Only the faint scrape of wood echoed as pieces shifted across the board.
A single lantern swayed above them, its dim light bending the shadows of two figures seated opposite one another, Kozuko and Igris.
The air smelled faintly of oil and old smoke. The table between them was worn smooth by centuries of repetition.
Kozuko's fingers brushed over his final piece, hovering for a heartbeat. Then, with a soft click, the king was trapped.
He leaned back, a smirk carving across his lips.
"Checkmate," he murmured, eyes gleaming through the flickering glow. "I win yet again... gosh, you really suck at this, hahahaha."
Igris's face didn't change. His pale eyes remained fixed on the board, hollow yet focused.
"Let's play again."
Kozuko chuckled, setting the fallen pieces back into their box.
"You sure? This is, what, your 3,037th loss? It's insanity at this point."
Igris's gaze didn't waver. "It's alright," he said evenly. "I want to show you something."
Kozuko raised a brow. "Show me something? And what would that be?"
"Keep playing," Igris replied. "You'll find out."
Kozuko smirked. "Very well, then. I'll continue indulging in your futility."
He reset the board. The lantern light trembled, casting gold over ivory and obsidian pieces.
The next game began in silence, the steady rhythm of strategy and consequence filling the air.
Each piece's movement was deliberate, pawns advancing in cautious ranks, knights cutting through their silent dance.
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Kozuko moved with careless precision, his tone light as ever.
"So," he said, moving a bishop. "It seems you're finally getting what you wanted. The war is already underway. The Royals will likely claim the entire El Territory. Though..." he grinned faintly, "the El Lord is no easy prey."
Igris didn't answer immediately. His focus remained on the board, his hand hovering over a rook.
Kozuko kept talking, his voice filling the room like smoke.
"The real question is, will the Animals and the Zoner Knights actually succeed against the Royals?"
Kozuko generated himself into a worm.
Igris finally moved, sliding his rook with quiet finality.
"Time will tell," he said. "But it will also reveal whether or not there's a Visionary left on that island."
Kozuko tilted his head, amusement dancing in his eyes.
"I don't see why you're so worked up about these Visionaries. Are not the Kings of the Surface far superior to any human?"
Igris's eyes darkened. "Yes," he said. "But there are artists who walk dangerously close to godhood."
He clenched his fist slightly. "Braxer, the boy who imagined the Cyber World. It was he who killed the Fifth King before me, was he not?"
His voice dropped lower. "I know his power personally. I have seen what imagination can do when it defies order. Why would I not acknowledge the threat he poses to our rulership? Now imagine others like him, Visionaries who can sculpt existence."
Kozuko leaned back, studying him with intrigue. "I see. I hope to meet this Braxer one day... or maybe I'll face a Visionary myself."
Igris moved his next piece with a steady hand.
"I will handle the Visionaries. There are others to be concerned with, the Saber Class, the Scytherians, the Morphers."
Kozuko arched a brow. "Aren't two of those predominantly women's classes? I thought you looked down on them."
Igris didn't hesitate. "You are mistaken," he said coolly. "I said they are emotional, never that they are weak. In truth..." his tone dropped into something almost reverent, "they should be feared."
Kozuko smiled faintly, then his grin widened, stretching into something devilish. His form shimmered, twisting in the lantern light.
His face softened, features shifting. Hair spilled over his shoulders, and his voice dripped with a mocking purr.
"Roar," She whispered, now a generated woman in her seat, eyes gleaming wickedly through the glow of the lantern.
The chessboard trembled between them, pieces scattering across the table.