Rising of the Running God   ...Betrayed Again?

Rising of the Running God   Partners

"W… wait, be very gentle with it." "Relax, I know a lot more about this than you." "W… why are you using your teeth?" "Some like it." "...Wha—" "There, see!?" Vayne could not help but close his eyes as his face was showered by… bits and pieces of the mechanism that was locking the chest Nisha found beneath the pool. He didn't seem to mind, however, as his eyes even widened as soon as Nisha's fingers lightly brushed across the chest. "O… open it." "I am, can you just have a little patience!?" Nisha raised her voice as she slightly pushed Vayne away. Her face, however, failed to hide her excitement which was even more pronounced than Vayne, "Things like this… should be treated with utmost care." And with those words, she very slowly opened the chest; both of their breaths, almost enough to blow the cover away. And with their eyes filled with nothing but excitement, the insides of the treasure chest almost blinded them as… …it

Rising of the Running God   Chapter 33: Now, We're Even

“We’ll… be okay.”--- Vayne no longer knew how many times he uttered these words. He kept repeating it over and over again hoping that it might be true but seeing as darkness was all he could see, there was no way to actually know. The only thing he knew was that a violent pour of vapor was escaping his mouth and nose right now; the cold, beyond chilling as he couldn’t even move a single finger in his body without exerting a great amount of effort. No— at the very least, his body found itself shivering and trying to fight off the cold as much as he could. But Nisha? Her body was completely frozen still and almost held no signs of life. If it wasn’t for the slight warmth that was escaping from her nose, then Vayne would have thought her dead already. He crawled near her and wrapped his arms around her waist and chest, completely hugging her back and even heavily breathing into her neck so he could try and provide her all the warmth he could give…. but it obviously was not enough. “..

Rising of the Running God   Chapter 34: Resolve

SFW 33“What… befell upon all of you?”There was a sense of dread looming around the air; even without a tragedy happening, the interior of the dungeon they found themselves in was already dreary and ominous. But now, with all of them carrying a sense of hopelessness on their faces, Vayne was once again reminded of the true reality of the exam and what it means to be an Explorer.Throughout the days he and Nisha were exploring the island and hunting treasures, Vayne was having fun. How could he not, when just walking with both feet was a privilege to him?And now, seeing his brother lying unconscious on the ground and missing an arm. He… didn’t really know what to feel."We were being attacked when the ground opened up," Mavey, the girl that was even shorter than Vayne, was the one to answer his question,"It all just happened so fucking fast that none of us could react at all. Well, not all of us…" She then breathed out as she looked at the unconscious Vale."It's my fault." A loud, a

Rising of the Running God   Chapter 35: The Mysterious Door

How did Vale know his name?-- is what Vayne thought for a second. But since he didn't really make an effort in hiding his name, the only thing he could really do was act as naturally as possible.And so, he subtly pulled his hood tighter and cleared his throat to make sure his brother wouldn't be able to recognize his voice."Yes," he then said in a deep and somewhat raspy voice. And as soon as his words crawled through his brother's ears, Vale could really only surmise that Vayne was probably already an old man."I… never thought it was a common name.""No," Vayne quickly said in haste; fortunately for him, the knowledge he garnered in reading all of those history books will finally be put to use,"It's a very common name in Ludia." Not really, but the pattern of their names was similar to his, "...Did you happen to know someone with the same name?""...Yes. He was the one I was speaking about earlier," the tone of Vale's voice started to weaken as he looked to the side,"A… anyway—M

Rising of the Running God   Chapter 36: Fear

SFW 36 "We're running low on supplies." "And whose fault is that!? We're supposed to have a month's worth of supply for 10 people, there are only 7 of us!" "It should be fine, the door is opening a few hours from now. Hoho." "Stop talking like an owl, you big useless, hair lump of muscle! We don't even know what's on the other side or if the skinny small stranger really read it right!" "Oi, the guy has a name." "I don't fucking care. As long as he wears that silly eye mask, he remains nameless to me." A few days in the empty, bleak, and cold, darkness of the dungeon; the seven remaining Explorer candidates were still alive and well—perhaps too alive. Don Grecko and Mavey's voices echoed through the corners of the dungeon where their light could no longer reach. The two have been bickering and arguing non-stop for an entire day, making Vayne and the rest of the candidates treat them like white noise already. Vayne and the others were just looking at the colossal door in front o

Rising of the Running God   Chapter 1: The Boy Who Should Have Ran From Life

"People told me that no matter what I do, I could never run. But now whenever they open their mouths, I am the one that has to look behind," — Vayne Valentine, The Crippled Prince. It happened one fine morning. When the birds were singing their songs and the sun gave them the light they wished. Right when the dew disperses all the evil that might have plagued the night before— but alas, it would seem that not every evil was left behind… "No…" …As a mother mourns and grieves for her son. She gently touched his face, not yet even larger than her palm. She caressed his soft cheeks… and a smile shaped on the baby's lips. The babe was not dead, no. But the baby was pale; his arms felt like they would break with just a single soft wind. And his legs, they already were— not even capable of a kick. The babe was not dead, no. But even still, the mother mourned for her son as her soft palms slowly crawled toward his teeny, tiny nose, covering it and his smile completely. "I… I am so sorry

Rising of the Running God   And so, He Ran

"Absolutely not!""But mother–""How many times have I told you that you are not to talk to your brother!? Again and again, every day I tell you……these people are different from us. We don't belong here.""..."For the first time in 16 years, Vayne's dim and desolate room was filled with more than just the mountain of books that filled it with color.But to think it would be his mother's screams that would fill the void, Vayne could really only sigh at the thought.Charlotte's auburn hair almost bounced as she waved her hands repeatedly, telling Vayne that going with Vale was a bad idea.As for Vayne, he just hid in the shadows of his books, letting his mother calm her breaths, before he once again permeated himself to speak,"This might be the chance you have always wanted, mother," Vayne said; his voice, clear and tranquil, "You have always told me how good it would be if I was able to prove myself. How our lives would be better.""Do… not put words in my mouth, child," Charlotte's