[the throne calls for its king]

——xxx——

"What do you plan to do, Lucas?" wondered Nora, examining her car that had been spared from the earthquake. However, there seemed to be damage somewhere, as it refused to start.

Lucas lifted his gaze, leaning against the open door as she fussed with a few buttons. 

A distance away from them, where the clock tower he often frequented had crumbled, shaped, and molded into a strange, ominous design. There was a staircase in the center of the mound, sleek and smooth.

At the top, a pitch black throne stood, pulsing with a slicing eeriness, daring anybody to approach.

The Forsaken Throne.

In fact, it should have a plural 's' at the end, as there were four spread around the world. One in China, India, the United States and Indonesia. 

The countries with the largest populations. For each of the Thrones, a Catalyst would be designed to protect it. 

From those who wished to claim it for their own.

The hierarchy worked in a manner that followed these rules. There were four 'Kings'—heroes blessed with a title based off strength. It wasn't entirely certain for what reason the original four were granted their titles, but it was without a doubt that they all possessed reasonable influence.

The King of Hearts, the King of Spades, the King of Clovers, and the King of Diamonds.

They were Characters with the power to bless other humans with Titles, such as 'the Queen of Diamonds', and so forth. Now, it was necessary for everybody to obtain a Title by any means possible, for those without one would eventually be disregarded by the world.

Every season change, there was The Ranking, an event where anybody could challenge another to a fight, refusing was not allowed. 

The winners would obtain the other's person's title, along with the powers that came with it. After two rankings occurred, those still without a title would perish.

Aside from that, there were also four Catalysts. 

Those chosen to protect the throne, and thwart humanity. They were destined to bring ruin to society, beings with powers beyond any regular person.

Kane Silvius, his older brother, became the [King of Aces] after battling the original King and winning.

Lucas frowned. If he recalled correctly... the original King was somebody he knew by name—the well-respected leader of his gang. Although it was called a gang, and he often participated in back-door deals and fights, it was also tied to a wealthy company.

A rich, careless man who fooled around as he pleased. Everybody feared him, and Lucas was slightly curious as to why. 

Regardless, he didn't have much of an opinion on the man.

As for the Catalysts, a dull throb echoed in his mind. The story he'd written was fragments in his mind, as if attempting to make him forget but being unable to do so.

He knew of one, but the rest remained unknown disasters.

Lucas sighed, and Nora paused her actions of fiddling with her car as she looked at him properly. If possible, the woman wanted to continue to form a friendship with this reliable man who remained calm in the face of adversary.

Luck was a type of strength, and they'd successfully experienced the first Story without injury, but she knew that wouldn't last. Cowards, like the one they had met by the name of Julian, or the 'brave', such as Lucas, would be equally met with challenges.

She shuddered to think of what was to come, along the split open streets, and the shaking buildings.

"Lucas?"

The man took a brief intake of air, gazing up at the Throne. "I'm going to find my brother."

Although Lucas was surprised by the turn of events, he also had little interest in the matters. If the world fell, then he would fall with it. It was inevitable, and he wouldn't waste time trying to fix it. 

However, for the sake of his older brother, he would keep this world alive.

His priority was to find Kane before it was too late. The man would become one of the most powerful Kings, wielding all four blades that each possessed. That was the requirement to take the Throne—only a complete King could rule.

Anxiety riddled his heart. 

He hadn't spoken to his brother in a decade, when he'd left the house and never returned at the young age of 14. A restless, mourning teenager that drowned away his emotions in pointless fights.

Piercings, tattoos, bleached hair.

He'd done all he could do to curse life, and it was meaningless. Nothing would bring back the dead.

There was an unsettling feeling in his chest, knowing that the protagonist of his story was very likely to be the very brother he abandoned, that he would have unspeakable regret. An itching, painful throb at the back of his chest, foretelling.

"Your brother?"

"I need to make sure he's safe."

It was the most emotion that Nora had heard from the other, seeping helplessly into his low tone. Biting regret, a bitter memory of the years lost. 

Fear.

Her eyes softened, recalling her younger sibling. "I am sure he's searching for you too."

Lucas hesitated. "I don't know if that's true."

"What—"

<Whoops~ I'm a little late! It's fine though, the story of [Cinderella] has been cleared! Congratulations (tch!) I'll distribute your rewards now, damn humans. Be grateful!>

The two shared a sharp look, before a ringing sounded in their heads. Lucas frowned, feeling the faint buzz of a voice echoing in the depths of his mind, irritating him. If the story was cleared, that meant enough people were kept alive to obtain the number of shoes.

Perhaps his collection and Nora's also contributed to that, considering that they hadn't died, and their slippers were still valid.

[Your rewards are being calculated...]

[Completion of the True Ending has been found! Rewards re-processing...]

[Reward granted.]

[Shenlong (legendary)

Description: A copy of a legendary dragon, designed to follow its owner around. The master of storms and bringer of rains, a mythical being from Chinese mythology. Powers have been significantly reduced due to it being a 'copy'.

Additional: It's said that everything carries a story. Does this 'copy' have a past of its own? Regardless, you stinky man, do you really deserve this reward? 

Of course not! Only beautiful people deserve such luxury! @$^$*$#!!!]

Lucas' expression distorted for a second, reading the additional comments. He felt a strong, malicious energy in the lines, if that wasn't made clear by the bitter remarks. 

Anyway, wasn't he beautiful? 

Two eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Actually, just to be a breathing human being was good enough.

One might call it arrogance, but in fact, his perception of beauty was limited to that, and he concluded that he deserved the reward.

Regardless, he'd done some research on mythology from several different countries before, and was well aware of the might of Shenlong. It was a reward worthy of its legendary tag.

[Title granted.]

[The title of 'Cinderella' has been bestowed on you! Skills are as followed:

Kind Seduction: ability to charm a person with over 10% interest with you for 20 seconds if you continue to compliment them within every 5 second interval.

The Worship of Characters in Cinderella: protection and safety from creatures related to the story Cinderella, as long as they hold no malicious intent to the character title you have been blessed with.]

Nora's eyes lit up before she jerked her head towards Lucas, excitedly. "I've gained the title of [Prince Charming]! It gives me a skill called, 'Royal Charm', which allows me to convince anybody of anything, 3 times a day. I also gained this ticket to a unique Story, but I'm not sure of the uses yet. How about you?"

He blinked, thinking that his luck actually really was pretty bad. "A seduction skill."

"...pardon?"

"I gained a skill that allows me to charm a person. I was also cursed out by my reward, but I've determined that I'm beautiful enough to use it," stated the man in a matter-of-fact manner, his words unfiltered and relaxed.

The woman felt a little speechless and laughed lightly, unsure of how to react.

"I see."

A ding sounded from Lucas' pocket, long forgotten. Phones didn't seem to work in the Story, so he'd put it to the side and hadn't thought of it. He dug it out, tapping open the screen that was surviving on a sliver of battery.

[cam0311: sir, sir! lulu are you there??]

He stared at the screen before typing out a reply. It would be good if this reader of his stayed alive as well, thought the man absentmindedly.

[Lu: Here.]

[cam0311: reporting!! thank goodness you're alive! i just experienced the weirdest thing ever, and i'm bleeding out my stomach. but i'm alive hahahahaha! more importantly, why is it that i can't remember the story at all?????]

[cam0311: i loyally and gracefully read it 137 times, i'm confident! the current weirdness kinda reminds me of it, but the issue is i can't remember any details!]

[Lu: I'm not sure of the issues behind that either. I can remember, but my memories are faint in some sections.]

He didn't comment on the insane, and very specific amount of times that she re-read the novel, silently marking praise for youths in his heart. 

He was fairly sure that she mentioned being in high school once, and had no clue how she managed to make time to read to such an extent.

The man was used to her enthusiasm even when he didn't reply frequently, only once a week typically when she would message to complain, rant or praise the story almost every day.

[cam0311: hm, hmmm i really don't know. anyway, keep me updated lulu! stay alive!! hopefully we can meet up at some point, although you live in america right? it will be a little hard to get there from england, but who knows! take care~]

[Lu: Stay safe.]

If things with his brother were settled, he considered finding a way to go over to England. Cam0311 was an ecentric teenager, and he had faith that she'd likely be able to conjure up strange and unique ways to survive, with or without his help.

Nora saw a rare softness filter through his eyes. "Is that somebody close to you?"

Lucas tucked the phone away. The girl was the only contact he had outside of work in the last decade, and in a sense, she was similar to a younger sibling to him. "Somebody important."

"Anyway, what will you do next? Where is your brother?"

"I don't know." The man paused, frowning slightly, before rummaging through his pockets and pulling out a slip of paper and a pen. He scribbled something onto it, and handed it to the other. "This is my address, it's nearby. I'm going to buy some groceries first, and then I'll head back and we can discuss further."

Nora accepted the paper, glancing over. "Groceries? Do you want me to come with you?"

He'd decided to stock up on some supplies now, unsure of how long everything would go on. If people were dying by the dozen, perhaps hundred, the government wouldn't be able to face this crisis. 

Supplies would eventually be scarce, rewarded from the Stories.

In about a week, the first ranking would take place. Those without a title wouldn't be eliminated, but a death match would begin, and foretell the beginning of tragedy.

"No, I like shopping alone."

"Very well, I will wait for you at your house then." She dug through a compartment in her car before pulling out two hand-held guns. "Please take this for now."

"...where did you get this?"

"For emergencies."

The man decided not to question any further, and nodded. "The key is under a pot that says 'Key' with an arrow pointing down. It should be easy to find."

"...under a pot that directs a person to the key? To your house?" She made a strange expression of disbelief, but the other nodded again simply.

If somebody dared to break into his house, what would they find? Scraps of paper, a mattress on the ground? 

No, they'd just become somebody he could beat up legally for breaking in.

The woman didn't dare ask further, and they parted ways.