Party

She had long gray hair, blue eyes, and a wrinkled face.

Morning Mist was wearing a thin black overcoat over tight black jeans. Despite her age, she was standing as straight as anyone. Holding her hands behind her back, she looked at him in sheer fascination.

Kai looked back at her.

'Over 55,' Kai guessed. 'So her true age should be between 50 to 60.'

With no particular restriction, it was impossible to just change one's age-group. Kai's mission in Game of Thrones world had required him to be around 14-17 yrs old. If it hadn't, even then Kai couldn't go too far out of the bounds. The Price would become monstrous for him to look like an old man, Kai knew. So he didn't believe this Morning Mist was young and had paid that kind of price to look old.

"Leaflet." Only one word came out of Kai's mouth. His entire body was itching with curiosity to ask about the failed mission and how she was still alive after being judged unworthy. But there was a time for everything.

The old woman smiled gently and threw out a paper plane towards Kai. At a glance, it didn't look like a simple plane to Kai as it kept speeding up, flying towards him. An unseen burst of cold spread out of Kai, encompassing everything within a meter radius, and a thin layer of white-blue frost froze the paper instantly.

The paper plane fell like a stone, and the old woman narrowed her eyes.

Kai didn't need any parlor trick to know that he could kill this woman. It wouldn't be as difficult a task as killing Heavy Block, but it wouldn't be as easy as killing a mid-level 3rd-floor Contestant. Anyway, he had the element of surprise, and it would be his choice when to use it.

'The Cold Suppression is quite a docile Ability,' Kai reflected. 'But its effect is also pretty shallow. The most I can do to an opponent like her beyond 3 meters is to unnerve her.'

"Leaflet," Kai demanded again. There was a finality in his voice, warning the listener that he would tolerate no further prodding. The old woman reached into her overcoat's pocket and took out a neatly folded leaflet. She threw it at Kai, but this time, he let it come to him.

When Kai unfolded it, there were rows of texts on its blank side, stating Kai's Code Name, her own Code Name, and her Main Mission, which was to act as Assistant to Probationary Captain. That's it.

"That's it" wasn't enough for the Blood Demon.

"Move and die," said Kai, walking around the room. It was a single bedroom, but quite spacious. There was a sofa set, a wardrobe, a TV sitting over a table drawer, and a bathroom. It took Kai 15 minutes to go through every inch of the entire room, searching for anything that might be out of place. The old woman gawked at him all the time, her mouth opening and closing every time Kai paused and double-checked something.

When he was done, Kai returned to his position. "When did you leave this room last time?"

"I was teleported to this room 20 minutes ago," said Morning Mist, still standing straight at her place.

Kai gave the old woman a deep look as she gazed at him with open curiosity. "I accept her leaflet," he proclaimed, finding no other fault.

The notification appeared then.

[

A temporary Party is formed between Probationary Captain, Blood Demon, and the Assistant, Morning Mist

Party Leader: Blood Demon

Party Members: 2

Party Privilege:

1. Members can find out each other's location using Mission Credits

2. Members can audio or video call each other using Mission Credits.

Note: The price of these services will depend on the distance between the two members and their environment

]

Both Kai and the old woman looked at each other. Kai knew she was seeing the same notification in front of her eyes, otherwise using Code Names wasn't Chaos' style.

"Desmond," Kai said, seeing her gaze coming out of focus.

"Meg," the old woman nodded.

Another notification appeared, breaking their eye contact.

[

For the next 3 hours, both Contestants are being locked in this room. Party Leader must carry out the following instructions.

- Go to the right topmost drawer under the TV and take out the DVD box

]

Both Kai and Meg raised their eyebrows, seeing the notification.

She smiled at him, pointing at a drawer. Kai didn't move. There were a few things he needed to take care of before going along with Chaos' instructions.

"What can you do?" Kai asked, his eyes moving from her to the window. "Tell me all your Abilities and Skills. I need to know them to plan out the mission accordingly."

"My-my," Meg giggled. "You sure talk like a captain already. Well, why not? I have two Elementary Abilities. Can you guess?"

'A failed mission, but still alive,' Kai thought, repeating the words. And that's the only bit he cared about her. Being a fellow Chaos Contestant, he knew how hard it would be to just get the answer to this question, even if he were to kill her here and now. 'I must take a go at it in a roundabout way, then.'

"If I guess them," Kai said, "you must answer all my questions for the rest of the mission with no objection."

Meg must have found it quite amusing, for she nodded confidently.

Kai almost grinned.

He crouched down and picked up the frozen paper plane. He could not unfreeze it, nevertheless, his eyes could see the hidden details, which normal eyes couldn't. Thin lines were running over the paper, which seemed like someone had drawn them over it using a pen. But Kai had raked the room, and he had found no writing material.

Closing his eyes, Kai's mind ran like a machine, searching for all plausible skills that can lead to something like this, his fingers never stopped caressing the plane.

"These are not lines," Kai said, opening his eyes. "These are folds of paper, so minute, thin, and accurate that even if it wasn't frozen, one would have not noticed them on inspection."

Meg's smile flickered, her old eyes glinting like two blue pearls.

"Origami," Kai declared. "This Ability is related to Origami."

Meg chuckled, shaking her head. But before she could say something, Kai continued. "Yet, an Elementary Ability can't explain its exquisiteness. It's too brilliant for that and too devious. Wonderful! A mere 3rd-floor old hag has an Advance Ability related to Origami. Heh! Who would have known?"

Meg's eyes had gone so wide that she almost looked horror-stricken. "Impossible!" she exclaimed, meekly. "No 1st-Set Contestant is experienced enough to differentiate between an Elementary and Advance Ability unless they have their own…" Meg trailed off, and this time she didn't just look horror-stricken. She was truly shocked. "How old are you?!"

Kai dropped the paper plane.

He walked towards the window and looked at the city. Many youngsters were walking with their Pokemon, playing, and challenging each other. Street Vendors were selling fruits, and many gondolas and speedboats were traveling up the canals, carrying passengers and cargo.

"What were you looking at when I came here?" Kai asked, but it seemed like he was muttering to himself. "Any other Contestant would have been feeling anxious after getting a mission like this. Not you, though. You couldn't have been looking at the Pokemon. There was no fire in your eyes, no desire. You couldn't have been looking at the youngsters. There was no amusement on your face, and no envy either. What could you have been looking at with such longing, and such regret, remorse, and guilt?"

With Kai's every next word, sweat came pouring down on Meg's wrinkled forehead. Her hands were trembling slightly, and she looked at Kai as if one looked at some wild beast, who had vowed to devour you next.

"What is beyond this window that one sees but yet not?" Kai continued. "A picture, I think. And a picture represents not only its components but also tells a tale. What does this picture of youngsters, their pokemon, the city, and these emotions tell me?"

Kai looked at her with pity, his hazel eyes turning perceptibly gray, almost black, losing their colors. But Meg couldn't see Kai's true appearance. To her, his black eyes had just become blacker, gazing at her soul.

A deep sense of despair jolted her, and a touch of cold seeped into her bones. She fell back onto the bed behind her and looked up into Kai's eyes.

"Adventure," Kai stated, canceling the effect of his Abilities. "You long for the adventure, Meg. You are a Pokemon Trainer. But it seems you have been out of the game for too long. Am I right?"