It was Riley's turn, and while his choice of moves were limited, a vague endpoint was in sight. But the path was still unclear.
He pushed a pawn forward in the path of Ariel's queen. And out of the knight's protection.
"Your turn, Ariel."
Ariel took a second to look at the board. He hesitated. Something that unsettled himself, but made him more curious than anything.
So he took his time, there was truly no rush to end the game. And if he was honest to himself, he enjoyed the youth's company more than that of the -unknown-.
While looking around the area in more detail, Riley had spotted distant millipedes, rather small in size but enough to climb through the saplings.
Shivers ran down his spine.
'I've never been fond of bugs...let alone the ones with tons of legs.'
Just as he went to inspect the stairs, a cough broke his focus.
"Ah forgive me, my turn yes?"
The demon nodded, slightly irritated that his heir would stand up in the middle of the game.
Ariel had moved his queen, just as he had hoped. There was no counterplay to that, no grand plan to take the queen back. Instead, he simply put him in check using his knight.
The beauty's eyes furrowed.
"Would it be alright to ask you some questions?"
Even though he had just asked one, he wanted to make sure that he wouldn't be beheaded for his insolence. He would certainly lose the match if his head was missing.
Ariel promptly nodded as he moved his king a square over.
"Why is it that hope was imprisoned instead of killed?"
Ariel lifted his head up, utterly confused on why the boy would ask such a question.
"I've pondered a guess in the past. But its not something a feeble mortal mind like yours could understand."
Riley had wondered about it ever since reading those chapters. He understood the intrinsic risks that came with worshiping the demons. But why imprisonment was the option they chose was beyond him.
"Could it be because Sun God felt that he would become despised by Hope's wroshipers?"
Ariel shook his head and smiled.
"The gods are vile Riley. They care not for the lives of those beneath them."
Riley laughed.
"I find it hard to believe that they are heartless. Especially War God who sealed her realm for her people to live outside of the Spell's infection."
It was not that he doubted the Demon of truth, but he didn't believe the gods were pure evil.
Riley pushed up another pawn, which was quickly taken by Ariel's queen. In turn, his knight advance to deliver another pointless check.
Ariel maintained his mask of indifference. He was not threatened by the squealing of an injured rabbit.
"Why is one's existence erased when entering the Hollow Mountain's fog?"
This time it hasn't taken long for Ariel to produce an answer.
"It is the Demon of Oblivion's soul essence. During a spar with Weaver, he was inflicted a wound that caused the fog to grow restless along the peaks."
Riley looked down at his board. Only one piece remained, and sweat had already pooled at the base of his neck. This would be the move that decided everything. And his body froze as Ariel began to speak.
"I appreciate you keeping me entertained. But your talent amounted to nothing in the end. It is my fault for expecting the world from an ant."
Ariel shuffled a knight along, allowing for the queen to come through the next turn and finish the match.
"Ah really? It's funny to me, you gods and demons are focused on winning or losing. But the match is already over."
Ariel furrowed his brows and looked at the board. There was no checkmate, let alone a single check that Riley could make since only his kind remained. And the demon had plenty of pieces to checkmate him with, but that was his downfall.
"Stalemate Ariel."
A deep silence rested on the gazebo. Ariel simply stared in disbelief. In his long stretch of age he had never been so utterly blindsided, especially not by someone whose lifespan would even reach a thousandth of his own.
At last, he smiled, a vein throbbed across his pristine forehead. But he let no anger leak, no dread, and lastly no awe.
"I was bested…by a human no less."
A small chuckle turned into a laugh that shook the very world around them.
"Good. Very good. Inherit my lineage, and bring carnage upon the world."
"So what happens now?"
Ariel smiled, the world turning into a flurry of crimson-winged butterflies. They fluttered toward the sky and plunged the world into primal darkness.
[Wake up Riley, your nightmare is over!]
[Prepare for appraisal...]
His feet touched solid ground again as he stood up from the ground. Riley found himself in the same spot he had passed out in. For a strange reason, he felt no fear. There were no monsters there, he could feel that much.
So, he patiently waited for his information to be processed.
He was a little saddened that there wasn't a chance to fight a creature and gain some memories. But being alive was indeed better than being dead, and he would receive a lineage from Ariel too, so there wasn't much to complain about.
"Ah finally! It's ready, let's see..."
Riley scanned the runes, and a trembling smile carved into his face.
"This could not have gone any better."