Bonus Interlude: Voices in the Woods

After the Vex left, the clearing where the oni had met his demise was completely deserted. No bugs nor birds approached it, and the silence was broken only by the occasional breeze rustling a few leaves.

Then, all of a sudden, an angry, young-sounding voice spoke.

“This is bullshit!”

The one who had spoken was a young boy, barely in his teens by the looks of it, with crimson red hair and golden yellow eyes. He wore an extravagant red and black attire that was reminiscent of that of a jester, with baggy renaissance-style pants and pointy shoes. He had appeared seemingly out of thin air and was angrily staring at the puddle of melted flesh that had been the oni's head.

“Well, I do have to admit that was rather anticlimactic.” Another, more feminine voice chimed in. “But then again, it's nice to see events unfold in such an unpredictable manner for once.”

A blonde woman, dressed in a simple yet elegant white and golden dress, also appeared out of nowhere. She bore a striking resemblance to the boy, even sharing the same golden eyes, but her expression was calm and serene, in stark contrast with the boy's manifest frustration.

“You are only saying that because you benefit from this!” The boy replied, turning towards the woman and staring daggers at her.

“Maybe in part.” She admitted. “But I honestly think it's good to have a few surprises every now and then.” She smirked. “You of all people should like surprises.”

“I do.” The boy said sulkily. “But only when they are good for me, and this is far from good. I invested a lot of points in my move in the Caligare Forest, and they all went to waste because of that damned Vex Queen!” He frowned, as his expression turned angry. “Her presence derailed all of my plans for this region!”

“Well, as you know, true chance does actually not make favoritisms.” The woman said with a faint smile. “Random events are indeed statistically more likely to spread chaos, but they can enforce order as well.” She paused for a moment and then she added in an encouraging tone: “Besides, not everything is lost, isn't it? The Arachne is still alive, so she could do something.”

“She's not someone I can rely on in the current situation.” The boy sighed. “She may cause some minor disturbances with her schemes, but nothing more. The oni was the one I really had put my hopes on. If his army of orcs had managed to evolve into ogres, he could have become a big enough threat to influence the game on a global scale. But because of the Vex Queen’s intervention, he just fizzled out before he could do anything significant.”

“Well, if he was so useful you could always resurrect him again in a new body.” The woman suggested. “There are no rules against reincarnating someone twice.”

“Can I do that for free?” The boy asked, his eyes suddenly gleaming with hope.

“Of course not.” The woman smirked. “It would count as a move,so you'd have to pay points for it.”

“Then it's not worth it.” The boy now sounded completely disappointed. “He was a useful pawn, yes, but people like him are a dime a dozen. It's not worth spending any more points than I already have on him.”

“Very well.” The woman said. “Then I supposed that our business here is done, isn't it?”

“Yeah.” The boy replied. “There is nothing more to do.”

“Then let's go home. I'm going to make cookies to cheer you up.”

“I'd like that.” The boy nodded.

And then, without any warning, the two disappeared, leaving no trace of their passage.