"Oh, it's you. . .where'd you come from?"

Claire turned around to see a man within a stand. Specifically, it was the man she and Alicia had met days prior when they tried to enter the city of Aclair without a card.

She smiled, "That's a secret, mister."

A platform of ice formed beneath her and Vander's feet as they rose into the air, much to the surprise of the man.

"This is always a bit frightening. . ."

"Hold on tight."

Ice crawled upon their feet and froze them to the platform, then, Claire willed the construct forward. As she controlled it, their speed was blistering, and they reached the forest ahead of the city in seconds.

'On the other side of the river.'

A minute or two later, Claire spotted a glistening river cutting through the forest which, on the other side, stood a clearing of emerald grass, as if carved out from the world and made its own space.

Slowly descending on the other side of a bridge, she eyed the shaking boy.

"Well, here we are. . ." She said as she walked forward.

Indeed, as expected, there was a monument. It was a simple one, but it was there. A large white rock, carved perfectly rectangular, stood on the ground with a plank of gold upon its surface.

"Before you remains the memorial of Tam, The Lost Village, decreed as a national site — May the souls of the dead Rest In Peace, avenged by the deaths of those beasts which took their lives." Claire read aloud.

And then, following that paragraph, was a list of more than twenty names.

The boy came to her side, silent, and looked down upon the monument. It was clear he already recognized the site from the shaking of his body, and already recognized the truth, but he still looked.

"Mister Adam. . ." A finger touched the first name, and he remembered.

"Misses Coulson. . ."

The memories of his village came rushing back in waves and torrents that caused him to shudder in reality.

"George. . .Sally. . .Rita. . .Brian. . ." Vander cried as he read those names aloud, his voice shook when he reached the last of his returning memories, "Mom."

His fist clutched.

At that moment, Claire chose to wait in silence—watching. Yet, her thought was shattered as a person popped into existence behind them, stepping upon the emerald grass from nowhere.

"Finally, we meet again," A voice called.

She turned around to see a girl the same height as herself. White hair waved with the low wind, and lavender eyes stared at her own crimson. The girl wore shorts of purple and a top dress-shirt of white that reached her thighs.

". . .who are you?" Claire asked.

"Why don't you let him answer?" She replied.

Vander's eyes widened, "I. . .I know you? I thin. . .k. I'm not sure but, you're familiar?"

He placed a hand to his head, rubbing his temple as his figure blinked in and out of the physical realm. One second, he appeared as a normal human male with flesh and blood. The next moment, he was a ghost with eyes of ethereal blue.

The girl smiled.

"Of course you know me. In that rubble of a village, I saved you from death."

Claire watched as the young boy's figure smashed back into human form.

"Y-yes. . .that's right." He nodded, then stared at the girl as he took a step forward. "What are you doing here?"

"I have a proposal for you."

"A proposal?" He took another step forward.

"Follow me and I can show you your village, teeming with life," She smiled.

His body shuddered.

"I'm the one who saved you. I control space and, in conjunction, a bit of time. I dragged your soul from the realm between life and death and sent you into Aclair's dungeon to keep you alive, far into a future for the current me." The girl grinned. "Become my sword, Vander, and I'll take you back to a time when you were perfectly sound by your mother."

"So, you are Bam Veronica? Wielder of the Space Seed?" Claire asked.

"The one and only." There was some pride in that reply, coupled with a cheeky smile.

Claire somewhat admired the girl. She spoke her plans, and her actions, without a shred of doubt or shame. Even while the boy who suffered due to her actions stood in front of her, the girl never allowed her faint smile to diminish. Instead, she wished for him to follow her.

"Why do you want him so badly?" Claire asked, now a bit curious about both the girl and the boy. "At risk of offense, I don't see much worth in him."

That was her honest assessment of Vander Slade. Cruel as it may be, she did not understand. After all, for a hero, his stats were abysmal.

"Oh? You haven't realized his value yet? I'm a bit disappointed, fairy." The girl shook her head then looked to Vander. "Why don't you tell her about your 'Phantom' skill?"

Claire turned to the boy.

His lips shook, but he relented.

"In ghost form, I can negate all physical attacks. In human form, I can negate all magical attacks."

"That's rather overpowered." The ice queen commented.

The wielder of the Space Seed shook her head once more.

"Yes yes, you can thank me later for that addition, but not that, no no, not that, tell her the first paragraph of your text."

Claire raised a brow, 'There's something even more overpowered than that?'

". . .the stronger my opponent, the stronger I become. The more numerous my opponents, the stronger I become."

". . .and I thought I was broken."

Bam Veronica grinned and held out her hand.

"With that settled, take it, Vander, and once this all finishes, I shall return you back to the comfort of your village. Become my sword and you will be rewarded."

"My village. . .?"

He hesitated but still took another step forward until he stood face to face with the girl, looking at her hand.

"Will you really take me back to my village?"

"Of course."

At that moment, Claire tilted her head.

"I'm sorry, but I can't simply stand here and watch you take him, can I? Especially when you sound so villainous, no?"

Not only was the boy clearly not in the right state of mind to be making deals like that. The girl in question, Bam Veronica, had 'planning something nefarious' written all over her. Claire shook her head as a barrage of ice spears spawned at her front.

"Fufufu, you're a bit amusing."

With the chuckle of the girl, a ripple slashed through the air as the surroundings shuddered. Then, a rip in space, purple and cold, teared through the spears until they all shattered.

"I'm sorry. . .Claire. . ."

The Ice Queen widened her eyes and Vander took the girl's hand.

"Don't play with me, fairy, you're just a toy in this game. While I. . ." Bam wagged her finger and her glance trailed up to the sky. She reached a hand up as if she could touch the expansive blue.

"I plan to kill Gods."

She grinned in the face of those who watched.

"Go back to your friend and play your roles correctly."

The two disappeared.

———

Three gods sat upon a couch of white within an endless space of the same color. The blonde-haired Micheal on the left. The old man in the middle. And the fiery red-headed woman to the left.

Micheal smiled, "The chaos of the Guardians we threw in really bares a strong fruit."

His companion, on the other hand, was anything but smiling. ". . .the nerve of that girl, to steal a hero of mine and. . .to stare us down."

"You can't do anything." The angel-pretender took a sip from his wine.

They were already bound by the contract of the game. As soon as it began, the divine will of all three had tied their hands. That was why. . .it was odd how the girl knew to send Vander Slade ten years into the future. She knew just what time to send him to. Into a future where the Gods could no longer affect the progress of the world and its game. A future where they could only watch as she moved to one day slay them.

Micheal silently applauded her but the woman far left of him, Ishtar, shook her head.

"She sacrificed a lot of her power and obtained a broken sword in return," She mouthed, scoffing, clearly still annoyed at the girl's slight.

The old man sighed.

"Broken or not, it is a tool nonetheless. It simply needs repairs and tempering. It may not be the best weapon possible but, as all blades are, a clean stab, no matter how dull, gets the job done."

Micheal nodded, agreeing with him.

"She's rather ingenious. At least much smarter than her previous master. I wonder how long she has planned this."

The game had only just begun and a piece was already wild and loose. Even with the possibility of their death, the Gods merely watched. Without even speaking of the contract that kept them from action, the Guardians were not bound by any system of theirs. As long as that world remained alive, their powers would continue to exist, untamed, Gods or not.

In essence, Bam Veronica made herself invulnerable to their meddling, then picked up a sword good enough to kill them with enough care.

"All she has to do now is have him become the True Hero, hand him a Seed, and he would be on our field," Ishtar muttered, frowning.

The first Hero to complete all chapters of his or her story would devour the powers of the others, becoming a True Hero, and essentially putting themself a half-step into divinity—much the same as a True Demon Lord.

"How exciting," Micheal nodded. "What a dangerous thing we've set."

Heroes and demon lords were pawns. And a fairy a knight. If a Guardian was a bishop, then a True Hero who wielded a Guardian's power stood as a rook, both together brought the best chance to kill the Kings and Queens called Gods; especially a Guardian who controlled space partnered up with a True Hero who stood stronger the stronger his enemies.

"Yet, she doesn't know that Claire is well on her way to own a Seed," The old man smiled.

At least, that was the bullshit this author came up with to sound smarter. No one try and decipher this with real chess strategies, please and thanks.

"And so we continue, watching." Ishtar shrugged.

They never expected a Guardian to not only be haughty enough as to declare their death but to also have knowledge of the game to the date of its inception, but the Gods did not worry. If they did, they would not be capable of being called divine beings.