" he yelled at the sky, but he received no response. There was nothing he could do but find a way to escape, so he trudged into the surrounding forest.
Alfred had only walked a few steps when his armor began to glow. Seconds later, he was no longer wearing heavy attire but a brown flight jacket over a white shirt, tan pants and black boots. His sword had disappeared and instead he held a gun in each hand. He recognized them as M1911's, having always been fascinated with guns.
And then the voice came again, this time directly inside his head. 'From now on, you will be known as the United States of America, or simply America. Know your place in this war.'
"Wait!" Alfred said, when the voice retreated again. "What am I supposed to-"
That was when it happened.
Something within him changed. He felt heavier, like he was carrying something enormous on his shoulders. For one long heartbeat, he didn't know who he was. Memories flashed through his mind, alien yet familiar at the same time. A man with blond hair, thick eyebrows and emerald eyes, smiling down at him. An enormous, empty house. A fight. Rain. An old American flag with thirteen stars, slashed apart. Rain. The man with the green eyes again, collapsed on the ground, sobbing, whispering something incomprehensible. Rain. Burning tears, cold words. Rain. Rain. Rain.
He asked in his mind, Who am I?
I'm Alfred. Alfred F. Jones.
And a voice spoke in his head. Not the robotic voice, but one of his own. No, you're not. You never were.
N-No! I'm Alfred, a jock and science nerd! I-I'm not...
Yes, you are. Your name is America. It always was and always will be.
I-I'm...America.
That's right. Know your identity. Know your place in this war.
My name is America.
His blue eyes hardened, and suddenly he knew exactly where to go.
. . . .
Arthur's longbow broke the moment he picked it up. He cursed and kicked at the pieces, wondering what he had done to deserve such bad luck. Now there was nothing he could use to fend off wild animals here in the forest.
He had no idea how he had gotten here. One moment that Alfred kid was babbling about his new weapon, and the next everything was gone in a flash and Arthur was transported to the middle of the forest, where immediately a wild boar charged at him, squealing with some kind of rage. He'd barely been able to defend himself, and now he didn't even have a weapon.
As he was shouting random cuss words at the sky, something behind him rustled, but he didn't notice. Arthur glared upwards, unaware that a split second later, he would be sneaked upon and knocked out cold.
Just before the darkness overwhelmed him, he caught a whiff of a scent that reminded him strangely of cornflowers.
England woke with his face buried in the grass. He rolled on his back and stared up at the gray sky, which was stained with vast billows of smoke. What a peculiar dream.
The grass was dry and prickly. The air was thick with smoke and heat, and everything was silent. Even the fairies had gone away.
Nuclear war, England thought sadly. There is no such thing as a successful war.
Even now, he did not know what he was fighting for. Time was meaningless; every day began with fire and icy determination, and everyday ended with smoke and regret. I could have stopped the war, he would think, after the moon had risen and the bleeding land was quiet once more. I could have ended this folly. Why didn't I?
His rifle was laying in the grass next to him. He got to his feet and picked it up, examining it. Aside from a few scratches, the weapon was fine. England brushed himself off and headed into the forest, if it counted as one. What once had been a lush woods had been reduced to a few bare trees, their branches gnarled and black as soot.
He had to find someone, he knew. Someone. But who?
After a while, he saw a figure standing at the edge of the forest. He approached the person, wondering if this was who he was looking for.
The person turned and something stirred within England.
"Kiku," Arthur said. "What the bloody hell is going on?"
He blinked. Where had that come from? It was almost like...almost as if...
"What do you mean? This is war." Japan's dark eyes bored into him. "We need to go, England."
"Right. Of course."
As they left the forest, England checked his rifle again. He ran his thumb along the smooth, cool surface of the gunstock, found an uneven section and inspected it. Carved into the dark wood was: Sicarius Light, Level 1. It was a strange thing to carve into a gun, as if his weapon was an RPG item and everything was simply a game.
A deadly game.
"Kiku, stop," Arthur said. "Don't you think this is all a little strange?"
Kiku glanced back and gave him a puzzled look. "Is something wrong, England?"
That sudden moment of clearness faded, and England was staring at Japan once more. No, he thought. I must think. What was that? Where did it come from? Think, you idiot!
"Give...give me a moment." England turned away from the Asian nation and stared at the engravement on the rifle, rubbing it with his thumb. He tried to remember how the war started and found nothing. His mind was blank.
A game. All a game.
"Japan," England said quietly. "Do you remember when exactly this war started?"
Japan thought for a moment. "I am not sure. A while ago, I believe."
"But when? What year? Why?"
"It was because..." Japan furrowed his brows. "I...I cannot remember it at the moment."
"It's not because you don't remember," Arthur said. "It's because you don't know."
Kiku regarded him with his opaque eyes, expressionless, but Arthur could see something awakening in those pools of black. For a moment the Japanese boy's eyes seemed to be made of glass.
And then that glass shattered. Kiku inhaled sharply and covered his face with trembling hands. A moment later, he removed them, and the spell was broken.
Neither spoke.
"Arthur," Kiku said, breaking the silence, in a voice so unlike him Arthur almost took a step back, "something is very, very wrong."
End of Chapter Three
Thank you for reading. ^ ^ Leave a review to tell me what you think!
...x Whitlinger x...
