People nowadays cherish their massiahs, objects, people, etctera, but there are people out there who make up their own idea, their own ideal and their own religion, to an extent. That is what it has come to.

In the centre of Ronica, the city they all lived in, lied a tree. A tree with roots going so deep, people for years on end have been unable to reach the end of them. Of course, if it was just a tree, it would mean nothing more than, ''It's just an inconvenience'' or the likes, but there was something unique about it, something incredible; it granted them all the pleasures they enjoy now: food, water, resources of all kinds, including even magic!

There was, of course, conflict. Everything prosperous comes with a grain of salt, doesn't it? Decades ago, people would fight over it, steal for it, kill for it, and even commit massacres for it. Therefore, leaders at the time started a pact, quickly applying it for all the people to follow.

Due to inconveniences and decrease of life in the city, it was decided that competitions should be held every year on the exact date of the Tree's prosper; the day it lays its treasure for people to take. Peace rose quickly, people were happy and the Ronica was growing more and more, until the 94th annual date...

In the enormous gallery the tree was held in, built around the tree itself, it was emitting a strong shine, like the past 93 years. Of course, guards were waiting outside the room itself, protecting from outsiders who would try to break into the gallery. It had come as a surprise to them that for a long 3 years no one had attempted to break the article set by the higher-ups; their religion was being respected.

Inside the gallery, however, cracking could be heard, the inner wall in the back slowly beginning to break, the cracks getting larger and the hitting sound growing louder and louder...until the wall broke, opening a little hole, a small entrance from which a short hooded figure emerged, placing the rugged metalic tool he was holding inside the hole, sighing in exhaustion as he stepped out of it with a small furry leg.

The figure slowly sprinted, slowly and carefully observing the tree from all sides, suddenly stopping. ''Seems like Rosa's estimation was inaccurate, as alwasy,'' it thought as it realised the tree hasn't come close to its full bloom yet. It grunted, taking out a small tome from the backpack he was carrying on the side. Flipping through its pages, it parted its lips, ''Memento mori: article 4. Connect,'' it whispered, watching as the tome began to shine brightly.

''Clous? It's not part of the plan to call now, did something happen?!'' a male voice nervously came from the small book, frustrating the small creature. ''Of course nothing happened. Rosa messed up the schedule again; the tree's not at its final stage,'' it responded in a grumpy voice, causing the man to gasp. ''Shit... Would it be a problem to remain at the location until it blooms?'' Clous placed his hand on his cheek, scratching it in annoyance. ''That'd be threading the needle a little, but if i'm agreeing on sitting on my ass or hours, i'm getting Rosa's share, too.'' Clous demanded as he closed the tome, hearing a loud, ''Come again?!'' before fully closing it.

It had happened a year ago, on this exact day. It was supposed to be equal for all, according to the creators of the article, but some people found out the harsh way that some people aren't respected on the same level as others. Clous took his hood dowm, revealing a fox's head as he sat down, leaning on the tree's roots, beginning to wait. If all people got the same, fair treatment, the world as it is wouldn't exist. It creates alliances and rivalries that change can change the world for h better. Easy to say, people rise when met with an unfair fate.

Clous began snapping his fingers, gently whistling in a specific rhythm, pulling out a small box from the bag with his other hand. Opening the box, he took out a cigarette, as well as a ligher, putting it in his mouth and beginning to do what he liked to call, ''his own kind of relaxation''. The time began to pass, the seconds, minutes ticking by, until an hour approached, along with the end of Clous' 9th or so cigarette. ''Ah, would a bit of spoke cause the tree to rot?'' is what he thought, but ultimately he ignored his worries.

He eventually stood up, stretching his arms and legs as he did. According to his research and knowledge, the treasure would be delivered, then close to half a day later, they would hold their competition; he was walking on a tight rope, fully aware of it. Well, he didn't really worry about it anymore, did he? He had enough as it is, so what would imprisonment or enslavement be for him at that point?

A smile slowly emerged on his face as he circled around the tree, standing in front of it, the door to the room behind him. ''If Rosa got the actual timing of the treasure dropping itself wrong, i'd have to take all of her paycheck...'' he thought to himself, slightly lightening his mood, mixing it with his grumpy attitude. He stood there, waiting with his tome in his hand, fully prepared. The seconds passed by, with him carefully counting them, trying to find the perfect window of oppertunity as he waited.

Coming as a surprise, the tree's shine became larger suddenly, enveloping a majority of the room and causing for Clous to put his hood back on to protect his eyes. The light went through even the door to the room, giving the guards their alarm that the tree had been ready to give them their oh-so loved treasure, but they had to wait until it fully dropped doow; the door was to not be opened until the shine had disappeared.

Clous peeked from under the hood, watching a bubble begin to form from the end of one of the tree's biggest branches, letting Clous know that it was of the highest rarity, leaving him smiling ear to ear as the bubble formed fully, detaching from the tree's branch, beginning to float down to the ground. Unfortunately for him, Clous' limbs weren't long enough to reach out for it, requiring him to wait patiently for it to reach the ground, shaking his hands in excitement, as well as his little feet. ''It's my turn,'' was the only thing going through his head as the bubble reached the ground.

Thoughts began running through Clous' head, to the point where he had forgotten his goal for a second, unable to regain his composure, ''Gold, clothes, weapons, a new style of magic,'' what could it have been? Clous stepped forward, keeping his head down, still, protecting himself from the beautiful yet blinding light. He stepped in front of the small bubble, poking it with his nail and causing it to pop in an instant in front of him, petrifying him completely as the light began diminishing slowly.

His eyes open as wide as window, he couldn't believe his eyes; the so-called treasure the tree had blesed the world with this year...a small, frail boy, his limbs as thin as you could think, his hair white as if made out of solid snow. ''How in God's name is this supposed to be a treasure to be held at high status or a resource?!'' Clous thought, angered, as he heard the words of the guards outside the room become louder. ''Damn it all...!'' he said as he pulled out the book, flipping through its pages violently, only stopping somewhere close to the end of it, quickly picking up the boy in his right hand, surprised at how light he was.

The door to the gallery opened slowly, with the two guards pushing it open together. The men stepped in, scanning the room, only stopping at the middle of it, finding nothing. Shocked, they ran up to the tree, examining it thoroughly. ''It can't be! The tree is already finished, but there's nothing here!'' one of the men shouted, pulling out a little book, smaller than Clous' in terms of size. ''Neil, contact all of the guard immediately!!'' he ordered the other guard, startling him and prompting him to quickly run out of the room.

''Dominare in Hamoni: article 5. Connect!'' the man said in obvious desperation and fear, emiiting a beam from the his book, as if scanning the whole room, unbeknownst to him that Clous was moving alongside the roots stuck to the ceiling of the room itself, gasping and panting as he struggled to keep the boy in his grip, sweating like a waterfall as he continued making his way behind the tree, hoping to be able to sneak out through the same place he had entered.

''It can't be nothing! The king will have my head, for God's sake...'' the guard muttered to himself, causing Clous to narrow his eyes slightly, shaking his head immediately and ridding himself of any guilt he wasn't prepared for as he reached the back-end of the tree, stabbing his nails into it and beginning to descend carefully, with the boy shaking around in his arms.

Carefully stepping onto the ground, Clous rushed for the hole quietly, jumping inside it, though with slight difficulty due to the boy being of a slightly larger size. Clous flipped through his book again, after entering the hole,'' Memento mori: article 7. Connect.'' he whispered, watching as the bits and pieces of rubble and rocks he had broken on his way in began forming into small panel, plugging the hole behind him. ''I can't see if the pattern lined up properly, but it's a risk i have to take this time...'' he thought as he began crawling through the hold, the boy on his back like a ragdoll tied to a child's neck with its own little arms.

What had he done? He could have left the boy, no, treasure back there to those guards, but what would he be used for after he was won by someone? Used as a worker, a slave, made into a simple child maybe and nothing else? Although, Clous himself didn't know what to use the little boy who was breathing so lightly, it almost felt like he was just carrying the corpse of a child.

''Why,'' ''How,'' In what manner,'' were the thing flying through his head, making him ponder. Was it bad picking? Wasn't it supposed to be of incredibly value? Clous flowned as he began to see a light through the hole. The one day he risked everything, he got essentially nothing more than a nuisance to care, literally.

As he peeked his head through the other opening of the wall, after a long crawl, Clous jumped out, stepping own on his two feet carefully, beginning to feel fatigued. Maybe it was the fact that he was carrying the boy on his back, or maybe it was the guily of potentially having two men at the king's mercy. No matter the cause, he sat the boy down, looking around at the back alley they were in, finding no one around.

''Here, i'll put this on you for now. It's the best i have,'' he whispered to the unconscious child as he pushed his back off the wall with on of his hands and putting the black coat on his back, with a bit of a struggle, covering his fully naked body, and leaving Clous in his little uniform-like clothing. ''What are you even supposed to be...? You weigh nothing, like, nothing! This is too bizarre to comprehend for me, damn it!'' he started rambling as he sat down in the opposite direction of the kid, scanning him with his eyes.

He sat there, not knowing how to process the situation. ''Alright, listen...er, if you can, i mea-- What am i saying, he can't hear me!'' he ran into another dead end. His eyes widened as a lightbulb lit up inside his head. ''I'll get him home for now and contact Rosa and Fadrick about it there!'' his idea wasn't that bright. Clous stood up, sighing, as he walked up to him, carefully putting him on his back, realising how disgusted he was feeling for having to carry a naked male on his back, but pushing through it nonetheless.

Keeping the boy on his back with one hand, he put the other inside the backpack, taking out a sort of journal, opening it. ''So, uh...1st district and then skipping to the 4th would make my travel a lot quicker, it seems!'' he realised, putting the journal back inside and jumping on top of a dumpster, then from there jumping on an Air Conditioner attachd to the wall, slightly losing balance due, but ultimately climbing the bulding with all his efforts. ''I said you weigh nothing, but on;t start weighing something NOW of all times, brat!'' he thought, frustrated as he carefully, scanning the parameter, jumpted to a neighboring building.

Meanwhile, back in th tree's gallery room, the guards had gathered, looking throught the whole room carefully. ''How do you think they stole the treasure?'' a guard asked his partner as they were searching for evidence. ''Don't ask me. The boss' tome scans for living organism, so they obviously escaped somehow.'' the second one responded nonchalantly. There were presumably around 7 of them, continiously checking the grass, the small bond in the corner, which watered the tree's roots, even the bushes, until... ''Guys, look over here!'' a chubby, old-looking man shouted, his voice seemingly tired and supressed. ''What is it now, Georo? You drop something again?'' a man asked, apparently annoyed with the man's preaching.

''N-no! Look, it's a cigarrete, just sitting here on the ground!'' Georo struggled to crouch down, picking up the fully finished cigarrete in his hand. "What?! A tabacco product this close to the Tree?!'' the previously confident man yelled as he ran over, taking it from his hand immediately. Fortunately, it had been completely used, unable to harm the tree or anything around it in any way. ''Georo, go report it to the commander, got it?'' the guard ordered immediately, scaring him. ''Y-yes, Daron!'' he shouted, running off, tripping on his feet a few times before exiting the gallery.

''This is preposterous! A moronic action like that could have been the end of this entire city...'' Daron thought, relieving himself for a moment. "But this is most concerning; it's fully spent, meaning the culprit was here long before the Tree released its gift upon us...'' he gritted his teeth in anger, crushing the cigarette in his hand.