Kaboom! A deafening explosion blared from the background, but the group of people responsible for it only walked away with their backs turned to the flash of red. A pair of them even did a high five, the woman only flipped her hair back, and the main person turned up his collar. They were brushing the heroic deed in favor of their own personal code of not being the good guys.
"And cut! That's a wrap!"
The director yelled, and the clapper resounded inside Nico's mind. After the scene was called to an end, the man in the middle of the group just went straight to his van. He didn't even meet the attendant or the producer. The movie shoot just ended, but Nico decided not to celebrate with the rest. After all, he was already feeling sick.
He held onto his mouth, and his body shivered as he began dry-heaving. Nico moved in haste towards the toilet in the van and began dislodging his lunch on the seat. He gripped at the rim tightly, even clawing it in misery.
Blood. His eyes widened, and his mind went blank. Blood mixed with the flood, and he could feel his body revolting. Before this moment, he had already noticed strange signs. However, he was in a locked-in taping. If something was happening to him, the only people responsible were those around him. Someone… had been poisoning him.
"Why?" Nico murmured as he recalled everyone that was at the taping. Everyone had been eating the same things that he had consumed, had drunk the same water that he did. "What is…?"
"Nico? Are you there? You didn't stay to speak with us." A mellow voice came from the other side of the closed door. "Can I come in?"
"…Frida…" Nico crawled out of the toilet, but he already heard the door open. She walked inside the van and quickly found him on the floor, blood dripping from his mouth.
He then reached out his hand. "Help. Call an ambulance… call the nurse… I've been poisoned…"
In contrast to the reaction Nico hoped to see, Frida only stared down at him… and smiled. She walked closer and squatted down, looking at his pitiful state. "I know."
"What? Why? What did I do?" Nico's eyes widened. This woman had been a B-list actress that appeared with him in his recent movies. This was the first time she acted as his leading lady. The amount of fame he had shared with her was tantamount to shooting into superstardom.
"Imagine the kind of media exposure I will get if I was your last heroine. The movie king's last movie… how much sales could it generate?"
"I could have given you that even if I'm alive." Nico's eyes quivered. He was being murdered for something so small?
"…no, you can't. You're just going to move on with another rising star in the future. Don't you think I didn't know about your next secret project?" Frida only tilted her head to the side. "You just lucked out, Nico. I'll just see you on the other side…"
She wasn't even done talking when Nico's vision tunneled. The person he helped for years just thought of him as leverage. When she felt like he was leaving her side, she decided to keep him there in spirit. So disappointing…
His body then ached as soon as darkness encumbered his entire body. He didn't know what happened after he passed out, but he could reckon that he could only rise as a ghost. Was it worth condemning his soul in the name of revenge?
His answer… he didn't find his answer.
That was because he felt something hard poke through his arm. It was like his skin was pinched, but there was a sharp object that did so. When Nico opened his eyes, he saw his right arm before him. A red-eyed crow was picking on his skin as if testing the elasticity.
However, he couldn't move. His entire body was too numb as if the poison had finally taken a toll on him. That was when he realized… that he was not inside the van. It was a rocky place where scavengers hung around. Did Frida toss his body from a cliff? Gosh, why was he not yet dead?
"I want to just lie here… but you are hurting me. Shoo! Shoo!" Nico moved his aching hand to scare the crow away.
However, it only eyed him and hopped around as if planning to find another spot. This dying creature would expire soon, and the crow didn't mind eating it later.
"How stupid. Bold of you to assume that the earth will kill you…"
A voice of a woman echoed, and Nico twitched. When he tried to lift his body to get up, he felt like someone grabbed his back collar and pulled him to the side instead. He still fell down and saw the figure of a beautiful white-haired woman with tantalizing blue eyes. She stood before him under the night sky that wobbled as if spouting…
Nico frowned. "Is the sky moving?"
"Yes, the Neo Nyx is preparing for another siege. Kingdom Flonterra is bracing for the seventh attack from the demons." She moved her head to the side. "Why are you suddenly concerned? Didn't you throw yourself from the walls to die? Or were you trying to fly?"
"…apparently, I didn't grow wings in time." Nico only snorted at the delusional woman. She even talked like she was LARP-ing with the poor man.
He could feel blood drying inside his throat and nose, so he must have been lying here for a while. This woman knew what happened to him, and she didn't even try to help him. Even when he was already conscious, she only stood there and didn't bother to even help him up.
The woman only blinked. She then moved her arms under her dark blue cloak and reached out towards Nico's collar. She pulled him up in a strong tug, and Nico was even sent to crash into her. Not that he wanted to harass her, but he really couldn't even stand up.
However, the woman only caught him with her other arm, letting him rest against her abdomen. "Nico, you should be ashamed of yourself. Not only did you stare at the Neo Nyx with fear in your eyes, but you also dare act so weak in front of a night maiden.
"What kind of destiny hero are you?" At the glare she gave him, her blue eyes lit up as a thick, icy mist shrouded the two of them. The small icicles forming the mist glittered in front of Nico's nose.
"…? How deep into LARP-ing are you?"