Chapter 313: Corruption and Madness


    ?


    Without wasting a moment further, Ms. Queen ''Folded,'' a smug grin stered on her face, thinking that she had figured out Emir, her n to hold it over him for the gamesing next.


    [8+] [8]


    Yet her grin didn''t show itself for long as he revealed his ''Hand'' with a full-teethed smile, dwarfing hers as he felt to be on an all-time high.


    [A?] [4]


    He, a Seraphim just pulled the wool over an Archon''s shoulder.


    It was quite the spectacle.


    A true bluff, one that he nned for since the beginning, and like a hunter of Earth, he stalked his prey until the opportune moment when everything came into y, influencing her decision, someone much older and more experienced than him.


    Truly... even gods were bound to fall.


    "АНАНАНАНАНАНАНАНА!"


    "BUHAHUAHAUAAAUAAUAH!"


    Such a scene wasn''t lost on Ms. Knight or Mr. King however, as they both began to holler inughter, their voices booming, seeing the irony in the one who corrupts getting yed with like that. A puppet on strings.


    "You''re mean doing that to me, you know."


    Emir shrugged his shoulders at the pouting Ms. Queen.


    "I was lucky."


    "No, you weren''t."


    He agreed with a chuckle:


    "No, I wasn''t. And besides, this isn''t a big deal, just because someone''s older doesn''t mean that they''re smarter."


    Ms. Queen nodded her little head.


    "True, but where is the but? I''m waiting for it."


    His smile widened ever further.


    "But you don''t rte to that phrase. You''re young."


    Mr. Board, who was quietly listening so far, interrupted their conversation while throwing Emir a sack full of coins.


    "That''s yours."


    Emir nodded, and calmly pulled the sack open, peeking inside the sack, his eyes meeting the tinkling Valora coins.


    With the first ''Hand,'' Ms. Knight won two hundred and ny Valora, the second ''Hand'' had Ms. Queen winning two hundred and seventy Valora, quite the amount to say the least, but the winner''s earnings of the third ''Hand'' dwarfed them, a whopping four hundred and fifty Valora.


    Of course, he would''ve received only two hundred and eighty if not for Mr. Board generously adding in the rest, as he didn''t have money with him, just chips, so even in his excitement, he didn''t forget to thank him with a nod.


    And yes, excited he certainly was, in that match, only he won so much, Ms. Knight profited thirty Valora while the rest lost, with the worst of them being Mr. Rook, who was followed closely by Mr. King, as he had lost a hundred and twenty Valora.


    Emir''s heart began to beat hard as he experienced an even further adrenaline rush.


    At that moment, he could really understand why gamblers got addicted; if he had no self- control, he definitely would''ve be one right then and there.


    "I can see it... There''s no need for more."


    Mr. Board cryptically said while stepping back from the table.


    "It''s time."


    His words weren''t very difficult to understand; they implied that Emir was now ready for the reason behind the casino''s existence; there wasn''t a need for them to y more games as his mind was warmed up.


    The Embodiment method.


    It was time to embrace it, and judging by where Mr. Board was going, it was going to ur in the very room that he had his eyes on ever since entering this ce.


    "Alright, I''m ready; let''s go."


    As Emir walked up to the room, Mr. Board pulled the curtains, revealing the red double door.


    He then knocked on it once, causing it to open towards them, almost hitting Emir as he had to step back. But as he was getting away from it, his back was stopped, a result of Ms. Queen and Mr. King holding him in ce, not allowing him an inch of movement.


    Emir didn''t react to their actions; he knew they meant no harm and simply looked at Mr. Board, silently asking about their intention.


    "Before you begin, I shall warn you... Be aware that once you ''unlock'' the Embodiment method, you can never stop. You will follow the path you chose unconsciously, whether you like it or not, till the day you die."


    Emir nodded without hesitation.


    "I know... This isn''t much to dissuade me."


    "Good. May your path continue to shine brightly before you."


    As those words reached his ears, someone to his left, with soft hands, belonging to Ms. Queen, took his coin pouch as he was harshly pushed from behind by rougher hands, belonging to Mr. King, causing him to enter the ''fog'' filled room with stuttered steps, almost falling over to the front due to the sheer power behind the man''s hands.


    He somehow managed to control himself, halting his fall, and stood up straight, his eyes scanning the room, but he couldn''t see much, for the ''fog'' didn''t allow him to see more than an inch before his nose.


    But suddenly, the jazz music ying in the background stopped.


    Alongside it was Emir''s movement. He seized as if frozen in time. Then, his ink-ck eyes began to throb, to swirl, it never stopped, it kept swirling and swirling, forming a storm of chaotic ckness in their middle.


    Mr. Board, Mr. King, Ms. Queen, and Ms. Knight watched that unfold with bated breath as they stood outside the room, seemingly waiting for something.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    And what they were waiting for arrived in the next moment.


    Emir flinched and then his hands raced to clutch his throat, the ck on his eyes expanding, forming tens of lines on his face, as if drawn tattoos. Those lines continued from his face to the rest of his body, reaching even his toes.


    Next, his hair red up as if hit by a strong gust of wind from below, and his eyes opened fully.


    Slowly, he turned around and stared at his fellow chess pieces.


    None of them saw what happened exactly-only subtle changes in his silhouette-but now as they saw only his eyes through the ''fog'' and his shades staring back at them, locked, unblinking, they could confirm that he was one of ''them,'' an irregr, or at least a man with a bloodline originating from an irregr.


    How did they reach such a conclusion?


    Well... The level of power he emanated suddenly increased by a hundredfold or even more, pushing the ''mask'' that Mr. yer gave him and revealing his rank.


    It was as if he was a mortal that had ranked up the Hierarchy and reached the highest sub-rank in ss-Three in a single moment, bing an Archon Monarch.


    It wasn''t just that, however. Through the ''fog,'' above Emir''s eyes, they saw a floating mass of darkness, it had two orbs of red near where its face should''ve been and it engulfed his body. It looked to be a creature of the abyss, of the Void Beyond, filled with corruption. That creature started to inch closer to them, and the nk lines that grew on Emir''s body were seen as they too started to blink darkness.


    "Fuck that!"


    Ms. Knight roared as she mmed the door shut, locking the Pawn inside the room.


    While they could survive a fight with their now corruptedpanion, they wouldn''tst long; his state was too dangerous.


    "I expected as much... While he has talent and strength, it isn''t enough for him to join us; he''s too green, too ignorant."


    Mr. Board spoke while he calmly stepped back from the door and sat on air, using Aether that


    he condensed as a chair.


    "I as well, but no, he''s more than enough. Corruption of that degree is rare, no?... You think he''s from the Najmat Al-Khulud? A ck eye?"


    Mr. King mmed his foot down hard, obviously angered by Ms. Queen''s question. "Are you insane? Think of such things; that''s fine, but never publicly use someone like


    that; you don''t know what they''ll do to him if such rumors fly out."


    Ms. Knight chuckled as she stepped closer to Mr. King, tapping his back.


    "But this ain''t a public ce. Calm your titsd and exin to me what''s Mr. Pawn''s deal."


    "Allow me."


    This elf seemed to like being the one answering questions, and the rest were used to it, so they gave him the metaphorical mic and allowed him on the simrly metaphorical stage. "As you are aware, every Celestial treading the path akin to any Primordial encounters corruption. This corruption stems from the Primordial alreadyprehending aw inscribed in ''Their'' chosen script, aw that unsettles those beneath ''Them'' since they too mustprehend the samew to progress. Yet, in their endeavor to fathom thisw, this path, they be linked to the very Primordial who has reached the culmination. With each ascent in rank, these Celestials be more entwined with Aether, our mother tree, and that specific Primordial, leading to a heightened experience of corruption and madness..."


    He paused for a moment, looking at the ceiling with reverence.


    "Indeed, our minds are ill-equipped to fathom ''Theirs.""


    Then his eyes returned to Ms. Knight as he continued:


    "With that in mind, consider Mr. Pawn over there. He is likely a distant descendant of an irregr, someone whose lineage traces back to the inhabitants of Najmat Al-Khulud, the People of The Sands themselves."


    His reasoning for reaching that conclusion was obvious, besides what he said, Emir called


    certain things by particr names that weren''t used in the circle of the Star, he didn''t have a storage item either, and most importantly, he was a so-called "space virgin."


    "Even in its diluted form, such lineage carries immense power. Now, envision how his Aether core would respond if his corruption was suddenly induced, spiked, and elevated to levels he has never before experienced."


    Ms. Knight understood what he implied, and finished his words for him.


    "He would go boom!"


    His nod affirmed her words, but the silence that followed was deceptive.


    They underestimated Emir, dismissed him as a mere irregr.


    They were right, but not so quite.


    In fact, one could say they werepletely wrong, as the difference between the two held no


    comparison.


    He wasn''t just a distant descendant; he was a direct one, a ''ck eye,'' bearing the tainted bloodline of his father, thick with corruption.


    And his was much thicker, much more corrupt, even as a Seraphim. For within him flowed the blood of a Prince, an Emir, and an average man,bining two different lineages.


    One from the Sultan and the other unknown, or rather diluted to the point where its origin was


    close to being non-existent, untraceable.


    But even so, once he ''awakened'' his blood at the age of five, Emir adorned the legacy of


    Najmat Al-Khulud, their unmistakable eyes of pure darkness.


    What the chess pieces saw wasn''t a one-time thing, those eyes were a part of him.


    He was the Prince of The Fallen, and he was about to show Mr. yer what that status


    entailed.