"I shall know soon."
The Pale Lady's expression returned to normal, finding it unnecessary to show her true self. Instead, she simply stared at Noah, then lowered her eyes back to the Deck of Providence.
Cards flowed out of the deck and positioned themselves on either side of the table. The number was seven each.
Each card was unique, having a very specific shape and color surrounding it. After all the cards were out, hovering in the air, the deck itself transformed into a chessboard.
The cards glowed brightly, flew toward the chessboard, and settled there. When the glow subsided, Noah and Pale watched as, instead of cards, there were now miniature beings standing on the chessboard. For Noah, their skin was crimson-gold; pale for Pale.
The two watched their pawns with great interest, until the voice of Providence rang around them, making them focus on her words.
<Before starting the game, everything shall be explained to guarantee a fair game.>
At that,
"You are confident, aren't you?" Pale said, a cold grin on her face. "You took the risk of knowing nothing about your game just to ensure you take everything from your opponent."
Noah shrugged. "I am greedy."
"And a fool." Pale added.
"A fool who can fool a Queen, is he still a fool?"
"You have fooled no one."
Whatever retort Noah wanted to give was swallowed back as Providence's annoyed voice crashed down around them once more. <Each of you has seven cards, which have now transformed into seven pawns. Each of them has a unique position, and you would be wise to listen carefully.>
They did.
<You have a King, a Queen, a Knight, a Priest, a Herald, a Soldier, and finally a Historian.>
Whenever Providence said a name, the corresponding pawn of each glowed as if to announce its presence. It wasn't needed.
Noah watched his own pawns, seeing the King and the Queen with their crowns and luxurious robes. The Knight held a sword and full plate armor, his face clearly solemn and serious.
He stood rather close to the Queen.
The Priest stood in the middle, with a veiled robe and a book in his hand.
There was the Herald, with a big, wide lunatic smile and eyes dripping with murderous lust. He stood at the very front, on the right, of the seven pawns.
Noah almost missed the Soldier, for his appearance was so
unremarkable he would have passed as squalid decoration and Noah would have believed it.
The Soldier stood in ruined leather armor, his face weary and hardened by countless hardships and unending visions of war. He stood just behind the Priest.
Finally, there was the Historian, who was sitting at a table with a book and a pen, scribing. The King was the closest to him, but he was rather far away from the others.
All of this registered inside the minds of both Noah and Pale, their thoughts already putting the dots together.
Providence continued,
<Each pawn has a role, and their death holds consequences. They are linked in some way, and you would be wise to discover how. But there is one death you would likely wish to avoid, and it is the death of the King. Its death can either cause instant loss or permanent weakening to the six remaining pawns.>
<Now, to win, it must already be obvious, but you just need to kill or make the pawns of your opponent abandon.>
Pale nodded, while Noah wondered why he had allowed the Blessing to make it a game and not anything else.
Things were getting rather complicated.
Even Providence, judge of the game, was getting worried as she read the rules. She was acting all-knowing, but even she didn't know anything beyond what she was meant to say.
"How do we control the pawns?" Pale asked, her voice dripping with confidence that somehow irritated Noah.
<By your Will.>
"And how do we decide who plays first?" She asked once more.
<Once all players are ready, a coin shall be flipped.>
Pale then looked at Noah, smiling.
"Son of Heretic, I no longer recall The Interpreters' eyes being on me
the last time I was amused or entertained this much." She said. "This
game looks interesting. And I shall let you choose your fate once all of
this is over."
"What are the options?"
"Either be my nourishment or my slave."
"No third option?"
"None."
"Strict in business, I see. I decline the offer, then."
Pale's cold smile didn't waver. "Are you ready to play your own game
now?"
Noah returned the smile. "Don't be so eager to lose."
Next, he closed his eyes as Pale laughed. Suddenly, she seemed very
much happy with this situation.
That realization made Noah even more nervous. He sighed and
recalled all the rules and information of the game.
'So I use my Will to control my seven pawns in a way to win. Either by
killing all of them or by making them abandon!
Noah was no fool, and he realized that this game was more about
knowing who to kill and what to do to make the opponent abandon
more easily and faster.
Knowing that, the Prince exhaled before snapping his eyes wide open.
'Now, Noah, you reap what you sow!
He smiled falsely.
"I am ready. Let's begin."
"Took you long enough." "You have become quite talkative. Can you stay silent?"
"Your annoying mouth shall be the first thing I will destroy, Son of
Heretic."
"You stole the words out-!"
<Let's begin.>
Noah rolled his eyes, annoyed at Providence interrupting his speech.
The voice of Providence was accompanied by the appearance of a golden coin in the middle of the two players.
Each face of the coin bore the image of Pale and Noah.
Without any warning, the coin flipped into the air, rolled again and
again into itself until it reached its highest point, before falling down. Embarrassingly, Noah was anxious enough, wishing to be the one to start. He would certainly have a good advantage in that case. However, it seemed his own game didn't favor him, for the coin fell in
favor of Pale.
Noah's right eye twitched at the deep, mocking face of Pale. For a
moment, he wished for nothing more than to lean over and slap the
shit out of her.
Surely, with her body looking like a goddamn stick, he could break her
like a twig from a branch easily.
But Noah did nothing of the sort, and watched with a suddenly dry
throat as slowly...
<GAME! START!>
...Pale laughed like a child playing for the first time and made her first
move.
And unfortunately for Noah, she did not play like one.
-End of Chapter 489-