Chapter Text
The League.
Armand huffed as he sat in the seats, watching the Wandering Circus' final round in the league. His brother sat beside him, slightly smiling.
Armand scoffed, looking away. What the hell did Bai Liu do to his brother?? He wasn't this smiley before, not even to his little brother!
To say he was jealous would be a fact, understatement even. Why would his brother be so happy about losing in the league? Yeah, their home was saved but still.
He shifted his attention back to the screen. This final round's winner is probably the Wandering Circus; not just the fact that in the other worldlines that they would emerge victorious, but he ironically believed in them.
Totally not just because Mu Sicheng was there. He would never cheer for his enemy.
Yes. He would never. Mhm.
[System Alert: Both teams have logged into the game "The Drowning Man from the Future"]
[The (Deer Hunters) vs. (Wandering Circus), a five-man team match, officially begins].
Leaning back against his seat, he sighed. This is a bit worrying. Cen Buming, one of the captains of the Heretics Bureau, and Daniel, the clown who could destroy souls with his personal skill, wouldn't be easy to defeat.
Also, Daniel was batshit crazy. There was no telling what he would do.
He shifted weight again.
Damnit.
He hates to admit it, but he doesn't want Mu Sicheng to be hit by that gun.
He already lost his Mu Sicheng to the last worldline, and he finally met him again in this after so much effort to just convince Georgia to let him live free from his protection.
He doesn't want to lose him again.
He doesn't want to actually lose him.
He knew that different events would happen in different worldlines and this would affect not just Mu Sicheng, but also everyone else.
He knew this well, and that was why the thief who stole from his older brother didn't exist anymore. He didn't exist anymore because Bai Liu (6) didn't force him to steal heretics from the bureau. He didn't exist anymore because Bai Liu isn't Bai Liu (6).
The butterfly effect in this world seems to be strong. Bai Liu (6) changed his name. He has a family. He has a boyfriend. And he isn’t as cruel as Bai Liu (6).
It was safe to say that nearly everything has changed.
But this gun can change things up even more.
It destroys the soul.
So even if you find them in the next worldline, they will still be the same person fundamentally, but they would never be the one you met.
Armand bit his nail. It was a bit longer than the other nails on his fingers, a bit like Mu Sicheng’s item—the Black Thief’s Finger from the Exploding Last Train.
"...... Bai Liu's soul has been pulled out of his body,” Tang Erda says, frowning.
Fuck.
"Bai Liu, who logged out of the game, will die if he can't get his soul back."
"Until then, we must never let anyone destroy Bai Liu's shell, otherwise the life value will clear and the shell will automatically diminish, and then even if the soul comes out, it won't be able to log out of the game without the shell as a carrier."
"...... What will happen then?" Liu Jiayi asked, trying to not cry.
Bai Liu wasn’t even breathing.
"Bai Liu's soul will then remain on this ship forever."
Armand forced himself to calm down.
Daniel is aiming towards Bai Liu’s torso.
With the soul shattering gun.
And then he cursed the gods under his breath.
Damnit. Damnit!!
Liu Jiayi is already protecting Bai Liu’s torso. Tang Erda is aiming at Daniel’s head. Mu Ke is already preparing his personal skill, [One Flash Strike] to block the blow for Bai Liu.
But the thieves are always the fastest, whether that is stealing or running away.
But this time, he is running towards the danger.
His hands are shaking.
No— No!
Mu Sicheng was there with a speed that nearly no one could keep up, but for Armand, it was nearly an eternity.
It was this same skill that they ran out to play with.
If anything, he was the most familiar with this skill.
Mu Sicheng’s face may be expressionless, but Armand knew he was panicking.
Mu Sicheng’s body moved without thinking, as if this move was the most natural thing to do, even more so than breathing.
Armand held his breath.
Cold laughter filled his ears as the bullet in the gun was shot.
Mu Ke’s dagger was thrown, but the bullet was simply faster. More lethal. More soul shattering to more than just Mu Sicheng. (Armand was one of them.)
Armand stood up, but sank back to his seat. His eyes were still glued to the screen.
There is no way to recover from the soul shattering gun, he remember the way his brother told him this. To beware of the clown.
Not even the league’s award can do that.
[System Alert: Player Mu Sicheng's soul is shattered, confirmed dead, exit the game].
He can’t believe this.
This must be another prank that was played.
You can’t fucking do this, Mu Sicheng!!
You stole me from my brother’s protection, you made me courageous enough to break the bubble that my brother has provided, and now you say your soul shattered?
You said you would take responsibility back then! And that meant being alive? What nonsense are you doing??
You need to be fucking alive!
Alive!
I’ll go into another worldline where you don’t remember me and repeat this cycle, but you don’t get to do this to me!
[Congratulations to player Bai Liu for passing the game.]
[Congratulations, Wandering Circus and two unlisted players. You have won this year’s league. Please continue to work hard for future leagues!]
Wandering Circus and two unlisted players
Wandering Circus and two unlisted players.
Armand’s nails tore into the skin of his palm.
[Player Armand is logging out of the game…]
[Address: Bai Liu’s Home.]
“You promised him! You promised me !” Armand yelled, pulling the white button shirt that was donned on Bai Liu. He knew that the man just lost everyone he cared about, and probably dealing with more shit himself, but fuck that. Fuck this!
Fuck everything!
“You promised me—you made a fucking deal with me to protect him!” he yelled, but it held more of a self-blaming tone than before—one that was almost… sad. “And you promised him that— that you would save him if he doesn’t deviate or betray you! You liar! You liar…”
Tears fell from his eyes, his hands shaking. His head hung low, his hands powerless. (Just as he was in the last worldline, unable to protect Georgia who suffered at the hands of Bai Liu (6).)
Bai Liu could easily break away from Armand’s grasp—it was so meaningless to do so that he didn’t bother.
If Armand could feel a little better, he could bear with this for a bit. After all, he was the one who didn’t keep his promise, and he took ridiculous amounts of things from Armand, who willingly got scammed.
(For Mu Sicheng.)
“Fuck— That idiot!” Armand sobbed. His tears fell to the floor.
As Georgia rushed into Bai Liu’s home, trying to find his missing brother who suddenly logged out, he immediately pulled Armand away, not sure what his brother was throwing a tantrum about.
Based on Bai Liu’s expression, it was nothing happy.
Georgia’s heart ached for his little brother, and allowed him to (ugly) cry on his shoulder like when they were children.
He hasn’t seen his brother crying like this in quite a while.
He apologised, gave his condolences for his loss of two good friends, bowed, and left (just like the rest of the Wandering Circus.)
Slam——!
Silence.
Bai Liu closed his eyes, and everything was numb.