The Breaking of Chains

The hallway was filled with superficial tension. The silence was constant.

They both looked at each other with a penetrating gaze, Void trying to think about the proposal and that young man just wanting to keep his gaze.

"Excuse me... Could you let us in?" A nurse asked behind Void, she seemed to be helping a small child walk.

The young men moved away from the door of the room. The steps moving away from the nurse and the child echoed in the hallway.

"So? It's a proposal in which you only win." The young man shrugged. "You'll have money and security, what more could you want?" he added.

Void let out a sigh. The proposal was certainly impossible to refuse, The Order is an organization where some of the strongest in the world are found. And above all, now that Cipher was unifying all of Korea, Void wouldn't be able to do it alone...

"Why the proposal? Only the strongest are in the Order, I'm a dual rune user. It's impossible for me to get in." Void asked curiously.

Runic skills were separated into two categories: Dual and Single.

Just as the name says, duals have two skills and singles have one. This would normally seem advantageous to dual skill users, however that's wrong.

First of all, one of the skills is locked, the unlocking process is unknown and even with both skills he wouldn't be able to compete with single skills.

The reason is simple, single skills are illogical. Void, a dual skill user and someone with the experience of having fought all his life, would need twenty of him to be able to "fight" a single skill user.

It was a difference almost impossible to overcome, especially now that Void had blocked one of his abilities.

"Empathy..." that young man answered coldly. Void frowned in disbelief. "You are someone who was feared in the past, the leader of The Order seems to have been a fan of yours so he did not want to see you in this position..."

The harsh words of that young man pierced like hundreds of daggers in Void's body. But he could do nothing, that young man was part of The Order, it was an impossible battle. Trying to keep his anger, he clenched his fists tightly.

The young man watched him close his fists. "Wow, are you going to hold back?" he let out a sigh. "You know... You are too weak. Do you think you have formed neutral territory because of your strength? It was simply because there was nothing to do there, now that Cipher wants to unify Korea you can do nothing."

"What?" Void said angrily.

"King without a crown? Power to rule everything?" He let out a few laughs before continuing. "We were just feeding your ego, do you know how we strong people know you? Crowned Peasant."

Void, unable to hold back any longer, threw a quick punch. The young man let out a smile, as if he had been looking for this.

"Stop."

Void's entire body stopped, unable to move no matter how much force he put in. After thinking for a moment, Void realized who he was fighting against, it was Kaiser.

Kaiser or also known as "One man army." The nickname was not given to him because he had a large army of his own or something like that, but because he was able to give an undeniable order to the people he wanted.

It was impossible, for the first time in his life, Void felt unable to do anything.

"I'll take this as a rejection... Then it's okay, you'll just have to be under Cipher's orders." Kaiser's words echoed through the hallway as he walked away.

Void stood with his head down, unable to digest the humiliating defeat. Even now that Kaiser had left, he still couldn't move.

He began to get lost in his thoughts.

The snowflakes fell slowly, pushed by the small and pleasant breeze. However, there was something different, the color of the snow was not white but red.

A strange metallic smell began to mix with the pure air. In front of a small, worn wooden cabin, the unpleasant scene became visible.

Dozens of bloody bodies on the snow, with them they seemed to carry different tools; knives, sickles, daggers and even scythes... What was the reason?

On that mountain of bodies, there was a small child, who observed everything without showing any emotion.

"Why... Why are you doing this to us?" One of the dying men stammered.

The boy glanced at him from the corner of his eye. "Your reward..." he replied, looking away.

The dying man bit his lip hard. "Damn bounty hunters..." he whispered with his last strength, letting tears fall.

The sound of footsteps sinking into the snow could be heard. "It's incredible... To think that you would actually do anything."

The boy gave a small jump into the snow. "And my money?"

That man had a thick beard that slightly covered his face and a dark gentleman that stood out among the snow. To protect himself from the cold he wore a thick leather coat. He let out a smile and threw a bag.

The boy grabbed it and looked at its interior out of the corner of his eye, there was a large amount of bills gathered with a rubber band.

"Our business ends here..." said the man turning around. However, he felt a strange sensation in his chest. He looked down.

"Damn... We are not on good terms?" he stammered coughing blood. Behind him was the boy, who stabbed him in the back.

The boy, with a blank look, remained silent.

He clenched his teeth tightly. "Do you think the higher-ups will keep quiet when I'm dead!?" the man exclaimed angrily.

The sword came out of the man's chest. "It's an order from them..." said the boy.

With a mixture of surprise and discouragement on the man's face, he fell to his knees on the ground.

After a couple of seconds of silence, the man began to laugh hysterically.

"...In the end, we are only shadows of the strongest, mere instruments that are used until we wear ourselves out. You, Void, are only a reflection of that invisible disease that consumes you, a piece that is played on the board of those who see us as tools, nothing more. That is the destiny of the one who, like us, will never change."

Without a shred of doubt, Void cut off the man's head.

Void, after remembering that scene, came back from his thoughts. With more anger than before.

'Under Cipher's orders? Crowned Peasant? Piece on a board?' he thought, while clenching his teeth tightly. Void had grown tired of being used throughout his life.

Right now, what immobilized Void the most was not Kaiser's runic ability, but the chains inside him that tightened again.

The young man always sought freedom, to escape the violent life he had, but like that famous phrase...

"He who is weak will never be free."

A sound similar to gears seemed to be heard. In front of Void something similar to broken glass appeared. He did not know what it was, but even so, he fought desperately to reach that broken glass.

His body was immobile, however Void fought with all the strength he had, right now he was desperate to destroy those words that for him were nothing more than mockery.

A weak golden light began to emerge from the broken glass. Void was slowly able to move his fingers.

Every centimeter that he moved his finger, the glass reacted accordingly like a magnet. Bzzz... An electric discharge ended up bringing both of them completely closer.

The glass began to crack more. Crack. Small crystal fragments headed towards Void. Slowly, they began to enter the young man's body, however they did not do any harm, in fact, it was a pleasant and warm sensation.

'What is this?' Void thought confused. The light disappeared and with it, the crystals were completely integrated into his body.

[Runic Skill II: Unlocked]