Soulless Players

"It's your time."

Steve called the man behind him, his voice filled with authority, trying to hide his reluctance.

A man with a tall stature walked towards him lazily. He wore a black robe, hiding his build and the upper portion of his face. His steps were heavy as if he was just forcing himself to comply, yet also soft, as not a single sound of footsteps could be heard.

Looking at the distance slowly closing between them, Steve noticed the tool in the man's hand, swinging back and forth along with his hands swaying while walking.

When the man stood two meters away, he stared down at Steve with his condescending eyes and laid-back body.

Steve couldn't care less about his attitude as he was used to it. His attention was more on the tool - or the weapon - in his hand.

"Why do you have that?" asked Steve. He discovered that it was the ax of Philip's father.

The ax even had some traces of blood attached to it.

Steve was confused about how it was in the man's possession, given that he intentionally left the ax in Philip's house. Additionally, the man never left the village. With him being uncontrollable, Steve never considered bringing him to the forest.

Upon hearing the question, the man just replied by swinging the ax, like he was practicing throwing it at a long distance.

Steve waited for the man to say something, but seeing the man had no intention of speaking, he could only give up on getting the answer.

"Catch the child for me." Steve requested and continued, "Remember, I need him alive."

The man waved his left hand at Steve as if telling the child to hand over the thing he wanted.

Steve frowned in annoyance. Steve knew the man was being disrespectful, but he could not do anything as he was stronger than him.

Handing a bag filled with gold coins, Steve said, "That's the down payment. After you complete the mission, I will give you the rest."

The man went silent for a while. When Steve didn't hear any response, he raised his head to look at the man's face hidden beneath his hood.

However, he was forced to bend down after feeling tremendous pressure coming from the man. It seemed he disliked Steve's peaking.

"Don't give me the down payment. Give me everything." the man demanded.

"But…" Steve could not do it as he needed an assurance that the man would complete the mission and come back.

Feeling his internal conflict, the man threw the bag on the ground and turned around. His intention to leave was evident.

Seeing this, Steve panicked. He couldn't let the man leave as he was the only piece he had left to capture Philip.

'If only my first three plans worked, I would have not relied on this man.' Steve complained internally.

He stared at the man's back, his posture was like that of a person who stays at home all day.

If someone based power on first impressions, with the man's attitude, no one would ever guess him to be powerful.

However, Steve was different. He has ways of knowing something others don't.

Steve gritted his teeth and quickly shouted, "Wait!" He picked up the bag on the ground, reached out another bag in his inner pocket, and handed it over to him.

"Here. Just do the job."

The man stopped and looked back. After getting the money from Steve, he grunted and replied, "K."

Steve angrily watched the man walk towards the forest. The man's pay was expensive even for him who was born rich. He could only hope for the man to do his bidding and be successful.

However, unbeknown to Steve, when the man turned around, he chuckled in ecstasy as if he had just performed the greatest heist of all time.

Drops of water fell out from the sky. After seeing the man disappear into the forest, Steve whispered,

"Open System."

A little while later, Steve's facial expression changed from anger, to astonishment, then to happiness.

"This is somehow unexpected." He looked up above the sky, and drops of water reached his face, "Well, this is better than what is expected."

Taking a last peek at the fire slowly getting extinguished, he left the place with light steps. The pressure he had felt for a long time had finally been suppressed to a manageable degree.

***

The dark sky flashed and grumbled, and buckets of water poured heavily down to the mountain, slowly making the blazing red forest turn into black and charcoal.

"Am I finally getting my piece of luck?" murmured Philip. He had easily convinced the men to fight against each other because of the timely rumble of the sky earlier.

If it weren't for the lightning, it would have been more difficult to convert half of the men to his side.

'They must have thought I did it,' Philip guessed.

Philip was also shocked by the sudden downpour. He remembered that the moon was shining earlier and had no intention of hiding behind the clouds. It was only when he was cornered by the group of men that the sky cried.

'Is it just a coincidence?' Philip mussed. 'It's like the universe is helping me.'

However, Philip was forced to break from his mulling as he suddenly felt goosebumps in his arms. It was like a dangerous entity was coming to him.

Philip had always trusted his instinct. And this time, his instinct had once again sensed something not right.

'I must flee now.'

Watching Steve's men overpower the men who wanted to follow him, Philip finally had the need to make a move.

Philip expected this to happen. Most of the men were smart. Although they were surprised at first and wanted to follow him, they would soon realize that their boss had more credibility compared to him.

It was Philip who was cornered, why would they help him? They would only incur the wrath of their boss.

Holding the medicine tightly in his arms, he glanced at the edge of the river. This was the perfect chance for him to jump.

But Philip started to become hesitant. If he chose to jump, the men would know where they would find him after. And if in case he fainted due to the painful fall, they would easily capture him.

'I needed to retreat and find a more hidden escape route.'

Suddenly, the wind blew stronger, making the smoke go through their location. Moreover, the sky poured heavily, creating a low visibility surrounding.

'Chance!' Philip turned and ran back to the forest. Having rested and healed earlier, he was faster than before.

After some time, the men finally caught the sight of Philip leaving. Upon realizing they were toyed by him, they quickly stopped their fight and chased after him.

But the burnt tree branches suddenly fell in between them, adding difficulty in catching him.

Although Philip could not see the situation, he had a slight understanding of what had happened as he heard the tree falling behind him.

But instead of being happy about this, Philip got more frightened instead.

'What is happening? This is no longer a coincidence!'

Philip ran faster and faster. He wanted to escape not just from the men but also from the strange phenomenon.

However, it was like luck was stubbornly following him as every time he passed through a specific path, the fire would suddenly be extinguished due to the heavy rain. It was like it was helping and guiding him to the right way.

This made Philip arrive at his destination much faster than he expected. In addition, with his flesh not experiencing any burns, he was now in a better condition. All of it was thanks to his luck.

Sensing that he could not run away from the luck enhancement, he could only bring it to the back of his mind and focus on escaping.

After some time, Philip finally saw the sight of another cliff, but instead of being happy, he felt more nervous.

Unlike the waterfall, which had water to help him land more safely, the cliff was more rocky and dangerous. If he jumped, he could only hope the medicine was enough for him to save his life.

Still, he moved forward bravely. He had no choice as every time he wasted more time, he felt his skin becoming a goose's.

But when he was a few steps away from the edge, he suddenly stumbled.

Philip was stunned for a moment, before letting out a loud shriek.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!"

Philip's shout resounded throughout the forest. He glanced at his left leg detached from his body with the ax closely embedded in the ground.

A rustling sound of leaves was heard from his back, Philip looked back and saw the man with arms raised like he threw something towards him.

It was then Philip realized,

'The dangerous entity is here!'