Part 1:Chapter 1
———————No Point Of View———————
A bustling metropolis city reigned over countless peoples heads, the glow of the neon lights blinding their feeble gazes. Drops of dried rain, oil and whatever nasty liquid dripped from the windows, flowing from the high houses to the low underground. People wobbled, people walked, people ran, all different movements through this horrid land.
As streams of dry, thin, near lifeless people walked through the streets, a single building lit up the sight of every person in the vicinity. A large building with a golden beaming sign spelling its name out, the building itself was run down and had streaks of mold and dried oil across the tops, signs and walls.
The building was a casino, blasting music for all nearby to hear, the spoils of their exploits on full display for anyone nearby, taunting them to enter. Many could see several blue lanky humanoid people being carried out a back door and thrown into the alleyway, their chest coated with deep green blood.
This single-handedly pushed most away from entering…Keyword, most. A man in a dark hoodie stood infront of the building, his eyes glued to the ground as his hands tore into the fabric on the inside of his pockets. Underneath his hood was a grey Ushanka, His eyes were a light red colour with clear skin and next to no tan.
His breaths were a soft stream, his eyes sleepy and unfocused, his covered brown hair not getting even a scent of oxygen. He took a deep breath as his head raised, his crimson pupils gleaming in the moonlight, with waves of air swirling in his lungs.
The man walked towards the building, though the moment he reached the entrance he turned to the side. His hands gripping the inside of his pockets in a relaxed manor, his eyes having a dull tone to them.
He allowed himself to hop slightly with each step, an alleyway off to the side of the building approaching at a swift pace. The blinding lights echoing from the inside blared towards his pale cheek, flashing in his lifeless pupils.
His leather boots squeaked as he made a sharp turn into the alleyway, calmly walking past the deceased creature recently thrown out, its green blood tainting the soaked black concrete. Out of the darkness of night came a wobbling man, his eyes crooked as he mumbled to himself incoherently.
The man glanced at the clearly drunk man in disdain, though the drunk man noticed this and took a step infront of the other man. His teeth gritted as he looked the man up and down, looking to see if he had any valuables on him, his drunk gaze uncared for by the man in the Ushanka.
The man calmly stated "I apologise for getting into you way, please allow me to pass" His crimson gaze slowly lowering as he finished.
The drunk man mumbled in confusion before stating in anger "А? Ад? You serious kid? You think I'm just gonna let you pass…Nah give me an incentive" His fingers rubbed together in a greedily grind.
The man took a step to the side of the drunk man, attempting to pass him, though an arm thrust in his direction stopped him in place. The man slowly opened his eyes as he stared daggers into the drunk man, who was too intoxicated to realise his danger.
He angrily stated "You hear me? сволочь!" He looked at the man in annoyance, his hands gripping the man's jacket tightly.
In a swift swing the man's hand slammed into the face of the drunken man, his head swinging into a nearby wall and painting it with a dark red splatter. The man held his hand up for a few moments, his clenched backhand on full display.
He soon walked past the now deceased body, his eyes having no remorse or care for the life he just took. The thick liquid dripped off his wrist as he swung it carelessly, approaching the door on the side of the building with one hand in a pocket and the other on full display.
He reached to the handle before giving it a firm pull, taking a few steps inside as he let the door pull itself closed. He glanced around the dark room fora few moments before his eyes caught a glimpse of light in the darkness, a beam of brightness pushing out from under a door.
His eyes squinted as he slowly approached the entrance, the strong wooden door open just a pinch for him to push it open. He reached his clean hand out in slight concern, though it was soon swallowed up by the fact he was too far now.
He tentatively gripped the cold steel handle of the hardened design, its hinges rattling as he gave it a firm twist, pulling it towards his torso as he took a step forward. His breaths swirled in his lungs as he stared through the doorway, his fingers trembling with anticipation.
The sound of chatter died down as his gaze was caught by several men sat around a table, a poker deck lined across the wooden design. A single man sat at the head of the table, his elbows perched as his fingers interlocked as he stared at the man with a serious gaze.
Silence filled the room for a few moments, the man sighed as he took a few heavy steps forward, his boots slamming against the hard concrete tiles. He stopped just a step from the table, his eyes scanning the room at an incredible speed.
The man at the head of the table stated in a deep tone "You got business here kid?" His eyes slightly squinted.
The man stayed silent for a few moments before responding "Allow me to join you" His eyes calmly stared him in his pupils.
Silence once again erupted, the man catching sight of a bouncer leaning on the wall, a black cigar being drained between his lips. His eyes had a cold glare, his arms crossed and a pair of dark sunglasses layed on his face, his skin no darker than the glasses.
The man at the head of the table stared at the other man with a serious expression for a few moments, though soon he smirked and chuckled under his breath. His face rested on his knuckle as he stared at the other man in interest.
He waved his hand as he asked "Ya got anything to bring to the table?" His teeth beginning to show as he smiled.
The man reached behind his back before dunking a bag of tokens on the table, baffling the others including even the bouncer who looked a bit surprised. Though the man at the head just smirked more as he glanced at the other man.
His held his hand out in a presenting way as he stated "We've got a seat for you right here, as a matter of fact, we were just about to begin another round" He chuckled as he finished.
The man glanced to his side which had an empty seat, reaching out and pulling it out from under the table, his eyes catching a small blood splatter on the arm, though he paid no mind. He allowed himself to land onto the seat, pulling into the table alongside the others.
The bouncer grabbed the cards and began to shuffle them with pin point accuracy, changing the order with incredible speed. His leaned into the man at the head of the tables ear, whispering while still shuffling, the man nodded as he seriously looked at the other man.
He calmly asked "Say kid, what's your name?" His piercing gaze staring into the crimson pupils of the other man.
He simply pushed some of his chips out of the way before calmly responding "Vladimir, I don't know my last name"
The man looked at him surprise before confidently stating "Well Vladimir Nikito, hope you can challenge us" He chuckled softly under his breath.
Vladimir looked at him in surprise, glancing at the bouncer who was still shuffling the cards before responding "Nikito?" His eyes slightly squinted as he asked.
The man laughed as he answered "That's what we call all our comrades here who don't know their last name, it's more common than you think, take me and the big here for example" He pointed his thumb at the bouncer who still stared at Vladimir.
Vladimir looked at them with a serious expression, though soon is was replaced with a sigh as the bouncer clapped his hands together, signifying he was finished. In what was like a second the bouncer dished out all the cards and had placed the ones on the table.
Vladimir swiftly glanced at his hand, his eyes squinting slightly, the other four had also had differing expression at their decks. Vladimir glanced at one guy who grasped his cards with a terrified expression. His breaths heavy as it came to his turn, the bouncer moved to turn over the first card, an ace of spades.
The man nervously glanced at the man at the head, before slowly placing his cards down face up. Wincing under his breath as the man at the head looked at him disappointedly. The bouncer shaking his head disapprovingly at him.
Next was Carey who simply added a red chip to the pot, the next player doing the same, the next placed a second red chip alongside the main one. Vladimir looked at them with a bored expression as he placed two blue on the pot.
Carey looked in surprise as Vladimir gripped his cards tightly, he could tell his deck wasn't that bad. The bouncer calmly lifted the next card, a five of hearts. Carey smirked as he placed a blue token, rubbing his fingers together as he stared at Vladimir expectantly.
The next man also did it though with a bit of concern, the next following with Vladimir doing the same. The next card was turned, a diamond ace, the table had a nervous vibe to it. The bouncer glancing across the table with a discerning gaze.
The next turn went by swiftly, the fourth card being placed, revealing itself as a queen of spades. The two others looked on nervously while the man looked at Vladimir with a smirk, who just returned a bored expression.
The man happily proposed "What do you say we have a little bet?" He spun several chips between his fingers.
Vladimir calmly responded "Go on" His eyebrows raising hinted at him being interested.
The man smirked more as he responded "If you win this, you get…Let's say six grand?..But if you lose…" He paused for a moment, looking Vladimir in the eyes.
Vladimir calmly responded "-You want my neck flesh…" His eyes barely made the effort to look him in the eyes.
The man's eyes widened slightly in shock, though Vladimir barely payed attention to his shock. His fingers leaving an indent from how tightly he was grasping the dual cards, his foot tapping impatiently.
The man squinted slightly as his hand rested on the table just before Vladimirs face, calmly asking "Mind explaining how you know that?" He spun a skull pointed pen between his fingers as his eyes squinted.
Vladimir barely looked at him "Everybody knows you Cannibal Carrey, you're a high ruler of the underground" The cards twirled in his grasp.
Carey looked him in the eyes for a few moments, his red gaze piercing the uncaring pupils of Vladimir. Suddenly the room was filled with the sound of a boisterous laugh echoing from the depths of Carey's lungs. Even his workers were dazed from the volume.
Carey loudly stated "I like ya kid, you've got some real confidence behind you" He let off a toothy grin as he looked at Vladimir.
Vladimir stayed silent for a few more moments before saying "Are you going to make your turn?" His eyes slowly raised to face Carey.
He sighed as he placed his cards face down, giving an annoyed grumble "Yea yea, I'll admit it, you've got me, I can tell you've got something up your sleeve" His eyes slightly squinted as their gazes locked.
Vladimir gently closed his eyes as he shrugged, slowly turning his head to another worker who had a concerned expression while grasping his cards in an iron grip. He glanced from his deck back to Vladimir, his teeth gritted sharply.
He sighed deeply as he reached down to his chips, pulling out a black one as he steadily planted it onto the pile. He gave Vladimir a side eye who just shrugged as he looked back at his deck, its paper blocking his gaze onto the pot.
He calmly reached down and withdrew a black chip, swinging it between his fingers as he raised it in front of himself. Its dark exterior visible by all as a finger pressed on seemingly the back of the void-like coin.
He firmly swiped with his other finger, pulling two black chips and two green ones hidden by the dark chips back. The table looked at him shock as he reached to the pot and planted his tokens down, sighing deeply as he gave a simple glance at the next player.
The next winced as he glanced at Carey, who faced him with a surprised expression, though it soon turned to a sigh as he turned away. The man nervously placed his cards face up on the table, a five and an eight, a high card.
Carey shrugged as the next player also folded, sharing the same nervous vibe as the first, both their gazes locked onto Carey. He went ahead and placed double the tokens Vladimir had done, his attention focused on the play of his adversary.
Vladimir shrugged as he once again doubled the count, placing several more black tokens into the pot. His eyes closed for a moment as his squishy cheek lowered to press against his soft pale knuckle, though immediately afterwards his eyes reopened.
Carey nodded to him, before swiftly turning over the final card, an ace of clubs, his smirk slowly fading as he began to look more thoughtfully at his deck. Vladimir meanwhile never betrayed any change in emotion, his dull expression still like a piercing blade.
Carey gripped his cards in an iron grip, a straight flush, while good, it was clear Vladimir had something greater. Just a moment later Vladimir reached to his tokens and pulled several more black ones out before placing them onto the pot.
The four others stared at Vladimir in awe, though Carey only held a sense of fear for what was planned. Though just a moment later he gave out a deep sigh, reaching his deck to the table before placing it face up.
Vladimir looked at him with a hint of surprise, his cards wiggling in his grip, his eyes squinted as he glanced from his deck back at Carey. Their dual serious expressions like knives piercing the skulls of one another. The tension in the room was like a thousand tons of gravity on the others as they awaited Vladimirs move.