a loyal security guard's duty

17 years ago.

First Born: the First Sword.

a jungle is covered of blood. there are bodies everywhere. body parts everywhere. there are swords made of bones on the floor. there is only one man standing. he has bleached blonde short hair. he has a thick neon black beard. his blues are light brown.

this man is skinny but with muscles. he sees older of his age. his clothing is shattered. his body is covered on blood. he has many fresh wounds. he has some ugly scars all over his back. some on his legs and arms. he has two scars on the face.

this man screams on an inhuman way. he then falls on his knees. he breaths heavily. his eyes start to close slowly.

[Yellow died.]

....

[Richie Rubio has resurrected.]

the same man from before opens his eyes. he is on a bed. he seems to be naked. he is only covered by a thin blanket. he tries to check his status window. he is shown as an NPC and not a player.

this information is a shock to Yellow. he died before. he thought that was the end. he is still breathing for now. he has no idea of what to do anymore. at first he started playing with a purpose. but it has been so long since he started the game. he forgot it all.

the room is dark. the only thing he can see is the bed. someone knocks on the door. Yellow sits down slowly. he puts the hand under the pillow. he doesn't have anything close to defend himself. his only weapon is a damn pillow.

an angelic figure opens the door. a gorgeous lady with long black hair enters. she is holding a candle. she closes the door slowly. she smiles at Yellow. this woman is no other than Pandora.

"who are you? what do you want from me? why am I still alive?"

"hello Yellow, or should I call you by your real name. what do you say Mr Rubio? all I can tell you now is that this is the first time we collect souls this way. this thing was suppose to be a prototype. to only collect few souls.... my superiors were a bit greedy."

"explain things to me. explain them now woman."

Yellow is confuse. he feels healthy. he also feels better than ever. he has being stuck on this game for about twelve years. in the beginning he saw it as a mistake. maybe an error that happens. but then he found others like him. too many others to be a mistake.

in the beginning there were about two hundred people like him. some went away. others died on the road. others decided to turn this place into their home.

in Yellow's long journey. every dead human stays dead. only most NPCs come back to life after being killed. for him to come back to life. and be turn into a NPC. it all feels so strange right now. even stranger than the logic of this world.

in the last twelve years. Yellow has never met a God, nor others who aren't either players nor NPCs. Pandora is the first one to be different. she is also gentle and nice.

"let me reintroduce myself. I am Pandora. I am partly responsible for the creation of this atrocity. your sacrifice and that of your former pals. it is the first one. but won't be the last sacrifice done on name of my superiors."

"what is your point? what is there to know or to not know why. it isn't going to bring back my lost life. the years of my life that I lose because of you and your motherfucking superiors. all this information brings me nothing. nothing."

"I am only giving you a brief explanation of why. you are no longer part of the game. you are officially an independent party. now do you want to follow me? I offer you a place on my business as my sidekick."

Pandora leaves the room. she didn't had anything else to say. she clearly saw the anger on Yellow's face.

Yellow stands up. on the dark he tries to find anything to put on. he then walks out. he looks at the rest of the cabin. it is a really simple cabin. Pandora is on a chair. she is awaiting for him.

Pandora passes a mirror. Yellow takes it. he looks at himself. he looks younger. he looks the same he used to look on earth. he smiles for a moment. he seems to be on his early twenties.

Yellow looks at Pandora. he accepts her proposal. he decides to become her employee. he was already tired of the life he had. it was time for a change. maybe now he can finally breath calm. he asks for a generous monthly payment.

.....

actual time.

inside Pandora's Tower.

Pandora is on a chair. she is looking outside of her office's window. it is possible to see other buildings. other structures. but it is hard to see the mortals walking. Pandora then thinks about the first time she saw Federico. she thinks about that moment.

Roughly Right is besides his boss. Brutal Leftmann comes in for a moment. he came with important information. he found a lot about Federico. he first lets his boss know that he left someone protecting Frigus. it is someone trustworthy.

Roughly Right steps away. he decides to protect the office from outside. things are getting too conflicted. now days anyone could tried to assassinate his boss. people like Federico are the most dangerous. a leader who leads to chaos and destruction.

Brutal Leftmann puts on a table pictures. there are pictures of dynamite. and pictures of henchmen moving other explosives. at least twenty man working for him. some of those henchmen are from the Happy Face Cult. others from Western Legends.

this is enough evidence to prove his intentions. but not enough to stop him. Federico doesn't appear directly on any picture. he has avoided the eye of any witness. the person who appears in most pictures is Bird-E. another big fish to stop.

Brutal Leftmann asks for permission to kill Federico. he wants to avenge Richie Rubio. he was there that night. he was witness of his comrade's murder. for respect to his boss he didn't avenge Richie before. but now is the right time.

Pandora tells him to protect Frigus. for the time he is a priority. Pandora tells him to wait for some days. she promise to give him the command to kill Federico. Brutal nods. he has never gone against the boss. and this time isn't the exception.

"ok boss. I will return to my post."

"yes. please make sure that Frigus stays alive. it doesn't matter if he ends up beaten, cut, stabbed, shot, blown away. just make sure he is breathing. I hope that isn't much job for a professional bodyguard like yourself."

"nah, I good boss. I iron muscles."

Brutal Leftmann walks away. he stops for a minute to talk to Roughly Right. then he went to the cafeteria for a coffee. in here they make the best coffee. the coffee Frigus gives to Brutal is shit. Brutal still can't believe Frigus can drink that shit.

Brutal calls his friend, the one guarding Frigus. he asks him if he wants a coffee. the friend tells him to also bring donuts. Brutal agrees. the donuts Frigus eats are even worse than the coffee. that shit is suppose to be healthy, but it taste like pure garbage.

while Brutal is on the cafeteria. he hears to the gossip of the other bodyguards. the life of a bodyguard is mostly boring. so to entertain themselves they gossip a lot. Brutal sends a message to his friend. he tells that the traffic is brutal today. he will arrive late.

by just being among colleagues. by being on the cafeteria. the memories of the early days come knocking. he misses the older days. the times of action and danger. the days when his war brothers laughed with him. his war brother Richie and Roughly.

the past is gone. there is nothing that can change it. there is no way back to the old good days that we left behind. the only thing left is a strange road called present. and you better not talk about the future. because it haven't come jet.

.....

4 years ago (29 months before I.P.O.T.I.)

Richie Rubio is serving beer on a bar. he is the owner and one of the bartenders. Pandora sits in front of him. she smiles peacefully.

"why are you smiling madam? it has to be something really good?"

"well. I feel appreciation for life. for what we have. you my most loyal subject used to see me as a strange monster. you use to be cautious around me. you even become owner of your own small business. it is like watching your kids grow."

"I am not your kid, master. I am your employee. even if I don't age like other NPCs, that doesn't mean that I am young. and if you allow me to be completely honest master. when we first met you used to speak robotic. you sounded less human than now."

Pandora laughs lightly. she asks for a mojito. Richie serves the drink for her. Pandora drinks the mojito. Richie notices how strange she is acting right now. Richie feels nervous and confuse. something on his chest hurts.

Richie is capable of seen that blush on her face. how she is looking around. she is like trying to find someone. "Oh." is the sound that comes from Richie's lips.

it doesn't need of much to be clear. it is even more obvious to Richie who knows her. it is painfully obvious that she has fallen in love. she is trying to find a lover somewhere. Richie closes his left fist. he digs his nails into his hand. he bleeds.

then an innocent looking Federico comes forward. he is holding a glass of pink wine. he hugs Pandora from behind. he whispers sweet things on her ears. Pandora blushes.

Pandora pushes him away. she behaves shy in front of Federico. she turns around. she places her head on his chest. she whispers words of love. Richie has never seen her so happy before, not like right now.

Richie feels so much rage. he feels so much anger. he puts on a fake smile. under a mask he hides how much it hurts him. he knew how perfect Pandora is. but he never expected to see her dating. she was never before interested in romances.

Pandora and Federico move to the center. they start to dance. everyone who is witness claps and are envious. Federico has something that melts hearts.

Brutal Leftmann stands at Richie's left. he takes a bottle of cognac. at this point he had two years working for Pandora. two years as a body guard. him and Roughly Right knew about Richie's feelings. Brutal looks at Richie feeling sorry for the man.

"you are like a younger brother to her. it is painful that the woman you love doesn't see you as a man. I know about that. no worries boss."

"it is better this way. even if I can't be her men. I can be a friend who stands at her side for all eternity. I don't need love. I only need to be the only one who doesn't hurt her. and the only one to protect her. she can cry on my shoulder whenever him, or anyone else hurts her. I don't care."

"I don't know about her, or him. but you took a choice that will make you unhappy for the rest of your life. it is torture, but I won't judge you. I do understand why."

a tear falls from Richie's eyes. he cleans the tear. he keeps preparing drinks. Brutal helps him to prepare some easy drinks. even now there is some hope on Richie. hope that Pandora will notice one day. that she may accept his love one day.

Brutal is right. Richie is aware of the torture of seen Pandora with another man. jet Richie prefers to cry on silence. so that he can at least watch her and protect her. no matter how painful it is. love is something you can't control.

love comes, it controls our lives. and whenever it wants, it leaves. but there are curse cases in which it never leaves. love stays on your heart until your last breathe. till the End.