Legacy of Discord

5 years ago...

Nicol Rever

The cold bite of snow bit into my legs and hands as I fell for what seemed like the fiftieth time today. My knees wobbled from the freezing white powder, and my face cracked against the chill kiss of the wind. I got up again and did my best to wipe the snow off. Shivering violently, I turned and picked up the sword once more. Gripping it as tightly as possible with my shaking hands, I charged once more into an invisible mob of enemies in the frosty white forest.

Hate, love, loyalty, compassion, caring, kindness, betrayal. A flood of emotions threatened to fill me to the breaking point. I gritted my teeth, and my hands tightened around my sword even harder, as if to combat the urge to fall to my knees. I kept swinging, even though my body protested against it. Memories flashed by to the swing of my sword.

Memories of trying out my first generation of the AUCUS, disappearing into the internet world with my two best friends at my side. Experiencing the thrill of something new that can change the world.

Memories of learning virtual combat, training for hours on end, making sure I choose the right profession in this strange new world. Learning the love for swords and magic, learning their weaknesses, and mastering them.

Memories of learning that the two best friends, who were always by my side, have taken a turn for the worst. Learning that they lie and steal to get what they wanted, not caring about what they do, or how it affects people. Knowing that if they continued down this path, they would not be able to come back. Knowing that I would not be able to follow them.

Memories of a flash of black fire, burning my family’s house down. Me running out to the woods away from the fire, looking back and knowing my parents weren’t coming out.

Memories of finding out that my parents were never found after the fire, dead or alive. Me running as fast as I could into the woods. Me huddled in a ball against a tree, watching as a snowflake drifted down and landed on my knee. Watching as tears dripped down my face into my hands.

Memories of knowing I won’t be able to look at the world, or the AUCUS, the same way ever again.

A slight shock went through me, pulling me out of the cascading memories as a sharp pain spread up my arm. I looked down and saw a drop of blood sliding down my hand, staining the pure white snow a deep red. I had accidentally slashed my arm, creating a deep cut. I stared at it, stuck with the memories for a moment, not realizing that I was injured.

I shook myself mentally, and set my sword down. Straightening, I unzipped my thin hoodie I wore and ripped off a piece of my shirt, wrapping it around my wrist. Sighing, I picked up my sword, sheathed it in a swift, precise movement, and went on my way back to my house in the woods. As always, one foot in front of the other.

»»———— - ————««

Same Time...

Leon Devor

I ran through the halls quickly and silently, stopping at every corner to check the halls before moving on. Quickly, quietly, and most importantly, fast. That was the motto for thieves. However, someone was not being so quiet. I stopped at the next hallway and turned to stare at my partner.

She was breathing pretty heavily, and was bent over trying to breath. I narrowed my eyes at her, and scowled, letting her know I didn’t approve of her making any kind of noise. She picked her head up, saw my scowling face, and immediately hung her head again, trying to breathe lighter

It would have to do for now. I turned back to look around the corner, and quickly pulled back. That was the door, alright. But it was guarded by some of the better AUCUS players available. My hand automatically went to the inside of my jacket, touching the tip of a knife hilt.

I clenched my fist and pulled it back out from my jacket. I was going to do this without hurting anyone. Or at least, I would try. I promised Rose that much.

I took a deep breath and smoothed my hair back, trying to smother my nervousness about what I was about to do. I reached into my jacket once more and pulled out two rags.. they were a plain, simple white, which wouldn’t draw attention to them. I stood straighter and peeked around the corner once more.

The guards were still there, one with their arms crossed, and one with their arms at their side. I scanned them up and down to find out that they both carried a gun and a taser. The guard with their arms crossed wouldn’t be able to reach either of their weapons fast enough. That one could be Rose’s to take down. I knew that the one who had his hands at his sides was more quick to react. That guard was tense and ready for anything, obviously trained. Which means that I would take care of that one.

Rose wouldn't be able to handle trained guards.

I gave one of the rags to Rose, and knelt, waiting for the right opportunity to surprise them, when the thought hit me like a knife straight in the side.

What would Nicol think of me doing this?

It came out of nowhere, and had shaken me so hard, I had to place a hand on the wall to balance myself. Why was I even thinking about her? She is irrelevant. She doesn’t matter anymore…

Does she?

I scowled at myself, and clawed down those thoughts. I already had someone take care of her already. At least… That’s what I was told. I rubbed my head to clear my thoughts and gave a signal to Rose to get ready. I felt her straighten behind me, getting ready to run. I quickly looked one last time at the guards, right as the one with their arms crossed turned away from them.

I waved my hand forward and then ran silently and swiftly toward the guard with the tense, hanging arms. I wrapped one arm around his neck and the other hand expertly placed the rag over his mouth and nose. I saw Rose doing the same with the other guard. Good. Now it’s just waiting.

After a few minutes of them struggling silently, I let my guard drop to the floor with a soft thump. After Rose did the same, I swiftly checked both guards’ pockets for what I needed. I held up an ID card with a sinister smile and a gleam in my eye. Rose didn’t look too happy at my expression, but whatever. I didn’t care.

I swiped the ID card over the scanner on the door. It blinked green and opened for us, revealing the treasure inside. Boxes and tech parts were scattered all over the floor. I waved to Rose to start searching the piles until we found what I came for.

Then I could be the ruler of the most powerful tech in the world. Right?

»»———— - ————««

Same Time…

Rose Kirara

I gripped the rag as my hand shook. I was definitely not trained for this. I usually ride a large wolf into battle, but apparently I wasn’t allowed to ride anything in these dark depressing halls. And we weren’t allowed to use the AUCUS either. Which made everything worse, as all of my equipment was in there, and I was left bare with only my clothes and a knife.

I looked up and saw that Leon was getting ready to give the hand signal. I tensed up and stood straighter, waiting for him to wave his hand forward. I ran my hand through my hair once, to try and calm my nerves.

Deep breaths Rose. You got this. Leon believes in you.

All too soon, he swept his hand through the air and we were running toward the guards. He signaled that I had the one with their arms crossed, which was fine with me. I not-so-gracefully put one arm around the guards neck, and my other hand went over his mouth and nose with the rag. I looked up to see that Leon had his guard already limp in his arms. I struggled for a moment as my guard tried to get away.

After they stopped moving for a few minutes, we let them drop to the floor. Leon was immediately searching through their pockets and coats for a key card to the door. When he finally found it, he looked straight at me and a sinister smile spread on his face. I shivered as I looked straight into that gleam in his eye that meant certain trouble, for our enemies, mostly.

What about Nicol? What would she think about this version of Leon?

That thought seemed to materialize out of nowhere, and I was left with memories of the three of us happily playing together in the virtual, and real world. I shook my head, and was momentarily glad that Leon’s back was turned, trying to open the door. I didn’t want him to know what just went through my head. What if he had those thoughts too?

I sighed and walked to Leon, who had just opened the door. It looked like someone had just thrown a bunch of failed tech in here. We started rummaging through the boxes, looking for a certain piece of the AUCUS that we could use, to make it ours. We would be in charge of the most powerful, most important piece of tech in history.

I finally came across a bent up, out of shape box in the corner. I opened it up and right away, a piece of paper stood out from the tech. I picked it up and read it to myself.

Dear Nicol,

If you ever grow up to be like your father,

To be a tech genius,

This is the first experiment with the AUCUS. It stands for Automatic User Calibration Upload Software.

We couldn’t come up with a better name… you can change it if you want. Or leave it. It’s fine with whatever you choose.

We love you.

I couldn’t decide if I wanted to be disgusted at the note, or happy that I found the tech. Either way, I crumpled the note and shoved it into one of my pockets for now. I lifted the box carefully, and brought it out into the middle of the room. Leon looked relieved, happy, upset, and worried all at the same time. What was going on in his head? I shrugged. It didn’t matter anymore. We had the tech. Now we can have the AUCUS.

»»———— - ————««

6 Years Ago…

Saiza

I had one job. That’s it. Kill her, and her parents, and then I could go with my money. Not that hard right? Well… apparently not. My boss wanted it to be inconspicuous, but I have no way of doing that. I looked at the house, and again, I saw all of the detection problems I would have to go through, and all of the guards in the house as well, if I were to kill them.

So instead, I would do it my way.

I sighed again, and swiped down with my hand in the air. A mini neon blue screen came up, and I went into my inventory, finding my black suite I used for these kinds of jobs, and tapped on the picture once. A small sphere appeared in my hand, which morphed into my suit. I put it on as thoughts about how I was going to do this swirled around in my head. As much as my boss wanted them dead, I was just going to have to take them alive for now. At least it was night, making my job easier.

I jumped down from my tree and crept closer to the house, trying to find the perfect spot to set the fire. I walked slowly, crouching behind bushes, and doing my best to duck between trees and shadows. I came across a perfect little clearing right in front of the house. I checked the clearing for any traps, or anything that could disrupt my work.

I faced the house and walked to the far edge of the clearing, away from the house. I crouched, then sprinted toward the tree I wanted, jumping and catching the first branch. After that, it was easy work climbing to the uppermost branches that held my weight. I breathed deeply, smelling that cool night air that was about to be tainted with the smell of burnt leaves and wood.

I held out my arm, palm upward, and willed fire to gather at my palm. I double checked the wind direction, and after I was sure it was blowing towards the house, I threw the ball of fire at the house, black fire suddenly shooting out toward it. The house instantly caught fire, and I saw the parents run out of the house only a minute later. The child was nowhere to be seen. She must be dead already, or burning alive at least.

I shrugged and pulled out a tranquilizer gun. A dead target only makes my job easier. Aiming at the parents, I put them to sleep easily with my impeccable aim. I jumped down and pulled them up over my shoulders and swiftly carried them away. There was no way I was going to take these people to my boss. Not after he told me to kill them. I had no problem lying, but if he finds out about this… I shook my head and set them in my car, which was, of course, black. I sighed and drove back to my hideaway. After all, no one can find out. I cover my tracks too well.

At least, that’s what I hoped. There had been a few times where I was almost caught, mostly because I was careless, and forgot to properly pick up after myself. But this time was different. No one saw me start that fire, and everyone who didn’t get out of that house died. The only people I saw come out were the parents anyway. Everyone else was dead. Ashes in the wind.

I shook my head to clear it and focused on the road ahead. I didn’t look back. I knew that behind me was only black fire embers trying to survive on the ashes of a burned house.