|Ch.111

[Luca]

_________

8 Years Later

An unknown city in one of the Eastern Kingdoms where ocean based business was the main money source. Fishing,salt production,pearl production,jewellery production were the main business trends.

A man in a robe with a half face mask got down from a merchant ship. After observing the busy surrounding,the man decided to stop a random merchant before whispering something in his ear before tossing two gold coins. The poor merchant was over the moon that he almost got on his knees to worship this man.

"Follow me my lord!I know where you meant!"

The mysterious man followed the merchant towards the busy streets where various shops were bustling with excitements.

"The place you mentioned is a very famous place in our Kingdom. When foreign mercenaries come to our Kingdom,they never forget to pay a visit to this place",The merchant was very talkative which was good to the mysterious man. He didn't need to go around the bush to gather information.

"...what do you know about the owner of that place?",the man spoke after listening to a lot of nonsense.

The man scratched his head,"Mmm...on one really has seen him in person. Only the richest could meet him. Few years ago,he suddenly appeared out of nowhere,that's what nobles were saying. Oh! By the way,why don't you buy a fancy mask,my lord? The mask represents which party you belong to. It has three levels as third party,second party,and first party. You look like a first party member with a lot of money,you will certainly receive special treatment that way"

"Is that so? Show me the masks first party members wear"

The merchant excitedly showed him a shop which sells masks. He showed a line of masks with various colours. He chose a white full face mask with red diamond shapes filled in.

The third party people had to wear herbivorous animal shapes masks and the middle party people had to wear carnivorous animal face masks. Only the 1st party members had the authority to wear elegant and mysterious masks.

After paying for the mask,the man removed his black cloth around his mouth and raised his hood a little bit to put the mask on his face.

Upon seeing the man's face,the merchant widened his eyes as if he were mesmerised by the handsome face of the stranger. The earrings dangling from his ears,the eye colour,the white locks that peeked from the hood,the jawline,everything was a distant dream for the man. He had never seen such a divine beauty.

"My lord,you got an interesting eye colour"

The stranger looked at him and spoke ignoring his words,"Lead the way"

After walking around,they finally reached the destination. A four story building with a massive board hanging on the front door which said 'Scarlet gem Gambling house'

The stranger smirked under his mask seeing the name. "Scarlet gem,heh"

"The third floor belongs to the first party members"

The stranger entered the Gambling House alone. A hostess came to him with a polite smile,"My lord,your membership card?"

"I do not have one"

The hostess did not lose the smile,"Then you must be new. Are you willing to be a member of the house?"

"Sure,why not"

"The follow me and give me your details to fill the application"

The stranger did everything the hostess asked without hesitation and even paid a hefty sum as the entry fee. Then the hostess leaded him towards the third floor.

The floor was luxurious than the first two floors. Red carpet and curtains,white walls,gold status,everything reeked of money. It showed how much the owner loved having money around them. His wary eyes looked around and saw a lot of rich nobles with masks similar to his. A group of musicians were playing a pleasant music by the side while a dozen of hosts and hostesses served the clients.

"My lord,do you have any specific game you'd like to play?"

"I want to play a game with the owner of this tower",the stranger expressed his intentions bluntly.

The hostess kept her smile,"That would not he possible"

"Why not"

"She does not play with just anyone"

"I am not just anyone. "

"I am sure you are someone important my lord but our Lord does not meet with strangers that easily. He does not like easy plays,he only plays when there is a serious competition. Up until now,no one has ever defeated him in a gambling game"

"Oh trust me I know",the stranger chuckled like it was a fact he was not unfamiliar with. "And I'm sure that no one in this Gambling house even has the ability to defeat the man who learned the gambling from your owner himself"

The hostess was confused a bit but the words slowly hit her,"w –wait wait,did you just say —"

"Yes,I learned gambling from your lord himself",the stranger tossed his newly made membership card to the hostess,"Give this to him,and tell him that I'm willing to play a round"

The hostess hesitated for a moment before finally coming to a decision. "Then,please have a seat and wait till I meet the lord"

The stranger nodded and slumped himself on a side couch. He did not have to wait for a long time,the hostess came running to him with an anxious expression. "I apologise for my behaviour,please head to the fourth floor,our lord is waiting for you"

The stranger got up and headed towards the staircase with a beating heart. He could hear the hostess immediately evacuating  people immediately as if an emergency had occurred. The place became empty when the stranger stepped on the fourth floor.

The floor was even more glamorous than the third floor with a gold coin fountain in the middle. Even the tables were made of gold. Diamond chandelier was on the ceiling.

Behind the fountain of gold was a round table with a man sitting behind it. An empty chair was on the opposite side. The man was wearing a blue coloured long sleeved shirt and baggy pants as if he is ready to go to bed. A long silky pyjama coat was hanging on his shoulders showing the rich culture. A white mask covered his whole face.

He signaled the stranger to take a seat.

When the both of them were seated,they quietly started the game with dices.

The silence continued with only them playing the game before the atmosphere suddenly started getting chilly. The stranger pulled out his sword and stepped on the gambling table,ready to stab the owner. It was as if the owner expected this move as he pulled out two daggers after avoiding the sword attack.

Within a second,the whole room was a mess. The status of gold,coin fountain,curtains,everything were slayed into ruins. The fight was brutal as if they wanted to kill each other.

The stranger's sword slayed down the owner's face mask into two pieces revealing the face. It was not a face of a man but a woman. She smiled coldly before showing away her pyjama coat revealing her curvy upper body.

Scarlet gem? No,the real name is Ruby. A name associated with the colour red,a person associated with people with red eyes.

Her long hair was no more,it was a male hair cut.

The fight lasted another two minutes before the stranger pressing down her to the ground with the sword placed near her neck.

Ruby panted heavily,"That's enough Luca. I'm done"

The stranger threw away his sword and removed his mask revealing his red eyes. His angry and betrayed eyes stared down at the woman. "You bitch",he punched her straight on the face making her bleed.

Ruby coughed a bit,"That hurts bastard!"

Luca gritted his teeth,"Good",he raised his fist again making Ruby close her eyes.

Luca heaved a sigh and lowered his fist before standing up.

Feeling no pain,Ruby opened her eyes and looked at Luca who just plopped down next to the followen coin fountain. She sat up slowly and stared at her friend whom she left behind. She could feel how hurt he is. It was never her intention to hurt him but she had no choice back then.

"How have you been?",Ruby asked after a long silence.

Luca chuckled bitterly hearing the question. How had he been? How? The audacity!

"8 years Ruby,what could possibly happen to me during a mere 8 years?",his tone was sarcastic as if to hide his pain. "One of my best friends became the common enemy of the kingdom while the other left with no words. Meanwhile my sister became a traitor giving no possible reason why. And I finally lost my home. Look how ecstatic I am"....."And I don't even know where is that bastard Jaykar"

The last part sounded like a mere whisper he wished she did not hear.

Ruby stood up and sat next to him,".....why did you come here?"

Luca was gravely offended by the question. How dare she! It took him over 8 years to find a clue about where she is and this was the question she had for him? It hurt! It hurt him!

"You are fucking heartless. Why do you think I came?",He asked in disbelief. Why was he left behind by everyone? Why?

Ruby sighed feeling his hurtful stare.

Luca stood up feeling hopeless. "....it was foolish of me to come here. You and Haz –Na—",he gritted his teeth feeling the name foreign in his tongue,"You and that woman,I wish I never met you two. Heh,to think I had friends"

He turned around and walked towards the door.

Ruby looked at him with soulless eyes,"........you died too"

Luca stiffened and stayed stood still at the door.

Ruby looked away from his figure,"You died nine times Luca. No matter what she did,no matter what she became,no matter how she turned out,you believed in her. And died saving her life. She said "he stayed with me,he left me,he got angry,he cried,he begged,....but no matter what,he ended up sacrificing himself to save me". You were one of the people she wished to save. Including me"

Luca looked back at Ruby with wide empty eyes. "What.....do you mean?"

Ruby,"......"

"Nine.times? What....do you mean by that? Wasn't it one time that she —"

Ruby looked at him with a small smile,"....I wish I was wrong,but no. She regressed nine times",....."If you stayed with her,if you get just one glimpse of her from now on,you'll die. That was your fate"

And there was another truth Ruby did not want to reveal. It was promise she gave to Nabi. She promised not to reveal that his sister Lucy gave up half of her spiritual powers to him so he could live. And she is dying because of it,maybe she is already dead by now. If Luca were to ever find that,he would end his own life himself.

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