The Rook, The King, The Bishop, The Queen, and a fantasy. This was how it all started.
***
As an anime enthusiast, Cain always enjoyed attending events held by local anime clubs in his highschool. He enjoyed talking about his favorite anime with his friends and discussing their current seasons.
It was on a cold evening in winter that a special event was organized by a club called 'The Society for the Research of the New Species' which Cain had joined since he entered High School, he had just turned 18.
Just like other clubs in high school, it started and ended up being a fun gathering of friends doing something stupid together while being somewhat serious about the topic at first.
At least it wasn't about some anime or manga, but Cain knew that was where it would end.
As the president of the society, he was expected to be the one doing all the organization, which was a very easy job considering the club only met once per week.
However, every year, they had to submit to the school about the result of their activity.
Cain proposed to the members to gather new species they could think of and compiled it as a research journal. He brought every submitted paper back home and read them before he started writing down his.
However...
"Goblins? Devils? These guys watched too much anime!" He shook his head and laughed, "And this guy... A species that can travel to different worlds, has no fixed appearance, and likes to mess around with humans in different ways like creating a dungeon and laughing with kishi kishi sound... Isn't this a bit too specific?" Cain said to himself.
"Whatever... It was fun and that was what matters."
At that moment, he thought that was all. But, for some reason, with no memories of what happened at all, he lost consciousness and suddenly woke up in a completely different environment...
An isolated space, surrounded by darkness, with only a table in front of him.
Sitting behind that table was a being wearing a strange robe.
The moment Cain laid eyes upon him, a shock went through his body, this feeling was very similar to what a prey would feel in the presence of a predator. The robe's sleeves covered the arms, and the hood only revealed his chin.
There were no other distinguishable features.
"Kishi kishi kishi." A strange laughter echoed.
This being in front of him... is the species from the journal?
Cain was confused. Was it a prank by the other members of the society? Did they drug him or something? Or did he die from suffocating after he fell to the ground from the chair in his room?
Knowing these guys, everything was possible. They might even put drugs in his drink and make him hallucinate to give him the shock of his life. This guy was also really into cosplaying, he had to admit, his cosplay of an original character was perfect.
Cain didn't know if it was the drugs' effect or not, but he was really dizzy, his sight was blurry and he was finding it hard to breathe.
The hooded being stood up and approached him, then said, "Cain Drekun. I am the Bishop. My mission is to test the compatibility between you, Cain, and the capability to become a King, kishi kishi kishi."
"What do you mean?" Cain asked, unable to comprehend what was going on.
"You have been chosen by the System to become the first King in the next few centuries. It means that you, as a King, have the ability to travel through different worlds to create a dungeon." He continued.
"I see... You really went far with this. It's cool. But can I leave now?" Cain asked, but he was met by another creepy laughter.
"Kishi kishi kishi..."
Then the Bishop said, "This is not a prank, Cain. This is real, but if you think this is a joke then it must have failed. What if I do this?"
Suddenly, an oppressive feeling assaulted Cain's entire being, making him unable to breathe, stand or think. His mind blanked out. He couldn't see, couldn't feel anything but pain.
This is... fear?
"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, I shall stop now."
In an instant, all the feeling disappeared, leaving Cain to fall on the ground, his head was spinning and he felt nauseous. He looked at the Bishop, his eyes widened in fear and realization, he understood that it wasn't a prank, and he had to believe everything the hooded figure said was the truth.
"Y-You! You...! What are you?!" He yelled at the Bishop.
"I'm a member of World Management. My duty is... well... Finding Kings for new species." He replied with his emotionless voice, the Bishop continued, "And upon observation, we have decided to appoint you as a new member."
"W-Wait a minute...! What is going on?!"
"Ah, it is understandable for you to panic. But you need to know something first. It's about your fate. As I have stated, my job is to look for compatible hosts. But, in your world, the possibility is extremely low." The Bishop said, his tone becoming a little bit darker, "You, Cain Drekun, are the first candidate that we have. Do your best."
"W-Why me?! And... Wait! You're not answering my question!" Cain protested, but the Bishop didn't care.
"First, I will show you what the future holds if you don't accept the offer, Cain Drekun," the Bishop snapped his fingers.
The darkness in the space dispersed, leaving a window that showed a vision.
It showed a scene where two young boys and two young girls, around the age of 18 to 22 years old were standing. One boy was tall, and had spiky black hair, Cain recognized him to be himself, but an older version. The other boy was of medium height with a slim build, he wore glasses.
One girl had red hair and blue eyes, while the other had long blonde hair with a red ribbon on her head.
These four people were sitting in a room, playing cards. Suddenly, a door opened, and a woman stepped in. She looked crazy and brought a spray can in her hand, with a lighter in another.
She started talking and spraying something from the spray can into the lighter, and then, fire exploded. Cain was confused, he had no idea what the hell was happening. The scene then changed to show him lying dead on the floor. The woman was nowhere to be seen. She was probably killed in the explosion too.
"T-That... is that supposed to be me?"
***
Author note:
Hello, this is the author!
Thank you for reading my story. This is my first fanfic, so I might not be able to deliver a satisfying result, but I am doing my best.
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