Post by thewanderer on Mar 15, 2023 17:30:09 GMT
The world is not a fair place to the kindhearted…
We rejoin the wanderer, and the singular shot focuses solely on the narrowed blue eyes of the wanderer…when the angle changes, we see a monster standing in front of him as it hisses and snarls before unleashing a piercing shriek that would deafen and disorientate a weaker man and send a chill through the blood of a weaker man. Not the wanderer, though. The wanderer stands firm, stands strong, and grip the hilt of their weapon before unsheathing the blade that glimmers from the light catching it just right, and with one fluid motion, he swings the blade toward a demon that falls before him. Following the slaying of the demon, the wanderer places their weapon back in the sheath, and continues forward.
It does not take long for him to encounter another person on the road… two, in fact. The two are wearing coverings over their faces, and they glance at each other. Meanwhile, the wanderer raises his hand, as if to beckon peace, but it seems like these two have no indication of giving him that. The wanderer places his hand back on the hilt, and his gaze turns back and forth against the two that moved in opposite directions to stand on either side of him.
It was not only monsters that people had to look out for, but also their fellow man… What anyone would do for the mere opportunity to call themselves the greatest that this business has to offer. To be the man, to be the one with the gold around their waist! You could not afford to be kind. You could not afford to show respect. You could not afford to let your guard down…not for anyone. You see… the Roulette is easy.
A sequence of videos plays alongside the wanderer, unveiling numerous times that people have been betrayed inside the Roulette by the people that they considered their friends, and it was always followed with a shrug. A shrug from the friends that would swear that they had their friends back, but a shrug that signified what this match was all about: every man for himself.
It is easy, because the moment that you step into that ring, there are no allies. There are no friends. There are no truces. There is no moral high ground. The only thing that matters is standing at the end of the gauntlet with your arm raised as the winner! Because everybody is all battling for their chance, for their one chance to do what few men get the opportunity to do: to fight at Night of the Immortals! To punch their golden ticket to the grandest stage of them all! To fight for the World Championship! To turn their own dreams into a reality by walking out as the IWF Men’s World Champion!
The two launch themselves toward the wanderer, but he shows himself to be much more agile. The attackers brandish their own weapons, one swinging high, and the other low, but the wanderer is able to evade one, while parrying the other with his own blade. The fight ensues, but it doesn’t last long; the wanderer proves to be better skilled than the two thieves. The duo run away, lucky to still be alive after their chance encounter.
The wanderer did not appear to be winded at all. His hood remained intact, as he watched the two thieves fleeing.
It was not an easy road. It was not the road for just anyone. You had to be strong, you had to be quick on your feet, you had to be resilient… There were a great many traits that anyone who hoped to conquer this road would need. Everyone liked to believe that they had those factors… Everyone liked to believe that they were going to be able to dig deep, and everything was going to go right for them, and they were right. They were right to rely on magic. They were right to rely on luck. Because that was just one of the many traits that anyone hoping to conquer this road would need; they would need luck. They would need the stars to align for them. They would need to do everything right, and hope that the next person who had everything else needed to conquer the road would slip. And they would.
The fickle thing about luck, though, is that it was not something you could bargain with… It was not something that you could prepare yourself for. It was either on your side, or it wasn’t.
The rolling thunder is heard again, and the wanderer in turn raises his eyes to see the overcast sky. It started with a sprinkle, and it did not take long for it to become a heavy downpour. The wanderer pulled his hood low, lowered his head, and ventured forward on his journey. It feels like the wanderer is never going to get to his destination, but after so long, the wanderer finally stands atop a hill on the dirt road…it looks more like a mud road at this point, from the weather, and the storm had returned, and returned with a vengeance. There is a building, a shelter, off to the side of the road as the wanderer steps over the hill. A refuge from the storm… The wanderer takes another step forward, and just then, the scenery fades to black.
Well howdy there pardner.