The Gambit of the Faceless God — Epic Fantasy

-Helvega-

I could sense a wide, maniacal sneer forming behind the man’s mask. He glanced at me over his shoulder, speaking with a calm and collected tone.

“It seems that you’ve finally arrived, Helvega.”

However, my eyes were already fixated on someone else.

It was a face I could recognize from a mile away, despite not having seen it for many years.

I felt as if I moved faster than the concept of time, or, better said, as if my body moved faster than my soul and mind. That was Emon standing right in my proximity… I… could not properly process what was going on, as if realization hadn’t yet fully washed over me.

“Helvega…” Emon began, fully turning towards me with a bittersweet smile. His voice sounded significantly different than before as if the cigarettes had started taking a toll on his throat. “You’ve grown so much. I was even told you became the Caretaker of Ventoria’s main Library… How far you’ve come…”

“His… Grimoire…”

Even though I already knew he was the real Emon, seeing his Grimoire served as a final push to set it in stone. Right when that happened, I became fully cognizant of the situation, my eyes widening for a prompt moment as if I jolted awake from a nightmare…

…Yes… that man…

The one who brought suffering onto my Mother…

…who broke her heart right in front of her face.

The one who caused her downfall from Luria…

…who made her waste many of her years, aimlessly searching for him without any sense of purpose…!

The one…

…who brought me the truth about my family...

“…”

A dark shadow fell over my eyes. Head hung, hair falling over my face as I was frozen in place, at a loss for words. I felt as if a crimson-red energy swirled inside of me, gradually growing larger and larger as seconds passed.

Not paying heed to my demeanour, the masked man began speaking to me.

“Precisely. This is not a fake Emon. It is the real Emon you’ve known and loved in the past. He was about to tell Zaccheus about the circumstances in the past, but now that the group is complete, I hope we can come to an agreement.”

“Don’t you dare move a muscle again, Michel,” Zaccheus retorted, swinging his Divination Tool towards Emon. “You neither, Emon!”

As Emon was still facing me, his smile withered away. With his head lowered, he obeyed the masked man’s suggestion and responded,

“…Michel was forced to gamble whether or not you would co-side with Helvega, as well as… her mother…”

As soon as I heard him utter the word “mother”, time seemed to have gone still.

His voice sounded as loud and clear as someone whispering in one’s ear, echoing throughout the entire hollow interior.

I slowly raised my head to meet his eyes, a single tear strolling down my right cheek, my trembling lips drawn into a tight line of anger.

“…How dare you not even acknowledge her name…”

Zaccheus attempted to placate the situation by muttering my name, but I had already fallen far too deep into the depths of my anger. All I could do was voice out the frustration I held inside me for all these years.

“How… how dare you?! She wasted years of her life trying to find you! You betrayed her trust… and love she had for you, and she still wanted to find you, Emon!!!”

My voice turned rough as if I had already broken my vocal cords. Yet it did not stop me from going further.

“You don’t even understand what you have done to her! She…you…you bloody ruined her entire life, damnit! How DARE you not call her by her name?! HOW DARE YOU!”

As I bawled my hands into fists, staring into Emon’s soulless eyes, it felt as if his silence further fueled my anger. I could not bear seeing that man alive right in front of me anymore. Taken by the waltz of my emotion, I threw my right hand in the air, spreading my palm wide, as my Grimoire materialized within it.

It was a slender, but long silver scythe that emitted a loud slashing sound as it appeared in my hand, followed by a strong wind pressure from below, causing my hair and clothing to flutter in the current aggressively.

Zaccheus cursed in panic, and the masked man remained silent with his back facing me. Emon attempted to call me out by my name, yet I could not even bear hearing him say my name no more.

“Shut up! You have no idea how long she has been waiting to see you!”

I raised my Scythe, its sharp blade pointed towards Emon.

“Do you even remember when you saw her for the last time? Do you even remember that?!”

“…”

“Exactly! You don’t! Because you never cared about her!”

The masked man, as if pretending I wasn’t present, called out Zaccheus’ name with a cold, and firm tone.

“S- shut up for a moment,” Zaccheus said to the masked man, as he turned his attention back to me. “Helvega, please, just… put your Grimoire down for now, please!”

“Why would I? When a little bloody sewer rat of a man is standing before me?!”

“Have control! Don’t lose yourself, Helvega. My wife told you I would be here, didn’t she?”

“…”

“Trust me, Helvega. You don’t want to make this messy. Let us both un-arm ourselves and listen to what they have to say. It will only cause you even more trouble if you decide to kill Emon now.”

“…You… liar…”

“Please, Helvega. I know you can do it…”

I clicked my tongue and averted my head from them, as my Scythe slowly faded away from my grip. Zaccheus followed suit, as I told them with a cold tone,

“…I give you five minutes. Nothing more.”

Emon took a few moments to recollect himself, despite seeming completely composed. He then took a deep breath through his nose and began speaking.

“…I understand that you, Zaccheus, felt conflicted about who you could truly trust.”

He slowly turned towards Zaccheus, frowning slightly.

“….Everything Michel is doing at this moment, is to show you the truth.”

Michel?

Who’s Michel?

…The man… standing before me?

“What truth?” Zaccheus asked with a tense tone.

“Phineas must be destroyed, once and for all.”

Wh… what? What is he talking about?

“If he must be destroyed, then… why is he so closely associated with Michel?”

“What?” I asked, not following the conversation. Zaccheus introduced the masked man as ‘Michel’ as he proceeded to explain the situation.

“Helvega, remember the night when Emon went to investigate Eastern Ventoria? I told you about this before, when I saw Phineas exit the Cellar alongside a mysterious figure. That was him, Michel.”

I held my hands in the pockets of my black coat and stood firm in my position.

“Go on, time is ticking.”

“…You both need to understand the sheer scale of Phineas’ power,” Emon continued. “He may be someone who was born without Sequencer characteristics, but none of us stand a chance against him when it comes to sheer authority. When you deal with people like this, a simple assassination attempt won’t do the trick.”

“Then, why?” Zaccheus asked. “What are you trying to say?”

“A new era has started, Zaccheus,” Michel responded calmly. “The entire world is at stake—and Phineas—at some point in time, will become a Zenith of the global socioeconomic hierarchy. His ownership over Terra Firma and Luria is just the beginning. He will cut ties with you the moment he realizes it would bring him even the slightest advantage.”

Zaccheus fell silent for a moment, visibly befuddled, as Michel continued.

“Your role within Luria is entirely dependent on him. If Phineas discovers that you’ve been gossiping behind his back with other high-ranking members, your life will be over. We’ve already talked about his iron-fisted rule over the past few years, no? Do you truly think you will be an exception?”

“He made his closest right hand, Wilfred, the second-highest in command, just because he wanted to. He could easily replace you with an esteemed member from Terra Firma if he needed to, despite your grand status within the assembly.”

The raindrops falling onto the nearby puddle seemed to have overtaken the atmosphere, its volume gradually materializing, the constant platters of the drops becoming audible again.

“…What are you trying to say?” Zaccheus asked again. Michel chuckled before answering.

“I think it is time for a new ruler to step forward, no?”

“…But, I don’t… understand,” Zaccheus muttered. “Why would you orchestrate Emon’s downfall, but then proceed on proclaiming his rightful heir to the throne?”

“Again, something as straightforward as assassinating Phineas won’t work,” Emon responded, closing his eyes in a sigh. “We are standing here, with both our lives at stake, because we believe that, as long as we work together, the world will be changed for the better.”

“For the better? What are you conspiring?” Zaccheus smiled. “Are you not aware of the things he has done for the country? How could you possibly claim that he wants absolute destruction for Deneve?”

“Zaccheus… what about Dark?” Emon said softly, causing Zaccheus’ smile to disappear, followed only by complete silence. Emon then attempted to continue.

“Don’t you-”

“Your time’s up,” I responded, spreading my right palm in the air once more, as I summoned my Scythe. An even stronger wind pressure, reaching even the others, blasted through the scene. Zaccheus grimaced, not knowing what to do as I pointed my Scythe towards Emon.

“I have patiently waited for this entire time with thousands of questions whirling in my mind.

Who are you, Emon?”

“…We are salvagers,” Emon responded. “I was inclined that you yourself had a thirst for righteousness for your family-related problems.”

My eyes slowly widened, trying to understand what he just said.

“…What?”

“Helvega,” Michel began, turning towards me. “The Jinton Family is at stake, too. You’re aware of the story, right? About how your fathe-”

“How do you know… You’re not supposed to know this!”

“We know that you’re in a tough position right now,” he added. “You are closely associated with the Cowright Family, as well as the Monlay Assembly. Regardless of your kinship with Aurora, the Cellar does not have any resentment against you. We know you can’t leave your life behind in pursuit of revenge… But, let me tell you one thing…”

He spread his right arm forward, stretching his black glove-covered palm out wide as if he were to give me something.

“…As long as you trust our words, you will get the revenge you have sought after for all these years. The Yraemonde Family will be destroyed, I promise you that.”

I felt overwhelmed.

I fell onto my knees, my Scythe dangling onto the ground. I held my trembling hands on the wet surface, as tears began to well up in my eyes.