Chapter 17: Dice of Fate
The wasteland's ruins rose like shattered bones, their concrete husks scarred by meteor impacts, the air thick with glowing ash that burned Kirito's throat with every breath. His phone vibrated against his thigh, a frantic pulse that felt like a caged animal clawing to escape. Sweat beaded on his brow, his heart hammering as he scanned the derelict arena, its vastness swallowing their small group. Usagi's boots crunched behind him, a sharp, deliberate rhythm, her scar catching the faint magenta glow of a neon 4♠ sign.
"Another day, another death trap. Just a game, Kirito. A game that'll kill you if you sneeze wrong," he thought, his sarcasm a shaky bulwark against the fear coiling in his gut.
[SYSTEM: HOST STATUS.]
[STRENGTH: 8. AGILITY: 15. STAMINA: 7. SYSTEM POINTS (SP): 760.]
Arisu veered to the side, his charcoal-smudged fingers sketching the arena's layout on a tattered scrap of paper, his eyes narrowed in weary concentration, the weight of past games etching lines around them. Kuina trailed behind, her cigarette's glowing tip tracing a slow arc in the fading light, her cautious grin a quiet defiance against the oppressive silence. A half-collapsed dome loomed ahead, its shadow cradling a circular pit where three six-sided dice lay, their surfaces glinting like polished bone under the neon's pulse.
A cold, echoing voice sliced through the quiet. "Welcome, players. The gamble of the universe awaits."
[SYSTEM: WATCHMAN ECHO DETECTED. GAME: DICE OF FATE. RISK ASSESSMENT: HIGH.]
The Watchman Echo materialized from the shadows, a tall, androgynous figure draped in shimmering robes that warped the neon light, as if bending reality itself. Its silver eyes gleamed, cold and unyielding, sending a shiver through Kirito's spine. Its presence was a weight, pressing against his chest, the air growing heavier with each step it took.
"He's not a player," Usagi whispered, her boots kicking up ash as she edged closer, her machete's grip tight in her calloused hand, her scar pulsing faintly.
Kirito forced a cocky grin, his voice light despite the dread. "Just a drama queen with a glow-up. Don't sweat it, Usagi. I've got charm for days."
[SYSTEM: QUERY: INITIATE 'DICE REROLL' (COST: 50 SP)?]
"Set the bar high. Mess with its head," he thought, his fingers grazing his phone.
[SYSTEM: DICE REROLL READY. AWAITING HOST ACTION.]
"I'll go first," Kirito said, striding to the pit. The dice clacked in his hand, their weight heavy with consequence, the sound sharp in the silent arena. He rolled—a 2, 3, and 1. A pitiful six.
"Predictable," the Watchman purred, its voice echoing from every direction, a disorienting chorus. "Your fate is a low number, child."
Kirito's grin tightened, his teeth gritted as he fought the urge to flinch. "Classic Kirito luck. Good thing I've got a backup."
[SYSTEM: DICE REROLL ACTIVE. COST: 50 SP. TOTAL: 710.]
He rolled again, his smile a high-stakes mask. A 6, 6, and 5—seventeen. "Luck's relative, shadow man."
[SYSTEM: ROLL SUCCESS. ODDS: 80% WIN. WATCHMAN'S TAUNT: 'BAD LUCK, HERO? DELAYING THE INEVITABLE.']
The Watchman glided forward, its robes billowing like liquid shadow, tossing the dice with a theatrical flourish. Two landed on sixes, but the third spun wildly, teetering before settling on a 1—thirteen. Kirito's seventeen held. "Nice try," he said, his voice sharp with defiance.
The dice vibrated, the ash swirling into suffocating vortices that snared Arisu's ankle. He gasped, stumbling, his sketchpad slipping from his hands. "Arisu!" Usagi shouted, lunging to yank him free, her boots sliding on the slick dust.
"It's rigged!" Arisu cried, his eyes wide with frantic realization. "The ash slows the dice when the Watchman rolls. It's manipulating the frequency!"
[SYSTEM: LOGIC VALIDATED. ARISU'S INGENUITY DETECTS PATTERN. SP GAIN: +25 SP. TOTAL: 735.]
Kirito seized the moment, scooping the dice and rolling before the ash could settle—a perfect 6, 6, 6. Eighteen. The Watchman's robes flared, its silver eyes narrowing in silent fury. "Impossible."
The dice vanished, the 4♠ sign winking out, the air stilling.
[SYSTEM: 4♠ VICTORY. VISAS EXTENDED: +4 DAYS. SP GAIN: +150 SP. TOTAL: 885.]
"We won," Kuina said, her grin flashing as she relaxed her stance, ash dusting her jacket.
Relief crashed over them, their resolve hardening like steel. They fled the pit, the ash settling behind them as they reached the open wasteland, the stars' faint light a balm on their skin. Kirito leaned against a slab of concrete, his phone's glow hidden as he caught his breath. Usagi sat beside him, her breath sharp, her visa wristband ticking softly, her machete across her lap.
"It knew us," Usagi said, her voice low, her scar pulsing faintly. "It saw our fear, played it like a card."
Kuina exhaled smoke, her voice steady. "It's a Shadow, messing with our heads. But Arisu outsmarted it."
Arisu's sketchpad showed a swirling funnel, his hands trembling as he traced it. "It's a vortex trap, tied to the Borderland's collapse. It could drag us out of reality itself."
"Vortex traps eating reality? That's new," Kirito thought, his stomach twisting with unease.
"We'll outsmart it," Arisu said, his voice tight with manic resolve. "It plays chance. We play logic."
Kuina clapped his shoulder, her warmth cutting through the chill. "You're the brain, Arisu. Kirito's luck, Usagi's legs, I'm the muscle. We're tougher than any Shadow."
They shared a stale can of beans, the metallic taste grounding them, a fleeting anchor in the wasteland's vastness. The dawn's glow warmed their faces, a faint hope in the ruins. Kirito's phone projected a map of the vortex traps, their patterns glowing faintly.
[SYSTEM: PUZZLE INITIATED. COST: 0 SP. OBJECTIVE: MAP WATCHMAN'S PATTERNS.]
"The vortex is environmental, not magic," Kirito said, pointing to the map. "We counter the terrain, not the dice."
Arisu nodded, his fear easing into focus. "If we get caught, we're gone. We need to find its source."
[SYSTEM: PUZZLE COMPLETE. WATCHMAN'S VORTEX MAPPED. SP GAIN: +50 SP. TOTAL: 935.]
Kirito's quip sparked defiance, his grin bold. "We'll roll over fate before it rolls us. Let's hunt this Shadow down."
Their footsteps crunched deeper into the ruins, the neon's fading pulse a call to their next challenge, their unity a shield against the unknown.
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